Plot Synopsis: The Enterprise is unwittingly used by an alien race to present a unique peace offering to another: a beautiful empath whose sole purpose is to please her mate.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser is brief but conveys a lot of info. The crew are mediating a peace treaty between Krios and Valt Minor, who have long been at war. The Krios ambassador asks everyone be kept away from the cargo he’s brought on board, which is fragile and irreplaceable. A distress call from the Ferengi is received, and the Enterprise beams the two out right before their shuttle explodes. Upon getting to their quarters, they laugh in maniacal glee. Plot A is about Kamala, there is no plot B. It doesn’t take long for the Ferengi to sneak into the cargo bay and reveal the cargo. It’s a girl! She’s a metamorph, a very rare Kriosian who senses what a guy wants and needs and becomes that for him. Sounds like every dude’s dream! She’s the key to the peace effort because it was a metamorph who started the war in the first place, centuries ago. Kamala is putting out pheromones like crazy because she was released prematurely, which attracts guys and doesn’t take long working on Riker and then Picard. The Ferengi end up knocking out the ambassador, so Picard has to fill in and work closely with Kamala. This episode becomes a love story, set against the backdrop of interplanetary diplomacy. It’s actually more interesting than it sounds. There’s a little surprise at the end, but the episode really ends the only way it could. It’s appropriate, if somewhat tragic.
Favorite Scenes: There are definitely some funny moments here, and some snappy dialogue in general. The bald Ferengi in the cargo bay gives an excuse about taking a wrong turn looking for a barber shop. Riker says after kissing Kamala that it’s been very “educational” but he has to go. She says it’s going to be a long voyage to which he replies that it certainly is, and goes directly to a holodeck! In the 19th minute after his first talk with Kamala, Picard starts to feel a little skittish and slowly backs out of her quarters, it’s well played. In Ten Forward she flirts with Worf as she leaves and he starts to respond, then catches himself. Later when she wonders out loud what lies beneath Picard’s discipline and control, he firmly replies “Nothing. Nothing lies beneath!” The whole scene taking the 23rd-26th minute is terrific to watch for a mature audience–it might be my favorite. It makes me smile when Kamala says she learned how to play instruments, and when Picard asks her which one her reply is “all of them.”
Use of Cast/Characters: Marina Sirtis had this episode off, I guess one empath per episode is plenty. Picard is the central figure in this episode, along with Kamala. This just highlights one of the reasons I love the dude! He is the only one on the ship with the maturity and will power not to use Kamala, and she loves him and even bonds with him for it. Beverly plays an interesting role in this episode. First she represents the outrage at Kamala’s role and her life (the ambassador is a ‘slave trader’), and later she acts as an ear for Picard’s thoughts, due to their long friendship. She does a good job in both roles. Riker has one meaningful scene, and not much more. Data has one meaningful scene. Worf has one meaningful scene. Geordi has half a meaningful scene. The stunningly gorgeous Famke Janssen plays Kamala and gives a somewhat uneven performance. I could tell she was at the beginning of her acting craft, but she tried her best. Tim O’Connor plays the Krios ambassador, and is excellent with what he has to work with. The Ferengi are both enjoyable.
Blu Ray Version: The partially shadowed green planet in the teaser looks gorgeous. There is a deleted scene, it takes place at the final wedding scene, right after she says the line “I am for you, Alrik of Valt.” In it Picard has a fantasy where he objects and says Kamala will stay on the Enterprise to be with him, and he can still work out the trade agreements, to which Alrik agrees. I’m glad it’s not in the episode, it does a disservice.
Nitpicks: If you watch the promo for this episode, Kamala is called a “beautiful seductress” who job it is to “satisfy forbidden desires.” Really? No. Well, sort of. Also, later she terribly delivers a line about “moonbeasts”, I always wince. Geordi distracts a Ferengi by telling him to come see the dolphins with him. Dolphins? There’s a clear blooper toward the end. In the last shot of the episode, at 44:30, the ship we see departing is not the one we saw arriving just a minute earlier. Look for yourself at 43:17.
Overall Impression: I’ve always liked this episode. I’ve heard that some consider it boring or slow, but it has never felt that way to me. It’s got quite a bit of humor, and a forbidden love story with real chemistry between the leads. I feel sympathy for Kamala, and actual sentiment for her. Not only for her prearranged life, but also in light of what-might-have-been between her and Picard, and the Valt ambassador’s uncaring attitude. Who wouldn’t fall in love with her? As a 16-yr old I certainly did. She has to rank among the top love interests ever for Picard. It’s also a bit of a Prime Directive episode: do they interfere, or not? I rate this episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, and I’m a little tempted to rate it higher.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: This was the least-watched episode of season five, which is unfortunate. Kamala’s makeup looks a lot like the Trill we will see in DS9. In fact the make-up crew remembered Kamala’s spots from this episode and would use them to depict Trill on DS9. Famke was actually the first to be offered the role of Jadzia Dax, but turned it down to pursue film. Famke/Kamala refers to herself as a mutant in this episode at 11:30. She is famous for appearing in Goldeneye as well as multiple X-Men movies as Jean Grey. It’s Professor X and Jean Grey, people! Famke tells a story about getting acting advice from Patrick:
I worked with Patrick Stewart on an episode of Star Trek, and it was long before we ever did the X-Men series together. He said to me when I was very green in the acting department, “Instead of looking into both eyes, because you could see the eyes shifting back and forth, just look into one of my eyes.” And it was just the best acting advice.
This episode is where I first learned the word ebullient. Tim O’Connor you may recognize if you were a child of the 80’s as he appeared on Buck Rogers. The cocoon we see in this episode is a rare example of CGI on TNG. The Ferengi Par Lenor is played by Max Grodenchik, whom we’ve previously seen in Captain’s Holiday, and plays Quark’s brother Rom all through DS9.
Missable/Unmissable? Missable I suppose, but recommended. It’s certainly better than the next episode, which ought to be missed.