ST:TNG Season Five, Episode Nineteen "The First Duty"

ST: TNG Season Five, Episode Nineteen "The First Duty"
Production Order: 19
Air Order: 19
Stardate: 45703.9
Original Air Date: March 30, 1992

Picard's Log 45703.9: "Going back to Earth, cuz they asked me to give the keynote at the Academy graduation ceremony. Will also see Wesley Crusher, cuz he's part of this flight team that will be doing a flying demonstration that's gonna be broadcast to the ceremony. Should be a cool couple of days."

Senior staff is working on the bridge when Worf tells Picard that they're ten hours out from Earth, and Picard replies back to let Starfleet Academy know, and to also send his regards to Superintendent Brand. This kicks off a brief, friendly convo between Picard and Riker about the superintendents that were overseeing the Academy when they were attending: Riker notes that his super was Vulcan, and had memorized the personnel files of every cadet, making it feel like you were attending academy with your parents; Picard muses on his own own super, a Betazoid with full telepathic powers.

"He didn't have to ask you why you were there to see him."

"You were in the super's office?" laughs Riker.

(Remember: this is before we learn about the dom-jot incident. As far as the audience knows, he's a Boy Scout who likes archaeology.)

"Admiral Brand is calling for you," Worf announces. "But like, on a private channel."

So Picard goes to his ready room.

He's all smiles when he greets Brand, but her news is pretty sobering: there's been an accident, and it involves Wes.

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

I'm sure they did it this way for maximum drama, but when we return, Picard is in Crusher's office, telling her about Wes' injuries, because they failed to call his mother first.
That's some bullshit, Brand. You always contact next of kin first. "Friend of the family" does not get dibs.

Anyway, Wes has some burns and several fractures to his arm, and Crusher drops into doctor mode right away to deal with the stress, telling Picard what medical procedures they'll probably take to patch her kid up.

He points out that Wes is fine, and she says "I know he's fine" several times in this voice that is not convincing.

It's similar to using my Customer Service Voice to apologize to a customer for something that was totally their own fucking fault: you're not gonna buy it, but I'm gonna try selling it anyway.

He explains (because somehow the Academy and its infirmary can't be bothered) that Wes and the flight team were practicing their routine near Saturn, and there was a collision of the crafts. All of the crafts were destroyed, four pilots (including Wes) made it out, but one kid, Joshua Albert, died.

Crusher muses that Wes has been excited to join this team, even though it was dangerous, and that he spoke often of Josh Albert, his friend.

"He's perfectly fine," Picard reminds her.

The E has arrived at Earth, and aw man, the Academy flag is flying half-staff.

There's a meeting with some parents, presumably of other cadets, and includes Picard, Crusher, and Lt-Commander Albert, Joshua's father. There's one other pair, but they have no lines, so we don't really know who they are.

Admiral Brand tells the group that the wreckage of the crafts was pretty mangled, and they only managed to get one black box, which was also pretty banged up. They're going to try to pull footage from it, and there's going to be an inquiry with Nova Squadron - the flight team - later that day.

 Brand tells the others that some people have suggested that commencement be canceled, but Brand and Josh's father talked, and agreed that it should go on, to show the cadets that death is a part of being in Starfleet, and that life continues on.

After the meeting breaks up, Picard approaches Brand and offers her the use of the Enterprise for the investigation, should she need it.

Wes is in his quarters doing arm-resistance exercises to work out the kinks in his arm. (Beverly had mentioned a "regeneration series" in her office earlier, so presumably, medicine in the 24th century can repair bones quickly and easily.)

Also, this resistance-training device is pretty sweet. I don't know anything about physical therapy, but I think this is cool.

There's a knock at the door, which opens on a regular-ass hinge, as opposed to sliding open like on a starship, and Picard and Beverly are there to visit. He invites them in and reiterates that he's fine, just a little sore from the accident and medical treatments.

Ever the doctor, Beverly examines his arm and the device he was using. They both tell Wes that they're sorry to hear about Josh, and ask if he'd like to talk about it.

"Not really," he replies. "I've done nothing but talk about it the last two days, and I'd kind of like a break."

Picard says he's there to talk if Wes changes his mind.

Another knock at the door. Wes is a popular guy.

It's Tom Paris Nicholas Locarno, the leader of Nova Squadron. By the bars on his collar (four, as compared to Wes' two), he's a senior. Nick notices who else is in the room, and drops to attention, but Picard tells him to be at ease.

Beverly and Picard ask how Nick is doing, and he says he's alright, but has never lost anyone under his command before.

"Yeah, that never gets easier," says Picard kindly.

Wes crosses to the door and holds it open. "Um, can you guys leave? I need to talk to Nick alone."

Wow.

Okay, then?

Bit sus, Wes.

Beverly and Picard are also surprised, but do as he asked, telling him they will see him at the inquiry.

Once they've left, Nick tells Wes what time the inquiry is, and asks if he's ready. Then he reassures the underclassman that it'll all be okay as long as Nova Squadron sticks together.

Maybe he's just being nice, and a good squadron leader.

Or maybe Nick Locarno is also sus.

Dramatic music, so you know where that's going! Commercial break!

Back on his old stomping grounds, Picard decides to take a walk, maybe see an old friend.

Y'all, it's Boothby!

We hear him chastise a kid for sitting in a flower bed before we see him kicking that same cadet out. But like, in Boothby's defense, it was really obviously a flower bed.

Boothby is an older guy, the grounchy groundskeeper, and he wields a sharp-looking trowel. If I'm building an army of fictional characters, I want fucking Boothby on my side.

He looks up in confusion when Picard calls him by name.

" It's Jean-Luc Picard? Class of '27?"

Boothby Sassy Moment: "I know that. What happened to your hair?"

The list of people who can safely screw with Picard is short, and Boothby is at the top.

Picard offers to help Boothby replant the flower bed, and the old gardener starts talking about how impressive Picard has become, captain of the Enterprise, giving the commencement address. Guess he did remember Picard.

They get up and start walking the grounds, and Boothby leaves his gardening tools on the ground (???).

"So, hey," says Picard a little awkwardly. "Thanks for like, helping me out at the Academy. I don't think I would have graduated if it wasn't for you."

"Meh," scoffs Boothby. "You were young and dumb and made a mistake. We've all been there. And you knew what to do. I just pointed you in that direction, made sure you listened to yourself."

"Yeah, but I didn't talk to you for months. I thought you were a cranky old man."

Sassy Boothby Moment: "I was. And by the way, I was about the same age you are now."

Damn, Boothby.

"Things is, you turned out okay. That was the important part."

They stop at this metal thing with a roll top, and I think it's a place to store his tools?

Picard asks if he knew Josh Albert.

Boothby names off the members of the Nova Squadron: Crusher, Sito, Hajar, Locarno, Albert. "I know them all."

Worrying music, and a close-up on Picard...

Back in Wes' quarters, the members of Nova Squadron have lined up in a row so Locarno can inspect them before the inquiry. He's friendly about it, though. When Sito admits to being nervous, he says reassuringly that he is too, but they'll be okay. He gives a quick pep talk about how leading the team has been the highlight of his Academy years, and he's grateful for their friendship. They all file out, and he briefly looks uncertain before following.

We jump straight to the inquiry, and watch a Powerpoint about the routine that Nova Squadron was practicing, while Locarno describes it.

"...we were in a diamond-slot formation, prepping for a Yeager Loop. Then Cadet Albert's craft collided with Cadet Hajar's. I hit the emergency beam-out, and ended up at the evac stations on Mimas. Everyone beamed off, except Josh."

The little crafts on the demo blow up, the members of Nova Squadron shift uncomfortably in their seats. So does Josh's father.

Jean Hajar is called to the carpet. She was in charge of filing the flight plan, and Brand points out that the information given indicated that they did a turn a lot closer to Saturn than what was listed on the flight plan.

"It was still within safety parameters," Hajar objects.

GIRL NO.

"That wasn't the question," says Brand icily.

Y'all, that is Admiral Brand. Like, I'm afraid of this woman, and I don't even know her.

Hajar quickly apologizes, and says that the team had discussed changing the flight plan after it had been filed, and the decision to make the change was further discussed while flying to Saturn, and that it was such a small thing that she didn't feel it was worth mentioning.

Captain Satelk, the Vulcan helping Brand with the inquiry, asks Hajar if she saw the collision happening before she transported off. When she says no, he asks the entire team. Shaken heads all around.

Then he asks Sito if she saw Albert in trouble, as she was in the tail position.

"I didn't," she replies. "I was flying on sensor only, not visual."

"Say what now?" asks Setelk.

The gallery starts whispering.

Crusher, who is not a pilot, quietly asks Picard what the problem is.

"It's weird to fly on sensors alone during that kind of maneuver," he whispers back. "You need to be able to see the other ships to check proximity."

Sito quickly ends up in the weeds as Brands starts grilling her about not knowing the location of Josh's ship in relation to her own. Locarno stands up quickly, and offers more insight.

"Josh was... an awesome pilot, but he had been getting nervous lately about the close fly-bys. He would pull away last-minute."

Brand is now unimpressed with Locarno. "You let him fly in this condition? And didn't report it to anyone?"

"We were friends, and had been flying together for a long time. I thought he would handle it, if I gave him some time. I was wrong."

And now Brand wants to be really clear: "You're saying the accident was Cadet Albert's fault?"

Sito and Crusher exchange a look, and Locarno glances at them briefly. 

"I think he got scared, pulled away, and crashed into Hajar's ship. We didn't say anything because we didn't want our friend to be remembered as someone who panicked."

Brand is pissed, but keeping it to a simmer. "You let someone fly who was unfit to do so, and you didn't report it. That's a serious lack of judgement. We're getting the black box info in soon, so we'll look at that, and reconvene the inquiry tomorrow."

Picard scowls at Nova Squadron from the audience. Lt-Cmndr Albert looks distinctly uneasy.

Wes looks at Locarno.

"It's fine," says Locarno. "Everything's fine."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Back upstairs, Picard asks Data and La Forge to go over the testimony and the info from the black box - made available to the E by Brand - to reconstruct the accident.

La Forge says he isn't sure if they can contribute much, as the Academy has some of the best equipment out there for the task, but Picard stands firm, with the explanation that Wes is one of their own. They agree.

Downstairs, Nova Squad has gathered in Wes' quarters again.

Damn, look at that view of San Francisco. I'd put up with the Academy's shitty math classes to get a view like that.

Sito is pissed. "You told them that the accident was Josh's fault. That's not true."

"You lied!" Wes accuses Nick. "You said we weren't going to have to lie to them."

Nick is now facing three angry teammates. "I didn't lie! Josh panicked."

"We don't know that!" yells Wes.

So, with the inquiry on his ass, and his teammates pissed at him, Nick elects to gaslight the team. "Josh was getting nervous, and no one wanted to say anything because we're all friends."

Hajar shakes her head. "He must have pulled out too soon. He was probably scared."

NICK LOOKS ALMOST SURPRISED THAT JEAN TOOK THE BAIT.

Nick looks at Sito, who gives a tiny, sad nod: the accident was Josh's own fault.

But Wes is not convinced.

So Nick lowers the boom: "I know you want to protect Josh, but that comes at the expense of our careers. You wanna walk in there and tell them everything?"

Whoa-ho, what's everything, Nick?

"They'll kick us out," agrees Sito.

Y'all: look at the blocking in this shot. Everyone against Wes.

Nick holds up a padd and tells them that it's the black box info, that it was so badly damaged that they could only pull a little info from it, and all of it is from before the crash.

"We're golden," he says.

"You don't have to lie," Sito insists. "Just don't give them any new information."

Girl, that is a lie by omission. 

Hajar looks uncomfortable. 

And Nick goes in for the kill. "I knew I wanted you on this team, Wes, because you've been out there, doing the thing, counting on others and with them counting on you. You know what's like. And we promised each other that we would stick together, through it all, because we're the elite, we're Nova Squadron. And then, after graduation, we were gonna try to get posted together. Josh can't be part of those plans anymore. He'd want us to still be a team, though."

Wes still looks uneasy.

Wes is in the inquiry room, going over his Powerpoint presentation by himself, to lock in what he wants to say. Josh's dad comes in with a sweater, and says that he found it in Josh's room, and was told that it belongs to Wes.

"We went skiing in Calgary last month," says Wes quietly, taking the sweater. "Josh forgot his, so I lent him one."

They talk briefly about how Josh looked up to Wes, and considered him a good friend, who had helped Josh with some of his classes. Albert then reminisces about how much Josh hated math, but knuckled down when he found out about the Academy entrance requirements.

He ends by saying that he's sorry that Josh let the squad down, how they could have all been killed.

Let's layer that guilt on real thick, shall we?

We return to the inquiry room later, for the second part of the investigation. Wes is giving his Powerpoint, and explaining what's happing on the black box video. There isn't anything weird about the footage. After, Brand asks him to describe what happens after the footage ended.

"Nick gave the signal to start the Yeager Loop, so we got into diamond slot formation. Nine seconds later, my proximity alarm when off, and Josh's ship collided with mine. I managed to hit the emergency transporter, and ended up on the evac station at Mimas."

Brand asks if he'd like to add anything, and he replies no.

Just don't give them any new information. 

Setelk asks Wes to describe a Yeager Loop. He does so, making a diamond shape with his hands to simulate the diamond slot formation.

"Was the team in diamond slot formation the whole way through the Loop?" asks Setelk.

Wes replies in the affirmative, and repeats that again when Brand asks if he's sure.

So Brand and Setelk pull up the navigation satellites around Saturn, and enhance a section, showing Nova Squadron in a more... circular shape.

That ain't no diamond slot formation

Locarno shifts in his seat.

"So, this was taken seven seconds after you completed the Yeager Loop," says Setelk.

"That a diamond slot formation?" asks Brand.

"No?" says Wes.

"You have an explanation?" Brand presses.

"I have none," replies Wes.

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Close-up of Dooooom!

Beverly visits Wes in his quarters (maybe during a recess? Or they'll continue the inquiry later?).

"Everything's going to be fine," she assures him. "Data and La Forge are looking into the black box and satellite footage."

"Why?" he asks in surprise.

"It might have been tampered with," she insists. "I know you're telling the truth, but the sat image makes it look like you're lying."

Oh, Beverly. You think so highly of your Good Egg kid that you're willing to entertain thoughts of conspiracy theories rather than accept the fact that your kid actually is lying, and is receiving a hefty dose of peer pressure at the same time.

Wes is unimpressed. Especially after Beverly says that she's been talking with the other parents, and intends to approach Brand about delaying the inquiry.

"Please stay out of this," he says firmly. 

Picard approaches Boothby again, who is pulling weeds.

"You could use a herbicide to get rid of those instead of pulling them by hand."

Sassy Boothby Moment: "And you could explore space on a holodeck instead of a starship."

LOL.

Boothby talks briefly about a Parrises Squares tournament that took place during Picard's time at the Academy, and the massive celebration that took place afterward. Then he compares those cadets to the ones now: the current students are so enamored with Nova Squadron that the team is basically treated like gods.

"That's hard to live up to," he notes. "Nick Locarno is the heart of that team. Keeps them together, and they'd do anything he asked, even if it meant certain doom."

Upstairs, Picard and Crusher check in with Data and La Forge.

They know that the crash occurred a few seconds after the nav sat images, but can't account for why the team was not in diamond slot, or why the crash occurred.

"Too many variables," says La Forge. 

Picard asks if the black box indicated that there was anything wrong with Wes' ship.

They name off a few things that are not really noteworthy, then mention that his coolant interlock was open, which is weird.

"That's typically closed, unless you're performing a check on coolant levels," says La Forge. "But we don't think Wes was doing a check like that."

"You'd have to have it open to fill the coolant tank, but that can only be done in a maintenance bay," muses Picard. "Are there other reasons it might have been open?"

La Forge pauses before suggesting that it's the first step in purging the plasma exhaust.

"Not a good choice while in-flight," Data notes.

La Forge agrees, saying that the engine would ignite the plasma.

"Oh, fuck," says Picard.

Worrying music... commercial break.

Picard is in his ready room when the chime goes off, and Wes steps in.

Oh lordt. Called to the principal's office.

Picard spins his laptop and shows Wes a demo on the screen, where five ships move into a circle formation, fly across it in different directions, and their emissions ignite, causing a starburst pattern.

"What's this, please?" asks Picard solemnly.

"A Kolvoord Starburst," says Wes.

"It's an awesome maneuver, where five ships cross very closely, then ignite their plasma, but it hasn't been done in a hundred years. Why?"

Wes shifts. "It was banned following a training accident."

"Yeah. And all five cadets died."

Whoomp, there it is.

There's a long pause, where Picard stares at Wes and gathers his thoughts. "I think Nick Locarno convinced Nova Squadron to learn the Kolvoord Starburst for the graduation commencement. If it worked, he would graduate in a blaze of glory. But it didn't. Nick fucked around, you all found out, and Josh Albert is dead. Is that what happened?"

Wes looks away, and when Picard presses him, Wes replies that he chooses not to answer.

DANGER, WIL WHEATON, DANGER!

"Are you fucking claiming the fifth?" Picard demands. His voice is all low. Wes is in the shit now.

"You lied to the inquiry," Picard accuses him.

Wes gets defensive, a poor choice. "I said the crash occurred after the Yeager Loop. It did."

"You left out that in between the Loop and the crash, you attempted a banned maneuver. That's a lie of omission." 

Picard starts talking about the events of "Encounter at Farpoint," when a young Wes comes aboard the ship, and Beverly brings her son to the bridge, where he cheekily sits in Picard's chair, and begins naming off all of the bridge parts and what jobs they perform. How he was annoyed, but realized that Wes could be a badass Starfleet officer, and later made him an acting ensign. He had never questioned Wes' commitment of conviction until now.

And he states off the basis for the title of this episode: "The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth - whether it's scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based."

And he hits the point, hard: either Wes tells Brand what actually happened, or Picard will.

This is not Wes' day. "Captain..." he whispers.

But Picard cuts him off with a sharp "dismissed!"

Picard did not come to play. And he is really unimpressed with Wesley's response.

Wes turns and leaves quickly.

Downstairs, Wes is pacing in his quarters when Nick knocks on his door.

"They know everything," Wes says, and he explains how he got hauled onto the E so that Picard could map out just how Josh Albert died, and how Picard has threatened to go to Brand.

"Do they have evidence?" Nick asks.

"No, but he knows exactly how it happened."

Nick sort of half-laughs nervously. "So he has a theory? Let him talk to Brand. The inquiry will ask if that's what happened, and we'll say no."

SLIPPERY SLOPE, NICK.

"I can't call Captain Picard a liar," Wes decides. "I'm going to tell them what happened."

Nick gets mad and reaches into his Big Bag of Emotional Manipulation. "You're going to tell the truth, you're going to come forward - who are you? You're going to decide what happens to me and Sito and Jean?"

Again, Wes versus The Team.

And Nick pulls out more gaslighting bullshit. "Did Picard tell you some story about honor and duty?"

Wes looks away, so Nick knows he's correct.

"Look, if you want to throw away your career, that's fine. Resign from the Academy and just walk away. But don't ruin our careers as well."

Wes is shocked, but he shouldn't be. Since we met Nick, he's been talking Wes and the rest of the team into lying and saving himself. He's not a good friend. But maybe up til now he's been covering his tracks. Or he was friends with Wes, and Wes was too close to see it. "You'd throw me under the bus?"

"To save the team? Yes. This team is more important than either of us. If I was you, Wes, I would put the team first. But that's me."

Nick leaves in a huff. (He doesn't slam the door like I expected, but that may be because the set is too fragile for door-slamming.)

In a lot of these scenes, someone drops a load of information on the floor at Wesley's feet and leaves, forcing Wes to pick up the broken pieces and examine them. This is no exception.

Last part of the inquiry, and Admiral Brand has decided to give her closing statements directly to the table with Nova Squadron.

"After having gone over the testimony, black box info, and navsat images, Captain Setelk and I are left with the feeling that things don't add up. So either the data is wrong, or you lied. That's really suspicious... but suspicion isn't proof, and we don't have that."

Oof, just being part of an inquiry that ends with a feeling of suspicion and lies and cover-ups is not going to bode well for the careers of anyone on Nova Squadron. This is the sort of shit that follows you around.

Now for the doling out of punishments: they each get a formal reprimand on their permanent records for filing an inaccurate flight plan, and for allowing Josh to fly, even though they knew he was not doing well. They're also getting their flight privileges revoked.

Brand rings the bell to close the inquiry, and Nick probably figures he should go somewhere with the rest of his team to celebrate this slap on the wrist, but Wes stands up.

"I... have something to add to my testimony."

"We... didn't get into diamond slot formation after the Yeager Loop. We attempted a Kolvoord Starburst because we wanted to do something cool for commencement. We figured we were invincible, but we weren't. Josh was nervous doing it, but we talked him into it. He didn't let us down, we let him down. It wasn't his fault."

Picard looks glad that he won't have to go to Brand after the fact with his suspicions.

Albert looks stunned that this kid just admitted that the team's crazy stunt got his son killed.

Brand looks sad. Like how your mom looks when she says, "I'm not mad, just disappointed."

She asks if Nick, as the leader of Nova Squadron has anything to say.

Nick stands, looking uncomfortable in his own skin, and Brand has to prompt him again.

"No, sir," he finally says quietly.

Wes is sitting outside in the garden, doing a thousand-yard stare, when Picard approaches.

"Nick Locarno has been expelled," he says simply.

Damn. Like a week before graduation. Sucks to suck, Nick.

Wes sighs. "We all deserved to be expelled."

"You almost were," Picard replies. "Locarno asked them not to. He took full responsibility as Nova Squadron leader, and said he talked you all into doing the maneuver, then talked you into covering up the accident."

"He protected the team, like he said he would," says Wes sadly.

They start walking down the path.

"I feel shitty," Wes confesses. "I let everybody down."

Picard is pulling no punches. "You should feel shitty. And frankly, you're not getting off scot-free. Admiral Brand has decided that all of your credits for this year will be erased. You'll have to repeat it, and you won't get to move forward with your friends. It's going to be really uncomfortable being on campus, with everyone knowing what you did."

Wes thanks him, and Picard reminds him that he knew what to do all along.

"I just made sure that you listened to yourself," he says, repeating Boothby's phrase from earlier.

They shake hands, say goodbye, and exit in different directions.

Y'all, this is a great episode. Like, really REALLY great. It's one of my favorites, and part of the reason why I name as season five as my go-to when I think "what should I watch today?"

The guest stars were well-cast, PatStew and Wil Wheaton both did a fabulous job, and this humble little Earth-bound episode shows us a slice of life at Starfleet Academy.

It's my favorite Wes episode, and in my opinion, the best Wes episode.

There are some cool, subtle things that I noticed while watching this for review, going through each scene with a fine-toothed comb:

- The ups and downs of power and status, as portrayed through blocking. When Brand addresses Nova Squadron during her closing remarks, she stands in of them, while they sit. They must look up at her. She is a rear admiral, superintendent of the Academy, and in charge of the inquiry. Nick Locarno often stands when trying to convince Wes to go along with the cover-up, or when getting angry at him for not doing so. They're power positions. But there are some places where those power positions shift to indicate a different kind of relationship. When Picard approaches Boothby, he does so as Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Federation flagship Enterprise, and he is initially standing over the old gardener. He occupies a higher office in Starfleet than Boothby does. But both times he talks with Boothby, he quickly crouches down to the same level as a sign of respect and friendliness. When he approaches Wes in the last scene to talk to him about consequences, Wesley is sitting on a rock. He stands, and they do a walk-and-talk. Here, they are on more equal footing, each having made a horrible mistake as a younger person, each determined not to let it fine their lives. Though they address each other formally when parting, they shake hands and depart with a kind of equality.

- Oof, these characters tell one another that they're fine a lot. Especially when they're really not. Beverly says it multiple times to Picard in a manic way, as though trying to convince them both. And Wes, who probably picked this trait up from his mother, does the same. 

"My kid was injured in a life-threating accident? He is fine I am fine, we are fine."

"I was injured in a horrible accident, where my friend was killed, and I am being gaslighted by my other friends, into lying about said accident, but we are probably all getting expelled? I am fine."

- Wes is alone for much of this episode. We first see him doing am exercises, alone, in his quarters. Others enter to speak with him, but he is ultimately left alone again. The blocking pits the team against Wes when they are trying to convince him to lie in the inquiry. The team is separated from everyone else by placing them behind a long table on their own. Wes practices his testimony by himself. He leaves the ready room, and presumably, the Enterprise, by himself. He spends a lot of time thinking, and feeling small in general.

I want to give this episode 10/10. Entertainment Weekly named it #9 on their Top 10 Episodes to watch for the 20th anniversary of TNG, and it definitely deserves to be on that list. During all prior viewings, I would have assigned it that 10th star without hesitation, but this time, something is sticking in my craw, and that something is Nick Locarno. Or rather, his actions. He ends by taking the fall, and saving his teammates from certain expulsion. He cares more about the team than his own career. And he does the right thing in the end. Maybe it's because I've encountered more gaslighters in the last few years than I had previously had, or maybe because I'm more jaded now, but... "ultimately did the right thing" is not something that I would attribute to people who resort to gaslighting and emotional manipulation the way Nick did. In my experience, these kinds of people will go down with the ship, the whole time proclaiming that there is no leak. It feels more in line for Nick to say that Josh was responsible the whole time, rather than agreeing that Wes was telling the truth about the Kolvoord Starburst. At that point, everyone would have been expelled, but to his dying day, Nick would have named Josh as the reason for the accident. Am I saying that people who sometimes use gaslighting or emotional manipulation are never likely to do the right thing? No. We've all done it, I'm sure. You talk someone into something that's sketchy, or you convince a friend to take the fall. If you feel guilty later, congrats! Your moral compass is correct, and you have screwed up. But Locarno seemed a bit practiced at his techniques, and I'll bet he used something similar on Josh to get him to do the Starburst. There's actually a really interesting debate among the showrunners (discussed below) as to whether or not Locarno is "redeemable."

That's it. The one thing that bugs, and it doesn't even bug me that much.

The rest of this episode is masterful. Well done, Star Trek.

Fun Facts:

- The character of Sito was Shannon Fill's first professional acting job. She auditioned at the suggestion of a friend, and was surprised to learn that she had won the part.

- There's a funny discrepancy between Sito and the rest of Nova Squadron: she doesn't have an individual name. (Nicholas Locarno, Jean Hajar, Joshua Albert, Wesley Crusher, and... Sito) This probably wouldn't have mattered much if the team didn't refer to each other by given names, but they do. Sito is only ever referred to by her family name. It's possible that she just goes by Sito to avoid the confusion of "family name first" naming convention that the Bajorans use, but that isn't addressed. Sito will appear in TNG in a later episode, where she will receive the individual name of Jaxa.

I actually found a cool t-shirt on TeePublic that gets it wrong in the other way, listing everyone by family name, except Sito, who is listed by her given name:

- This is the first appearance of Starfleet Academy.

- The character of Kolvoord on "The Expanse" may have been named after the Kolvoord Starburst. Naren Shankar, executive producer of that show, co-wrote this episode.

- The million-dollar question: why is Tom Paris (Voyager), Tom Paris and not Nicholas Locarno? Voyager producer Jeri Taylor has stated that Locarno was definitely the inspiration for Paris, and that he was in the Voyager early treatment initially, but it was felt that Nick Locarno was a bad guy pretending to be a good guy, whereas Tom Paris is a good guy pretending to be a bad one. Robert Duncan McNeill (Locarno/Paris) agreed. Taylor wrote Paris, always intending the character to be played by McNeill, but when it came time to hash things out, they felt like they needed a character who was similar, but who had a different drive for doing things the way he did. Co-writers of this episode, Ronald D Moore and Naren Shankar, disagreed with the assessment that Locarno was "irredeemable," and did not see why the character of Tom Paris was changed from Nick Locarno.

- In a Star Trek novel (Star Trek: Coda: The Ashes of Tomorrow), Wesley Crusher mistakes Tom Paris for Nick Locarno. Paris tells Wes that he gets that a lot. Lol.

- A photo of McNeill as Locarno is later used as a photo of young Tom Paris in Voyager.

- Naren Shankar had done a Writer's Guild internship with the show on a previous season, and she and Moore had become friends. They developed this story based on Moore's membership in the ROTC when he was younger, and they had the idea of catching up with Wesley Crusher at the Academy, and doing an episode about friendship versus duty. Rick Berman was not initially sold. He felt that solid Star Trek stories were about going into space, and this story was set on Earth. Michael Piller was able to sell him on the idea by pointing out that there is a lot of peer pressure on younger people, and the idea of choosing what's right over loyalty to your friends would resonate with viewers. Berman agreed on the condition that no more than three sets were used.

- Originally, Wesley's crime was much worse, and the cover job more obvious. Berman felt that Wesley Crusher was capable of screwing up really badly, but that the original crime suggested was too much. They toned it down so that Wes and his friends would face serious consequences, but would not commit anything too awful.

- Shankar, Moore, and Piller argued over the ending of this episode. Pillar felt that Wes should tell the truth, and Moore thought that Wes would side with his friends. So they sat down and argued about it in a productive way. Piller made the final decision of "Wes tells the truth," but both agree that the episode is a good one, and there appears to have been no ill will afterward. Moore would later elaborate on the argument, saying that he and Shankar were pushing for a different story: initially, Nova Squadron's aim was "we all hang together," and the punishment for silence would be that the entire team gets expelled. In this case, Wes coming forward by himself would be seen as saving his own skin and letting everyone else take the fall. That would make Picard's speech one where he advocated for Wes to not ruin his own career by siding with his friends. Then Locarno would throw himself under the bus to save the team. A similar plot, but it reads very differently. Moore said "...I preferred the story about a young man willing to stand with his friends rather than a morality tale about telling the truth."

- We never find out what Picard had done that Boothby helped him with... because one was never conceived. The writers had Picard talk to Boothby about the case and Nova Squadron, but the scenes were weak and not terribly interesting. They came up with the idea of having Picard face a similar crisis of character at the Academy, which Boothby would help him with. Piller tried to come up with the idea, but Berman argued that it didn't matter what had happened, that it was more important to show that you could have something derail your life, and still become a Jean-Luc Picard.

- Nick Locarno wasn't in the first draft at all. Instead, Nova Squadron was lead by Lt-Cmdr Albert, a career-minded officer.

- The outdoor scenes for the Academy were filmed at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant's Japanese Garden. These locations were also used for the outdoor scenes in season one's "Justice.". The outdoor shots, combined with the matte painting of the Academy buildings and San Francisco cityscape, will be reused in "Time's Arrow."

A reused shot of the Academy, with the flag painted at full staff

- This is the first appearance of Boothby. When the math is done about the comment he makes to Picard about age, Boothby turns out to be around 104 years old here. We'll see him twice more in Voyager.

- Boothby is played by Ray Walston, an actor best known for the sitcom "My Favorite Martian."

- Show producers wanted Ashley Judd to play Ensign Robin Lefler again for this episode, but the timing could not be worked out.

- Ricard Fancy (Satelk) will show up again in season two of Voyager.

- When talking to Picard, Boothby mentions Picard performing what sounds like a wrestling move at a match with a Ligonian. You remember the Ligonians... from "Code of Fucking Honor." This is the last time they're ever mentioned in Star Trek, and good riddance.

- The events of this episode will form the basis for two seven season episodes.

- Wes has a model of the Enterprise in his quarters. It's actually a replica of the Star Trek ships that Franklin Mint made in the late 1980s.

- Rick Berman felt that the success of this episode was down to the directing by Paul Lynch, and the casting of Ray Walston as Boothby, as well as the casting choices for the other cadets. Paul Lynch felt that the credit for this episode went to Wil Wheaton.

- This episode is shown to Air Force cadets as an introduction to the honor code.

Red deaths: 1
To date: 2
Gold deaths: 0
To date: 1

Blue deaths: 0
To date: 0
Unnamed color crew deaths: 0
To date: 0

Sassy Geordi moments: 0

To date: 2

Sassy Ro Moments: 0
To date: 3

Sassy Worf Moment: 0
To date: 1

Sassy Riker Moments: 0
To date: 4

Sassy Picard Moments: 0
To date:  0

Sassy NPC Moments: 0
To date: 0
Sassy Data Moments: 0
To date: 2
Sassy O'Brien Moments: 0
To date: 0

Sassy Keiko Moments: 0

To date: 3
Sassy Crusher Moments: 0
To date: 1
Sassy Troi Moments: 0
To date: 3
Sassy Guinan Moments: 0
To Date: 1
Sassy Guest Star Moments: 3
To date: 6

Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 0
To date: 35

Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 0
To date: 9

Number of times that Geordi "looks at something" with his VISOR: 0
To date: 4
Number of times when Data gives too much info and has to be told to shut up: 0
To date: 2
Picard Maneuvers: 0
To date: 18
Tea, Earl Grey: 0
To date: 7

Mentions of the number 47: 0

To date: 2

"What a week, huh?"
"Lemon, it's Monday."

ST:TNG Season Two, Episode Seventeen "Samaritan Snare"

ST:TNG Season Two, Episode Seventeen "Samaritan Snare"
Production Order: 43
Air Order: 43
Stardate: 42779.1
Original Air Date: May 15, 1989

Picard's Log 42779.1: "Gonna go check out some cool astronomical shit. Also, Wes Crusher is gonna take a shuttle to Starbase 515 to Starfleet exams."

Wes enters the bridge, and Riker hands him a USB with testing parameters on it.
Wes makes a face and Data says that it should all be fine.
"You're good, dude," says Riker. "The results from your first exams were pretty good, and you've been getting Academy credit for being here."
"Yeah, but... potential cadets are tough cookies," complains Wes.
"You have practical experience," Riker points out.
Data: "While the information imparted to cadets at the Academy is unquestionably vital for prospective Starfleet officers, it nonetheless requires a significant period of supplementary systems training and situational disciplines."
Riker: (smiling) "Didn't I just say that?"
Sassy Data Moment: "Yes, sir. But not quite as perspicuously."

Meanwhile, down in sick bay, Pulaski and Picard are going ten rounds. Pulaski wants Picard to go to Starbase 515 for a medical thing - he needs to have something replaced. Picard is being a stubborn a-hole about it.

"Fuck off!" he yells. "I have shit to do!"

"The hell you do," she replies. "Our next mission is to check out some astronomical thing. That's Science Division."

"I was looking forward to that," he protests, and not gonna lie, that sounds like a lame excuse for not doing something.

"Fine," she counters. "You can stay on the ship and I'll do the procedure."

"No way! I have an image to protect."

She accuses him of ego, then gives him a choice: he can stay here and have her do the thing, or he can go to Starbase 515, and she can keep the secret that he's having a medical thing done. 

"RAWR," he barks at her before storming out.

He stomps up to the bridge and tells Wes that he'll be going with him in the shuttle. Wes is surprised. Riker is too, and offers to do whatever thing Picard needs to do on the starbase.

"I have to do it myself," grouches Picard.

"But you're gonna miss the astronomical thing," Riker points out.

"I'm going to 515, so fuck off," replies Picard. He stalks into the ready room and begins gathering hand-bound books to read on the trip.

Riker follows him. "Dude, why are you suddenly leaving for Starbase 515? And why are you being such a dick about it?"

"I have to do a thing," Picard growls.

"So why can't I know about it?" Riker demands. "I have high-level clearance."

"It's not a Starfleet or ship thing," sighs Picard. "I just have to do a thing, okay?"

Geordi and Sonia Gomez are walking through the corridors with Wes. They're telling him that he'll do fine on his exams.

"I'm not worried about the exams. I'm worried about Captain Picard," he answers.

Sonia's Lone Sassy Moment: "Why? He's not taking the exams."

Wes admits that he'll be stuck for six hours in a shuttle with Picard, and has no idea what they'll talk about. Sonia lists off stuff that Picard is interested in, as a way to be helpful, but Wes looks skeptical.

The lift door to their left opens, and a glowering Picard steps out with his books.

"Nice day for a road trip," remarks Geordi.

Picard stares daggers at him, then silently walks to the shuttle bay.

"Fucking great," laments Wes, following.

Picard and Wes get in the shuttle, which Wes is piloting, and they leave. On the bridge, Riker watches the shuttle leave, and he and Data discuss the fact that Picard said he was looking forward to seeing the astro-thing.

"Hey, getting a distress signal from way out in BFE, Space," announces Worf. "No info given, just distress," he adds.

"We'll check it out," says Riker decisively.

"That would put us really far away from the shuttle," says Data, as a warning.

"I know," says Riker.

I guess maybe the astro-thingy is closer to the starbase than the place where the distress signal is coming from?

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

When we return, the E has encountered some kind of flying space casket.

Riker hails them.

Some alien toddler answers. "We are the Pakled. Our ship is the Mondor. We are far from home."

Sassy Riker Moment: "Aren't we all."

Geordi enters from the lift and watches the convo.

Sassy Geordi Moment: "Lemme guess: their rubber band broke."

"Our ship is broken," says the Pakled. "We look for things. Things we need. Things to make us go."

Data lists off their broken stuff, and Geordi volunteers to go over there to fix it up.

Wait - hold the comm badge. Data told the others that the Mondor was a sub-light ship. Isn't using Federation technology here a violation of the PD? The Pakled are being presented here as being pre-warp.

They cut the communication, and Worf demands to know why they're sending their chief engineer over to the other ship to fix things.

"Can't we just give them the info? We don't know them."

"These people can't seem to find their own asses with two hands," Riker points out. "Do you really think they'd understand our specs?"

Worf is pissed that his warnings are going unheeded.

On the shuttle, Picard is trying to pass the time reading, but he gives it up as a bad job, and complains out loud that he should be back on his ship, and not going to Starbase 515.

"Then why are you here?" asks Wes bluntly.

Picard considers for a moment, then explains that his heart was injured at some point, and they put in a replacement. But the replacement is faulty.

"Why would anyone use a faulty replacement?" asks Wes.

That's a fucking stupid question. Like, why did he even ask that?

"Just drive," grouches Picard.

Geordi beams over to the Mondor, and is surrounded by a bunch of big dudes in an instant.

"I'm here to repair your ship?" he says, holding up his tool box.

The Pakled they had talked to on the viewscreen (Grebnedlog) steps forward.

"Who is in charge of engineering?" Geordi asks.

"My friend Reginod," smiles Grebnedlog.

Reginod steps forward, and takes Geordi to engineering.

"He is smart," asserts Grebnedlog, and the others nod.

Troi rushes onto the bridge.

"Why is Geordi on the alien ship?"

"He's helping them," replies Riker.

"I have no idea how they managed space travel," Data remarks.

"He's in trouble!" says Troi. "Those aliens are lying!"

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

"What do you mean, he's in danger?" asks Riker.

"You think they're weak, but they're perpetuating a ruse," Troi explains. "They don't want our help."

"Well. that's all they're getting," Riker says forcefully.

"Maybe we should listen to her," advises Data. "Troi often knows shit that no one else knows."

Riker glances back at Worf, who looks slightly mollified.

On the shuttle, Picard murmurs out loud that the mortality rate for the procedure he's having is hella low. Wes says that's good, then he asks why Picard he doesn't want to do the procedure.

"I don't want people in Starfleet gossiping about my innards," replies Picard.

"Okaaay, so... why didn't you have Pulaski do it?" asks Wes. "Then no one at Starfleet would know unless they looked at your medical records."

Picard pauses. "Shut up and fly the ship," he says finally.

Geordi is fixing some problems on the Pakled ship, finding the solutions to be simple. The Pakleds keep telling one another how smart Geordi is.

Riker calls Geordi. "Dude, the ship's counselor wants you back on the ship ASAP."

"Cool," says Geordi. "Should be done in a sec."

He puts the now-fixed parts in, and there's a main power failure.

"Will our ship go now?" asks Reginod.

"No, your power just failed," Geordi replies. He calls Riker again. "More shit just broke. Gonna be a little while before I can get back there."

"Fix it, and return," says Riker.

He and Troi exchange looks.

Wes decides to break some uncomfortable silence in the shuttle with some uncomfortable conversation.

"You probs would rather be hanging out with Riker. I know you don't like me," he adds.

Picard looks up from his book to stare out the window with a "WTF is this convo?" attitude.

"That's not true. You're an okay guy," he says.

"You don't have to pretend," Wes presses on. "Everybody knows you don't like kids. And that's kind of too bad, because I think you would have made a good father."

Picard snaps the book shut, says "thank you" caustically, and moves to the seat behind the cockpit to read his book without Wes interrupting. But even though this is a really loud sign for, "please stop fucking talking to me," Wes continues.

"Why didn't you ever have kids, sir?"

OMG, Wes. You can't just ask someone why they're childless.

"Wishing for a thing does not make it so," Picard snaps.

Riker has run out of patience with the Pakleds.

"Come on, Geordi, seriously. We need to leave."

"Almost done," Geordi replies.

He gets the thing up and running while Grebnedlog stares off into a space above and to the left of the viewscreen and says vaguely, "We look for things. Things to make us go."

Are these people on molly?

"Dude, we can tow your ship to the nearest starbase, and they'll fix your ship," offers Riker through his gritted teeth.

"He is smart, he can fix it," replies Grebnedlog.

"Okay, done," announces Geordi.

"You are smart, you are smart," chanted the Pakleds, surrounding him.

"Yeah, great. I need to go," answers Geordi, who looks creeped out.

"Beam Geordi the fuck out of there," Riker comms to the transporter chief.

"Can't," replies the chief.

"They have a shield up," reports Data. "It's like... Romulan? Way more advanced than the rest of their shit."

"Drop the shields!" Riker yells at the Pakleds.

"He is smart," says Grebnedlog. He pulls the phaser from Geordi's belt, and shoots him point-blank.

Then the viewscreen goes dark.

"They blocked us!" says Worf.

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Riker tries hailing the Pakleds on all channels, but Data reports nothing available.

"They're ignoring us," states Riker.

Sassy Data Moment: "Apparently so."

(It's so hard to tell if Data is being sarcastic sometimes.)

The E takes a defensive stance.

Picard has decided to put down his book for a snack break. He offers Wes coffee and sandwiches, which Wes turns down at first, but then he put on the autopilot and climbs back into the cabin.

Then once more out of the gate with the personal questions:

"Were you ever married?"

Picard takes it in stride. "Never found the time," he replies.

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

Dude. Come on.

Picard pauses, then tells Wes that he has to make a lot of sacrifices if he wants to fast-track being an officer, and that he needs to avoid long-term commitments.

Wes replies with this gem: "No problem. Where women are concerned, I'm in complete control."

I'll pause here while you laugh at that.

Picard isn't quite buying it either, and he drops any guard he might have had. "Really? I always to work at that."

Wes asks if Picard was always this disciplined, and Picard replies, "fuck, no" before launching into a fabulous story with great visual descriptions.

Apparently, Picard had been some cocky douche-bro Academy cadet, when he was just a little older than Wes. He and his friends were at some rec center in BFE, Space, and the description he gives makes it sound similar to the Cantina on Mos Eisley, like super-sketch. So in walk three Nausicaans, and they're looking to pick a fight with hella-green Academy kids. Everybody else is smart enough to decline but not young Picard. He talks shit about the Nausicaans, and gets jumped by the three of them at once.

Just for reference, here's what a Nausicaan will end up looking like:

You're a dumb motherfucker if you pick a fight with these guys.
Picard admits that he wasn't doing too badly against the aliens, and Wes is all wide-eyed and asks how he managed to win.
"I didn't," Picard replies. "One of them stabbed me in the back. Pierced my heart. Didn't so much hurt as felt surreal. I actually laughed. But if I hadn't been so close to a medical facility, I would have died. And now you know why I had a heart replacement."
"That's fucked up, sir," says Wes.
"Indeed," replies Picard. "It was a shitty lesson to learn in a very hard way."

Data is working furiously to break through the shields on the Pakled ship, but so far, it is not working.

Geordi wakes up on the floor to find Grebnedlog pointing the phaser at him.
"Make us more weapons," the Pakled captain replies.
"You have a replicator?" asks Geordi in amazement.
"It is not broken," answers Reginod.
"Fuck you guys, I'm not making you more weapons," refuses Geordi.

Worf suggests to Riker that he can get through the Pakleds' shields with a photon torpedo, but Riker points out that that would put Geordi in a bad position. They ask Troi what the Pakleds want. Troi narrows her eyes and replies that the Pakleds have what they want... for now. She's pretty pissed off that no one heeded her warnings until it was too late.

Wes, back in the pilot's seat and leaving Picard alone to read, announces that they're reached their destination.
Picard packs up his book, then asks Wes if he read the book he gave him.
"Not all of it," Wes replies, begrudgingly. Picard seems annoyed, so he defends himself. "I don't have a lot of time, you know? And philosophy won't be on my entrance exams."
Picard argues that knowing stuff like art, history, and philosophy makes joining Starfleet worth it, and that he should make more time for such things.

Back on the bridge, Troi tells Riker that the Pakleds have been lying to them from the beginning. Data's better scans confirm this. He reports that all of the Mondor's systems function perfectly, and that the malfunctions had been carefully programmed into their computer.
"Why?" demands Riker.
"So they could kidnap Geordi," Troi replies.

Picard's Personal Log 42779.5: "Got to Starbase 515. Really don't wanna go in."

Picard walks into the medical center, and wishes Wes luck on his exams, but Wes follows him in.
"I don't need a chaperone," Picard tells him.
"Yeeeaaahhh, Pulaski asked me to make sure you actually went inside," Wes admits.
Sassy Picard Moment: "She would."
"I enjoyed the trip," Wes offers.
"Yeah, me too," says Picard.
They smile, and each go their separate ways.

The Pakleds have decided to strike up a conversation with Riker, so they call him.
"Let our guy go," Riker warns them.
"Fuck off," says Grebnedlog. "You think we are not smart."
"I think you're underdeveloped, and need more time," says Riker carefully.
"You want him back?" asks Grebnedlog. He shoots Geordi with the phaser, knocking him out again. The other Pakleds point phasers at Geordi as well. "Give us your entire computer."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Riker holds a meeting in the Obs Lounge.
"We can't give them our computer - that's a breach of Starfleet security." he says.
"Then we have to take Geordi by force," says Worf.
No one disagrees.

We go into the operating room, where we see Picard on the table, while red-suited surgeons prep him for surgery.
Quick question - why does it seem like all medical personnel in the future wear red? Is it some kind of Deadpool thing? Are they making a tongue-in-cheek joke about Redshirts?
The head surgeon reassures Picard that he's done this a million times, and he'll pull through without fail.
"Just fucking do it," sighs Picard. "I have shit to do."
So the head surgeon knocks him out, explains the surgery, and cheerfully tells his team that, "we'll all be home for dinner."
And now we all know that some shit will be going down.

Back in the Obs Lounge, Data and Troi tell the others what they have pieced together about the Pakleds - that they're impatient for social development, and need things at a Veruca Salt level, so they trick other cultures into giving them advanced technology.
"I think we should perpetuate a ruse," suggests Riker. "I think we should give them what they want, then rescue Geordi and take it away."
"What if we fail?" asks Pulaski.
"We don't really have a choice," sighs Riker.

Geordi, injured and hobbling, makes his way across the Pakled ship.
"We are smart," Grebnedlog tells him.
"Cool," he replies. "Let me talk to my people."
They permit it, and Geordi is connected to the E bridge.
"Hey, Geordi," says Riker. "How's it going?"
"Shitty," says Geordi. "I'm being held prisoner."
"Do they steal technology?" asks Riker.
"They do," says Geordi. "Klingon, Romulan, Jerada... everyone they've come into contact with, they stole tech from. Now us."
"That sucks," replies Riker. "Well... we can't give them the computer, so it looks like you'll have to make the ultimate sacrifice. We'll miss you."
"Hey, wait --what?!"
They then begin this series of weird farewells, where they talk about good Geordi is at weapons systems analysis, and how much they'll miss him. Geordi eventually starts to play along.
"If you give them information," says Worf, "that's treason. You'll die without honor, and you'll never achieve the 24th level of awareness."
"Well that sucks," Geordi replies.
They hang up.
"You know about weapons," says Grebnedlog. "Make us strong."
"The hell?" asks Geordi. "I thought you wanted me to make you go."
"No." The Pakled captain pokes him in the ribs with a phaser. "No. Make us strong."

Back in surgery, the world's  universe's most dramatic doctor is playing soap opera over Picard's body. Like the acting is somewhere between a Simpson's character, and a young William Shatner.
"Damn it, man! We're losing him! We need 10 CC's of (24th-century tech gibberish), stat!"
The others are frightened of this man's terrible acting, and all look worried about appearing on-screen in a scene with him.
"We need a (vaguely future-y sounding med tech) in here! This man is dying!"

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

The Pakleds lead Geordi to the weapons systems.
"These suck," he says bluntly. "This isn't like showing up with a knife to a gun fight. This is like showing up to that gun fight, and trying to flick someone to death."
"Fix it," says Reginod. "Make us strong, and don't trick us. We can tell."
He brandishes the phaser at Geordi, who looks like he's being asked to make a gourmet fondue with government cheese.

We go back briefly to the surgery, and we still have no idea what the hell has gone wrong with this procedure, which has a mortality rate of 2.4%. We're not helped along any by the dialogue that follows, because they use more gobbledegook, but the dramatic doctor says he can't attempt the thing that they need to do because he isn't qualified to do it. Another doctor says he knows someone who is.

Spoilers: Picard lives. They're not gonna kill him off in the middle of the second season. In this case, wearing red doesn't mean jack shit, so trying to add tension by saying "Oh, noes, Picard could die!" is ridiculous.

Riker and Data go down to Engineering to convince Sonia to help them in their ruse. She agrees, but wonders if Geordi got the message, if he can react the way they need him to, and if he has the equipment on hand that he needs.
Riker and Data seem more confident.
Worf calls Riker. "Emergency call from Starbase 515. Captain Picard is dying."
They all exchange worried looks, then Riker and Data take off for the bridge.
Hello, Ship-Disabling device!

Geordi flips some switches, and some lights go on. "You're strong now. You're armed to the teeth."
Reginod has a Drax moment: "Teeth are for chewing."
"No," frowns Geordi. "You have photon torpedoes. You're strong."
The Pakleds are pleased.

On the bridge, Data reports the photon torpedoes are armed.
"We have to go to the starbase now," reports Worf. "They want us to rush there at warp 9."
"We're not leaving without Geordi," Riker insists.
They open the channel to the Mondor.
"Give us back Geordi," says Riker.
"Give us your computer," says Grebnedlog.
"Fuck you."
"Yeah well, fuck you back, because we have photon torpedoes now."
"Oh, yeah?" says Riker. "We'll turn our awesome weapons on you, too!"
"They're gonna fire on us!" says Geordi, over-acting for the Pakleds' sake. "They're gonna kill us! I'm gonna arm the torpedoes!"
"Ha!" yells Grebnedlog. "We are strong, and he is on our side now!"
Both ships go through the motions of arming stuff, and we see Sonia pressing touchscreen buttons in Engineering. Countdowns start on both ships, and amusingly, they're both done by Majel Barrett. But when they get to one, some kind of red mist comes out of the nacelles, and Geordi screams that they've been disarmed by the crimson force field.
"Oh, we are not strong," says a sad Grebnedlog.
"Drop your shields!" yells Riker.
The Pakleds drop their shields and transport Geordi back.
"To Starbase 515!" Riker yells at the conn. "Warp 9!"
The E takes off at top speed.
"That was clever, blowing hydrogen exhaust through the Bussard collectors," Geordi tells Riker.
"Did you disarm the torpedoes?" asks Riker.
"Just in time. That's why you're still here," replies Geordi.

Picard wakes up from surgery as the rest of the doctors clear out. One doctor remains, and you know exactly who it is.
"Oh, what in gay hell?" he demands groggily.
"Lol, saved your life," smiles Pulaski.
"If you're here, then the E is here, and everyone knows," he grouses.
"Meh, you're good," she shrugs.
His "thank you" has a distinct "fuck you" tone.
Sassy Pulaski Moment: "You're welcome!"

Picard and Wes enter the bridge, and the asshole bridge crew start applauding. Picard is polite enough not to phaser their sorry asses off the plane of existence. He does give them some nasty side-eye, though.
"Wes' Academy exams were good enough that he can stay here to study with us some more," he announces as Wes takes the conn. "Furthermore, any rumors of my brush with death are greatly exaggerated." He sits. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

Like so many others, this episode also falls into the category of "mixed bag." Two things I liked: I like the concept of a race of people who are a little backwater, who could use a few more millennia to evolve, but who are impatient, and have become just smart enough to figure out how to steal technology from others. We've all heard of those people before, those clever enough to perpetuate a ruse on others for personal gain, but who refuse to use that cleverness to get ahead legitimately. I'm not sure how effectively the Pakleds came off in this episode, though, so there's that.
The second thing I liked here was Picard's backstory. It adds greatly to his character that this was a turning point for him, this stupid bar fight that almost killed his sorry young ass. What's more, it'll be the basis of another, really fantastic episode further down the line, and I love it for that reason as well.
The rest of the episode is kind of just okay. There was one thing that kind of irks me, though - that of transportation. I mean, I know that, for the story to work, Picard and Wes needed to be alone for an awkwardly long amount of time, but I just can't get around why they'd take a slow-ass shuttle to the Starbase. I know they needed to be there by a certain time for Picard's surgery and Wes' exam, but why was it necessary for them to go off on their own? Couldn't the E have dropped them off first before heading out to the astro-thingy? We know that time was not of the essence for the Enterprise, because they had plenty of time to get side-tracked with the Pakleds before rushing back to the starbase at the end of the episode with Pulaski. And while I can't make heads or tails of the time-speed ratios for the E, we do know that the ship was able to get to the starbase very quickly so Pulaski could save Picard, even though they were more than six-hours away at impulse. It's one of those things that makes sense for the story, but logistically in my head, not so much.
I'm also curious about Wes' exams. Did he fail to get into the Academy again? Or was the Academy testing him on his "home study course" to make sure he was still on track? Memory Alpha seems to think he took the same exams as last time and failed them again, meaning that the way Picard had announced it, he was putting some kind of positive spin on the outcome. Truthfully, it was just a tool to get him alone with Picard for six hours, but one wonders how that fit into canon.


Fun Facts:

- Though Wes calls it "shuttle 2," the shuttle shown in the original footage was of the Sarkhov, shuttle 1. This was digitally corrected in the Blu-Ray edition (which must be the edition that Netflix uses), as the shuttle footage here says "02 Einstein."
- Originally, Picard and Wes were supposed to take the "captain's yacht" to Starbase 515. The captain's yacht is a little ship that docks to the underside of the saucer section. While it's mentioned in specs and added to models, it's never mentioned on-screen or used.

- Starbase 515 is actually a reuse of the matte painting of Angel One.

- Christopher Collins, who plays Grebnedlog, also played Captain Kargan on "A Matter of Honor," and will return in that same role later this season.

- The crimson force field trick is similar to the the one Kirk used in "The Corbomite Maneuver."
- Picard's insistence that "rumors of my brush with death have been greatly exaggerated" is an homage to Mark Twain, who said something similar.
- Wes mentions Picard's story having taken place before "the Klingons joined the Federation," and Picard says it was, but this doesn't quite gel with continuity. He may have been talking about the Treaty of Alliance (2352), as Picard's story takes place in 2327. There was a Federation crest next to a Klingon crest in the background of a Klingon cruiser in "Heart of Glory," possibly marking them as allies, but if you wanna get technical, the Klingon Empire is not part of the Federation. That bit of dialogue has never been properly explained in canon.
- The Mondor bridge features the "Custodian" console from "When the Bough Breaks" and another console from Captain Okona's ship from the episode "The Outrageous Okona." They also use actual military equipment as props.
- Director Les Landau kind of liked this episode, saying that the Pakleds kind of mirrored humanity in a way, which is something Gene wanted his show to feature. Maurice Hurley thought it was "strange, but nice" because he liked working with LeVar Burton, and thought it gave Geordi decent screen time. But writer Dennis Russell Bailey thought this episode was the absolute worst thing that had ever been produced by Star Trek at that point, and he went on for several paragraphs about why he thought it sucked. He said this episode inspired him to write another episode, although he didn't really go into why (presumably, he felt that his episode fixed the problems he thought this one had).


Red deaths: 0
To date: 2
Gold deaths: 0

Blue deaths: 0
Unknown color crewmember deaths: 18

Obnoxious Wes moments: 0

Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 0
To date: 1

Sassy Geordi moments: 1
To date: 6

Sassy Wes Moments: 0
To date: 1

Sassy Worf Moment: 0
To date: 3

Sassy Riker Moments: 1

To date: 6

Sassy Picard Moments: 1
To date: 12

Sassy NPC Moments: 0
To date: 3
Sassy Data Moments: 1
To date: 6
Sassy O'Brien Moments: 0
To date: 3
Sassy Pulaski Moments: 1
To date: 3

Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 0
To date: 19

Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 3
To date: 22

Number of times that Geordi "looks at something" with his VISOR: 0
To date: 1
Number of times when Data gives too much info and has to be told to shut up: 0
To date: 12

Episodes Left Until We Get Rid of Pulaski:

"Dis my pillow!"