This episode is not very good, really. However, it is much better than any other episode since the pilot. Its plot contains no surprises, is executed clunkily, and isn’t really all that interesting to start with—but on the bright side, it actually does have a plot. What’s more, the plot more or less makes sense and exhibits at least a minimal degree of purposeful structure, instead of being meandering, structureless, and padded out with pointless filler the way so many of the other episodes thus far have been. Another notable plus is the fact that this was the first episode to make any real effort to start fleshing out any of the main characters with back story—or, for that matter, to have any serious claim to being a “character piece” at all. We get a passable glimpse of Jean-Luc Picard the human being (rather than merely “Captain Picard”) here, notwithstanding the fact (though this, too, is a plus) that the episode simultaneously starts to build up a sort of heroic legacy around “Captain Picard” as well (by way of his apparently legendary “Picard Maneuver”). Said maneuver is actually a pretty cool tidbit, too, even if it does not, perhaps, entirely stand up to scrutiny. For example: a quick blast of “maximum warp” in the middle of a battle? Over what sorts of distances do these battles take place, exactly? And also, given that you know about the maneuver, is it really plausible that there is (as Data says) “no defense” against it? Wouldn’t it be as simple as ignoring the ship’s “first” location and targeting its “new” location? With all of that said, however, I still thoroughly enjoy both the idea and the fact of establishing it as part of Picard’s back story—and in light of the typical entertainment value of episodes of this show up to this point, that’s worth something! In a similar vein, the nostalgic use of an old-style starship is something that works, both for the characters and for the audience, in this episode.
I don’t really have much more to say about this one other than to react to various tidbits. In the plus column, the Ferengi do come across significantly better here than they did in “The Last Outpost”—though in the minus column, they are, unfortunately, still pretty uninspired, both as antagonists and as a people in general. Also, contrary to what was previously established, Troi can now apparently read their emotions! The glowing red mind-control orbs are kind of lame and don’t make for the most interesting of plot devices. The idea that humans no longer get headaches totally fails the credibility test (especially since everyone except for Dr. Crusher acts as though headaches are a perfectly familiar phenomenon!). Picard’s reactions to the whole “past coming back to haunt him” business are a bit odd in some ways; his first command ended in a battle that resulted in him and his entire crew having to abandon their ship, but he “hasn’t thought about it in years” and is relatively easily led to question whether his memories of the incident are accurate on even the most basic of levels? We’re not talking about some obscure incident from his past, here; this was a major life- and career-altering event! Also, the scene in which Crusher tucks Picard into bed with the latter fully dressed in his uniform (boots and all) is a little weird. On the Wesley front, the episode earns some points from me early on by having him actually act like a kid and screw up (though the idea of his coming to the bridge in order to “be on hand for the Ferengi beam-over” relies on the ensuing oddness of the Ferengi beaming directly onto the bridge)—but it blows those points later on by having him be the only one to notice (in a very implausible way) the key details that lead to the resolution of the Picard-under-mind-control crisis (not to mention his irritatingly smug, eye-rolling disdain for “adults” immediately afterward).
Even with all of its flaws, however, this one actually possesses enough merit to warrant a two-star rating. Woo-hoo?