#Also Riker “Entering” the scene i love it!

[printeroo]

Star Trek TNG 3×21 – "Hollow Pursuits"

Little commentary from someone that found themselves in Barclay and cried over this episode (I can explain myself, swear).

As soon as I started this episode, I disliked how Geordi spoke of Barclay – and then how literally everyone else spoke of him. Considering he hasn't done anything wrong other than be akward (and being late to work – which is something to be criticised for but that's not the biggest issue certain members of the crew have with Barclay) it felt just plain mean to me to talk about him the way they do. Especially behind his back.

Now, I don't want it to seem like I think everyone's evil and bad for being unkind to Barclay because I understand that people like him (myself included) are difficult to work and interact with. It's okay to be frustrated with the kind of person he is, but I think they were doing too much.

Also, when I started the episode, I was immediately put off by Barclay's holodeck fantasy. Not the part where he assaults LaForge and Riker – it's very common for someone to feel hatred towards their boss, I think this is just that – but more so his interaction with fake Troi. I definitely found it creepy and figured Troi would be at least uncomfortable if she were to find out. But further on in the episode I realized that that, along with beating up his superiors, is very important to understand Barclay's character. His holodeck adventures with Troi are more than just having a crush on someone and fantasizing about getting with them. Because, despite how it might be presented, the biggest focus in these scenarios is not Troi but the concept of Barclay being confident enough to get a girl and enter conflict when he deems necessary. When he's in the holodeck, alone – despite the simulations, he doesn't stutter. He's not nervous. He can relax. This is all opposite when he's at work or with Troi (the real one) because he's interacting with real, sentient people capable of judging, hating, and bullying him. And that's what's on his mind, causing him to be the way he is.

Like Guinan said: "If I felt that nobody wanted to talk to me, I'd probably be late and nervous too." (I just wanna say how much I love Guinan for everything she said to Geordi in this episode. She's genuinely very kind, and doesn't judge Barclay for being a difficult person.)

I was going to put videos just for comparison between him in the holodeck vs him in real life, with Troi, but there's a 1-video-per-post policy. Hate that. But I'll explain – in the holodeck he's easily speaking without stuttering and his movements are smooth and look effortless (he can even make eye contact with her.) Unlike him with the real Troi, where he's struggling to form a sentence and tries really hard to look relaxed and casual. It's like a Clark Kent/Superman contrast except Barclay's not faking the akwardness.

The scene after Geordi catches Barclay in the holodeck, where they're talking in Ten-Forward, was my breaking point. Barclay talks about how he's always scared of forgetting someone's name, never knows what to with his hands which causes him to always fidget nervously, how he's so terrible at social interactions he has to practice what he would talk about at a function beforehand, but when he gets there he can't find the confidence to let one word out. And then Geordi says he's "just shy" and Barclay acts as if he's been described that way a million times and it just isn't that simple. And he tells Geordi he doesn't understand, no one around him could ever understand.

(^I just really like this piece of dialogue lol because like.... yeah man I get it)

Geordi tries (and in the end succeeds) to help Barclay be more confident. These scenes did make me cringe while watching, though. As you could guess, I'm very shy. So shy in fact that working on the Enterprise sounds like a nightmare. There's so many people and your job is so important and the consequences of messing up could be catastrophic. So, seeing Geordi bring Barclay on THE BRIDGE (aka the most important place on the ship) with THE CAPTAIN (aka the most important person on the ship) made me very nervous because I for sure wouldn't be able to handle the situation. If I were Barclay I'd be tearing up the whole time and when Picard calls me "Broccoli" I might just run to my quarters and cry so hard I throw up and scream till I pass out. I sound dramatic (and I might be) but it just really is that big of a deal for some people. But despite that, I can understand that this helps Barclay build confidence, which is exactly what he needs.

And in the end it's Barclay who saved the day. By being confident enough to voice his opinion. Something that I am very proud of him for because I still find it extremely difficult. And in the end he doesn't get a "thank you" from a superior. Geordi does, from Riker. And when Riker hears that Barclay was involved he doesn't think about thanking him as well, but it's okay. Because Geordi tells Barclay he's glad he was there to help, which is enough validation and assurance to get Barclay started. At least, it would be for me.

This is an odd episode because the main plot is that there's just this guy who's kinda weird (has social anxiety) and no one likes him. But at the same time, I really needed to watch it. For better or for worse, it felt like it was made specifically for me.

(after typing this out I found out that reg will be a recurring, and I think important, character which i am actually very glad to hear. it also means someone might care about what i have to say about him)

[lordlexion]

Brief thoughts on Lal

I'm watching Star Trek TNG s03e16 and- I love the character of Lal. It was amazing to experience the whole process of her development (I really wish we were given more information about it) it was really comical.

But from the beginning; the process of choosing her form (and gender). At the very beginning of her existence, Lal has freedom that most beings don't have – especially us humans – yet she is faced with a very difficult choice. Because what she picks will be an integral part of her forever.

Later, a tour of Data's quarters, their shared home. That certain lack of human fluidity, was captivating. Lal's exploration of the world (although brief) was intriguing, giving a new perspective on Data's world. And all the way through Lal's learning, from what Data himself (who really did a wonderful job as a father) could and did show her, to what the school taught her. The loneliness that comes with being different, misunderstood – she might not have felt the emotion, but it's not hard to see that something is wrong.

The whole process of Lal's development was also an extraordinary experience for Data, who was given the opportunity to re-experience 'childhood' (like any other parent). Having an insight into an already familiar experience from a completely different perspective. He saw his child develop, at the same time growing with her. He was learning new things, such as what Doctor Crusher told him about sharing his experiences with his child so that he could see that he was not alone. Letting him know about his own struggles, which are similar, making a connection, just being empathetic…

Finding out about human romantic relationships, what people do and how they do it… Hasn't everyone had a kind of fascination similar to hers? The questions she asked with her conversation with Guinan are much more mature, you can see how quickly her development is progressing. She has entered a level of “puberty”.

And to top it off, a kiss with an unsuspecting Riker. I was dying of laughter.

And then there's a very important element, the conversation between Data and Lal about emotions, which resulted in them holding hands… A really moving scene and showing what an incredible family these two androids are.

I will skip over some events until the memento in which Lal experiences fear. Although her movements are strangely robotic, you can immediately see the huge level of fright she is experiencing. Her immediate going to Troy in a moment of great distress is somehow logical, and at the same time indicative of the bond she has established with others on board.

She is not just experiencing the fear that comes with talking to an admiral who is trying to separate her from her father, the ship and everything she knows, but with the very fact that she is feeling. She is experiencing feelings and that puts her into a certain level of panic.

And the end of Lal… Deep emotion, emotion, sadness, grief, mourning. There would probably be even more words to describe the emotions that were evoked by Lal's dying. And yet in all this sadness and pain, there is something beautiful to be found. Lal's (and Data's) love. Pure, innocent and strong, touching almost to tears.

How quickly can one character we have come to know in the space of a few minutes evoke such a strong attachment in the viewer, and be mourned by so many of the crew. Lal was a wonderful character who I'll never forget.

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S2E19 “Manhunt”

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise is ordered to escort two Antedean ambassadors to a conference on the planet Pacifica. The Antedeans are beamed aboard in a self-induced catatonic state to reduce the stress of space travel along with a plentiful food supply for when they awaken.

En route, the Enterprise is ordered to rendezvous with a shuttlecraft carrying Betazoid telepath ambassador Lwaxana (pronounced loo-axe-anna) Troi, Counsellor Troi's mother, and her manservant Mr Homn. Captain Picard is not exactly thrilled with this arrangement after his previous encounter with her, but Starfleet's instructions insist that she be treated with full diplomatic courtesy. While Picard tries to avoid her advances, Troi explains to Riker that her mother has entered "The Phase," a stage that takes place in the middle of a Betazoid woman's life where her sex drive drastically increases, and that she's searching for a new husband.

MY REVIEW

Hoo boy, that's some... Emmy-level material right there. Wowee.

Yes, you read that right. The premise of this episode is that Troi's mother is in heat and trying to fuck Picard. It probably won't surprise you to know that I wasn't exactly eager to watch this one.

Lwaxana Troi is once again played by Majel Barrett, who proceeds to try and steal every scene she's in. With her ramped-up sex drive, she views men as a commodity (her words, not mine) and spends a good chunk of the episode chasing after Picard. At one point she invites him to dinner, but instead of being the standard diplomatic function for the senior crew he was expecting, it turns out to be a romantic dinner for both of them. This leads to a pretty funny scene where Picard calls Data out of desperation and invites him to join them, tricking him into taking over the conversation with long-winded anecdotes.

Here we get the explanation of The Phase, during which it's confirmed that Riker and Troi are seeing each other, probably because their romance was given so little focus to begin with they just had to clarify. I'd also like to note that Riker seems suddenly interested when he hears that one day his Betazoid girlfriend is going to have a massively increased sex drive.

Picard retreats to his Dixon Hill holodeck program to avoid Lwaxana, and the episode spends a strangely long time focused on it, including Picard reconfiguring the program multiple times and then going to a bar with his secretary. The production design is still excellent, but it feels like a very strange and rather pointless detour from the plot.

Frustrated with Picard's absence, Lwaxana begins to consider other options, including Wesley Crusher. But thankfully she decides that he's too young before the FBI can break my door down, and deems Worf similarly unsuitable. She briefly decides to marry Riker, but then realises that he's not interested either.

Dr Pulaski notifies Riker that the Antedeans are awake, and Riker takes the excuse to go to the holodeck to notify Picard and get away from Lwaxana. Data accepts his offer to come with him, and not only takes five minutes to get into proper costume, but also has his own Dixon Hill persona named Carlos. Seeing Data get so invested in the 24th century equivalent of LARPing is adorable.

Lwaxana uses the ship's computer (which is pretty weird if you think about it) to find that Picard and Riker are on the holodeck, and somewhat pathetically falls in love with Rex, the holographic barman from the Dixon Hill program, and Picard has to tell her that her newfound love isn't a real person.

The episode ends with Lwaxana's phase ending, then offhandedly revealing to the crew that the Antedeans are actually assassins and have been carrying explosives the whole time, so they're taken into custody as Lwaxana and Mr Homn beam off. Glad to know their entire subplot was pointless.

Y'know, for an episode about an older woman going into heat and trying to have sex, this was surprisingly uneventful.

Also, the Antedeans are a pretty memorable design, even if they don't get to do much.

Bizarrely enough, one of them (I have no idea which since they both look the same) was actually played by Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame, marking the first of multiple musician guest roles on Star Trek.

3/10 - The smatterings of humour and the holodeck segments elevate it from being a 2.

I sincerely hope the next episode is either better or worse, just so I can say something different.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

[rikerxworf]

*☆. My Top 50 Worfriker Moments .♡°

We reached 500 followers tonight, yaay!! 🥳 To thank you all and sort some Worfriker scenes for you to check out, I ranked my personal favourites.

It was worryingly easy to find fifty haha. Some are just a few seconds long, while other “moments” are basically whole episodes. I linked posts, because most of them are already on this blog anyway, but I still hope you enjoy them! Also please tell me your favourite moments! 💞

To be clear, this list is incomplete and sorted to my personal taste. Also, I didn’t count the times when they were just standing unreasonably close, side by side on the bridge, in the corridors, on away missions – otherwise we’d be here all day. So, let’s go!

.

50. First Meeting (Encounter at Farpoint S01E01)

What better way than to start out with the beginning? This isn’t even that shippable of a moment, if it wasn’t for the camera work and music/ sound effects. I know it’s supposed to show off the new bridge and all that, but it reads… differently to me lmao. I love how deadpan s1 Worf is, but s1 Riker is on thin ice in my book…

.

49. “One of my officers was almost killed! That makes it my concern!” (Firstborn S7E21)

Worf calls out another Klingon character [no spoilers here hehe] for being super-unfriendly towards Riker during a meeting between the three of them. I like how both Riker and Worf subtly but unmistakably affirm their loyalty to each other when the other Klingon questions it. Afterwards, when Worf and he are his quarters, Worf downright interrupts him to say, “Why did you treat Commander Riker so disrespectfully? You were rude!”

.

48. touching instead of talking (The Last Outpost S1E05)

This is a place holder for all the other times Will Riker has touched Worf on his arm etc. Among other culprits are “The Hunted” (s3e11) and “Q Who” (s2e16) – on a Borg Ship no less. He is a very tactile person, which I adore for his character. Affectionate physical contact between (hyper)male characters is still something of a rare sight in fantasy and sci-fi, so I’m super happy Frakes acted his character the way he did.

.

47. Power Couple (Q Who S2E16)

A small little moment of them arriving in Ten Forward to confront Q, who talks shit about them as soon as they enter (it’s Q after all lmao). What I love most about this is how neither of them, but Worf especially, gives a fuck. He shoves his body up there like a fucking bulldozer to confront Q, just after Riker gave him a trusting over-the-shoulder-look. True dream team right here. In my opinion, TNG capitalised far too late on this side of their dynamic, but this is an early example of it and I 100% love it, no matter Frakes’ short *accidentally look directly into the camera* moment sdhfjskdskr

.

46. “You’d be surprised how far a hug goes with Worf.” (The Loss S4E10)

This is a very emotional scene between Deanna and Will. They share a close hug and Deanna is like… “do you do that often?”. And Will tells her about him hugging Geordi and Worf… which… is so cute I can’t;; Also, again, male characters showing physical signs of (platonic) affection is so important, even if we don’t get to see it here with other male characters. But now we know that Will gives great comfort hugs, including to Worf, so… Nice. I Would Like To See It.

.

45. Honour the Betazoid Tradition (Star Trek: Nemesis)

Nothing THAT special, in this pairing’s case. Just another instant of Riker shamelessly checking out Worf at the thought of them being naked. In good tradition. The fact that he does this as they are talking about HIS WEDDING TO TROI is… wild. Good acting choice, Mister Frakes. Also, I love how terrified Worf seems to be about appearing naked to said wedding. It’s cute!

.

44. “A werewolf!” (Time’s Arrow, Part II S6E01)

This one made me giggle to no end when I first watched the episode: Mark Twain boards the Enterprise and, as soon as he sees poor Worf, exclaims, “A werewolf!” Of course Worf is Exhausted™ but Riker… in his historical uniform no less… looks interested? Is his Halloween party fantasy finally coming to life? I bet he feels seen sjdfhsdjkfsk

.

43. Google Earth… always taking pictures (Descent, Part I S6E26)

This is almost completely for the aesthetics, not gonna lie. I love this shot of them by the shuttle, the scenery is just gorgeous. I also love how in-character they are in this scene, Worf doing his job very dutifully and Riker propping up a leg and gazing into the middle distance. Very nice. This has been this blog’s sidebar image since the beginning, and I’ve long given up trying to find one that I like better (´꒳`)♡

.

42. Battle Sequence (The Last Outpost S1E05)

This is peak 80s cheesiness. The thunder sound effects, the way Riker distracts the Ferengi so that Worf can get ready for an attack – and that amazing line of “I GOT THIS OOONE” just before Riker’s overpowered by a Ferengi, plus Data’s reaction. Oh, and also, Tasha Yar stepping in to end the whole fight (with thunder sound effects of course) and Worf and Riker positioning themselves behind her like the dream team they are. As trashy as season 1 is, I wish more of it was this kind of trashy.

.

41. Parrises squares (11001001 S1E15)

Another one that shows the amazing friendship of Tasha/Worf/Will that we could’ve gotten more of: Yar and Worf leave for a match of Parrises squares, already in their bright blue outfits. Riker checks Worf out, y’know, the usual. Worf jabs him with a sassy comment, because it’s season 1, y’know, the usual. It’s pretty standard considering the other moments on this list, but I adore it nonetheless, especially because of Tasha Yar ♡

.

40. Walking Through the Woods And??? Taking Cover(???) (Descent, Part II S7E01)

This is one of the ridiculous ones. Worf and Riker are investigating the planet where Lore and the Borg have trapped the crew and… they have interesting ways of sneaking around, e.g. Riker always staying behind Worf. And yes, they’re overly close to each other, we already know that. But then Riker straight up puts his hand on Worf’s bum when they have to take cover and I’m like… sweety, not THAT kind of “sneaky” lmaooo… It’s like straight out of a parody skit, I love it! (*´▽`*)

.

39. Fight Scene (Liaisons S7E02)

Another unnecessarily drawn-out moment of physical contact. Riker stops Worf from fighting the alien ambassador after some pretty racist bullshit that Worf had to endure, but in the end they both look rather clueless. I guess this is distilled Himbo Energy™? Anyway, before that there is a cute scene including Deanna in the observation lounge featuring funny Will and grumpy Worf. In general, “Liaisons” just has very good Worf moments over all! (just skip through the Picard scenes)

.

38. “Nice planet.” (Justice S1E08)

I truly can’t with this one. It’s a classic Worf one-liner, in fact this one started the whole Worf one-liner thing! The writers realised how great stuff like this fit his character and rolled with it. Here, Worf (rather wantonly?) hugs a blonde alien, then looks at Riker, who has been on the planet before, and says, “Nice planet” before burying his face in the crook of her neck again. Which implies?? That he thinks of this sexy planet as Riker’s planet?? Riker’s reaction is even better because he acts weirdly ‘caught’ or something haha! Maybe it’s the sight of cuddly Worf? Who knows…

.

37. On A Date (The Perfect Mate S5E21)

This is a small thing, but when Data and the alien woman enter Ten Forward, we see Riker and Worf sitting at a table and having drinks. They seem to have a fun little talk, and Worf looks a bit TOO dismissive for my taste when Riker leaves at the sight of the Data and the woman. Did they interrupt their little date? Who knows? Either way, them spending free time together, plus Riker’s soft “I’ll catch up with you later” is just cute (´꒳`)

.

36. The Poker Scene(s) (Cause and Effect S5E18)

These are casual moments: The senior staff is playing poker, Worf smirks a lot and says his one-liners, Riker does rather suggestive poker faces that scandalise poor Worf, yaddi yaddi yadda. These are cute little moments that every good comfort TV show should have ♡

.

35. “I have no desire to leave the Enterprise.” (Heart of Glory S1E20)

aka Worf The Liar. After a conversation with a Klingon in the Empire’s military, Worf slowly turns around on the bridge and sees… the whole crew. But Riker is front and center, even Picard isn’t as much in focus as he is. And then Worf says he only agreed to the Klingon’s offer to join the Empire’s forces out of politeness, and then doubles-down on it: “Really, I have no desire to leave the Enterprise.” Except, as we will learn later, if Commander Riker is leaving. Then I’ll leave too. Ciao ciao.

.

34. saving Will from a phaser (The Hunted S3E11)

Riker and Worf chase the escaped prisoner on the Enterprise, but gasp! He fires at the turbolift when the doors open! Worf reacts quickly and throws himself against Riker to get them out of the firing range. It’s… an interesting motion. They do get out eventually, and the subsequent fight may be a bit clumsy, but at least it’s them fighting together, y’know? This could have been some real whump or hurt/comfort shit if it wasn’t that small a moment. Not that I like to see someone get injured y’know just… the feelings™ of it all 👀

.

33. Shuttlebay Scene (Liaisons S7E02)

Towards the end of “Liaisons”, we get this cute moment where Worf and the alien ambassador talk about how exhausting eleven hours of holodeck combat exercise are, and what does Riker do? Slap poor Worf on his hurting back;; And then he grins that stupid grin of his!! Thanks for nothing!! For real though, Riker is teasing Worf throughout this episode, and it is kinda funny considering that Worf always just lets him. Amazing.

.

32. Comedic Duo™ (Sarek S3E23)

This one is similar in a small way to Spot Nr. 34, in that Worf tries to shield Will from the brawl that’s going on in Ten Forward – except this one is funny. Before they enter Ten Forward, Worf is like “No I haven’t noticed tempers going crazy, Commander!” – only to cut to them standing in the opened doors with Thee most priceless expressions when they see everyone inside throwing hands. And then: “Now I see what you mean.” Worf is my favourite comedian

.

31. Rescuing Alexander (New Ground S5E10)

For a change, a highly emotional one. The whole episode builds up to this dramatic moment: As soon as the crew realise that Alexander is inside the burning biolab, Riker shoots Worf the most concerned look, and they head to the lab together. Worf discovers brute strength when it comes to saving his son, and poor Riker is basically just accessory in this scene. He does rescue the gilvos though. But the fire, the tension, the ticking clock – this scene is so dramatic!! And it should be, this is about Worf and his family! It’s very Klingon, in a way, and I like that Riker takes a backseat to Worf’s and Alexander’s relationship, even though he’d make a perfect stepdad.

.

30. ♪ should I stay or should I go ♪ (Legacy S4E06)

You know that romantic trope where person A wants to go with B but B is like “stay here, it’s too dangerous”? And then Person A begrudgingly agrees or simply watches B leave in terror? And then B is extra motivated to fight and come back, so that they can be with A again? That is this scene. It’s Worf’s love language of “we go into danger together” vs. Riker’s classic hero shtick of “no, I’ll go alone, it’s too dangerous!” and it’s 100% what I’m here for.

.

29. Bar Confrontation Scene (Unification, Part II S5E08)

Boy, this scene is a lot. Worf sings Klingon opera before continuing his mission with Riker. They confront a Ferengi warship trader, a rather disgusting character, and Riker’s Starfleet speak doesn’t work at all with him. So, Riker looks over his shoulder, to Worf, who nods in silent understanding, and then Riker just… grabs the Ferengi and threatens him with the words “I will be very unhappy” fffffffff which – c’mon, you can’t tell me that he wasn’t putting on a show for Worf! This is Will Riker we’re talking about! Also amazing how Worf doesn’t even have to say a single word in this whole scene. Love it, real dream team energy.

.

28. boyfriends taking a golden hour stroll (Descent, Part II S7E01)

Loooove this one, even though it’s basically nothing haha! The dialogue is very dramatic, but if you’re just looking at gifs for example, it looks very calm and soft. Also… the way Worf listens to Riker is just… I want to be looked at that way aaaaah;;

.

27. “No! For Battle, come to me!” (The Last Outpost S1E05)

Ah, yes. One of Worf’s friends being threatened with death and Worf very lionheartedly jumping in à la “you should rather fight a KLINGON because KLINGONS like fighting they’re WARRIORS arrrgh”. Only this time said friend is Commander Riker, and he orders Worf to stay back, because that’s what a commander does, he tries to keep his officers out of danger. And Worf looks… struck? Kinda? It’s a very cute, very early moment in their history together.

I’m linking a fic rec revolving around this moment here too!

.

26. Scruffy Bar Scene (Gambit, Part I S7E04)

This scene has cute outfits, badass phaser action from both Beverly and Deanna, sweater paws, and about Thee greatest comedic timing in all of TNG. I love that they put Worf and Will as the dream team who has to do the talking, and I also appreciate that Worf wears red and Will wears blue – aka the colours they look best in respectively (o˘◡˘o)

.

25. “Even Klingons need love now and then.” (Justice S1E08)

After that “nice planet” incident, this is where the episode is all in on those early TNG vibes. Riker gets invited for a (sexual?) game, in-between a bunch of aliens making out. He declines and instead walks up to Worf, with the widest grin, to talk to him… about sex. Bravo, Commander, very subtle. “Even Klingons need love” shut up just say you want to sleep with him goddammit shdjfsdksk Also the way Worf just casually talks about his sex life… wild. This could only happen in season 1. Also, fun fact, instead of “I better check in”, Riker says, “I’ll beam us back up” in the German dub, which… Do you want a room or something???

.

24. Worf All Dolled Up (Elementary, Dear Data S2E03)

Another outrageous moment of Riker barely keeping it in his pants. Worf arrives at the holodeck in a Victorian get-up and then has to endure a whole 30s of Riker checking him out, smirking at him, and making innuendo comments. “Nice suit” I could understand as a winky-winky bro joke™, even with the suspicious leg movement, but “You’d be a big hit in London”??? Hello?? Also poor Worf processing what he just heard sdjfsjdkfk! They definitely made out as soon as Picard and Data entered the holodeck!! (Also sidenote: When Picard pops the hat into its correct form, everybody flinches in a very in-character way. It’s very cute ♡)

.

23. Gay (Eye of the Beholder S7E18)

I’m pretty sure this scene is entirely taking place inside Deanna’s mind, but that doesn’t make it any less great haha! Worf and Will sitting at the bar and smiling at each other, talking about romance very casually… it’s so so cute. And don’t forget Worf trying to ask Will if he can try things out with Deanna shdfjksdfksdksk this scene is especially cute for those who enjoy Worf/Riker/Troi!

(Also never forget the mirroring of the two flirting officers in the background lmao this is iconic)

.

22. “He wouldn’t…” – “Yes, he would” (Star Trek: Insurrection)

This is honestly such a fun scene. It looks like the Enterprise, in command of William T. Riker, is about to ram the enemy’s ship. “He wouldn’t…” one of the enemy aliens says. Cut to Worf, surrounded by alien guards, saying completely casually, “Yes, he would.” Which makes the first alien panic like “oh shit” and run away from the view screen for some reason??? Lol it doesn’t make any sense, but I enjoy the space action, the comedic timing, and the shot of Worf sitting in-between the enemy aliens. *mwah chef’s kiss.

I have two main ways to read Worf’s relaxed reaction: either he trusts Will 100% to not ram and destroy the ship – or he’s content with dying this way after all, as a hero, in a battle he fought with his commander. Either way, I think this scene shows their deep loyalty and trust rather nicely!

.

21. “Thank you.” (The Next Phase S5E24)

The Enterprise assists a Romulan ship in need. Worf and Riker are among the officers who are onboard the warbird and help the crew. Worf reports to Riker in a rather scandalised tone of voice bc he doesn’t like the Romulans, and they have a very intimate way of talking in the scene I’m describing – after a cute “aye, sir” Worf shuffles back to Riker to say, “Thank you” in… that voice. And then bumps Riker’s shoulder as he leaves, and Riker just smiles very softly.

I can’t be sure of course, but the whole thing feels to me as if this was Dorn’s and Frakes’ millionth take of the scene and they could barely keep it together shdfjskdfksk very cute!! Also another scene from that episode that almost made it into this ranking: Worf and Riker having to close the damaged doors to eject the core but not being able to do it, despite being literally the biggest guys in the crew – but thankfully Data comes along does the whole thing himself sdfhjskdjfsk

.

20. “How did you like Command (sexual)?” (The Emissary S2E20)

This belongs to the ones that leave me… kinda speechless? I mean, I understand he’s proud of his Lieutenant, but Riker has nooo business walking up to K’Ehleyr and Worf (both in their Klingon armour) the way he does – checking them out with THAT look on his face, lips falling apart, and asking, “How did you like Command?” – excuse me? Mister Frakes, sir?! But Worf’s reaction makes it EVEN BETTER sdfjskdksk, he looks kinda caught off-guard, understandably! Only to then look over his shoulder to K’Ehleyr like “excuse me, this is my… other partner?” and then he’s simply like… “Comfortable chair”. And K’Ehleyr looks to the ground like she’s trying very hard to hold her tongue sjdfhskjdsk and Riker smirks at them and… yeah. That’s season 2 for you.

.

19. Sitting Shoulder To Shoulder (A Matter of Time S5E09)

This one’s a classic on this blog already. Two things beside the general physical closeness that I love especially about this scene: a) how unnecessary them sitting like this is (and how the acting directions were most likely “hands where I can see them”) and b) how Riker defends Worf when the historian throws some racist bullshit his way. Even though the historian paints Worf as the primitive barbarian, Riker is far more aggressive than Worf in this scene. It’s a nice little touch, that he would get worked up about someone insulting Worf this way. But yeah, even if you just look at screenshots from this scene, it’s very nice, them sitting shoulder to shoulder and exchanging quiet looks ♡

.

18. The Second Sickbay Scene (Ethics S5E16)

Oof. I don’t like to rewatch this episode, but the sickbay moments are very good. In this second scene, Riker has the ritual dagger with him but still refuses to help Worf. By now, he has had time to think about Worf’s request and even talked to Picard about it. Here’s where the episode completely destroys me: Picard says, “Klingons choose their friends with great care” and the script really says the word “friend” or “friendship” often in a Worf/Riker context – but what Riker says to Worf in this second sickbay scene, among other things, is “How many people on this ship consider you a friend? How many owe you their lives? Have you ever thought about how you've affected the people around you?” The fact that he separates the “friends” part from the “how you've affected the people around you”, plus that blinking he does right before he says it – makes me want to microwave myself – I’m sorry, this is too much for me too handle. bye

.

17. “You do this everyday?” (Where Silence Has Lease S2E02)

A truly astonishing scene. Worf and Riker do some combat training/ Klingon calisthenics in the holodeck, which is fun to watch on its own. But after all the enemies are defeated, Worf turns against Riker with some hearty growling and snarling. Riker has to snap him out of his (blood)lust by calling, “At ease, Lieutenant!” – a sentence that will become important later this episode… For real I love this scene so much. Worf says that other programmes are “too personal to be shared” and uses the same calisthenics programme, in the same way, a few episodes later before he sleeps with K’Ehleyr. Like??? Does this even count as subtext anymore??? Ahh!!! Besides that, I also love the way they exit the holodeck – “Coming, Commander?” – “Right behind you.” ♡

.

16. Tired Dad and Whimsical Dad (Phantasms S7E06)

This is SUCH a good scene. It’s a moment of humour, levity and domesticity, right up until the turbolift doors open. Worf complains to Riker about having gifted Alexander a “music programme”, whatever exactly that is, but apparently it’s robbing Worf of his sleep at night. Riker thinks it’s amazing, of course, because it’s jazz. And because Alexander seems to like it very much. I have… no words. It’s just nice to see them acting as (quasi)dads ♡

.

15. The First Sickbay Scene (Ethics S5E16)

“Ethics” is a really emotional episode, as pointed out above, but I prefer this scene over the one where Riker outright confronts Worf. Here, he comes in grinning, tilting his head ever so playfully, and greets Worf with “You look pretty good for someone who's been eating sickbay food for three days”, which is cute on its own too. He also has a very soft bedside manner with Worf and says “Name it” in a very Klingon-esque way when Worf asks him for a favour. Of course, the favour is something that completely takes Riker by surprise, in a rather dramatic turn of events. And then Worf looks for words, and what he decides on is “please”. Yeah I’m fine :)

.

14. The Most Beautiful Sight (Silicon Avatar S5E04)

A simple™ entry on this list: Riker, all beat up and exhausted already, thinks someone is after them, only to realise Worf has come to their rescue. And what does he say to his saviour? “Mister Worf, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight”, Jim Kirk-esque hearteyes and messy hair included. It’s a very soft scene with slight hurt/comfort vibes, which I adore.

.

13. The Icarus Factor (S2E14)

Just… all of it. It’s making me furious how this episode very openly implies that yeah, Worf is majorly distressed, screaming at his friends and fellow officers etc. because he fears losing Riker. All of this episode is wild, but the scene where Worf comes to Riker’s quarters to talk about leaving the Enterprise together… fumbling with his hands, blatantly changing the subject for procrastination, “Words are not always… easy for me” bitch!! What is this?? Fanfiction?? The angst is sooo perfect in this scene, because of course, Riker doesn’t even want to go. But now another one of his friends asks him to take the assignment, so they can go on some “dangerous mission” together… It’s a lot. I adore it, even though it’s kinda sad to watch. 10/10.

.

12. “I love surprise parties!” (Parallels S7E11)

“Parallels” is a lot, too lol. It’s a great Worf episode and shows him not only in very serious/dramatic but also funny and even romantic moments. And it’s fun to imagine what OTHER universes Worf might have crossed into… The opening scene with him and Riker is especially great. Worf doesn’t like surprises, but Riker does – Worf doesn’t like that party hat, but Riker does – and the way he beams at Worf… just very cute! Also there’s a more serious scene later in that episode with Worf talking to AU!Riker, who is a captain, and they exchange rather wistful looks in the end…

.

11. “At ease, Lieutenant, at ease…” (Where Silence Has Lease S2E02)

The callback to the sentence Riker used to calm Worf down earlier this episode. Worf is mad at the ghostly USS Yamato (featuring the brilliant line “One Riker! One bridge!”) and doesn’t even answer to Riker calling out his name anymore. So, Riker turns him around by his shoulder and… well. Worf looks like he’s about to eat him alive. Nice snarling from him, and nice taking a step backwards to the wall from Riker. Worf only calms down when Riker dOmiNanTLy raises his chin. And then, to calm himself, Worf murmurs, “At ease, Lieutenant, at ease” as he walks away – the same words Riker yelled at him earlier this episode. I’m… truly at a loss of words I love this so much sdfjsdkksk. Maybe the kinkiest Worfriker moment.

(The German dub changed it into “Never mind, Commander, I’m all calm now” and I honest to God don’t know how to feel about that)

.

10. “I will go with you.” (The Outcast S5E17)

To start the Top Ten: a moment from near the end of TNG’s (in)famous “queer episode”. Riker has decided to go down to the planet against Starfleet regulations to save his beloved Soren from her transphobic oppressors, and when Worf comes to his quarters under some pretext, they have a very lovely conversation – Worf knows what Riker is planning to do and wants to go with him, even though he was charactarised as pretty much queerphobic earlier this episode. Seems like he had a change of heart and is willing to risk his career as first Klingon in Starfleet to support Riker.

It’s that situation from “Legacy” – “I will go with you” vs. “it’s too dangerous, I’ll go alone” – only this time Worf wins. Because “a warrior does not let a friend face danger alone”. Boy. Wow. i’m.

As if this episode wasn’t soul crushing enough already!!! Urgh!!! The ending always makes me bawl.

.

9. “I want to ensure your return to this ship.” (A Matter of Honor S2E08)

Ahh, yes. Thee Klingon episode. I love Riker’s exchange programme to pieces, but Worf as a contrast to the Klingons on the Pagh is very enjoyable on his own. He stops Riker before the transport, to give him an emergency transporter. “Sentiment?” Riker asks, to which Worf simply replies, “I want to ensure your return to this ship”, and they exchange very cute looks.

Earlier Worf told Riker how Klingon officers might kill their superiors, so my read is that he realised he might lose his precious Commander if he doesn’t think of something shdfjsdkfksk. I love this very much. It shows how early TNG!Worf was willing to work his way around his culture’s more toxic (or in this case: deadly) traditions in order to come up with the best result for himself and his loved ones. It’s a trait he sadly loses as the show goes on, but I really enjoy the way it’s playing out in this scene.

.

8. Cold Opener Scene --- aka The Dress (Liaisons S7E02)

What can I say? I Am Not Immune To “You look good in a dress”. There is little to say about this scene other than I think it’s about as perfect as shippable moments come in Star Trek. There’s alien nonsense, calling out of sexist attitudes, Gay™, and smiley Riker and flustered Worf. What else could you wish for?

.

7. Worf cradling Will (Conspiracy S1E25)

Ahh… my Weakness. Worf finds Riker unconscious on the floor in-between hundreds of glass shards, beneath a ton of flowers and the starry sky outside – and cradles him, very gently. Exhaling softly when he realises Riker is still alive. Taking MUCH too long to realise that this is a trap of the Admiral. The way he is not at all ready for fighting and 100% in care mode is very telling for s1 Worf. It’s a very soft, Lord of the Rings-esque scene with great aesthetics. I love it;;

.

6. Frame of Mind (S6E21)

The whole episode, no matter how nightmarish, is a testament to the deep relationships between Riker and his crewmates. Only the last few scenes are “real”, the rest takes place inside Riker’s mind, where his friends represent different aspects of his personality. The episodes implies that Worf is his ‘actions’ or something, but when you read into it (i.e. overanalyse 👀) it seems like Worf is Riker’s sense of security! He’s constantly warning him or wanting to help him get out of danger, which is really sweet considering that this is what Riker truly sees Worf as ♡

My favourite shot in the episode is the one with the pendant above!

.

5. Worf returns to the Enterprise (Star Trek: First Contact)

During the battle against the Borg, the Defiant is rescued by the Enterprise in what’s easily one of the best scenes in the movie (oops hot take I don’t think First Contact is the best TNG movie 👀). After the rescue, Worf returns to the Enterprise bridge and is greeted by his fellow officers. Riker comments on the Defiant with, “Tough little ship” and the biggest hearteyes ever, which… makes me wonder if he’s actually talking about the ship, y’know.

It gets better when Picard tells Worf he could help at Tactical, and Riker just follows Worf to his console and asks, “You do remember how to fire phasers?” with his signature grin. I’m almost completely sure both lines were supposed to be dick jokes (y’know, ‘cause they’re both men! haha!) but Dorn’s and Frakes’ acting simply doesn’t allow for that reading imo sdfhjskdfsk. I LOVE the ex-boyfriend vibes.

.

4. ‘Owon Eggs (Time Squared S2E13)

Ahh, Thee domestic scene. It’s so cute, from start to finish – Riker singing as he prepares food. Only greeting Worf when the fellow officers arrive. Messing up the scrambled eggs. Data not even trying them. Worf digging in. And then saying, “Delicious” in that tone of voice. Riker smiling full of hearteyes at the compliment. *mwah true chef’s kiss! Perfect!

Little else to say lmao, except it only got better when an anonymous asker pointed out that Will definitely bought these specific eggs because he knew that Worf liked them. Just… the perfect galaxy brain take to make this cute scene even cuter sdfjsdkfjsk

.

3. Ending Scene (A Matter of Honor S2E08)

This outrageous episode needs an adequate ending, and boy, do Riker and Worf deliver. Riker, all beat up, is back aboard the Enterprise and Picard tells Worf to accompany him to sickbay. Riker moves toward Worf with that very gay little swing that I 100% adore.

On their way, they exchange a very cute dialogue with casual touches, soft smiles, some more checking out from Riker, and the completely unwarranted and outrageous line “Welcome home” from Worf. Like…………………. sweety…………………………chill No ‘sir’, no joke, nothing! Just Worf smiling at Riker and Riker smiling back and ARGH! I’m SOFT! They’re HOME! (ಥ﹏ಥ) brb i’m emo lmaooo

.

2. “Aren’t you going to mingle, Mr. Woof?” (Dark Page S7E07)

I loooove this scene!! There’s a reception at Ten Forward and Lwaxana Troi, of all people, starts a conversation with Worf and Riker (who have been standing way too close to just “talk” 👀). When she asks, “Aren’t you going to mingle, Mr. Woof?” neither Worf nor Riker correct her. On the contrary, Riker takes great delight in seeing Worf’s expression, and he sways and grins like a child.

But his expression changes when Worf says he’s genuinely uneasy around the telepathic aliens, like “aww, babe, I understand”. They’re just so cute…! And also a comedic duo: When Lwaxana tells them both that their minds aren’t “sophisticated enough” to be read by the telepaths – their expressions are priceless hjdfksjdskdjsk

.

1. Peak Performance (S2E21)

Is this a surprise to anyone? I don’t think so lol. There is much to enjoy about this whole episode, from Data’s strategema duel to Riker connecting more to his crew, but more than that… this is also The Worfriker Show. I can’t even put everything shippable about here in detail, it’s too much, so I’ve linked the tag on the blog.

The scene in Worf’s quarters is outrageous on its own (“Join me” – “The honour is to serve”), complete with checking out the naked Kahless statue, then the weirdly intimate Strategema scene (“I will be… irritated”), the whole “I need you by my side” shtick yaddi yaddi yadda what’s all this. What’s “Klingon guile” (affectionate). I don’t even know anymore. My brain melts every time I watch this episode because it’s that much. Peak early TNG – a Peak Performance, you might say. It’s the true season finale imo, and I could write an essay about every single scene in it. Just… perfect! My top spot!

.

Thank you for reading until now haha, you’re great! ♡

.

[kncrowder88]

Voyager and Romance

So, the thing about Voyager and romance that sticks with me is they seem to do one couple really, or more accurately two characters, any real justice overall. And that is B’Elanna and Tom. While moments for that relationship may not be perfect that is rather realistic for relationships, as no relationship is perfect all the time so that is tolerable. This post though isn’t going to be about looking at that particular relationship though but primarily at other relationships. Largely because a discord server I am in was talking about Counterpoint and I realized why I both love the episode but also have weird feelings with it. Which, I’ll touch more on that specifically after I discuss the relationship stuff (as that plays a part).

So, I will preface this with it has been a bit since I’ve done a binge of Voyager and really a full binge of Star Trek in general. As such, I may forget a few relationships on the show and overall, throughout Trek in general. From what I can really toss together … I honestly am beginning to believe that when it comes to Voyager and the other shows (the older ones not the new ones – I am not including any NEW Trek in this) that for some reason the relationship writing with Voyager was rather different. Like, they gave 3 characters active relationships prior to being stranded. That being Harry Kim, Kathryn Janeway, and Tuvok. Out of these three we get Janeway and Tuvok holding onto those relationships in their own way while … it seemed mildly convenient for Harry to mention it when it suited him, I guess (like that time Tom wanted to set them up for a double date or you know when he ended up in that alternate timeline but still wanted back with Voyager even more like). Like, the reason I don’t list Tuvok-T’Pel above is because we don’t actually get to SEE that in full, we just get to see Tuvok’s side of it and his dedication – we don’t see the relationship, we don’t see the couple.

Harry and Tom, prior to his relationship with B’Elanna, seem to frequently do this sort of two bros dating around thing which is fine but like … same time the show used them for that. And once they settled Tom with B’Elanna they used Harry in those plot lines when it worked. Thus the alien STD episode and the “how dare you not get the standard permission from your CO and CMO” line (like they really put that into a Trek ep and I’m still unable to not picture Riker, Kirk, Picard, and everyone other Trek character constantly getting permission for their latest romance – just remember Jadzia and Worf likely had to get permission from Sisko and Bashir if the Trill and Klingon weren’t already approved of in the system just saying, that’s a thing that happened). Anyways … my point is they went out of their way on this. Like, when Kes was with Neelix they wrote Neelix to be that jealous judgmental boyfriend who literally got upset she knew where other people’s quarters where, she was nice to Tom, she was … just yeah. They wrote Tom to come off as a player pulling Harry into it, when Tom settled down Harry seems to pick that up (I mean you got his “omg Seven” phase and the alien STD stuff and lord knows what else I’m forgetting with him).

And to top this off I haven’t even touched on the “Janeway can’t have a romance” stuff yet. Which is where my real problem is. Like, its bad enough they brought in Jeri for the sex appeal (which lets be honest stems from the fact they couldn’t use Janeway for that – which I get, Kate was right in the whole concept of the audience target having to keep respect for a female lead and sex appeal couldn’t be a focal point but they could have balanced it right and regrettably because they couldn’t that meant Jeri got all of the other side of the coin). Many of Seven’s eps center on romance or social stuff and honestly that is a whole other WTF post in its own right because it all leads up to the sudden get with the one person on the ship who didn’t want you here in the first place and who also would have served better as the male adult guidance figure/father figure than as a ROMANTIC partner but hey BS happened behind scenes to cause that chaotic romantic on screen set up. But yeah … this is just another example of the poor Voyager romantic plot lines.

Chakotay’s romantic plot lines are usually – and by that, I mean pretty much always – with these strong independent women. But usually, at least from what I recall, they are also typically the “needs help” (damsel in distress/can’t do it alone/etc.) plot. Like, Riley was strong independent but also set up to need help in regard to getting her little collective put back together on the planet. You got Kellin, again another strong lady who yet again also needed help. At least in the ep she’s in and if I recall much of the info on how they fell in love during that time as well – primarily with getting away from danger at the start and then during the initial romance finding her target. Valerie is the only one who doesn’t fall into the needs help plot and that’s largely because she was being manipulated by Chakotay for information – which honestly just goes to show how well Chakotay was at the whole undercover stuff (which tells us a lot about what he could have been doing as a Maquis). Seska was the plot point of “you once dated her, now she is going to badger you to get with her again and when that fails, she’s going to assault you” …. like all of Chakotay’s romances are literally him either 1) being manipulated (as that’s what Seska and Riley did) or 2) being the kind guy or 3) not an actual relationship (either because its undercover work or because the writers were too cowardly to make him and Janeway canon).

Then you got Janeway. Then you got KATHRYN JANEWAY. You know, the one where Kate Mulgrew said no romance, no sexualizing, no doing that sort of stuff because the audience had to maintain respect for the character. I’m sure someone has the exact various quotes out there. Like … this is why we don’t have JC as canon. But what we do got instead is …. Janeway in Prime Factors being flirted with by the administrator as if that’s going to get him what he wants because “female leader means flirt with her”. We got Janeway and a period drama holodeck adventure in the early years which was clearly meant to be her romantic tête-à-tête early on that never got followed up with. We got “delete the wife” with the Fair Haven plot point (because its totally respectable to see the FEMALE LEAD, the STARFLEET CAPTAIN, just straight up DELETE THE WIFE of another individual - yeah, I get its meant to be humor factor because hologram but come on). You have her whole thing with Mark which we get tidbits off but again similar to Tuvok we literally only get to see her side of it – the only couple moment of theirs we get is the comm call in Caretaker.

But Jaffen? You are correct. We got that lovely and touching and wonderful romance with Jaffen …. Oh wait … they had to remove her from the ship, strip her of her memory, and her autonomy in order for her to have a relationship with another individual. And yes, by losing her memories, by losing what made her who she was as a person, she did lose a sense of autonomy. She entered into a relationship without a full sense of independent choice. The point in which she made a choice in that episode, the point in which she – Kathryn Janeway – made a choice with all of the person, the individual she is, was at the end when she had her memories back and could decide based on the values and beliefs and all that she is. What I’m getting at is the people on that planet deliberately took away who she was, they took her memories and her ability to make the decisions they knew she would make --- they did that deliberately (that’s even established in the episode) --- and as such her decisions while in that state are not truly her full independent decisions but the ones impacted by the state she was forced into.

And while I love Resolutions, while I love all the JC goodies, we get in that ep … Yet again the only time we get to see Janeway in any sort of romantic situation is when they remove her from the ship. When they remove her from command. When they strip her of that setting. This time, though – well the first time – she keeps awareness and has to go through lose of it all in order to even start to let it all happen. I love the episode, I do, but I just find it rather amusing they went “’Hey we gotta strand them what should their tasks be on the planet?” and they immediately went “Well Janeway is scientist how about that” “Okay and he can build, Chakotay can start building. Man builds house, right?” and then like went “oh and then she can start a garden” …. Like really? Really? That’s what you got for me. Oh, and then there is the monkey. That’s the romance this ep. Boat, science, monkey.

Then we got Kashyk. We have dealt with Kathryn throughout this series dealing with various leaders of various styles. As mentioned, Prime Factors guy attempted flirting. Other leaders pulled similar or worse or even dismissed her …. Like the list goes on. Counterpoint is a great episode because it deals with prejudice and is rather dark. The thing is, had Janeway been able to have a healthy romantic relationship on screen to counter this episode this episode probably would have come off better. Episodes like Prime Factor could have been done different (that leader didn’t need to be as flirty for example). One or two eps through the series having creepy dudes she had to deal with, fine, whatever … that be a nice impact for the audience. But when you have to many prior to Counterpoint – even if its minor, small stuff – it makes this episode so much harder for fans. Especially the female fans who deal with this constantly.

See, here’s the thing with this ep…. Some of the fans who watch … we know Kashyk well. We know that character. He is that male leader, that male power figure, who uses the power he has to manipulate those in his control to get what he wants. And Kathryn … Kathryn was in his control. Kashyk is listed as a relationship on memory-alpha. But much like how I view Seska with Chakotay … I do not view Kashyk as a proper relationship. In Devore space, Kathryn did not have proper power. She had people in her command, on her ship, that she had to protect. That she knew she had to protect. Her own best friend … lives in her hand … and Kashyk right there willing to kill them. Willing to snatch them up and destroy them. And he used that power to manipulate her and play her. Yes, she played him right back but … did she truly have a choice? Did she have any other choice but to play his game? What would have happened if she said no? And that … that is why this episode is so unsettling for some people. And why this relationship being considered on is so off putting … that the writers, that memory-alpha, that the fact I’m putting it on this list as one of the ones on here for Voyager says so much … they wrote this as one of her relationships while out there … she had to do what so many women had to do to stay safe, to keep people she loves safe, and that’s not a relationship.

Voyager could have done romance/relationships such better justice.

[theboywhocriedworf]

I just watched ST: TNG, s4e15, First Contact and I have a question: is Commander Riker following Captain Kirk's legacy in terms of being coerced into sex?

After all, if you start watching TNG with TOS still vivid in your memory, it's obvious that the creators tried to capitalise on the previous success, especially in terms of character building. You know, Data is TNG's Spock, and Riker, especially in the first season resembles Kirk in many ways. (Further into the series, the characters definitely found their own ground to stand on, though).

The trope of an open-minded sensual man, who respects women, fared well for both Kirk and Riker. (Btw, I definitely don't regard any of them as predatory or a womanizer). But there's a dark side to it. It has been discussed in detail how cringe worthy it is that Kirk finds himself constantly in sexual situations, where his consent was absent or manipulated. But Will Riker has his fair share of this shit in TNG, too, and I haven't seen a lot of posts about it, so here are my 5 cents.

Anyway, back to the 'First Contact' episode. The plot setting: Riker is doing a reconnaissance mission on planet Malcor III before making first contact with them. He gets injured and ends up in a local hospital. Riker's face has been surgically altered to look Malcorian, but the rest of his body exposes him as an alien. When Riker comes to, bruised all over, he tries to escape from the hospital back to the Enterprise, without revealing that he is not Malcorian. While he is looking for a means of escape, a Malcorian nurse, Lanel, enters. She asks him, if he is an alien, and hints that she can help Riker escape, so he goes for it.

Riker: Now, will you help me?

Lanel: If you make love to me.

Riker (incredulously): What?!

Lanel: I've always wanted to make love with an alien.

After that Lanel says that having sex with her is the "only way out of here" for Riker, and starts touching him, eyeing him hungrily. The apprehension on Riker's face clearly shows that his is absolutely not into it, and there's no way it's consensual.

After that the scene cuts first to a cityscape of Malcor and then to the Malcorian exiting the room with Riker directly behind her in an attempt to escape. Then they have a cringe inducing conversation, where Lanel asks if she's going to see him again.

Like what?!

There is no way to interpret this scene in any other way than that they had sex, and Riker now wants to get away from her and never return. This situation is never addressed again.

Given that further in the episode Riker almost dies (and is briefly accused of murder, but no biggy), the question is: is Riker okay?

And more importantly: what was the purpose of the implied sex scene? From the external, real world perspective - it's a weird attempt to raise the stakes, I guess. And to perpetuate a macho image, like a man can not take any offence in sexual advances of a woman? From the in-universe perspective - I won't be surprised if Riker has to deal with some PTSD.

It is a pity that the consequences of this trope have never been addressed on screen. As no matter how easy going, brave, or sex-positive you are, these type of weird sexual situations where the consent is very dubious, are bound to leave a mark. It is also a pity that this character arc has become a Star Trek trope. But, welp, this just didn't age well, I guess.

Are there any other characters in Star Trek that are portrayed through this same problematic trope, as James T Kirk and William T Riker? Picard gets a little bit of it, but never to such a degree.

[enigma-im]

Kindle Unlimited Recommendation

Dark Planet Warriors Series

Warning: Gore, violence, some situation of wrongful touching

Summary:

8 stories. The series begins with a bug infestation on the mining station outside of earth. A species called Kordolians are there to be the exterminators. After a meeting with a strange human our primary story kicks off while the bug story plays in background in some stories while being the main focus for several books. The consistent story for the other 8 books is a romance between the aliens and humans that results in a war for purity.

Person thoughts:

Great fuckin series. Almost every book has a different couple with only the very first couple being the focus several other times. First book is fantastic, especially the first sex scene. Its so good. The next few focus on the bug infestation till its dealt with then it gets back to the war. Don't skip them though, Riker is a treat that deserves to be acknowledged. My favorite one of this amazing series is Infinity's Embrace. That book has some dope characters. Electric Heart is my least favorite because it's like a real bad Watch Dogs (video game).

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Dark Planet Warriors

Dark planet Falling

Into the Light

Out of Darkness

Forged in Shadow

Infinity's Embrace

Electric Heart

Brilliant Starlight

Office Alien Series

Warning: Awkwardness, drug use, kidnapping (kind of)

Summary:

Three books about an office relationship with three different aliens. Each alien goes through the venture of courting a human woman. All of them succeed on confusing then educating these people on their culture. All the aliens come from the same planet that has been ravaged by a tough alien species that try to wipe them out with their superior technology. That isn't a plot point, its just an explanation. Each story shows the struggles of cultural differences and how education and understanding can help make the world a better place.

Person thoughts:

I adore this series. One book in this series actually got a perfect score from me, which is strange cause I'm a tough grader. The first book has a super awkward lad who just seems to hate everyone. Its really cute and I like them both though their relationship is filled with cringe. The second book I didn't much care for. The main love dude was kind of an idiot and was too blinded by acceptance to be a reasonable thinking alien. Still decent but Its not my cup of tea. The last one- sweet jesus- was amazing. It has a ‘my cousin Vinny’ vibe with their relationship where they fight often but its like their form of foreplay. So good. There is another series that’s super short that takes place 1 year later for each story. Totally worth a read after you read the series.

Rating: 8/10

Books:

The E.T. Guy

The New Guy

The Security Guy

(Christmas special)

Kraving Khiva

Warning: Sex workers, forced prostitution, abuse

Summary:

Eve is a virgin who is fed up with it. After her father's death she has been ghosting by in life with her best friend. After said friend points out a brothel of some interesting aliens she decides to give the place a try to finally rid herself of her virginity. After just one night she keeps coming back, falling for the sex worker. Romance ensues with lots of strife and abuse to keep the two from their HEA.

Personal Thoughts:

Man, this story represents everything I love in a story. Tons of fluff. It was a really good slow burn that I didn’t expect from a story about a prostitute. The cover gives the illusion of a typical middle aged mother romance - which I guess it is- but it has so much more. I only had one problem with the story, the ending. I felt they could have given more information but they just glossed over it. Besides that, hot book. The second one is really boring, just a slice of life that I couldn't get into.

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Kraving Khiva

Prince of Firestone

The Queen's Ransom

Warning: Near death situations, a lot of near death situations, gore

Summary:

432 pages. Long book. Jalia enters into a competition to win a great prize. The interest of great fortune is too much for her to pass up. Little does she know the treachery the competition hides or the actual prize. The king of Minotaurs is hosting an event to test the strength, endurance, and intelligence of potential wives. In a culture that values strength they refuse to accept a queen who hasn't been tried. Genius Jalia goes through challenge after challenge, nearly dying about every chapter while catching the attention of a charming king.

Personal Thoughts:

I generally don't have the patience for long books but this one never dragged on. Every chapter was captivating and riveting. The challenges were interesting and Jalia's solutions were pretty genius. The relationship between the king and her is pretty grand, I adore them greatly. My only problem with the book is all the potty humor and insults. She was a genius but her insults left much to be desired. Once her biggest annoyance is no longer in the picture does that kind of stuff end.

Rating: 9/10

Book:

The Queen's Ransom

The Kraken

Warning: Gore, racism, attempts of suicide(only 1 book), sassy AI

Summary:

A mysterious creature has lived in the ocean long ago, since the beginning of the settlement on this planet. After a nearly drowning woman is saved a series kicks off. Each book has a different relationship of humans and Krakens. Every book tells the story of how the krakens go from living in isolation at the bottom of the ocean to breeding with humans.

Personal thoughts:

When I first read this story I was just getting into monster romance. The love interests have fairly human tops but hella tentacle bottoms. So I was a little off-put by it but as I read on I didn’t care. The first one is pretty good for a start. The second one was decent, I didn’t really care for it. I actually skipped the 3rd one my first go around. Which is fine, it doesn't add too much and its short. Its still worth a read. The 4th one, fucking grand. 5th one? My all time favorite of the series! If you don't want to read them all at least read the 5th one. Like ask me for story details and I'll give you a cliff note for what's mentioned in that story then you can read in peace. 6th was ok, love the sassy AI. I didn't read the 7th one. Its two old people and I just can't

Rating: 8/10

Books:

Treasure Abyss

Jewel of the Sea

Hunter of the Tide

Heart of the Deep

Rising from the Depth

Fallen from the Stars

Lover from the Waves

Escaping Wonderland

Warning: Sexual assault, gore, lots of sexual stuff

Summary:

Alice is wrongfully placed in a psych ward that specializes in simulation therapy. She is placed in a pod then taken to the world of wonderland. This twisted version of the children's classic introduces a rapey mad hater and manipulative Red King. The main love interest is a playful lad who has more control of the simulation than most. The two run from the clutches of the Red King while trying to escape the simulation.

Personal thoughts:

I had very low hopes for this story. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. It was a twist on the beloved movie and book. Everything was rapey and creepy and I weirdly loved it. Of course nothing too terrible happened to the main lady so it made those situations more tolerable but only just. I adore the main dude, shadow. He was a playful little mischief maker and I would die for him. What made this book better for me was when everything hit the fan they didn't rid him of his sassy personality. Most books make the cocky, silly, playful personality as something that is bad and needs to change. This one they didn’t and kept it. So good.

Rating: 9/10

Books:

Escaping Wonderland

Infinity City

Warning: Abuse, gore, sexual assault, dope ass fighting

Summary:

A city where criminals are more in control than most people think. Each book takes the reader through different adventure of different people. All having the similarity of protecting the ones they love. The first is of an assassin protecting the only woman who has made him feel so strongly. The second is with a mob boss hacker who grows fond of a shy human. The third is the second in command of the mob boss hacker who finds a pregnant woman in a menagerie and discovers she is his mate. Fourth is one of the workers of the mob boss's security team who gets taken by some slavers along with a woman he was entertaining for the night.

Personal thoughts:

First book sucked. He was obsessives and pretty much took all her choices. It wasn't till the end that he was like "my bad, you can leave if you want". Bleh. Second book was fan-fucking-tastic. Arc is a charming idiot with an amazing backstory. I didn't like the girl in the beginning but she grew on me. I love that he focuses on her but still pays attention to work and his 'family'. The third was surprisingly good. I generally don't like stories where someone is pregnant because they get boring. This one was not that. She was never a hindrance or weak, she was a badass. With her big kitty man they made an amazing duo. Also any scenes with her man and the baby made me tear up. He was so sweet. Fourth was boring, it reminds me too much of a lot of other stories.

Rating: 8/10

Books:

Silent lucidity

Shielded hearts

Untamed Hunger

Savage Desire

------------------------------------------

While people watch TV or Youtube in their free time, I read. I have such a weird organization with everything i read because i tend to reread stories and forget i read them. the entire time i read it im like “have i read this before?”. so for books i write them down, rate them, then review them. i didn’t post the reviews here because it would be so many spoilers. Also i sort my favorite fanfics by fandom then relationship. i read so fucking much, its a problem at this point.

If you liked this recommendation drop a like, reblog, or reply. i will perhaps do another if you all like this. i have read so many books and i can post some decent ones and some god awful ones. perhaps you all can tell me how wrong my thoughts are on the ones i deem terrible. i think we will probably agree, ‘free’ books tend to have lower standards.

[ozymandiasdirge]

okay well after the maelstrom....episode 4x02 family

welp lets see if we keep getting continuity

oh my god!!!!! we get to meet worf’s parents. given that the episode’s called family i wonder who else’s family we’ll meet

riker and worf’s friendship makes me smile it really does.

oh god with all the drama i almost forgot about worf’s discommendation. poor guy :(

despite picard’s most french name i forget he’s not british literally every time its brought up

sometimes it feels more like deanna is just that person in the friend group who has their own shit together instead of like a psychologist. like she just says normal shit like “trauma recovery takes time” and every acts like she’s ridiculous.

anyway picard is so not fine jesus.

is there a stereotype about women being late??? is this a weird 24th century thing

how???? did i not guess worf’s parents were russian??? it makes such perfect sense. i thought worf was like that because he’s a klingon but he’s just russian. WORF SERGEYEVICH ROZHENKO, son of mogh

his parents are so cute!!!!! i love you mr. and mrs. rozhenko

picard entered the french country side and accordions immediately started playing. god i love 90s television.

who is this small cockney child in france. oh it’s picard’s nephew…no wonder he hates kids.

picard has never even met his sister in law, i sense drama.

oh god is picard’s family the fucking space amish. his brother dresses like johnny depp. and also seems like a dick so i guess that much is genetic huh.

riker and deanna going on more shore leave dates <3

also love that deanna and bev just hang out and have ladies night.

and we’re getting bev and wesley’s dead husband and dad trauma. jesus.

whenever worf’s friends find out literally anything about him he acts like the most mortified man alive.

THEY ARE THE SPACE AMISH. CHRIST. glad to see french people being annoying even in the future.

picard’s brother has no redeeming qualities at all does he……god i feel like I’m at easter at my mom’s families’ house.

how many pairs of jodhpurs and deep v-necks does picard have.

worf hears one nice thing about himself and is just like 😤😤😤

worf’s parents are so gooooooood. that scene with guinan killed me they all just love worf.

okay so picard has talked to his sister in law before.

why do i have a feeling this scene with wesley and his dad’s holo is going to fuck me up.

oh no worf’s scene with his parents about how much they love him is going to do it first fuck. 😭😭😭

dude your brother just went through massive trauma both physical and emotional can you lay off just a little.

picard has gone ape shit good for him. it’s time for that starfleet captain chaotic energy to come out.

patrick stewart’s acting is too good for this show. christ.

i cant believe this man has me staring agog at the screen while rolling around in the mud!!!!! 

i cannot believe a scene with wesley crusher is making me tear up i hate this show.

nooooo his dad is apologizing for being gone so much on the shipppp....god this is so sad.

did you know worf’s dad has all the blueprints and specifications at home?

what an amazing episode. god i hope the rest of tng can live up to the precedent of these three episodes

[theanarchistfaery]

Star Trek: Picard - Season One

The first season of latest entry in the Star Trek Franchise has reached its conclusion, so it's finally time to express some thoughts. Of course there will be some major spoilers, but why would you even read a review about a show you haven't seen yet?

Engage!

The series takes place about 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. After the Romulan homeworld was destroyed by a supernova, the Federation promised to help evacuating the survivers, but due to the destruction of the Utopia Planitia shipyard by an android resistance, they weren't able to keep their word.

Picard, now a retired admiral, is contacted by a young woman named Dahj, who is hunted by a Romulan secret organization called the Zhat Vash.

The Zhat Vash are hunting down any kind of artificial life following an ancient prophecy about a destroyer, an artificial being, that could erase all organic life in the universe. Dahj gets killed, but as it turns out, she has a twin sister. Both of them are artificial humans, created by Bruce Maddox as an offspring for Data.

Picard hires a crew and a ship and finds Dahjs sister Soji on a marooned Borg cube called the Artifact. Later they manage to find her homeworld, a planet populated by a group of replicants who are all outcomes of Datas and Maddoxs research.

The Romulans are threatening to attack the planet because, as it turns out, Soji is in fact the destroyer the prophecy speaks about.

She activates the big skybeam thingy from The Avengers, allowing some sort of machine creature to enter our universe. But Picard, who's all the time been suffering from an illness, gives one of his iconic speeches, right before he dies.

Soji decides to deactivate the device, Starfleet shows up, explaining to the Romulans that the planet is now protectorate of the Federation. Picard has a near death experience which allows him to speak to Data. After that, the Replicants create a new artificial body for Picard so he can live on his natural life span and season 2 can happen.

Overall it was an enjoyable first season. The plot was engaging enough, the acting was on point and it felt like real, modern Star Trek. But it's far from flawless. The pacing is not the best, and the plot often loses its focus. That one where Picard dresses up as a criminal with an eyepatch and a french accent will surely go down in history as one of those episodes no fan talks about unless they need a good cringe.

Most of the new characters didn't really leave a lasting impression. In Discovery (Yes I am a fan of Star Trek Discovery) we have characters like Saru, Sylvia Tilly, Hugh Culber, Empress Philippa Georgiou, Captain Christopher Pike (who is technically not a new character, but the way they portraited him was great) and of course Michael Burnham.

All of them are fleshed out, three dimensional people.

Each one has their own story, strengths, flaws, purposes but in this series I'm even having a hard time remembering their names. There is Soji, and Raffi and Picards Romulan ward, then there this other Romulan guy who reminds me of Theon Greyjoy from Game of Thrones... you get the idea.

I like however what they made of the old characters. Jean-Luc Picard is like he always was, an Idealist, Seven of Nine is a broken woman, hardened by a history of violence and pain, Data, even in death, aims to grow as an individual, Riker does, what he does best, being the best support for Picard and looking great in his uniform, even Hugh, who appeared only twice in TNG, got a logical progression of his arc.

Plus, there are countless easter eggs and callbacks to earlier Star Trek, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but in my opinion this show relies heavier on nostalgia than any other Star Trek series or movie before.

Also the political message of the show is pretty short sighted.

I get what they trying to say with the Federation not helping the Romulan refugees, but here's the deal:

It turns out later in the series, that the Zhat Vash was behind the attack on Mars, leaving the Federation with not enough ressources to provide any help. It wasn't like the Federation or Starfleet were unwilling to help, they just couldn't, which was the Romulans fault.

Dispite this, the Federation was framed as the bad guys leaving the Romulans to die. The Zhat Vash's motivation is based on an ancient prophecy that turns out to be true, so at the end of the day it's justified. Not their actions of course, but in the end their motivation was to save the universe.

This, and also the criminalization of AI after the attack on Mars are topics that in TNG would have been discussed in all their nuances. But here it is all blamed on the Federation as if it is some sort of evil empire. It is just too simplified. Also the Romulans seem to have a high amount of ships, which makes me wonder why they couldn't manage the evacuation on their own.

The series tried to accomplish what Nemesis could not do: Giving Data a more satisfying farewell.

I wish I could say, they managed it.

That last scene was beautiful, sure, but the build up was rather weak.

Jean-Luc Picard, though more passive throughout the season has his greatest moments at the beginning and at the end, where he gives his inspirational speeches deeply rooted in humanism, diplomacy and the ideals of the Federation, and these are the moments where he really shines as the hero we know and love. But sadly these moments are too rare.

As I said before, I enjoyed watching the show, but I was hoping for more. They did not kill off Picard, so there is hope for a better second season!

[technoturian]

I finally finished Picard. I enjoyed about 80% of it but felt like it stumbled at the final hurdle, tbh. My main issues below...

- For a show that started with Picard and Data, it felt like the show’s main emotional line was Data/Picard and Soji/Data and that it would connect Data and Soji as strongly as it started to do with Dahj before she died. But then after they left the Troi-Rikers it felt like Data was completely absent from the story and it became not about who Soji is as a person but who Soji is as a synthetic, a basic “synthetics vs. organics” argument rather than about what makes a person alive and an individual and what made Soji in particular so special. Soji became less about being Data’s daughter and more about being part of Soong’s collective of synthetics.

It was so muddled what the message even was beyond that very surface level debate, to the point where Soong found out his daughter killed one of her own he goes, “they’re just as bad as us” -- once again lumping them all together -- and chooses to “switch sides” and stop them by force. Instead of, y’know, *talking* to the rest of his children after the one individual that was clearly evil and influencing them was out of the way.

If anyone had told Soji that Narek hadn’t been the one to kill Saga, wouldn’t it have been much easier to convince her? But that would’ve undercut the big fight and their big message that.. to be honest just didn’t make sense to me at all. Soji felt completely lost as a character the second the homeworld entered the picture. Suddenly she knew things and felt things because the story needed her to.

- And let’s talk about this clearly evil android sister of hers. Why does she look just like Soji except because of all the heavy handed twin metaphors? I thought that face was like... specifically designed by Data in his painting? I’m so confused. I’m incredibly confused about the timeline of events at this point. And I’m confused as to why the Data-like androids are so capable of emotion and obviously far superior to Data, but Data could not be rebuilt. I’m confused as to why Soji and Dahj were made, superior even to these new androids, and then mindwiped and shoved off to chase shadows rather than just getting some actual humans to do that spying and protecting these incredibly precious creations. I’m confused as to why no others like Soji and Dahj were made afterwards. I’m confused as to how Narek and the others even heard about Soji or Dahj without knowing where they came from, yet they were certain there were more like them (spoiler, there weren’t even more like them, so why did Narek’s group have that impression?).

- Speaking of Narek, what even happened to him at the end? Did I just miss it? I’ve been waiting this whole show for his boring manipulative ass to die, please don’t tell me they’re going to try to bring him back. I don’t need a discount CW Romulan “I did murders but I also cried so I’m sympathetic” Kylo Ren who thinks having a British accent and a leather jacket is the same as having a personality showing up AGAIN and sucking the air out of MORE scenes.

- There were a lot of things that felt unearned in the last episode, but Picard’s “death” is a big one. Riker just goes “Okay bye!” and then Picard dies and they’re playing it off like this old man dying surrounded by his loved ones but as much as they tried to build it up with all of those goodbyes, he met half of them like a week ago. His second in command for years just nopes out of the scene so some kid he read Dumas to once over a decade ago can be the family in this situation? This is supposed to feel meaningful and earned? It wasn’t. It would have been better earned if it had been solely between Soji and Picard, as they had invested most in this relationship, and them ‘having each other’, and yet the idea of Soji finding belonging with Picard was practically thrown by the wayside in those last two episodes to ask “bigger” but less emotionally satisfying questions about her status as a synthetic. So in what should be the most emotional scene in the entire season, he just dies with a half-hearted “aww, you guys” to the new team and I felt... not much. And then it doesn’t even count! And then we’re having a funeral, but now it’s for Data? The same Data who y’all forgot to even talk about during most of that synthetics vs. organics dialogue??? It was nice to see Data again, but completely unearned by the events of the episode.

- Speaking of unearned... This show’s handling of its ‘romances’ is abysmal. It’s kind of sad that Agnes and Rios are the romance with the most buildup simply by virtue of the two of them actually having a FULL conversation with one another before making out. I really disliked Agnes and Rios in the end, partially because I don’t think they adequately built it up (even though like I said, it’s sadly the relationship they put the most effort into building), but also partially because I selfishly want Rios to die so Picard can captain and we can just have more of the great hologram Rioses because they’re way more fun. And also I love holograms more than people. Blame the Holodoc.

Soji/Narek was cringe-inducing garbage, an absolutely artless manipulation from a guy with zero charisma whose entire existence depends on him seducing a girl and him doing so by being evasive, distant and moody. Just the worst. And somehow that makes her like him instead of running for the hills, because he throws in the odd non-sequitur love confession two days into their relationship.

I thought Maddox was Agnes’ father in that old vid until she kissed him and that was. Woof. That was a real gross brain switch. In any case, not a fan, but I will say MAYBE this relationship should really earn the ‘most developed’ title because they were actually in a relationship. And she literally murdered him.

And don’t get me started on Seven and Raffi coyly threading fingers together in the final scene after, to my recollection, not even having a single conversation together??? Why do this? Why? *Why* do this. If you wanted to get them together but you know you’ve done no work on it, save it for a possible second season or *don’t do it at all*. Seven and Raffi being randomly paired off at the end made me wonder why they didn’t just throw in Soji/Elnor too for the whole set. Raffi/Agnes is more believable than Seven/Raffi because at least she gave her cake. Seven/Rios is more believable because they had that one shoe-horned heart-to-heart.

While we’re talking about alternate pairings, I personally think they all should be paired off with a member of Rios’ holosuite. Including Picard. INCLUDING RIOS. Because Santiago Cabrera is too hot for words and there are SIX of him on that ship.

- Another reason Seven/Raffi being thrown together was kind of infuriating to me is it felt the same as the scene where she said she had no one, and basically any scene that was like “Seven is completely alone and adrift and THIS is her new family! Just forget that she’s only had one random heart-to-heart with Rios and a few cute dialogues with Elnor and other than that absolutely no contact with any of these people.”

Where the heck are the rest of the Voyager crew? Okay, so nobody liked Chakotay with Seven. Okay, so Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan didn’t get along so it would be unlikely to ever see them together on-screen. But Janeway literally loved Seven so much she rewrote time just to save her life or whatever that series finale was about. The Doctor, who knows *exactly* how it feels to be disenfranchised and dehumanized, is her best friend. Naomi Freakin’ Wildman who Seven called family who would absolutely have been there for her if she needed her. Why did they make her so sad and throw away all the rest of Voyager’s crew to do it?

I loved a lot of the stuff with Seven more than I thought I would after some of the things I’ve heard. But when I read someone say how “sad” they’d made her life, I have to agree. And mashing her into this crew at the end without putting in the time to show how she can fit aside from a few scenes with Elnor feels wrong and sloppy. If anything I would’ve liked her to leave with the borg at the end and then she could make another amazing grand entrance near the beginning of season two. Because basically the best things about Seven in this show were her kicking in the door scenes.

[nirahsaooc]

Commander Donatra

Even though her screen time was briefer than others I still loved Donatra in Star Trek Nemesis. I also feel like she was underutilized especially in the big battle of the movie.

She enters that battle on such a strong point, two Romulan Ships decloak infront of the Enterprise after its for sortie with the Scimitar. To Riker stating

“Just when I though things couldn’t get worse.”

The Romulans hail the enterprise and Donatra’s opening line is just magnificent.

“Captain Picard, Commander Donatra of the Warbird Valdore. Might we be of assistance?”

Causing Picard to just get that rare confused expression on his face as he asks bewildered, “Assistance?”

To which Donatra simply replies, “The Empire considers this a matter of internal security. We regret you’ve become involved.”

“Commander, when this is over, I owe you a drink.” Is Picards now grinning expression.

“Romulan Ale Captain, Let’s get to work.”

“You heard the Lady, let’s get to work.”

This was just an amazing exchange, and then both romulan ships promptly get disabled by the Scimitar. No doubt cause the Director wanted to show off just how ‘STRONG!’ it was when it wasn’t holding back, and how clever Shinzons tactics were. IE dropping the cloak to fool Donatra to over extend, a Tactic that really should not have worked on her due to the fact that she IS a Romulan Commander Sly Tactics, Guile is a trademark of their thinking. Considering it to possibly be a baiting move would have been her first thought. Especially with how experienced Romulans are with Cloaks. Its the kind of tactic that would work on a Federation ship but should fail against opponents like other Romulans.

All in all I would of restructured the movies big fight to make a better impact. Have the Enterprise get involved in a long brutal battle of attrition against the Scimitar and ending up fairly badly damaged but also dealing some significant damage to the Scimitar.

Instead of the final Thaleron Superweapon scene, THIS is when I’d of had Commander Donatra and her Warbirds show up. Making the end of the battle the Romulans and the Federation working together to finish off the Scimitar  with the Romulan ships surviving(Or at least Donatra’s remaining Combat Ready). since as it is the Romulans are a brief distraction and then forgotten about until after the end of the battle when they send shuttles to help the enterprise with repairs/ect.

Especially since at the end with them showing up you can really play it off initially as an ‘All is lost’ moment UNTIL the Romulans hail the Enterprise and Donatra gives her “Can we be of assistance?” line turning it into a big “OH fuck yeah!” moment instead of how it was which was a “Fuck yeah.....well they were kind of pointless.”.

I like Nemesis, it’s not the best Trek movie and it has alot of issues in various areas. (Like one guy literally mind raping Troi for no real reason, which then later lets her figure out the complex spatial coordinates of the Scimitar due to that mental link as if this ‘Got you’ somehow cancels out the fact that she was infact, mind raped.) So I definitely think the movie could have been alot better especially with a change like this that would of made the Romulans more impactful in the battle rather than a very very brief prop that really didn't seem to accomplish anything and you could have easily removed them from the battle without really impacting anything at all.

[pluckyredhead]

Daredevil 101: The Murdock Papers, Part 2

Bendis is going out with a bang, y’all! This is the back half of “The Murdock Papers” (DD v2 76-81), Bendis/Maleev. In Part 1, Matt and Elektra were on the hunt for the titular Murdock Papers, a file of proof the Kingpin had amassed that proved Daredevil’s identity. They’re in the middle of brawling in the street with Bullseye when Matt is shot by a sniper working for the FBI.

...And then he vanishes before the FBI can collect him.

Oh, and also? Fisk has a little surprise for everyone:

There are no Murdock Papers! But if they find Matt Murdock and he has a bullet wound exactly where Daredevil was just shot, well...that’s even better, isn’t it?

(Side note: I have absolutely no idea how a file proving that Matt Murdock is Daredevil would have kept Fisk’s underlings in line, especially since Fisk was under the impression that his underlings didn’t even know Matt’s secret until recently, as per Bendis’s own storyline. This strikes me as Bendis writing himself into a hole and climbing out somewhat inelegantly three issues later.)

Meanwhile, Milla is still naked:

All Milla really does from here on out is have hysterics. I’m sorry. Anyway Natasha is there to get Milla to safety, as she promised Matt she would, but Milla is understandably distracted and upset by the news story that Daredevil is dead.

Back to the FBI! The problem with using the bullet wound as proof that Matt is Daredevil is that they have no idea where Matt is. But Fisk has a guess - or rather, he’s pretty sure that Ben knows.

See, Elektra would undoubtedly have taken a wounded Matt to the Night Nurse. And Ben knows how to find the Night Nurse:

Yeah, Leland has gone completely off the rails here. Ben is furious (he actually physically attacks Fisk, which is why the FBI is holding him in the first panel up there), but he’s still faced with a choice: give up Matt, or face federal charges.

Meanwhile, Luke and Danny take Foggy somewhere safe to hole up:

I don’t know who this cheerful hausfrau is, but she’s not Jessica “Fuck You” Jones. I’m guessing her fuller figure is meant to imply that she’s currently pregnant, but that doesn’t explain the a) babushka and peasant scarf, b) completely different face, and c) pleasant demeanor. But then, Foggy looks like an unemployed garment worker from 1890 in that top right panel, so who even knows what’s happening here.

Anyway now both of Matt’s spouses know he’s “dead.” Anxiety abounds!

Well, actually, Milla has the advantage over Foggy, because Natasha has taken her to the Night Nurse’s clinic, so she knows that Matt is dying but not actually dead. Also, Elektra has shown up with the Hand, which she is currently in charge of, because we need another reason to have a bunch of women screaming at each other over Matt. Luckily the Hand has ~mystic healing powers~ which they are using on Matt:

God, how much would I love a scene with this many women without the arbitrary hostility and Orientalism? (I would totally buy organic hostility between Natasha and Elektra based on their jobs. But not based on Matt, who Natasha knows - and Elektra knows intellectually if not emotionally - is not worth it.)

WAIT LOOK AT THAT LAST PANEL, OH DANG BEN TOLD THE FBI WHERE MATT IS

Hey, you know who’s outside with the FBI? A whole bunch of Hand assassins, who are not just going to let the FBI round them up! Which means they start fighting the FBI. Which means Luke and Danny, who have just arrived with Foggy, stuff Foggy back in the car and start fighting the FBI, because even though technically the Hand is currently on Matt’s side, Luke and Danny can’t let FBI agents be killed by zombie assassins.

So to recap: FBI fighting the Hand fighting Luke and Danny outside, Milla having hysterics inside, Foggy having hysterics in a car, Natasha and Elektra are also there somewhere, and Matt, having regained consciousness, decides that enough is enough. There’s too much risk of someone getting seriously hurt here.

So he turns himself in:

Natasha keeps Luke and Danny out of jail, but there’s nothing she can do for Matt. And so:

AW BUDDY. :(

The last issue of this storyline begins at Matt’s arraignment. The judge asks Matt what he pleads and Matt absolutely spaces out, leaving Foggy, as always, carrying the ball:

DO NOT DO THIS TO FOGGY, MATTHEW, DO NOT...

Aw beans, you did it.

Matt makes his way to a rendezvous point and meets up with two of his girls and arguably the silliest accessory he has ever worn, Mike era included:

Please note that Matt has dyed his hair black to enter France, as is tradition. Also, he and Milla look so stereotypically Parisian right now that they are probably actively offensive to the French. Natasha why did you do this to them.

ANYWAY WHO CARES, LOOK AT THAT DIALOGUE. “Tell him I love him.” “He knows.” “He might now.” I’M CRYING.

Matt’s blissful life as a fugitive is cut short almost immediately, though, as he wakes in the middle of the night to find Milla lying dead beside him. (I decided to spare y’all the sight of yet another murdered woman in these recaps.) It’s Bullseye, of course, who has tracked Matt down. Matt pursues him, and in the ensuing fight does the unthinkable (but arguably necessary):

Unfortunately for Matt, there are witnesses, who run off shouting in what I’m pretty sure is grammatically incorrect French. Matt flees to the only person who will take him in:

Speaking of walking sartorial stereotypes, hoo boy Elektra’s outfit.

Anyway, Matt and Elektra have sex, but he quickly decides he can’t stay with her for long:

Wait, what’s this? Why is Elektra referring to Matt as “Mister Murdock” in the last panel?

BECAUSE NONE OF IT EVER HAPPENED!!! Matt is still standing in court deciding how to plead!

I find this whole sequence simultaneously utterly hilarious and utterly infuriating. This is what’s going through Matt’s mind? “What if I ran away? Milla and I could move to France. But then Bullseye would probably kill her. Then I’d have to kill him, and then I’d have to go to Elektra, and then we’d have a sex scene which I will now imagine in detail, and then...” Why are you fantasizing about unrelated murder and having sex with your ex-girlfriend right now, Matt??? This is so off the rails. It's like a dead serious Simpsons gag. It’s an R-rated If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Also, please bear in mind that that sequence above takes up almost the whole issue. If I’d waited a month for that issue and paid for it individually instead of binge reading on Marvel Unlimited, I’d be furious.

Moving on! Matt’s been to Japan 7 times in the past 7 years? We’ve only ever seen one trip, and that was way back in the O’Neil run. But sure.

Matt is denied bail. His friends are dismayed:

WHO BOUGHT STEVE THAT TERRIBLE TIE. WHO DID THAT TO HIM.

Matt is carted back to Rikers Island, but he’s not the only one:

Sure, they dropped the charges against Fisk, but there’s always new stuff to charge him with! And so Fisk is packed off to Rikers (the real world NYC jail, FYI), along with the Owl, and a couple other familiar friends we’ll see in the next storyline.

(When I first described the conclusion of this storyline to @puzzleboat​, she sent me the following image, and I still find it highly accurate and hilarious:

Apologies to anyone not old enough to remember that extremely controversial series finale.)

Hmm, locked in a prison with tons of people with good reason to hate him, including several of his rogues? Doesn’t look good for Matt, does it?

Next up: The Devil in Cell Block D, and the death of Foggy Nelson.

[girlobsessed21]

The 100 6x08 analysis - The old man is not an anomaly, only a prime

This episode was a step down from the previous one but hey, I guess they can’t all be brilliant. The pacing was too fast and a lot of stories happened at once. Still good though. Many reflections on the past which is indeed concurring with the Face Your Demons Theme. Okay, onto the recap.

Xavier, I mean Gabriel and the anomaly

I’ve heard the Xavier is Gabriel theory many times before and I mentioned it in last week’s analysis as well. I did not want it to be true and thus condemned it. As the episode started, a lot of things pointed to this fact and I kept wishing it away. At least there’s a good explanation for it since Gabriel being something which he’s completely against would have been hypocritical, to say the least.

Octavia and Diyoza are very much the same, they would make a great married couple. Just kidding. But they do have a lot of similarities, Diyoza is just the older sister with quite a bit more life experience. They’re both strong physically and mentally, enjoys power, willing to fight to the death for what they believe in and come from traumatic pasts. Absolutely the reason they make such a great team.

We learn that radio signals get sucked up by the anomaly and picked up in endless repeating waves. I guess that’s how Xavier knew about the earthlings’ actions. I’ve seen some tweets about Clarke’s radio calls being broadcasted but I doubt it, her calls were made from earth. They are now in a distant galaxy. It seems unlikely, yet I’m no astrophysicist or engineer, so I guess the possibility exists. Don’t get your hopes up, though.

Diyoza notes that Gabriel loved Josephine from the picture and that she was just looking to get laid. Either she listened to Blink182′s song one too many times or she knows exactly how to read people from one look. She also figured out that Xavier is Gabriel and referred to Bellamy and Clarke as the hostage taker and his girlfriend. I think it’s worth a mention.

It seems like the sociopath has quite a gift to make men fall head-over-heels for her. First the guy in the coffee shop, then Gabriel. Gabriel calls her his deepest desire and darkest fear. She’s going to use these tactics on Bellamy too. More on this later.

Gabriel explaining to Octavia that he was dedicated to destroying false gods while he was one himself must have hit a nerve since Bloodreina was worshipped like one too. Bringing about her tormenting vision of throwing her own brother in the fighting pit to remain in power. We’ve witnessed her journey back to Octavia but there are things she has to answer for. Bloodreina did terrible things and redemption can only be granted for someone who feels remorse. Octavia was willing to die to save the former terrorist from the anomaly and the red queen would never have considered such a sacrifice. She’s come a long way.

Diyoza’s weakness is her daughter and of course she follows Hope’s sweet little face into the crazy green light from where no-one has ever returned. If she does not come back, I’m sending Jason and the writers my alcohol bill. She’s one of my favorites and I do not want to lose her. At least she’s smart and capable, I have faith! 

When Octavia returns, she looks years younger, revitalized and healed. Did the girl under the floor, the grounder or Skairippa come back? Also, I spotted a slight connection between her and Xavier. Am I crazy? Maybe Gabriel was just awed by the phenomenon. What does this anomaly do?

Hello Kane II, goodbye Kabby

I still can’t figure out why the primes are worshipped. Is it merely because of the safety and flourishment of Sanctum or is there more to this story? The nulls (those who do not carry any genetics to produce a nightblood) even deem themselves worthless and consider it an honor to become a host.

At first, I thought Abby was being selfish in her fight to save Kane and then I considered that she might have another plan but unfortunately she disapproved my faith in her. Never trusting her again.

This was the first episode this whole season where I was on board with Raven - minus the spacewalk. She lost her moral-high-ground attitude in the speech to Abby which made all the difference in the world. But she still looks like she just stepped out of the salon. Obviously, she gave in to save Abby, the woman who has been like a mother to her until the addiction. On some difficult level, she still loves her and doesn’t want her to die. I have empathy, still think it was the wrong choice.

“Abby, what have you done?” My question exactly. In what world will Kane accept murdering someone to save his own life? There’s no way he’ll forgive her for this. Is there still a chance to save his real body and bring him back?

On a sidenote, Simone does not seem much better than her daughter.

Hickory Dickory Dock, Clarke’s life is on the clock

Many have said that Russel will turn to the side of our heroes. Although his regret and conscience are constantly shown, nothing can trump the love for a child. Just ask Clarke, she went to the same lengths to save hers. 

We all know by now that Josephine is a master manipulator and she does not disappoint. She is so complex and good at being bad that you cannot but love her and her hair-twirling. And I cannot compliment Eliza’s acting enough. When her father refuses to help, she blackmails Riker into building her an EMP.

Poor Jordan thinking that Dellah is still alive. The only reason Clarke survived is because of the neural mesh from ALIE’s chip that still resides in her brain. Josephine said a mind-wipe hasn’t failed in centuries. Sorry, but I have no hope for Delilah. Unfortunately, Jordan does. He cares so much he even risks his life for her. Which is now in the balance. Well done on calling Bellamy out once again though. “You only care about Clarke.”

I knew Madi was taking the wrong path. And I loved Dad!Bellamy in this scene. Asking whether killing the primes is her idea or Sheidheda’s like a father would ask his teenager whose idea it was to smoke. And she acts superior to both Jordan and Echo yet keeps quiet when Bellamy defies her. Why would no-one watch her while they know what she’s up to?

Anyway, she fails in her plan, leading to two fatalities and all of them captured except for Echo. Jade has orders to bring Josephine back at any cost. She’s a null, worthless to the primes and now knows what they���re capable of. Her face at the end tells me she’s doing the complete opposite. Echo saved her, I think they’ll join forces in saving everyone but the primes.

Memori Forever?

If I wasn’t so mad at Murphy, that “sort-of” proposal would have been beautiful. One of them is dying. When a relationship on this show heads in the direction of happily-ever-after, it’s doomed. Linctavia. Marper. Kabby. And I don’t think it’s Murphy because what fun would a post-apocalyptic world be without the cockroach. Then again, there has been a lot of things in this season pointing to his death.

He points out that he’s never been perfect, not even close. Damn right. But Emori lived the survivor’s life back on earth too and understands him better than most people. Although he’s still willing to help Josephine, it’s not without guilt. It’s written all over his face. While he thought Clarke was already dead, going along with Josie’s plan was easy but now it’s more complicated. Which is why he ultimately tells Bellamy about Gabriel. At least he paid attention.

Who would Bellamy have chosen? Murphy or Clarke? My money’s on his soulmate for sure. Josephine cuts him anyway and his life is hanging by a thread for the third time in a short while.

Are we going daytrip 2.0?

Bellamy and Josephine are heading to Gabriel. I knew they would be the ones to ultimately rescue Clarke. Nothing else matters to Bellamy but bringing her back. Even Echo notices when she tells him, “Save Clarke.” She’s a spy, she can see what’s going on.

Clarke ultimately gave up her fight against Josephine when she was manipulated into thinking Bellamy deemed her expendable. For the one, it’s always the other and for the other, it’s always the one. They are soulmates, incomplete without one another. 

Bellamy’s willing to leave everyone, including his girlfriend, behind to save her. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. I’m pretty certain their little journey to the anomaly will be filled with Josephine taunting him in her effort to escape. And I  think we might get a confession out of this. Now, the million dollar question, will Gabriel be able to kill Josephine in order to save Clarke?

Diyoza or Murphy or Jordan?

All three of their lives are on the brink but who will die? My guess, none of them. Murphy’s chips exist for a reason. Kane will certainly reject this new life, will Murphy gain Gavin’s body? 

The anomaly called Diyoza, I think she had a ticket to enter. Octavia looks younger when she returns, maybe Diyoza comes back with her little girl. It is called the temporal anomaly after all. 

Russel assured Priya that they’ll do everything they can to save Jordan. So, he’ll probably survive too.

Since there’s no episode next week, I’ll probably do another predictions post. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

[kelpiencomplexities]

I love Star Trek but here’s some things that irked me in the series

They say you tear apart the things you love the most

1) Before Disco there was no real LGBTQA+ representation:

The first time we got sorta representation was when Riker falls in love with Soren in The Outcast, now I know this is a potentially controversial opinion but Soren identifies as not Gender-less but as a Woman (”female”) so still it’s a hetero relationship, also if Soren was played by an actor who is trans I would consider it an actual attempt at including People who are Transgender in Star Trek. (It’s more akin to Eddy R playing a man whose trans, or when Scarlet J was poised to play a woman whose trans)

The second time we could have had a shot was in Past Prologue where Julian Bashir and Elim Garak first meet. Initially that scene was first wrote as Garak potentially flirting with Bashir, but then once again the Show Runners/Sponsors were like nope! No non-straight content here! And then afterwords re-wrote the scene so that Garak was simply trying to coax some intel out of Bashir. (The whole Garak/Bashir thing angered me, Andrew Robinson even said he tried to put as much “subtext” into Garak as he could get away with, and even still claims that Garak is an Omnisexual which gets further explored in his own novel “A Stitch in Time”

The third time we got close to the line but bailed at the last second was in the Episode Rejoined where Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn reunite (more specifically the symbionts remember their relationship from their time as Torias and Nilani). Now this episode drives me nuts in retrospect because the show runners/sponsors made it a point to shoot down any non straight content especially when Terry Farrel suggested that Jadzia/Dax/Jadzia Dax should be Pansexual/Omnisexual. When knowing this it all but makes sense why an episode where Dax and Kahn who clearly love each other are forbidden to be together because of a strange Trill law.

The fourth time this happens is in all the DS9 Mirror-Verse episodes because of the fact that the only time a character is allowed to be “gay” is if that character is an villainous woman in sexy clothes, in some alternate universe.

2) Then there’s the shitty treatment of both characters and actors who are women

Denise Crosby demands a higher salary - FIRED

Terry Farrel suggests inclusiveness and asks for more respect - FIRED

7 of 9 couldn’t breath in some of her costumes but I guess that’s okay if we can still see every part of her body.

JJ-Trek Exclusive of Point 2 (Thank you Simon Pegg for at least trying to fix up JJ’s B.S,’ery)

Nurse Chapel becomes a one-night stand to Kirk

Carol Marcus’ unnecessary change of clothes scene

Kirk checking out almost every woman he comes across, sleeps with an Orion and two weird renditions of Caitians on screen. (Kirk in the original series actually respected women far more than JJ’s does)

Also why does Uhura (the only woman that seemed to make it to Enterprise herself from the original series) have to be in a relationship? (Probably to de-t’hy’la the heck out of Spock’s and Kirk’s relationship, to eliminate any doubt that Spock and Kirk are 1701% hetero)

4) Misc!

Benedict Cumberbatch being cast as a North Indian character Khan Noonien Singh (it’s even worse when you find out BC was not told what character he was actually playing until basically the “I am Khan” scene)

JJ literally stripping the rank and sleeves off of the “women’s” uniforms in his movies. (Again thank you Simon Pegg for bringing it back)

JJ Killing off Amanda Grayson.(thank you Disco for giving Amanda some respect)

JJ deciding that Winona Kirk would enter a relationship with a man by from the sounds of it seems rather abusive.

JJ’s elimination of Romulus and Vulcan because “why not” 

JJ deciding that spelling Qo’nos right was too much of a bother

Nemesis exclusive - Shinzon’s sexual assault of Troi, thus sorta implying that from out of no where Picard has a thing for Troi. (Why couldn’t Sela come back instead of the whole convoluted Shinzon idea??)

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S7 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

Phantasms: Remember back in Birthright when Data unlocked the ability to dream? Well they finaly brought that development back, but he’s now having nightmares and he can’t piece together why. So… that was wild. It was a mix of hilarious and utterly freaky. Data’s dreams were absurd such as imagining Troi as a cake (with mint frosting) but the way that it was portrayed and with the music? It’s somehow unsettling. Especially when the lines appear to blur and he outright stabs Troi. It was a fun one to watch, especially with scenes like Data asking Worf to take care of Spot for him. It wasn’t perfect, like there’s this subplot with a girl who has a crush on Geordi that goes nowhere. At least it’s not him hopelessly pinning for one. But yeah these kinds of episodes can be hard to do since it’s easy for the surrealism to be too much, but I think they did it well here with making it funny, absurd, and uncomfortable all at once. Add that with some genuine funny moments and you got a solid episode~! 4/5.

Dark Page: It is Lwaxana time for what I assume is the final time. We got a break from her last season, but I’ve made it no secret that I am NOT a fan of her episodes. While I have grown to like Lwaxana herself more than in her first two episodes, the episodes involving her have either been subpar (mainly her first two, her third and fifth were better as far as her character went but I don’t like the plots) or had subject matter that I disagree with (Half a Life). So her final episode? I can safely say that this is by far her best episode. They focus it on her relationship with Deanna. During a diplomatic matter involving telepathy, Lwaxana begins to add erratic (more than usual) and ends up comatose. When Troi enters her mind to help her mother mend the damage with help from the telepaths, she discovers a deeply buried family secret. I won’t give said secret away, but it is utterly heartbreaking. This is what they have needed for both Troi AND Lwaxana for a VERY long time. While we saw enough to know they they loved each other (Troi’s frustrations with her mother being herself aside), they NEVER did anything focusing on that relationship. Maybe the first episode… but forcing your daughter into a marriage may not be the best first impression. Lwaxana clearly wants Troi happy and what’s best for her, to her daughter’s agitation… and let’s just say that this episodes goes a LOOOONG way in showing why and explaining a lot about how he treats Troi. It also allows some emotional moments for Troi, such as encountering her father in her mother’s mind and facing the very real possibility of losing her mother just as she did her daddy. It was such a sad but lovely episode. As I said, it is the best Lwaxana episode by far and perfectly did what was looooong overdue for both mother and daughter. 5/5.

Attached: Picard and Crusher get kidnapped during transport and hooked up to implants that link together their minds. It is through this link that they recognize and are forced to confront the lingering feelings that they have had for each other. So… yeah I’m just gonna say it now, I NEVER understood Picard and Crusher as a ship. If others like it but nothing about their relationship EVER screamed ‘romantic’ to me at least since Crusher came back in S3, and the few times they kind of implied something either felt forced (The Naked Now) or just went nowhere. Whatever potential there may have been died after Crusher left in S2 and them trying to reignite it clearly didn’t work and more or less dropped. I like them as close friends considering their history, but revelations like Picard has had feelings for Crusher even while she was married to his best friend… while I appreciate that he didn’t let jealousy take over and the overall mature discussion about it, I find that VERY hard to believe. Plus nothing ever came out in episodes where they had love interests. Crusher didn’t seem to mind Vash, Picard didn’t mind her Trill ambassador lover. At least Riker and Troi had a past relationship and while they also don’t mind each others various love interests, it’s because they were together and moved on despite some lingering feelings that help that work. It makes them come across better as a result. Picard/Crusher… I’m sorry, I don’t see it. I like the concept and overall it’s fine, it could have been much worst. Riker was great and as I said, I do like the general relationship between Picard and Crusher and seeing them working together was fun. Them deciding to remain friends at the end is imo the most proper conclusion, albeit forced in how they did it but still. I just think it would have worked better with another pairing or dynamic (probably a more complicated, vitriolic one like Pulaski and Data had Pulaski stuck around), or at least it would have been better without the romanic angle that had long stopped mattering. 3/5.

Force of Nature: Today’s Moral of the Day is environmentalism! So while dealing with issues, two alien scientists appear and tell the crew that they are killing them and their planet due to their warp drive. So... this wasn’t very good. Not because of the environmental message, if anything considering climate change and everything I’d say it’s more important than ever to hammer the message into people’s heads. But not only is the message heavy-handed and come in way too late (the first episode focuses more on Data trying to train Spot), but the payoff is that limits get made to the warp drive... and I get the feeling that this will NOT stick in DS9, Voyager, or even the rest of TNG. They just did not deliver the message well especially since as I said, the first half was all fluff and the issue just came in out of nowhere. It reminds me of that S1 episode involving drugs, but I can forgive that as it was Season One and thus they were still working everything out. We’re on S7 now and they’ve done good episodes that deliver hard messages like The Drumhead, so it’s much harder to excuse this time. I appreciate what they were trying to do, again we need this message especially now and in a vacuum the message works. But the execution and Status Quo is God causes the episode to be below average and ultimately not matter. And if people don’t care for what happens in the episode, they’re not going to care about the message. If I want environmental ST-related media, I’ll watch The Voyage Home since they got the message across while being incredibly fun and entertaining. The Spot antics, while pointless, were fun though so thank you Spot~! 1/5.

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 (3 of 5)

This post has been slightly delayed by a temporary prioritisation of my novel writing, but we’re now up to the middle round of episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation’s second season.  So, let’s quickly make up for lost time and dive right in on the first episode of the round…

Episode 10: The Dauphin

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is assigned to transport the beautiful Salia, future ruler of Daled IV, and her governess Anya from a planet to which she has voluntarily exiled herself. Her parents, rulers of two opposing factions on Daled IV, have died, and Salia represents a chance to bring unification to the two factions. As such, Anya is overly protective of her. On board, Salia meets young Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher, who instantly becomes smitten. Wesley receives courtship advice from the crew members including from Worf, Data, Riker and Guinan. The two young people form a bond. He introduces her to Thalian chocolate mousse, and takes her to the holodeck to show her several other worlds after she expresses an interest in exploring the galaxy.

 Anya, touring the ship, first gives advice on warp engine and then discovers a crew member with a virulent disease being in a containment field in Sickbay. She demands the crew member be killed to protect Salia. Chief Medical Officer Dr Pulaski refuses and insists the disease is contained, but Anya transforms into a large monstrous form, easily matching Worf's strength when he tries to intervene. When Captain Picard arrives, Anya reverts to her petite humanoid form and defiantly explains her actions. Dr Pulaski identifies Anya as an allasomorph, a shapeshifter, who could present a danger for the crew. Picard orders Anya to be confined to quarters, and Worf, as head of security, promises Anya he will watch over Salia. Picard, aware of Wesley's attraction to Salia, asks him to stay away from her, to which he agrees. At night however, as Anya is sleeping, Salia slips out of their quarters and visits Wesley, and the two share a kiss. However, they are interrupted when Anya bursts into his quarters in her beast form. To Wesley's horror, Salia also transforms into a similar beast, holding Anya at bay. Both revert to their human forms as security arrives. Later, Salia attempts to apologize to Wesley for her deception, but Wesley, hurt by seeing Salia's appearance was not the real her, is upset and refuses to listen.

 The Enterprise arrives at Daled IV with no further incidents. As Salia prepares to depart, Anya reveals she will not be going with her, instead returning to her home on an orbiting moon. Anya also warns her that she will likely be unable to leave the planet once she has taken the leadership role. Salia thanks Anya for her upbringing before Anya departs. Just before Salia is to be beamed down to the planet, Wesley arrives to say his goodbyes, bringing her one last taste of chocolate mousse. Salia thanks him, and transforms into her natural form, a luminous figure of energy, before she is beamed down to the planet.  In Ten-Forward, Wesley notes that he will never feel this way about anyone else, and Guinan notes that he is right; while he will fall in love again, it will not be in the same way as this time.

Review:

This episode suffers from putting Wesley in the middle of a love story to begin with, because when he goes asking for advice from the main cast, you get some very cringe-worthy scenes that demand fast-forwarding.  I mean for crying out loud, the Enterprise is a family ship and we’ve seen at least one kid about Wesley’s age on board back in season 1.  You would think he’d have someone more in-line with his own age to seek advice from, and even a holodeck relationship consultant would have worked better.  Discounting the likes of Worf and Data, Wesley’s best bets, Riker and Guinan, sound like they’re reciting a load of drivel out of some cliché romance novel, and they get so into their phony, puke-inspiring romantic drivel that they seem to forget Wesley entirely.

 However, once the episode pushes past this, we get a decent middle component, and a half-decent set of underlying messages about duty versus personal desire, judging or nor judging people on appearance and the consequences of personal deception all come through as the episode progresses through to its end.  That said, Wesley is a little too petulant at feeling betrayed by Salia’s ruse, justified though he is in feeling that way, and his decision to suddenly be the proverbial “bigger man” then feels forced as a result.  Frankly, this episode ends up feeling like a call-back to the horrendous quality of season 1.  As such, I only give it 4 out of 10.

Episode 11: Contagion

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise receives a distress signal from its sister ship, the USS Yamato, from within the Romulan Neutral Zone and travels to rendezvous with them in order to assist with repairs. After the two ships meet, the Yamato suddenly suffers a warp-core breach and explodes in front of the horrified bridge crew, leaving no survivors. Shortly afterwards, a Romulan Warbird, the Haakona, decloaks before the Enterprise and demands their retreat from the Neutral Zone. Captain Picard informs the Romulans that they will not leave until they have determined why the Yamato was destroyed.

 Picard reviews the ship logs made by his friend, Captain Donald Varley, to see if there was any connection between the destruction of the Yamato and the Romulans. Varley, an archeology buff like Picard, believed he had found the fabled planet of Iconia on a planet within the Neutral Zone. Varley believed that the extinct Iconians had developed extremely advanced technology, and that the Romulans might be attempting to acquire this technology for use against the Federation. However, when the Yamato neared the purported planet, the ship was scanned by a probe from the planet, and then began to experience system failures and became stranded in the Neutral Zone. Picard orders the Enterprise toward the coordinates Varley had identified as that of Iconia. Wesley asks Picard how he and the other officers are able to cope with perennially witnessing death and destruction. After reviewing the log, the Enterprise begins experiencing similar system issues that the Yamato had experienced, beginning with Picard's replicator producing a potted plant instead of his usual Earl Grey tea.

 When they enter the planet's orbit, a probe is automatically launched from the surface. Having reviewed the Yamato's logs, Chief Engineer La Forge recognizes that the probe carries an alien computer program that led to the Yamato's destruction. He insists that they destroy the probe before the virus can be unleashed. However, a portion of the program was stored in the Yamato logs and had infected the Enterprise. Although mostly contained, the program still threatens to destroy the Enterprise at any time. Picard, Lt. Commander Data, and Lt. Worf beam to the source of the probe launch. While exploring the ruins, they find a teleportation portal that appears to allow for instantaneous interstellar travel to a different location, with that location changing in a cycle every few seconds. Among the destinations are the Enterprise and Haakona bridges. Data attempts to access the Iconian computer systems and becomes infected with the program himself, but retains enough of his functions to instruct Picard on how to destroy the base.

 Meanwhile, in orbit, the Haakona decloaks in front of the Enterprise and threatens to attack, but soon appears to be suffering from similar system failures. The threat of attack, however, forces Commander Riker to raise the shields, which prevents them from retrieving the away team. Picard orders Worf to return with Data to the Enterprise using the Iconian gate, while he starts the destruct sequence. Before the entire structure explodes, and before the Enterprise could beam him out, Picard uses the gate to jump onto the Haakona's bridge, and discovers that their ship is set on an auto-destruct sequence they cannot stop due to the Iconian program.

 On the Enterprise, Data's systems are nearly overtaken by the program. His body automatically shuts down as a protective measure, and then restarts a short time later. La Forge finds Data's systems to now be completely free of the program, and suggests a similar cold boot to clear the program from the Enterprise. With the transporters back online, Picard is beamed off the Haakona, and Riker sends instructions to the Romulans on how to clear the program from their systems. The Enterprise then leaves, not wanting to hang around in case the Romulans are less proficient in solving their technical issues.

Review:

The original Wikipedia plot summary for this episode contains a major error that I’ve just spent a bit longer than usual correcting for this article, and I’ll quickly explain what that is.  Whichever idiot wrote the synopsis on Wikipedia constantly refers to the Iconian probe program as a virus, but that’s not what it is at all.  In fact, the show never specifies what the program is.  All they say is that it’s so advanced that it’s fundamentally incompatible with the technology of the Enterprise, not unlike trying to install a Windows 10-compatible version of Word on a Windows 95 PC.  As such, this episode isn’t dealing with computer viruses and hacker culture, or if it is there’s too much metaphor and/or differences in the tech specs of what is going on to make that apparent.

 If this episode does have a point, I suppose it might just be about looking at how we’d deal with encountering technology more advanced than we’re necessarily prepared for, or maybe it’s meant to highlight the importance of technology having effective safeguards if you use it to travel through hostile environments like space.  However, I personally look at it as just a good episode for developing Picard as character by adding in his archaeological interests and giving him a puzzle to solve in that vein.  There’s also an interesting point about revisionist history, but again it’s something later episodes of the Trek franchise would cover to greater effect. The episode is very good, and one of the better ones of this series, but it’s not quite top-level Trek.  I give it a 9 out of 10.

Episode 12: The Royale

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Following a tip from a Klingon ship, the Enterprise finds debris from an Earth ship orbiting an uninhabitable alien planet. A sample of the debris beamed aboard shows NASA markings and a 52-star American flag, meaning the debris of the ship is several hundred years old, and has travelled far beyond the capability of ships of that era. Scans of the planet reveal a small anomalous area capable of supporting human life, so Commander Riker, Lt. Worf, and Lt. Commander Data beam down to investigate, and find a revolving door in an otherwise blank environment. Upon entering they find themselves in an old Earth-style hotel and casino called The Royale, where they are cut off from contact with the Enterprise.

The away team soon discovers they are trapped inside the casino, and after making several unsuccessful attempts to leave, they decide to explore the building. They find the desiccated but preserved remains of Col. Steven Richey, a NASA astronaut, and a pulp novel entitled Hotel Royale. Upon reading Richey's diary, they learn that his starship was accidentally contaminated by an unknown race of aliens, then thrown across the galaxy, and he was the only survivor. Taking pity on him, the aliens created The Royale for him, thinking the novel's story represented humans' preferred way of living, whereas Richey found it unbearable thanks to the poor quality of the novel.

Riker, Data, and Worf realize that the plot has been recreated in detail by the aliens and is playing out in front of them, and surmise that they might be able to leave if they are scripted to do so. They assume the role of a trio of "foreign investors" described in the novel and, taking advantage of Data's ability to precisely manipulate dice at the casino's craps table, win enough money to buy out the Royale, and are then able to leave.

Review:

For me, this episode is yet another example of this show having a great premise that suffers from poor execution.  Ultimately, it revolves around the idea of aliens creating a world for a human to live in based on a piece of fiction, only to go about it wrong and pick a badly-written stereotype of 1950’s Americana as their template.  Apparently, the literature basis for the environment wasn’t in the original draft for the show, which had first revolved around the idea of the ancient astronaut being kept in their most pleasant memory on a loop.  As such, I think the re-write to make it novel-based is a vast improvement, but they could have picked better literature.

 After all, the setting of the novel in question might be torturous for being so badly written, but it’s not really giving us much as an audience to really reflect on or enjoy.  Now I’m not going to suggest even for one moment going for something really stereotypical like the aliens borrowing from Shakespeare, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie or anything else of a very classic nature.  However, they still could have picked another form of literature.  If this episode was being made now in the era of feature television, for example, it would be interesting to see something like Warhammer 40,000 novels, superhero/sci-fi literature or even something more fantastical used.  To my mind, the episode takes a great concept and just ruins it by picking a bad novel over something that could have perhaps been thought-provoking but unpleasant in some other fashion.

 Add in a number of notable errors in various areas, and really The Royale just comes over as a Royale cock-up.  3 out of 10, next episode please.

Episode 13: Time Squared

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While the Enterprise is en route to the Endicor system, the ship's sensors detect a lone shuttle craft drifting through empty space with no power or fuel reserves. When Lt. Worf and Commander Riker use the tractor beam to bring it into the shuttle bay, they find it has the same name and registry as an Enterprise shuttle. Inside is a double of Captain Picard, barely clinging to life.

 After the double is brought to sickbay for treatment, Lt. Commander Data and Chief Engineer La Forge power up the shuttle, after lengthy delays due to unexpected technical incompatibility. It is then discovered that the shuttle's internal clock is about six hours ahead of the ship's chronometer which means that the shuttle, and therefore Picard's double, is from six hours into the future. They recover a very poor-quality sensor log video that shows the Enterprise falling into an energy vortex and being destroyed after the shuttle is launched.

 Chief Medical Officer Dr Pulaski determines that the incoherent double's biological functions are out of sync, but are improving as the future Picard draws nearer to his own time. Picard orders that his future self be revived, but is unsuccessful in extracting any information from him. Picard is disquieted at the idea that he would abandon his ship and its crew.

 As the crew members debate their options, they decide to continue on their current course. They are suddenly stopped by the vortex seen in the shuttle log and are unable to escape, even with the engines at maximum output, and become drawn further in. They send a probe into the vortex which is immediately destroyed. Scans emanating from the vortex appear to focus on Picard and an energy beam strikes him, leading him to theorize that there is an intelligence controlling the vortex which seems to be interested in him personally, and that his double left the ship to draw its attention.

 Picard's double, now almost completely aware and coherent, sets out to leave the Enterprise as he did before. Picard follows him, asserting that there must have been another option, though the double only mumbles about it being impossible, as moving forward would have presumably destroyed the Enterprise. As the double is boarding the shuttle craft, Picard proclaims that the cycle must be broken and kills him with a phaser. Dr Pulaski wordlessly examines Picard's double with a tricorder as Chief O'Brien stares in shock.

 Picard returns to the bridge and orders that the Enterprise fly straight into the centre of the vortex. The Enterprise comes through the other side into normal space, and the doubles of Picard and the shuttlepod disappear. The Enterprise resumes its course to the Endicor system.

Review:

Apparently, the writer of this episode had originally planned for it to feed into a subsequent Q-centric episode and make Q responsible for the vortex and Picard’s time-hopping, but Roddenberry apparently prevented this.  It’s a pity, because the episode fails to assign any other cause or rationale to what happens.  It’s just weird time-travel confusion for its own sake, which is generally the worst form of time travel story you can get.  Anything involving time travel is generally the most headache-inducing form of time travel going, unless you take a cue from Gargoyles and just make history immutable, and all time travel consequently just becomes a necessity for history to unfold as it already has.

 The fact that we don’t get an underlying rationale for the time loop makes the episode tank, as does the blithering deliberation of the crew at numerous points.  Frankly, the whole concept would be played out to better effect in a later episode of TNG, and the only real value anyone might see in this is in two points.  First, we get to see how far Picard is willing to go in order to do the right thing, both in terms of his future copy trying to sacrifice himself for the ship, and then his current self phasering the future copy to death to break the time loop. Second, there is a slight allegory about breaking out of self-destructive cycles to move forward, but it’s rather wasted because the idea comes up so late and isn’t really explored.  For me, this episode only warrants 3 out of 10.

Episode 14: The Icarus Factor

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While the Enterprise is en route to Starbase Montgomery to run diagnostics on its engines, Picard receives a message from Starfleet offering First Officer Commander Riker command of his own, the Aries, which is on a potentially dangerous exploration mission in a distant sector. Picard advises Riker that while the Enterprise is a prestigious assignment, it cannot replace the experience of having one's own command, and gives him 12 hours (the duration of their stop at the Starbase) to decide. Riker's decision is complicated by the fact that the civilian adviser Starfleet has sent to brief him on his mission turns out to be his father, Kyle Riker, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship.

 After his father makes several attempts to reconcile, which Will rebuffs, the tension between the two finally boils over, and they agree to a match of anbo-jitsu, a form of martial arts. During the match, the two continue to argue, with Will venting his bitterness over the death of his mother. Will interrupts the match, claiming a move his father used is illegal, and realizes his father had only been able to beat him in his youth by cheating, which his father admits. The two are finally able to talk and reconcile, and Will admits he is glad his father came.  Later, Will opts to remain on the Enterprise because he feels it is the best place for him to be at present.

 Meanwhile, Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher notices that Lieutenant Worf is acting particularly agitated, and enlists the help of Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge and Lt. Commander Data to find out why. The trio eventually learn that Worf was coming upon an important anniversary, 10 years since his Age of Ascension, which is normally celebrated with an important Klingon ritual among other Klingons. They recreate the ritual, which involves a gauntlet of Klingon warriors brandishing pain sticks, on the holodeck as a surprise for Worf. While reciting vows of honour, Worf undergoes jolts from the sticks with each step forward, enduring the extreme pain, and finally reaches the end, where he is grateful to his "family" aboard the ship for honouring him in this way.

Review:

Much like the previous episode, this is another episode that falls down because of Roddenberry’s interference, as he diluted the level of tension and drama between Riker and his father in the episode’s A-plot.  According to Memory Alpha’s notes on production, Roddenberry believed that by the 24th century, we’d have resolved any tendency to harbour anger towards other people for their mistakes, including parents who acted like jerks to us much in the way it seems Kyle Riker did with his son.  This just goes to show why post-Roddenberry Trek surpasses the Trek produced while he was an active producer of the franchise.  Some of his idealism about the world of Trek seems to have been excessive and unrealistic.

 The fact is anger is as important an emotion to the human psyche as any other.  I know a lot of people tend to categorise emotions as good or bad, but really no emotion is either one.  Fear keeps us alive by counselling us against stupid risks, anger gives us the impetus to express outrage and complain against injustice, sadness lets people know something is wrong with us, and supposedly positive emotions like happiness can be negative if we somehow misuse them.  As such, no one in their right mind should be thinking of any given emotional state as something we’ve just ‘gotten over’.  We might get past some of the root causes that bring up certain emotions, but we need to retain the emotions themselves for anytime a new emotional trigger is discovered and has to be addressed.

 The A-plot around the Rikers also falls flat because it also involves a possible promotion and re-assignment for Will.  Since mid-season cast shifts are not a common occurrence in most shows, even with the season 1 death of Tasha Yar as precedent, you’re almost certain as an audience member that Will is going to stay, and lo and behold he does.  As for the B-plot, it’s ok but the scenes where Worf loses his temper at Wesley and then Data made me go for the fast-forward again.  Add in Roddenberry’s delusion watering down of the A-plot, and all I can give this episode is a meagre 3 out of 10.