Can a comic episode be worth five stars? This is John de Lancie's favorite Q episode and pretty much everyone else's as well.
It's also a breath of fresh air after three serious episodes in a row, even if you agreed with the politics. The timing couldn't have been better. No heavy handed agenda. No deep lesson to learn. Just 100 % fun. While the Enterprise is trying to assist the planet Bre'el IV with their moon which is falling out of orbit having catastrophic effects on their planet, they get a surprise visit from Q. But it's not the normal kind of Q entrance. Out of nowhere he falls naked onto the bridge of the Enterprise and it just keeps getting funnier from there on.
This is so much better than the immature, juvenile comedy that was woven into the first two seasons because the deadpan is more believable and there's definite structure to the circumstances. It's the dark ending of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" without the darkness. After they get some clothes on him they naturally assume he has something to do with the Bre'el IV's moon falling out of orbit. When he tries to explain that he's had his powers stripped from him, they throw him in the brig. He's reading as a human on their scanners. Troi can sense emotion in him. Worf can man-handle him. But still, nobody believes him. And why would they? It's satisfying to see the all powerful Q rendered impotent, especially after all the trouble that he'd caused up to this point and even though he was still so very popular as the omnipotent imp that introduced the Federation to the Borg.
But they have no reason to hold him prisoner. He explained that he'd chosen human form for his exile and after having asked them for sanctuary, offers to help out with the problem of the planet's moon. They still think he's lying about having no extraordinary powers and assign him to Data to roam the ship and to do what he can to help (which they still assume is simply to snap his fingers.) This is the set up for not only comedy but complexity. Data doesn't know what it's like to be human, and neither does Q. As he experiences human qualities for the first time that Data never can experience, the following vignettes double as comedy and a new viewpoint for Data, as he tries to initiate Q in how to cope with being human from his own attempts at human imitation.
One of my favorite parts before he's yoked with Data though is when he's explaining to Picard the sensation of falling asleep for the first time. It's funny because it's absolutely right and we never think about sleep like that. We'd be just as annoyed as Picard. Just before that they introduce the conflict of the episode in the form of an energy mass that shrinks down from the space outside the Enterprise to swoop in and look at the now mortal Q.
But meanwhile we see Q experience his first muscle spasm. We also see the normally compassionate and thoughtful characters being indifferent to the suffering of this, now, fellow human. Nurturing, motherly Beverly finds his pain amusing. Of course, they still only half believe that he's on the up and up, but it shows you that everyone has their limits as far as trust goes. It's also a slow build. A heartless attitude from Beverly is the least of his troubles.
When Q experiences hunger for the first time he has to confront Guinan who we know from his last appearance has some history with Q's hi jinks.
She's not only indifferent to his plight but even delights in small scale revenge, stabbing him with a fork to see if he's being truthful...
and feeling no pity when, later on, the energy mass, which turns out to be a race of beings called Calamarians whom Q had tormented in the past as he had humans and Guinan's race, begins to surge through him and throw him around like a rag doll, exacting a revenge more costly than Guinan's fork in the hand or the crew's first instinct to throw him in the brig and then treat him like an ill mannered child.
Suddenly his appearance on the Enterprise makes more sense. Although he'd offered to help them with their moon problem, he was bored at having no real authority and couldn't follow orders in a group situation. But now they all realize that all he was really wanting in choosing human form was protection from all the races he'd tormented over the years. Appearing at this time with this moon situation really was just a coincidence. Still, they're honorable and try to do the right thing by protecting Q even though it becomes increasingly difficult to both shelter him and work on saving the moon.
Data ends up saving Q from a more deadly surge personally to his own detriment. It shorts him out for a while. His sacrifice finally leads Q to his moment of .... conscience?... or perhaps just clarity. He sees that he's just making life harder for everyone involved and he's depressed at having no powers. There's a wonderful moment where he gives Data a high compliment by telling him that he would make a better human than himself. Then he resigns himself to his fate and steals a shuttle to serve himself up to the Calamarians wishing rather do die like that than die of boredom as a human. It's the logical conclusion of events without losing any of that Q attitude that everyone has come to love.
But, of course, he gets the reprieve that we all dream of getting - self sacrifice will get you the rewards you desire. Another Q arrives to tell him that his noble gesture has redeemed him in the eyes of the Q and he's now allowed back into the Continuum. I like it that everyone in the Continuum is called Q. It just adds to the atmosphere. After he gets his powers back he immediately threatens the Calamarians again demonstrating that he's still the same Q that will continue to misbehave as we want him to in the future, but ultimately lets them go at another warning from the other Q.
Then Q celebrates by saving the moon (still, they're not so sure he couldn't have always have done that) and bringing a lively mariachi party to the bridge and the roles are reversed once again with the Enterprise crew becoming the straight men of the comedy. This just never gets old. He leaves by rewarding Data with a moment of laughter. The trivia pages are always quick to point out that it's not the first time he's seen laughing. And I also know it's not the last time he'd be seen laughing. But it's assumed, at least by me, that all other moments of laughter were just imitations. Q gives him a true moment of joy as repayment for saving his life and never looking down upon him, even though he wasn't capable of that type of behavior. It's one of the best moments in the entire show. One of the best endings.
Does it deserve five stars? Yes it absolutely does.
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