I have always loved this episode. It’s a classic Data story, it continues to showcase the show’s emergent new style and identity, and the shipboard half of the plot is amusing without trying too hard or being over the top (and gives the captain a chance to be just a touch roguish without stepping out of character). As a slight caveat, the planetside portion of the episode falls into what will become a rather well-worn plot category for the show: stubborn locals who refuse to be helped (or to leave their home, in spite of compelling reasons to do so). The terrible “Angel One” from the first season was a prior instance; the episode right after this one, “Survivors,” will be another. But “The Ensigns of Command” is, for my money, TNG’s best-ever use of this particular trope. The colonists’ reluctance to be uprooted is perfectly natural, after all. Their irrationality does push the limits of believability, and I wish that this were addressed a bit better (maybe by emphasizing that they are in denial about the ruthlessness of the Sheliak, or something), but I can live with this weakness. (I also think that, as a counterpoint to the very natural reluctance to abandon their home, the equally natural enthusiasm of at least some of the colonists about the renewal of contact with the outside world is rather underplayed.) The situation works well, though, as a challenge for Data, whose puzzlement over the leader’s repeated references to “structures they have built” is beautiful. I also appreciate the fact that there’s no big “twist” regarding the colony: no dark secret or hidden agenda, but just a basic stubbornness in the face of a situation that they are powerless to change but don’t want to accept.
Probably the best thing about the episode is that it totally nails Data as a character; he is, as the female colonist (Ard’rian) observes, faultlessly rational, and confounded by the irrationality of the colonists—but he nevertheless finds a way to reach them in the end, and he ends up teaching as much as he learns about the meaning of being human. His connection with Ard’ran is also really enjoyable, and perfectly handled. I’ve read criticisms of this episode alleging that it sort of “chickens out” of doing a full-blown Data romance story, but I strongly disagree with this view. For one thing, a Data romance is much too big an idea to squeeze into an episode that’s mainly about something else; the fourth season’s “In Theory” will have major problems, but if the writers wanted to do a Data romance, making it the focus of an entire episode rather than a mere subplot was the right way to go about it. But more importantly, the story that is told with Data and Ard’rian doesn’t feel at all like a “cop out”; it’s a worthy story in its own right, and it suits the themes of the episode. The rationalistic, android-savvy, self-aware, and yet ultimately human personality of Ard’rian makes for a really appealing character and a good partner for Data, and the arc of their interactions is structured perfectly. “You appeared to…’need it'” is a line from this episode that has always stuck with me. Ultimately, the story is a classic instance of the “unemotional android provoking strong emotions in others” motif that TNG liked to explore with Data. And finally in regard to Data, the bookend scenes involving his violin playing are also really cool. They set up and then drive home the theme about his growth and individuality within the limits set by his nature—and at the same time, they help establish the season’s more sophisticated, mature tone and style: shipboard concerts, classical music, the main characters interacting informally and reflecting on questions about how to conceptualize their personal limitations, etc.
I don’t have a whole lot to say about the rest of the episode, really. The Sheliak serve their purpose, creating the dilemma that triggers the story. Their behavior is quite unreasonable, but the episode gets away with it by attributing this behavior to the alienness of their culture and their dim regard for the Federation. The Enterprise‘s hands really are tied, and they deal with the situation as reasonably as could be expected. Picard’s eventual triumph in his negotiations with the Sheliak is entertaining in the extreme, in part because the difficulty of dealing with them is solidly established, and also in part because the conflict is not overplayed or cheesed up to try to ramp up the tension. And finally, the sub-subplot of Geordi, O’Brien, and Wesley working on the transporter is perfect comic relief, right up to its hilarious punchline when Geordi reports to Picard about it in the end. All in all, this episode is not unlike the second season’s “Peak Performance”—another exemplar of the sort of non-flashy excellence that one would hope to see more often than not from week to week.
I am continuously impressed by the level of thought you put into these reviews. I agree with everything you’ve said. There was one moment that made me wince, however. That is when Data, during his performance, became so distracted by Picard leaving that he misses his entrance, needing to be prodded by another performer. While this is an interesting idea that an android could be so distracted by his desire to impress his captain, that he forgets his entrance, this is not at all plausible. We know, for instance, that data can simultaneously listen to and analyze a bazillion (feel free to correct the number, Dave) songs, while also doing a bunch of other highly technical activities, or something like this. So the idea that he couldn’t play the violin while simultaneously noting (with whatever passes for concern in a positronic brain) his captain leaving the room, is not plausible, even if it is cute. The fact that I am nitpicking about such a small thing, however, points to the fact that this is a really awesome episode.
One thing I think this episode gets close to, but doesn’t quite put its finger on, is how we somewhat irrationally wish to deny the concept of feelings to androids. I could go on all day about how there’s nothing stopping a sufficiently complex android from having feelings (Lore!), anymore than that which stops humans from having them. And indeed, the moment when Data kisses Ard’rian, because he thinks she needs it, seems like a perfect example of this. He showed empathy, and a loving action in hopes of easing another being’s pain. If that is not the essence of having and acting on a feeling, I am not sure what is. In some sense, Ard’rian dismisses this, after having Data explain why he did it, as Data being “rational to the last.” And while this is strictly true, many expressions of feelings are rational. It is probably too much to ask that Star Trek might take this leap with me. But, perhaps all that Data needs in order to realize he’s had a heart all along (tin man), is for him to start labeling his impulses, which the rest of us ascribe to feelings, as feelings.
Wall, thanks, Jodin! 🙂
I had forgotten (and/or didn’t entirely catch) that moment where Data gets “distracted.” I agree with you that it’s out of character and annoying.
The whole “an intelligence as complex as Data’s would have emotions” discussion has certain been had, and I don’t disagree. My take is that Data clearly has “something” vaguely akin to feelings, even if they’re extremely muted and not at all like human emotions. His characterization frequently walks a thin line around this, usually in ways that I appreciate. Larkin often comments that sometimes Trek comes across like anti-AI propaganda: look at this cool android character, but keep in mind, he still lacks important things that are what make us human! I get that critique, but I tend to focus more on the cool thematic stuff that TNG mined Data for. The way other people project their emotions onto him and are constantly thrown by his differentness, for instance, or how his quest to “become more human” represents any individual person’s ongoing struggle to grow and challenge him/herself, or just the general idea of striving for something that’s always just slightly out of reach.