Unification: Part I (⭑⭑⭑⭑)

This episode easily earns four stars for its commendable mix of big ambitions, continuity nods both to multiple previous TNG episodes and to the larger legacy and history of Trek (uncannily timely, too, given that this was one of the first episodes to air following Gene Roddenberry’s death and that it even opens with an on-screen dedication to the Great Bird), brief appearances from both Mark Lenard and Leonard Nemoy, insightful characterization, and general emotional resonance. Lenard and Nemoy are both essentially Trek royalty, and the former’s small but quite moving appearance here is perhaps even more affecting than his more substantial turn in season three’s “Sarek.” On top of that, we learn later in the episode that Sarek has in fact passed away—an event that, by itself, marks “Unification Part I” as a historic episode. If it comes down to earth a bit in some other sections that feel relatively routine, and if my knowledge that the story being set up here will not rise to the level of an all-time classic when all is said and done, these facts merely explain why I have tempered my enthusiasm enough to refrain from awarding the episode five stars.

The early scenes of “Unification Part I” draw wonderfully on the events of “Sarek” from season three to kick off the story in a way that is not only exciting on a plot level, but has significant emotional stakes as well. We meet Perrin again, but she now treats Picard essentially like family. Picard does not know Spock, but he feels as if he does thanks to his mind meld with Sarek, so he approaches the mission to find out why Spock has gone to Romulus with a heightened emotional investment that parallels the audience’s natural connection to Spock as a beloved character. (There’s a wonderful little moment, too, when Picard is explaining to Riker about the rift between the two Vulcans. “Sarek and Spock… Well—sometimes, fathers and sons…” Riker stops him there, requiring no further elaboration, and fans who remember “The Icarus Factor” understand why. The two make eye contact, and it’s clear that they each understand the other well enough, too, each being able to relate aspects of his own personal story to the topic at hand. Moments like these are what I love about a show that has done the work of building up rich character relationships and back stories over the course of several seasons.) Then Picard beams down to Vulcan and meets with Sarek himself, in another marvelous scene. We see a more vulnerable and compromised version of the Vulcan elder than ever before, yet one who is still very recognizably himself, and who still maintains a dignity and gravitas even in the face of dementia and physical deterioration. His perspective on Spock, too, from childhood stories to adult disagreements, is both fascinating and moving. To the other characters of the original series, to the audience, and in real-world popular culture generally, of course, Spock is the ultimate embodiment of logic and impassivity; to Sarek, though, he is forever the willful, impressionable, and overly optimistic child who “never listened” when his father tried to instill logic and discipline into him. That the show (and the actor) is able to present this believably, without making Sarek so extreme a caricature of cold unfeeling logic as to render him ridiculous and unlikable, is an impressive accomplishment! These early scenes, in short, really nail a lot of sophisticated family dynamics in an extremely compelling way. Then Sarek permits himself to ask Picard to convey to Spock that he loves him, sending our captain off with a personal, emotional mission that must now feel at least as important to him as the official mission with which Starfleet has tasked him (a fact that he later underlines for Data after receiving the news of Sarek’s death).

But, okay, stepping back for a moment: This episode opens by introducing, of all things, the notion that Spock may have defected to the Romulan Empire! Talk about a story hook. I don’t really remember watching this for the first time, but I expect that there must have been a level of publicity around Spock appearing on TNG such that I probably knew about it in advance. Still, imagine seeing that opening scene for the first time with no foreknowledge. Picard is being briefed by an admiral about a top Federation ambassador having disappeared and turned up on Romulus, raising concerns about a possible defection. She calls up a blurred image captured by Starfleet intelligence, in which a familiar-looking face is vaguely discernible. She asks the computer to enhance, and the image comes into better focus—revealing none other than Spock! No words are spoken as the teaser gives way to the intro credits; the writers know that no one in the audience needs anything explained. To have seen this without knowing what was to come would have been stunning.

Also, on first viewing, Sarek’s mention of the Khitomer Conference during his conversation with Picard must have been somewhat confusing (but in a sort of deliberate way). Sarek is referencing an event that had not yet, at the time, actually been established in Trek continuity, since Star Trek VI was in production but would not come out in theaters until the following month. The audience therefore only knew “Khitomer” as the site of the later Romulan attack on a Klingon outpost in which Worf’s parents were killed. This bit of…preemptive continuity (?)—a reference to an event that, in universe, took place in the past, inserted into an episode that aired before the movie that established the said event—is kind of cool. (Trek’s producers, of course, were explicitly trying to link TNG to the forthcoming movie, both for obvious commercial reasons and in honor of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. That it also ended up coinciding with Roddenberry’s death added additional resonance.)

On top of all of this, we also get a fun little interlude that follows up on the Klingon civil war, with Picard going to Gowron to request a lift to Romulus in a cloaked ship. It’s unfortunate that we don’t actually get to see Gowron, but the bit about him rewriting history to minimize the Federation’s role in his rise to power feels very true to the character, and Picard’s manipulation of the situation to get what he wants is enjoyable, too. The interactions between Picard and the commander of the Klingon ship that Gowron eventually provides seem a bit more “routine,” but are basically fine. (I do enjoy the moment when Data appears unwilling to dignify the sleeping accommodation provided by the Klingons with the term “bed,” calling it instead—after a second’s hesitation—a “shelf.”) Similarly, the Enterprise‘s investigation into some mysterious Vulcan ship debris salvaged from a Ferengi cargo carrier, which takes Riker and company to a Zakdorn scrap yard, is entertaining enough, but feels tonally like it belongs in an entirely different episode from the material surrounding Sarek and Spock. It also would feel a little random and inconsequential, but for the audience’s ability to infer that it is presumably plot stuff being put in place to set something up that will play out in part two. This stuff doesn’t really weigh the episode down very much, but neither does it provide the assist that might hypothetically have launched it into five-star territory had something more compelling taken its place.

Since Spock himself only makes an appearance in the episode’s final seconds, my comments on his role in the overall two-parter will have to wait for my review of part two. Suffice it to say here that even though some might regard part one as amounting to mostly buildup (with Spock mostly reserved for part two), I find the buildup effective and affecting, establishing both plot and emotional stakes and embedding the story in a larger context both of Trek history and TNG-specific continuity. It’s an extremely engaging hour, and the fact that we don’t actually encounter Spock until the end (which I guess some viewers found disappointing?) works just fine for me. It allows the episode to build anticipation and mystery around his eventual appearance and about just what he might actually be up to, and sets the stage for Picard and Spock’s meeting to be a significant and emotionally charged event. To what extent part two follows through on all of this, of course, is a subject for my next review. 🙂