Plot Synopsis: Lieutenant Ro Laren is sent undercover to root out a Maquis cell.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser sees the return of newly-promoted Lieutenant Ro, after graduating from advanced tactical training. Ro gets mushy with Picard, saying “If it weren’t for you, my life would be a very different one right now.” They are both called to the bridge to find a Cardassian ship under attack by the Federation! Plot A is about Ro and Maquis, there is no plot B. Actally the Cardies are being attacked by multiple Maquis ships–federation-born freedom fighters–but the Enterprise scares them away. Tensions are high in the DMZ between Federation and Cardassian space, and Admiral Nechayev plans to use Ro to infiltrate the Maquis–she agrees primarily to justify Picard’s faith in her. It doesn’t take long, she gets recruited. The Maquis hear the dirty Cardies in the DMZ are obtaining biogenic weapons to wipe them out, and decide to make a preemptive strike against them. Ro volunteers to steal some medical supplies from the Enterprise on a Maquis ship to earn her street cred. Later, Picard fills Ro in on the plan: they’ll lay a trap and when the Maquis come to get the ‘weapons’ the Federation will swoop in and get the whole organization. Ro agrees, but when father-figure she’s grown close to in the Maquis is killed in a Cardassian attack she tries to get Picard to abort the mission. Instead he sends Riker back with her to babysit but it doesn’t stop her from betraying the Federation by sabotaging the mission, and the episode ends with Ro joining the Maquis.
Favorite Scenes: Each of the scenes with Ro and Picard are good, they have great chemistry. The way Ro steals the medical supplies is pretty cool. The final scene with Picard and Ro in the bar is pretty good, with Picard seeing through her attempt to deceive him.
Use of Cast/Characters: You could say this is a Ro Laren episode. She does get more development as she is promoted and a graduate of the Federation equivalent of the Navy Seals. This episode plays up her past relationship with Picard as well, and with her turning away from Starfleet the final arc of her character ends. Picard is in quite a bit of this episode, and is the primary link Ro has with the Federation. He interacts with her intermittently throughout the episode but doesn’t get much in the way of development. Riker, Worf and Data do a little but not much. Geordi, Deanna and Beverly have a few lines in the teaser but nothing else. John Franklyn-Robbins plays the Maquis cell leader Macias and does a good job as a father figure for Ro.
Blu Ray Version: The matte painting of Ronara is completely new, don’t know why they didn’t use the original though it does look similar. Watch the phaser fight around the 35th minute, the phaser effects are gorgeous. There are two deleted scenes and commentary. The first deleted scene is more time with Ro and the Maquis–just a forgettable conversation with one of them. The second is a couple more sentences when she is talking to Picard in the observation lounge. She asks what will happen when the Maquis fall into the trap and Picard says the hope is they will be so outnumbered they will surrender. When Ro doubts that will happen he continues that they’ll try to disable the Maquis ships, but “that isn’t always possible.” It’s not essential, but I think it should have been included.
Nitpicks: The Maquis cell leader doesn’t seem to be hit that hard, but he dies from it? It could’ve been done better.
Overall Impression: This episode is features a reasonably compelling plot with a disappointing ending. It’s great to see Ro again as I’ve been a fan of hers and I really enjoyed the history with her and Picard as well. Anyone who watches this will have some very mixed feelings though. Firstly almost none of the main cast are used, and this close to the finale they should be showcased, not shunted aside for a guest star. Abandoning Starfleet to become a freedom fighter with very little action just seems like I got shortchanged–the show made me care about Ro, and she ends up betraying the other characters I cared about! I just don’t buy it, especially we are told the Maquis escalating tensions will lead to another Federation-Cardassian war! Ro deserved better, and it’s a shame the episode simply serves to set up future storytelling on DS9. I can’t rate this episode higher than 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: This is the final episode directed by Patrick Stewart, and Michelle Forbes’ eighth and final episode as Ro Laren. This is the only TNG episode that I recommend watching a DS9 episode prior to viewing: after Journey’s End watch The Maquis Part I and II, then come back and watch this episode or you may be lost. You might want to start with The Wounded to go all the way back to the beginning of the Cardassians; or Ensign Ro who, remember, was the very first Bajoran ever! It would’ve been so great if she was on DS9 instead of Kira.
You may not know the Lieutenant Commander instructor Ro respected at advanced tactical training was intended to be Chakotay. Michael Dorn tells a great story about he and Brent walking into a bar looking for Ro (who is right there!) and doing different accents as they walked in. Here’s the link if interested. Why was this episode written? According to Jeri Taylor, the showrunner:
We decided, in a very calculated way, to cut our ties with everything that was familiar. We realized we needed to set up some things in the last months of Next Generation. Specifically, we established the idea of the Maqui. So we did a two-part episode on DS9 and then treated it again in TNG. We also established in Journey’s End that Native Americans had left Earth around the 22nd century in an effort to preserve their cultural identity. So in those way we were able to kind of help the audience along by establishing the background for some of these characters.
So what happens with Ro? Does she die when the Dominion annihilate the Maquis, or does she survive? There are a whole series of DS9 relaunch novels in which she features prominently–if you want to start reading them start here.
Missable/Unmissable? It’s not missable if you’re a Ro fan. The next episode is the big finale, and is one of the greatest episodes in the series.