Plot Synopsis: An urgent mission tests the courage of four young officers. Junior officers speculate on the reasons for recent unusual actions taken by the command crew near the Cardassian border.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser is unusual. Four young ensigns are in Ten Forward hanging out and waiting for Riker and Troi to finish crew evaluations when we learn that two of them, Sam and Sito, are up for the same promotion. Plot A is about the ensigns of the ‘lower decks’, plot B this time is about the mystery mission that we only get clues about as the episode continues. Riker is being hard on Sam for some reason, Sito is called into the captain’s quarters only to have Picard chew her out for what she did back in The First Duty then kick her out. Meanwhile the Vulcan, Taurik, is helping Geordi shoot phaser burns into a shuttle and then Ogawa finds a Cardassian in sick bay. It’s not until the last 15 minutes that we learn what is really going on, and it’s very dangerous mission Sito has qualified for without even knowing it. Unfortunately it’s a mission she doesn’t survive, in a somber but meaningful ending. The plot is atypical but well constructed and a treat to watch.
Favorite Scenes: Even the teaser has a good couple of lines. Sam is chanting promotion over and over, to which Taurik objects and Sito has a response.
Sito: The vedeks of the Janalan order maintain a round-the-clock chant for the benefit of the Bajoran people.
Taurik: Considering the history of your planet, that doesn’t exactly validate what he is doing.
Both Picard’s dressing down of Sito early on and her response later are excellent scenes as well. One of the most memorable scenes for me is Worf teaching Sito a lesson with the made-up ‘gik’tal‘; I’ve remembered it all these years. Of course the ending is full of pathos: learning what Sito is in for, that she doesn’t survive, and how the crew handles her death.
Use of Cast/Characters: Picard gets a couple of good scenes with Sito, but other than that he doesn’t do a lot. Having said that, finding that he requested her on the Enterprise and why is a testament to his character and thoughtfulness. Riker and Troi have some time together and some good interaction, with her gently reminding him that he and Sam have some things in common. Geordi has a couple of scenes with Taurik and Beverly has some with Ogawa but Worf gets the most, helping to develop Sito and teach a much-needed lesson. Later on he learns one of his own to close the episode. Data gets virtually nothing. There are five guest stars. Patti Yasutake as nurse Ogawa is the veteran here, she’s been around since season four and does her usual creditable job. Shannon Fill reprises cadet-turned-ensign Sito, and really steals the show. She is incredibly likable, and I’ve always thought of her as the most promising of the four young officers. I wish she’d lived! Alexander Enberg portrays the Vulcan Taurik and does a good job. Dan Gauthier plays Sam Lavelle, and he is convincingly plays essentially a young Riker. All four are good, and they have great chemistry with each other. Bruce Beatty plays Ben, and does a good job as well.
Blu Ray Version: The clarity is such that in close-ups of Sito you can see the makeup that is being applied. This episode has commentary by the writer of the episode as well as the Okudas. I haven’t listened to it, unfortunately.
Nitpicks: Umm, I’m hard-pressed to think of one. This is a virtually flawless episode with very little fat to be trimmed.
Overall Impression: The premise for this episode is so good you could base an entire series on it. Oh wait, they did! Almost entirely about four junior members of the Enterprise crew, each character is well drawn and interesting. This is a character-driven episode, which I love. We get a sense of how senior officers develop junior ones, and how junior officers get seasoned. The ending can still leave me misty-eyed, too. This is another example that episodes can be great without any explosions or special effects. There’s even poker, which we haven’t seen in a while! Watching this episode I wasn’t sure if it was as good as I remember it, but I’m glad to report it is. I have no qualms with rating this 5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: As I implied above, the series Star Trek: Lower Decks is based on the premise of this episode. This episode has Michael Piller do a rare flip-flop. He insisted Sito has to die, but after watching the episode said ‘We can’t let her stay dead. We’ve got to bring her back. She was wonderful.’ The possibility was talked about by writers and producers for quite a while, and there was even a DS9 episode that was almost developed where she was in a Cardassian prison. They ultimately decided it would rob Lower Decks of some of its meaning. I get that, but frankly I’d love to have seen her again.
Believe it or not, not only does Nurse Ogawa get married to ensign Powell, but getting pregnant by him actually saves the Enterprise in Genesis. That about wraps it up, after Lower Decks there are only 10 episodes left in the series and we will be on a countdown.
Missable/Unmissable? This episode is unmissable. The next one descends back to mediocrity.