In the twenty-fourth episode of the fourth season of The Next Generation, Geordi is compromised. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Trigger Warning: For nonconsensual medical procedures, brainwashing/gaslighting.
Well, that was a creepy little episode. It’s fascinating to me that this particular season contains so much serialization with the Romulans because I expected this to happen earlier in the show, back when the Romulan threat was hinted at before. Over the course of season four, we’re seeing the Romulans use more and more absurd and desperate measures to sow chaos within the Federation, and this was the worst thing they’d done so far. I mean, holy shit, it’s bold as hell. They kidnap Geordi while he’s by himself, spend days conditioning him against his will to respond to images being implanted directly into his brain, and then use him as their pawn. And it’s such a creepy idea because in every other moment where the Romulans are not sending him control messages, he is normal. He goes about his day as if nothing is wrong.
This is all complicated by the surrounding story. The alliance that the Federation has with the Klingons has always felt fairly solid within The Next Generation, but it is not without its problems. That’s understandable, given that the two cultures are so incredibly different. I’ve appreciated that the show never tried to portray the Klingons as wholly different from The Original Series. It makes them more believable here. It also makes this story more concrete, too. There totally could be factions within the Klingons who want to break from Federation alliances and will do anything to support a more “pure†Klingon empire.
It was all ripe for some chaos to begin with, is what I’m trying to say. So when Geordi returned to the Enterprise after being brainwashed, it was almost too easy to mess everything up. With the Klingons understandably mistrustful of literally everyone, the Romulans have Geordi do a number of things that are both subtle and incredibly obvious, each meant to upset any peaceful balance there is between these groups. At one point, Geordi sends a shipment of weapons down to a rebel base, erasing all evidence of having done so, and it’s just disastrous. There’s no scenario where it looks good for the Federation. The weapons came from the Enterprise, so someone sent them down there. It’s a deliberate attempt to undermine all the work Picard and company have done.
What was slightly confusing to me, though, was the access the Romulans had to Geordi. They could control everything that he saw, first of all. And the big twist towards the end of the episode is that the Klingon ambassador was the one who was actually sending Geordi the E-band transmissions that controlled him. So why let Geordi work so consistently on discovering where those Federation weapons came from? Why let him work closely on the case to discover who sent the weapons cache down to the base? Wouldn’t it be counterproductive to allow him to be so close to the truth? I wonder if we’re meant to think that Kell could only control Geordi when he was close by or during certain situations.
Anyway, I don’t know that that’s all important. I think this is still an unnerving and thrilling episode for the most part. Seriously, that last sequence is REALLY creepy, especially since the show has demonstrated this season and last that they’re willing to go to much darker places than they have. I honestly questioned whether or not Geordi would actually kill the Governor. HE WAS SO CLOSE. While I don’t think he’ll get the same treatment as Picard did at the start of season four, I did appreciate that the end of this episode highlighted just how disturbed Geordi was by the events of “The Mind’s Eye.†He had artificial memories inserted into his mind, y’all! That’s deeply upsetting, but at least he’s at a point where he knows what happened to him, and he’s got Troi to talk to in order to work through the trauma.
The video for “The Mind’s Eye†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S. this summer and fall Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of The Legend of Korra, series 8 of Doctor Who, and Kings. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
