I would classify this as a "Roddenberry Classic" episode, but improved; thought provoking, but without the immaturity and over simplicity. Instead it's sad and sweet and unusual.
They answer a distress call and find the surface of the planet utterly decimated except for a small bit of acreage and a house with two people living in it.
This is one of those kinds of episodes that I don't get enthused over, but I don't have much against it either. And I gotta say again, the paintings and set designs are leaps and bounds better than the previous two seasons. This story was, at it's heart, a mystery which made it a pretty good one, and scenes like the one above really helped to set the mood.
The survivors are a nice, harmless old couple who are just grateful to be out of danger and want to be left alone. Of course, the Enterprise can't leave. The difference between this situation and most of the situations in the first two seasons is that in the first two season, much of the time, the crew was just being nosy. This time it's something they have to investigate and get an explanation for. It is genuinely incredible that these are the only survivors of a mass planetary destruction. The man, Kevin, (such an ordinary name) says that they survived because they chose not to fight in the resistance to the invading forces. Even the most ardent pacifist knows that this is unlikely, but there's nothing the crew can do to rebut their claim.
It all would've been wrapped up quickly if Troi hadn't been there. Kevin and Rishon have a music box. Once it starts playing it becomes permanently embedded in Troi's mind, blocking her empathic powers and everything else as well, driving her slowly insane. It's done purposefully because Troi would be able to sense the truth of the situation and it's a good plot device. It gives credibility to Troi's abilities since the need to "take her out" is absolutely necessary to the intentions of the antagonist. This is also the debut of the blue dress and tights which is her best apparel and probably the most comfortable for Sirtis. I didn't realize it was there as early as the 3rd season.
Then a mysterious ship appears and even though it's small it has the ability to attack the Enterprise and run it off. More mystery.
There's actually a lot of dialogue and little things to pay attention to in this episode so the audience can play along with solving the mystery which is why this review is fairly short. I don't typically go into that much detail, but this episode is made up of many details, as is the nature with mysteries. Later the ship returns and appears to destroy Kevin and Rishon as well, but Picard calls the bluff and beams the couple directly to the ship.
Kevin relates the sad story of his existence there. He's an immortal being. Like I said, Q wasn't the first and obviously not the last, but the presence of the Q eventually overshadowed all other attempts at immortal beings. This guy is like a Q with a conscience. He loved his wife and lived as a human with her and refrained from using his powers or fighting the invaders because of his advantage. He poisoned Troi's mind with the music and concocted the strange ship to run the Enterprise off so they wouldn't discover that when his wife was killed after she joined the resistance, he was heartbroken and decimated not only the planet but the entirety of the invading race, everywhere in the universe. Then he confined himself to this planet forever because he felt guilt over the mass genocide he committed. And although he couldn't bring his wife back to life, he just lives in this recreated world of the happy life he once had with her now.
He does the right thing by releasing Troi from the music in her mind and Picard decides to just leave him alone, feeling unqualified to judge the situation. It's the kind of solution that would have been present in the first two seasons, but the difference is that in this situation there really wasn't another option. And the circumstances really were beyond arbitration by the Federation whereas in previous episodes there was usually a better solution that was cast away in favor of making some ridiculous point about how inferior humans are. This is the kind of episode that's best watched with a friend. There's a lot of discussion topics regarding love, pain, and revenge and the story never turns too political. To me, this is the heart of what Star Trek became. I've always liked it and although it was an unusual mystery, it still fits that description and the mystery aspect was adequately written. The actor that played Kevin made it touching and believable. I don't really have any complaints. I like it enough to award it four stars.
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