{"id":4975,"date":"2015-09-30T13:00:07","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T20:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4975"},"modified":"2015-09-15T20:23:53","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T03:23:53","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s05e01-redemption-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/09\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s05e01-redemption-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S05E01 – Redemption, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first episode of the fifth season of The Next Generation<\/i>, Picard organizes a trap for the Romulans while Worf deals with the House of Duras. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of consent<\/b><\/p>\n

WELL, THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S HOW. Holy shit. What a premiere!<\/p>\n

The Blockade<\/b><\/p>\n

While I think the concept behind this episode is brilliant, the execution of it makes me scratch my head. If you ignore the one glaring plothole in the middle of the tachyon net, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tense game of chess that unfolds here. Which I loved! Without this plot, you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have that incredible scene between Sela and Picard where both characters never quite come out and say exactly what they mean. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all innuendo because they have<\/i> to be careful about what they say in this context.<\/p>\n

But look. Space is not a flat plane. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s three-dimensions. Travel is not subject to gravitational concerns like we are on a planet. A space blockade doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really work here because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you just go around it? Or under it? Or warp past it and then loop back on it? When Sela\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first officer pointed out that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hole\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the net, all I could think was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dude, just go under<\/i> the next. No one is down there.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

This is perhaps the silliest nitpick I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever come up with. I admit that. But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 just go around it! Seriously!<\/p>\n

Picard<\/b><\/p>\n

Like the first part, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Redemption, Part II\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focuses on the dichotomy of experience for Picard and Worf. Whereas the first half mostly focused on Worf, we see much more of Picard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle here. He first has to convince Starfleet to get involved, at the very least in a blockade before anything more serious. Then, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got an entire fleet to manage and organize, so he splits off his own crew to man a number of important positions about the fleet. And not without some resistance, either!<\/p>\n

More on that in a second. While the quiet back-and-forth between the fleet and the Romulans takes up a large part of this episode, I actually think the subplot with Picard and Sela is the most important thing here. It touches on something we saw at the beginning of the last season: Picard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s culpability. Despite that everyone assured him that what he did under control of the Borg was not his fault, Picard felt an extreme sense of guilt. Here, Picard is faced with the possibility that something he does in the future<\/i> set into motion the events that brought about the Romulan force now<\/i>. How do you deal with that? Can you feel guilt over something you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even done yet?<\/p>\n

It took me a couple passes to even understand the timeline here, but this episode confirms that Tasha survived the events at the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Enterprise,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d only to be given as a gift to a Romulan as part of some sort of diplomacy. (The consent issues here are completely washed over, unfortunately.) Thus, Sela was born, explaining how she looks practically the same age as Tasha. But even worse, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sela\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rejection of her human side, spawned by Tasha\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s desire to come home, that possibly created this entire situation. WHICH\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 GOOD LORD. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so messed up. SO messed up.<\/p>\n

I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is the last time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see Sela either. Oh god, I want to know SO MUCH MORE.<\/p>\n

Data<\/b><\/p>\n

I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t catch that captain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name, but lord, WHAT A BIGOT. Apparently, there are still people in this vision of the future who view other people and species with stereotypes in mind. Like, if Starfleet was truly concerned about having an android in the fleet, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think they would have let Data get as far as he has in twenty-six years. Twenty-six years! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a new addition, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and yet that captain treats him like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new, inexperienced, and untrustworthy. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad he got proved wrong. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also pleased to see Data improvise as he did because it suggests he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just programming, you know? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something more to him. He sounded ANGRY, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all!!! ANGRY DATA. I hope we see some more of that this season.<\/p>\n

Worf<\/b><\/p>\n

It was definitely strange to see Worf wearing traditional Klingon armor and clothing. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so used to him in his Starfleet uniform! Anyway, I think that the only real criticism I have here that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t nitpicking is that Worf\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role feels diminished, despite that there are quite a few scenes that take place on Klingon. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mostly reacting here, which is a contrast to his proactive stance in the last episode. He reacts to one of the Duras supporters in the bar; he reacts to his brother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s teasing; and then he reacts to the Duras sisters after they kidnap him. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not actually doing much independent of that.<\/p>\n

Which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the worst thing, either. I understood why the Duras sisters thought that seduction would work on Worf, but they were horribly misguided. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that<\/i> interested in romance, first of all. But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assume they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that! Which is believable. Over and over again, Worf has shown to these people that he cares about honor, loyalty, and Klingon culture\/law. The sisters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 plan required Worf to violate those very things! Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all made worse because he knows that siding with the Duras\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 means that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be siding with the Romulans, too.<\/p>\n

Given the open-ended nature of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Redemption, Part II,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see all of these characters again at some point. (Hopefully not Toral, though, because god, <\/i>is that character annoying.) The House of Duras may have stopped the civil war, and Gowron may be in power, but this is not over by any means. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a break, as far as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned. PLUS, I WANT TO SEE SELA AGAIN.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Redemption, Part II\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>.
\n– 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.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"