Deja Q (⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑)

This pure classic is unique among TNG’s Q episodes in that it’s the only one that’s actually fundamentally about Q; rather than serving as a foil, a guide, or a judge for Picard/the Enterprise/humanity, this time’s he’s a character who has a story.  The whole nature of Q as a character normally makes using him in this sort of way impossible (or at least pretty unworkable), but this once, by stripping away his “otherness” and watching him try to cope with that, it is possible.  Moreover, because Q is a known entity in whom the audience is already interested, it works much better to center a story on him than it usually does to center stories around “guest characters.”  It also helps, of course, that the story is as much about how the regulars cope with “Q the ordinary” as it is about how he himself copes—and the uncertainty over whether or not he has really lost his powers even provides some of the same ambiguity concerning Q’s agenda that all good Q episodes thrive on, even though this time it ultimately becomes clear that he really is what he is presenting himself as.  The fact that he is, in effect, “not his usual self” in this episode, meanwhile, keeps his straightforwardness here from dulling the edge of his usual persona or really influencing our perception of his motives and agenda in a larger sense.  In short, it was a great idea for an episode, even though it uses Q in a totally different way from the ways in which it’s usually effective to use him.

This episode is also just a winner on every front: it’s got the great Q character arc, some fantastic Q/Data stuff (it’s easy to overlook what a great Data show this is, given that one primarily thinks of it as a Q show), a plot that’s tightly constructed and interesting enough to add something to the episode without overshadowing the meat of what the episode is trying to do, lots of great character moments, good thematic stuff, and a plethora of memorable lines.  This is one of the TNG episodes that I most often find myself quoting.  To some extent, that’s probably just because I’ve watched it so many times (there’s nothing all that remarkable about Q’s “Don’t bet on it, Picard!” but I reference that line probably more often than any other from any Trek episode), but even so, there are a lot of really classic lines or bits of dialogue: “‘One of the boys’ with an IQ of 2005!”; the great exchange between Geordi and Q about changing the gravitational constant of the universe (“You just do it!”); Q exulting “I’m immortal again!  Omnipotent again!” and Picard responding “Swell.”; Data’s “Geordi believes he is in command here—and he is correct.”; and more.  Then, for character moments, there is, for example, the inevitable confrontation between Q and Guinan, which is great on several levels.  For one thing, it’s fun to have Guinan play so strongly against type; only Q brings out the stabbing-people-in-the-hand-with-a-fork side of her personality.  Conversely, of course, Guinan brings out Q’s uncharacteristic vulnerability more fully than anyone else can.  And from a plot point of view, the Guinan scene functions really effectively as a way for the writers, after playing the mystery of whether Q has really lost his powers or not out for as long as they want to, to convey to the audience that yes, he really is telling the truth. This allows the episode to move on from that point (even though the regular characters themselves still can’t entirely do so).  Other great bits include Worf’s suggestion that the best way for Q to convince them that he really is mortal would be to die; Q waxing all introspective and self-flagelletory with Picard, only to have the latter refuse to play “father confessor”; the entire scene with the “other Q” near the end of the episode; the fact that the first thing that Q does upon regaining his powers is to clothe himself in a Starfleet uniform (after whining all episode long about the colors of the outfit that the Enterprise provides him with); the total transformation in his demeanor upon becoming his usual, powerful self again; and of course, pretty much every second of the interactions between Q and Data through the entire episode.  Pairing the two of them is brilliant; it puts Data in the position of teaching someone else about being human, it provides Q with the benefit of the purely objective and rational perspective that only Data can offer (free of the other characters’ emotional responses to him, but without being naive or manipulable by Q, and providing a reality check in the face of Q’s egocentric self-absorption), it leads Q down the emotional path that the episode needs him to take, it offers insights about both characters, and it provides some classic Data humor.  It does a disservice to all the other stuff that happens between them to only explicitly mention one thing, but I simply can’t talk about this episode without gushing over the bit at the end when Q makes Data laugh. It’s a terrific idea, Brent Spiner sells the absolute hell out of it, and it’s among the best-ever examples of a scene that is simultaneously hilarious, thought-provoking, and heartwarming.  When Data raises his finger into the air as if he’s about to explain what’s so funny—only to, at that very moment, revert back to his usual emotionless self, and also realize that even if he were capable of appreciating humor, there wasn’t actually anything funny to explain—that’s pure gold.

This has ended up more of a gush session than a structured or well-rounded review, but so be it.  I really have nothing negative to say about this episode.  I was originally only going to give it four stars; it doesn’t grapple with huge issues in the way that “Who Watches the Watchers?” does, it lacks the epic scale of “Q Who” and many other five-star episodes to come, and many of its plotish elements (the moon in deteriorating orbit, the aliens trying to attack Q), while more than adequate to their purpose (I actually even enjoy the moon plot), are hardly the stuff of legend.  In the end, though, I have convinced myself (particularly in light of all the great character moments) that this really is deserving of a five-star rating.  It’s one of the classics, through and through.