In the twentieth episode of the sixth season of The Next Generation, Picard’s most beloved mentor arrives on the Enterprise with a mystery. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
Oh lord, y’all. THAT WAS SO FUN. And it’s so fascinating for me to go from the bleak sets and morally complicated stories over on Deep Space Nine to something like this. Entirely unintended, it demonstrates exactly the kind of stories that The Next Generation can tell extremely well. If Roddenberry’s vision of the future was of equality, harmony, and hope, then “The Chase” fits perfectly within that vision as a chance to seed the possibility of that world within this fictional universe.
It’s unexpected, of course, because the central mystery of Professor Galen’s research is so damn ambiguous and far-reaching. But before we even get to that, “The Chase” is a whole different kind of beast. It’s astounding me to look upon this episode and realize that the first third of it is an action-less study of Picard’s choices post-Academy. It’s certainly entertaining, don’t get me wrong! I think that this episode would not punch such an emotional punch if we’d not seen Galen fight for Picard to be by his side. I thought Galen was needlessly harsh here, and I’m glad that he admitted as much right before dying. (Y’all, I just watched two Star Trek episodes in a row with mentors dying before their students. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE SHOWS.)
But I’m glad that I got a chance to understand why Galen behaved as he did. Picard truly felt closer to Galen more than most people, and the feeling was mutual. So Galen felt personally betrayed by Picard’s choice, despite that in many ways, his job as a Starship captain holds a lot of similarities to what he would have done as an archaeologist. Doesn’t he explore civilizations? Doesn’t he enable a lot of academic study of these civilizations or help with cultural exchange? Regardless, Picard could not have just up and left the Enterprise behind while he went off for Galen for a year, all for an archaeological study that Galen won’t reveal the details of. Which he seemed to forget, but whatever. He was caught up in the moment! The point is that Galen knew that what he was after was a revelation of epic proportions, and he wanted Picard to be there with him when he put it all together.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE’S MURDERED, AND EVERYTHING TURNS INTO A CONSTANT DISASTER FOR THE LAST TWO ACTS OF THIS EPISODE. My god, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this, given that we saw a Klingon, Cardassians, humans, and Romulans all onscreen at once. I’ll let one weird plot hole slide – How the fuck did any of these people learn of Galen’s research??? – just to enjoy the experience of watching these  different groups try to chase down the pieces of a four-billion-year-old puzzle. I got a sinking feeling that this episode was trying to bring up a genetic theory that could not be adequately explained in less than twenty minutes, but I think that “The Chase” does wonders for the worldbuilding present in the Star Trek universe.
Namely, let’s talk about the fact that the Ancient Civilization provides a wonderful explanation for all the humanoid species in the galaxy: they all descended from one species. And there’s something deliciously hilarious about the fact that the other parties seeking out the solution to the puzzle expected a weapon or an energy source and were met with a very heart-wrenching hologram message. Emotional disappointment as entertainment!!! But I loved that the writers of this story didn’t give us a conclusion that felt too cheesy. As heartfelt as the message was, the irony was that everyone aside from Nu’Daq actually DIDN’T cooperate and collaborate at all! These people all fought with one another or, in the case of Ocett, openly betrayed the group in order to try and get a head start. The message is largely lost on most of the people who hear it because they’re so invested in the differences that separate them rather than what they might have in common. It was very fascinating to me, then, that of all the races, the Romulan commander was the only one who appeared to be affected by the message. Why him? Was it because he lacked the Cardassian cultural obsession with superiority? Because he did not cling to honor as the Klingon did?
It’s not spelled out, but I’m okay with that. I think that “The Chase” works best when it stays this ambiguous. The resolution to Galen’s research was always going to be a challenging thing to address, but I think it’s a great addition to canon. I don’t expect it to be addressed in any significant way in the future, but at least I now have something I can use to explain much of the construction of the Star Trek universe.
The video for “The Chase” 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.
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– 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 seasons 1 & 2 of The 100, Death Note, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
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