TNG: “The Enemy” and “The Price”

Date: March 30, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 7 and 8

Musical Accompaniment: Vitamin String Quartet

Interstellar News: I made up a few drinks and they were tasty. I’ve missed bartending.

Favorite Quote from “The Enemy”:

Dr. Crusher: Lieutenant, I understand your feelings about the Romulans, but this is not the time or place.

Worf: If you had seen them kill your parents, you would understand, Doctor, it is always the time and place for those feelings.

Dr. Crusher: This Romulan didn’t murder your parents. And you are the only one who can save his life.

Worf: Then he will die.

Dr. Crusher being surprised at Worf for being a Klingon… silly doctor.

“The Enemy” starts with the away team of Riker, Worf, and La Forge down on Galorndon Core stuck in a nasty storm when they come across a Romulan. Just as the window to beam up is closing, La Forge is knocked down into a well-like pit and is stuck on the planet while Riker and Worf beam up with the sick Romulan.

Another Romulan vessel is looking for survivors and the Enterprise agrees to meet them and return their compatriot, as it was “just a computer error” and a “one man ship”. La Forge makes his way out and eventually to the probe that Wesley sent, just to be attacked by another Romulan named Bochra… one man ship my ass. Bochra is getting weaker from the atmosphere and La Forge finally convinces him they need to find the probe when his visor stops working, but they eventually put their differences aside to work together (cue the kumbaya music).

Back on the ship it turns out that the ONLY person on the ENTIRE ship who has the right ribosomes (or something, leave me be I learned biology from a Catholic nun) is Worf, whose parents were killed by Romulans… this should be good. He receives advice from Dr. Crusher, Riker, and Picard but still does not give in and the Romulan dies. In short order: the Romulan vessel arrives and prepares to fire, the Enterprise puts its shields up, La Forge and Bochra find the probe, the window to beam them up is closing and they can’t be beamed while shields are up, and WHAT ELSE CAN HAPPEN ALL AT ONCE? Of course Picard does what he does best and no one else dies and La Forge made a new Romulan friend.

If anyone could make you not hate your enemy, it’s La Forge. Bochra calls him defective and La Forge doesn’t even punch his face or leave him to die and winds up trusting him later to boot. Tomalak, the commander of the other Romulan ship, is played by my favorite Narn ambassador (from Babylon 5) and has such a great voice that puts command in any role he inhabits (or gravitas as one dear friend always likes to say).

While the “my enemy becomes my friend for a minute” story I could see coming a mile away, I did not see Worf refusing to be a donor. I understood it initially but each new argument, from Dr. Crusher, to Riker, to Picard the arguments were stronger and made more sense and appealed to Worf’s humanity. The problem with that line of thinking is that Worf isn’t human and, although raised by them, has his own Klingon beliefs that he sticks to. I was pleasantly surprised that a show wouldn’t force humanity to win, especially given how much was at stake for the Federation. I give a +1 for Katsulas and a +1 for Klingon stubbornness to earn this episode the 7 rings for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.

Favorite Quote from “The Price”:

La Forge: You know, if this doesn’t work, the thought of spending the rest of my life in here is none too appealing.

Data: There is a bright side, Geordi. You will have me to talk to.

Data, always looking on the bright side of life.

“The Price” starts off with a reception to see the “first and only stable wormhole”, access which is now for sale by the Barzans, and that sale is being hosted by the Enterprise. The Federation, the Caldonians, the Chrysalians, and eventually the Ferengi are all interested and the bidding begins. The Ferengi and the Federation want to do more testing, but the Ferengi play dirty in the meantime and sideline the Federation negotiator so Riker and his poker skills have to take over. The two pods take off into the wormhole but are in the Delta section instead of the Gamma one, La Forge and Data leave and the Ferengi will not follow and are stuck.

Troi encounters a handsome stranger, the negotiator for the Chrysalians named Devinoni Ral, and she is instantly smitten. Turns out he’s part Betazoid too and one by one turns the others away until it’s just him and Riker. In his spare time he and Troi have lots of dinner, and by dinner I mean lots of kissing and foot rubs. There’s soft music and sappy romance and the engineering in me is so uncomfortable. At the very end of the episode, Ral uses the Ferengi situation, which he engineered, to his advantage in order to secure the wormhole, but Troi puts them all in their places just as La Forge and Data return to explain the wormhole is worthless in its current state.

I love that Troi goes from timid woman, to sex kitten, to bad ass counselor all in the span of 45 minutes. She has a scene with Dr. Crusher that shows off the worst of 1980’s workout gear but gives them some much needed “woman time” to giggle at the wonderful feeling of new relationship energy, the time when the world seems new and the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine. Troi also doesn’t run away with Ral because she’s remembered that she sits on the bridge and is an important woman with important things to do.

It’s also cool to see a wormhole and learn a little bit more of the science behind it, and the ramifications of what could happen if you don’t listen to Data and La Forge. Apparently this episode will be important when I get to Voyager as the husband tells me. The Ferengi get better with each encounter, though their first was awful and it could only go up from there. It is nice to see some other aliens and see that not everyone is a part of the Federation, but they all try to get along. This is a solid “B minus” episode.

TA Out!