REDEMPTION Well this was all incredibly... uninspiring. I got the very strong impression that the writer started working on this episode by saying, "Now, let's have the cliffhanger end with Denise Crosby stepping out of the shadows and delivering this oh-so-clever line, and plot back from there." Needless to say, I neither found the line particularly clever, nor did I find the plot very compelling. I found the going very slow until Gowron's ship was attacked. They seemed to be trying to draw the episode out to fit into 50 minutes, when there was actually more like only 30 minutes of story here. The episode opened on a bad note: The Picard-Worf exchange immediately made me wonder, "Why is Picard pressing Worf to regain his family honor NOW? What has happened since 'Reunion' to change the situation?" As far as I could tell, nothing had happened. Which immediately made me wonder why Picard hadn't started pressing him back around the time of "Final Mission". Why wait so long? And speaking of "Why wait?" situations, I wondered why Gowron had to wait three quarters of a year to be installed as the new Klingon leader. Who's been running the empire all this time? This seems remarkably bizarre. From here, we move into the Worf-Guinan "target practice" scene, about which I have basically nothing to say, because the scene did basically nothing for me. It seemed like nothing more than padding, material to stretch the episode out. Guinan's lines were very pat, and not very interesting. (We've seen it all before.) Her insights about Klingon nature and Worf's nature in particular seemed like verbal fakery: It sounded neat, but she wasn't really saying anything relevant. Ho-hum. Gowron' turning down of Worf's request was well-done. One of the better scenes in the episode. I have to admit that I was a little dismayed that Gowron turned out to be a very honorable Klingon. His appearance really makes him look like a fruitcake, and I think he would have been more interesting played that way (Worf and Kurn pledged to support a maniac? That would have been awfully interesting...). As it is, Gowron seems a little flat. Next, I think, was the scene in the council chambers, where Duras' son is revealed. This scene seemed terribly predictable; no real surprises here. No, I didn't KNOW that Duras had a son, but I wasn't surprised, either. (I mean, this is the sort of stuff you could get on nighttime soap operas. It's hardly innovative.) And to top it all off, the actor playing Duras' son seemed very miscast. Either that or he was just a rotten actor. He reminded me a lot of Burt Ward playing Robin on the old Batman TV show. Quick with a word, and exhibiting a clean-cut American (i.e., very un-Klingon) accent. Ack. The "conflict of interest" bit between Picard and Worf seemed like more space filler. I was unable to understand Picard's reasons for telling Worf that he shouldn't be using Starfleet records to prove his father's innocence. Picard seemed all too willing to let him do so in "Sins Of The Father" (in fact, there it was WORF who objected), and the situation was no less politically sensitive there than it is here. This was one of several decisions of Picard's in the episode which I found flawed. I further found this scene useless because, despite his lecture, Picard makes the records available to Worf ANYWAY. What precisely does this scene accomplish? Nothing that I can see, save taking up time. Next up, the confrontation between Picard and Duras' sisters. A good scene, especially Picard's parting line and the womens' reaction. (Did anyone else think the sisters had enough cleavage to split a redwood? Do you think those things are real, or just make-up? Eek!) So Gowron gets installed and the council backs the Duras family. Routine material. No real surprises here. Next we get to the gem of the episode, the attack on Gowron's ship. The space battle was wonderfully choreographed, with great special effects flying left and right. Kurn comes in and saves the day, and the plot FINALLY gets moving after all that set-up. About time. Alas, the scene was marred by Picard's decision to take the Enterprise away from the battle. I certainly think that it was Picard's place to take SOME action, since a Starfleet officer and Federation citizen was in danger on the vessel. Contact the Duras family vessels and inform them that they are assaulting a Federation citizen and that they must desist. Letting Gowron get killed can only hurt the Federation, since it basically ensures that the Duras family will come into power, probably forming an alliance with the Romulans and breaking the treaty with the Federation. It was a bad call on Picard's part, to me. The reinstatement of Worf into Klingon society was a good scene. It was especially well-played on Gowron's part. And then we move into ANOTHER bad decision by Picard: He turns down Gowron's request for Federation aid. Worf's argument seemed colossally compelling to me. With probable Romulan involvement after (if not during) the Civil War, I think the Federation has a DEFINITE interest in backing Gowron. This bit also had an idiot plot device: NEITHER Picard NOR Gowron contacted Starfleet command about what THEY felt was the best move? Maybe Picard felt that he has the power to make such a decision (since Starfleet has traditionally allowed its captains a fair bit of latitude in critical decision-making), but if I were Gowron I would have been on the horn to the highest officials in the Federation as soon as I was installed in power to request their aid. I'd go to Picard to try to procure the Enterprise's help as soon as possible, of course, but I'm the ruler of the whole nation, so I should be talking to leaders of other nations about what THEY think their politics should be, not to their subordinates. Dumb move, Gowron. So Worf resigns his commission and leaves the Enterprise. The slowness of the episode up to this point rather dulled the power of this scene for me, so I don't think I can really say much about it. (Gates McFadden is really starting to show, though.) And then we have the finale. I can't see how they could POSSIBLY come up with a credible explanation for why a character who DOES, in sum, look exactly like Tasha Yar (with lipstick and a different haircut) is not related to her at all. Especially since it's the first blonde Romulan *I* can remember ever seeing on Trek. And I think that Denise Crosby is just as miscast as a Romulan as the actor who played Duras' son was. Her blatant American accent (to say nothing of the hair) makes her seem as UN-Romulan as I can possibly imagine. They're going to need some fancy tapdancing to get around that one. In sum, I found the episode slow, dull and rather ill-thought-out. They seemed to be largely "going through the motions" to get to the cliffhanger ending (which was hardly a seat-gripper). However, believe it or not, I do have high hopes for the second part of this story, since it should have a lot going on in it, not the least being some real dramatic action as they move toward the conclusion. Worf needs to be brought back into Starfleet, the Enterprise will get involved SOMEHOW, of course, and the Duras family must be beaten. (I also have this sneaking suspicion that Kurn will end up as the new leader of the Empire, since I bet Gowron won't live out the episode. But we'll see.) Could be a real hum-dinger, if they don't wimp out and try to "negotiate" a settlement to the war. Yes, a very disappointing way to end the season. I think things went wrong almost from the word go, and, except for the actual battle, it shows. A couple of high points, no low points on the order of, say, "The Loss", "Qpid" or "In Theory", but plenty of mediocre stuff here. GRADE: C- (I feel a little uncomfortable about the grade, which may mean that it's mostly disappointment that we didn't get another "Best Of Both Worlds" part one talking. But then again, it definitely was NOT one of the season's high points, IMHO. So I guess I'm thinking, "It's not a B, but it's not a D either. So what does that leave?") SEASON FOUR AT A GLANCE: The Best Of Both Worlds Part Two: C- Family: A- Brothers: B Suddenly Human: C Remember Me: A+ Legacy: D+ Reunion: B Future Imperfect: D- Final Mission: B The Loss: D- Data's Day: B- The Wounded: C- Devil's Due: C- Clues: B First Contact: C+ Galaxy's Child: F Night Terrors: B Identity Crisis: B+ The Nth Degree: C+ Qpid: F The Drumhead: B+ Half A Life: B- The Host: B- The Mind's Eye: A In Theory: D+ Redemption: C- --- Total Points: 59 (Final) Season Average: 2.269 = C+ (Fall of 0.024 from previous episode)