Plot Synopsis: En route to Risa, Geordi is taken prisoner on a Romulan ship and mentally conditioned to assassinate a Klingon governor in order to dissolve the Federation-Klingon alliance.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser is brief, but does the job. Geordi is heading to a conference on Risa (the well-known pleasure planet!), and is playing games with the computer on his 3-hour commute when out of nowhere a Romulan warbird appears. Plot A is about Geordi’s brainwashing and associated Romulan plot, there is no real plot B. A Klingon ambassador is on the Enterprise to investigate claims that the Federation is aiding a Klingon colony to rebel against the Empire, while Geordi is being tortured and conditioned to do something nasty for those dirty Rommies! There’s also an unknown female Romulan commander, who’s always in the shadows. Geordi is returned to the Enterprise fairly early on, and it’s a point of interest to watch him as we see evidence of his control and wonder what the plan is. Data and Geordi figure out the Federation is being framed, but stuff just keeps happening to point the Federation and Klingon Empire closer to war. It does get more and more real until we have a fairly tense climax, an assassination attempt, and an unsettled Geordi in counseling with Troi to end the episode.
Favorite Scenes: One scene that cracks me up every time is around the 12th minute, when Geordi is asked to kill Chief O’Brien in a Romulan simulation. He does, then the Romulan asks him to join the guys sitting next to the guy he just killed. Geordi casually says, “mind if I join you guys?” “Sure!” is the immediate response. Just like in real life: don’t let a little murder come between a round of drinks with friends! The best scene is the climax, where Geordi is in the shuttle bay trying to find an opportunity to kill the Klingon governor while Data is putting together the clues that leads him to Geordi. He then orders Worf to take him into custody, but Worf is too far away to get to him.
Use of Cast/Characters: Picard’s job is to keep things under control, which he has his hands full with this episode–he is also the one who physically stops the attempted assassination. Riker’s main contribution is to take the E-band transmission seriously and keep Data on it. Data is really useful in this episode: he helps Geordi and later is the one to uncover the truth of what’s going on, in a way that doesn’t seem cheap or contrived. This could be called a Geordi episode as he gets kidnapped, brainwashed, and is the central figure in an assassination plot, but it seems like the plot is about more than just him–it’s nice. Troi shows exactly why therapists are needed on a starship in deep space, and it’s for crap like this. It also gives us a chance to humanize and see the consequence for someone who had to go through what Geordi did. Beverly doesn’t have much, a total of one scene, which probably could have been cut. Worf doesn’t have a lot to do here either, and the guy can’t even get over to take Geordi into custody.
Blu Ray Version: The effect of seeing through Geordi’s VISOR in this episode was completely redone instead of using the original footage, but it does look really close. Some filming equipment that was previously seen in one scene was probably digitally removed for this release. The matte painting of the Klingon colony at 16:35 has been changed. Originally it was a modified from the original painting used in Angel One. It’s been further modified digitally for this release.
Nitpicks: Can’t say I’m a fan of LeVar’s reaction to seeing the warbird. I think they should’ve done a few more takes. Should Geordi and Data really be test-firing a phaser rifle so close to the warp core? What’s wrong with using a holodeck or something? I also would’ve preferred Worf to be more of a hero at the end: I wanted him to take down those Klingon lackeys and stop Geordi, instead of Picard.
Overall Impression: This is an episode that is sometimes forgotten in season 4, but is worth a watch. It’s a Geordi-centric episode and it evokes some real tension throughout. I really enjoyed watching Geordi and Data working together to get to the truth of the fake Federation weapons, and later the use of the transporter. We haven’t seen that in quite a while. I also like following the mystery of the E-band emissions. Data’s abilities and Riker’s experience working together on what would usually be a minor mystery that others would probably overlook simply reinforce that this is the best crew in Starfleet. It’s a well-made episode and foreshadows the coming of Sela, but still manages to not be a particularly memorable episode for TNG. I rate this episode 3 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: The first obvious thing that needs to be said is that this episode is based on the great 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate (not the crappy 2004 remake). The director loved the Manchurian Candidate and tried to get a cast member from the film to appear as an extra, but he wasn’t successful. This is the first time in the series the Romulan and Klingon transporter effects are seen. This is the third episode where we get to see through Geordi’s VISOR, the other two being Heart of Glory and The Enemy. Evidently there was a fight sequence that was filmed with Patrick and Levar’s stunt doubles for the scene in the cargo bay, but it was never included.
Missable/Unmissable? It’s a pretty good episode but I never have a strong desire to see it whenever I re-watch the series. It’s missable but not a bad episode at all. The next one is a step up.