TNG Spoiler: IMHO - "Preemptive Strike"
TED BRENGLE
Spoilers for TNG's "Preemptive Strike" went over to the other
side.
Thank God for small favors. At least they were able to pull it
together for the final regular episode of the series. I was deeply
worried.
Interestingly enough, "Preemptive Strike" was very similar to a
lot of botched TNG episodes this season. Episodes which brought back
characters from the past, revived old storyline, and tried to bring
them all to some sense of closure, usually with abysmal,
embarrassing results. The difference here was that "Preemptive
Strike" was able to find a proper and fitting coda to the story on
Ro Laren without stooping to loony story-lines or maudlin TrekAngst
(pat, pending). They did this by actually playing for keeps. The
emotions in this hour were real and integral to the characters. TNG
was also finally able to tell a story which properly utilized moral
ambiguity in a season that has witnessed numerous attempts to do
just that, with the results being so ambiguous as to loose touch
with reality ("Homeward" being a superlative example of this
particular genus of crap).
"Preemptive Strike" works mainly because Ro is one of the few
characters on the Enterprise who is perfectly at home in shades of
grey, and I must admit that there is a sort of visceral thrill in
watching someone turn their back on everything Jean-Luc Picard
stands for. What makes this "fall" especially sweet, is that it
isn't so clumsy as to be a simplistic corruption of a pristine
maiden, instead this episode turns on a terribly conflicted decision
made by an intelligent, tortured person. A decision that the
audience can perfectly understand and feel sympathy for, even if
they do think that it is the wrong thing to do. This is tricky
writing to pull off, and it was good to see that Rene Echeverria's
last work for TNG had some fire in its belly. The best thing about
this episode is that it insists on arguing both sides persuasively
(even making Admiral Idiot much less of a shrewish dip-stick) and
plays it all for substantial, and permanent, emotional stakes. Ro is
a character that we have seen grow and mature, who we've come to
like, and I have to give some credit to the usually craven TPTB for
actually giving the character a choice that legitimately merited an
hour of national television. This episode and Ro's actions are
actually *significant*, they have a reason for existing beyond
simply helping to fill the quota of 24 hour-long episodes a season.
The Fabled Trek Magic Wand took the week off, and the result is a
story that changes a character's life *forever*. In the end of
"Preemptive Strike", I was actually proud of Ro. No matter what you
think of her decision, she stood by her ideals, and the action she
took was as essential to the center of her character as anything any
character on TNG has ever done in the past.
Michelle Forbes was simply wonderful as Ro, and without her
making us care about this character, here and in the past, this
episode's denouement would have meant nothing. She is able to make
the decision seem both respectable and inevitable, and when she
betrays everyone who had helped rebuild her life, Forbes skillfully
conveys just how hard such an action would be (even as Ro does puts
her emotions in check so that she can get the job done). I
especially liked that her last words to Riker were to ask him to
tell Picard that she was sorry. I liked that because it is a subtle
hint of how much this betrayal means to Ro, as it actually moved her
to apologize. This is significant, I think, since it has always been
my understanding that Being Bajoran Means Never Having To Say You're
Sorry. Stewart is also quite good in this episode, with Stewart's
ability to say more with one look than other actors can with five
page soliloquies being especially valuable. TNG has always been
lucky that they can usually depend on a close-up on Stewart's face
for a satisfying closing scene. In "Preemptive Strike", again,
Stewart comes through, with a look of sad resignation that is
heartbreaking. One of the sub-texts which I did like in "Journey's
End" was Wesley knocking Jean-Luc for a loop by leaving Star Fleet.
That specific theme of betrayal, disappointed expectations, and
sense of loss are their primal essence here, as Picard is even more
directly and blatantly handed his heart by a another of his
surrogate-children. (And he has lost a lot this season. Every young
officer who has ever been given a letter of recommendation by Picard
has either ended up dead, a traitor, or a God. And that, actually,
was problem for me in this episode. "Gee," Picard must have thought,
"and the last spunky, female Bajoran I sent out on a espionage
mission worked out so well, too...")
And while this episode was solid, it still had its share of
problems which blunted the edge of its otherwise fine central
conflict. The script, which to be sure had a strong foundation,
occasionally floundered in the execution, with the results being
awkward and contrived scenes which distanced us from the emotional
action. Such a scene was Ro's "Assault On The Enterprise!" During
this sequence I was once again left with the cold feeling that even
if Ro hadn't sent the Enterprise a message asking them to go easy on
her, she still would have outsmarted them all, beamed up the medical
supplies, and escaped all before Worf had properly identified which
star system they were currently in. On the *other* hand, only we
(the audience) know how incompetent many on the Enterprise are, so
this theft also seemed so risky and brazen that I would expect Ro's
successful implementation of it would have sent off every warning
bell in the Marquis hierarchy. Another bit of creakiness I had
problems with was the character of the cell leader who takes Ro
under his wing. This guy just should have worn a sign around his
neck that had the words "Lovable Father-Figure Who Is Doomed,"
printed over a bright red bull's eye. Added to the implicit
sloppiness of such a cartoon, was the out-of-the-blue bonding,
complete with tearful reminiscences, that he and Ro shared right
before he got creamed. The script mechanics were jack-hammer subtle
at this point, with the script basically screaming in you ear, "SEE!
See how Ro has now seen BOTH of her fathers KILLED by the
CARDASSIANS?! Get it?! Get it!?"
I got it.
Ro feels compelled to betray her one remaining, living father
figure in order to avenge the dead ones. It is the strength of this
theme that surmounts the gawkiness of the script.
The other major problem with episode has to do with
Stewart-The-Director, who continues to struggle with the problem of
pacing. Almost his every outing as director is characterized by a
meandering flow, and unfortunately "Preemptive Strike" falls right
into that pattern. Several scenes just go on and on, with the
linkages between them forced and jerky. Indeed, interest decidedly
lags at the 20 minute mark, as Ro labors to gain the Maquis' trust.
To the Big Board.
The Grade: B (A solid character piece which
takes legitimate chances and
prospers due to its own dramatic
integrity. It raises important
question and refuses to back off
or take the easy way out. I wish
the rest of the season showed
half the back-bone this episode
does. Guts and good performances
by Stewart and Forbes counter a
pokey pace, a stock espionage
plot, and some sloppy scripting.)
Next Week: Goodbye. Farewell. Amen.
-Ted Brengle
(Cynic who may miss TNG yet)
Copyright 1994, Ted Brengle (IMHO Inc.)
* OLX 2.1 TD * My non-cynical tagline for times of special celebration.
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