Star Trek: The Next Generation 3.3
Anne Haney. Intriguing puzzle, worthwhile pay-off.
- This one opens with a mystery. And a compelling mystery it is. A planet’s population has been wiped out, but there are two survivors… How? Why?
- In order for this story to work, the viewer has to be puzzled at the start and - more difficult - satisfied at the end. With this as a yardstick, the episode is a success. The reveal at the end is sad and memorable.
John Anderson‘s performance makes it work. Makes you care. - Picard is slightly ahead of his crew on this one. Without guessing exactly what is going on, he is still able to out-maneuver whatever working against them. That’s fun to watch.
- Troi gets a b-story that goes nowhere. It merely serves to punctuate the actions in the a-story. She is sick, somehow affected by the planet, but other than giving Picard a valid reason to stick around, this storyline serves no purpose whatsoever.
- “Good tea. Nice house,” says Worf at one point. One of my all-time favourite Worf-moments.
