Well, I'm torn on this one. It involves more of that early inability to make Ferengi believably menacing but it's also a Lwaxana episode and I can't help but love Lwaxana.
I mean, the Ferengi are still in transition. The Enterprise is at Betazed for a trade conference and the Ferengi are invited for the first time. So they're interested in Betazoids for their telepathic and empathic abilities which would give them an edge in business dealings. Not so different from what Ral was doing in the episode, The Price. Which of course, begs the question... why not seek out someone willing to use their ability for gain like Ral instead of going through all the trouble in this episode? But, of course, there is the pull of Lwaxana's personality. As the Ferengi race develops and you learn that their women of their culture are made to be submissive, so it actually makes sense that a Ferengi male would be attracted to a dominating, outgoing woman like Mrs. Troi, which is the case in the opening scene. The main Ferengi DaiMon Tog tries flattery at first to win Troi's natural affections and willingness to serve him. Naturally that's a bust and a funny one. They have Lwaxana saying things we'd all like to say to these awful little Ferengi who, at this point, have failed miserably to endear themselves to the fan base, or at least to me. This episode is a line in the sand for a particular Betazoid development - Betazoids cannot read Ferengi thoughts or feel their emotions. Now, it hadn't always been like this, but season three was like a reset for all the stuff they'd toyed with in the first two and fortunately the fact that Deanna had mentioned reading emotions from Ferengi before is as easily forgettable as the episodes in which it had taken place. This is also another teaser episode for Wesley. He's due to leave the Enterprise again, this time for the Academy. This was a better constructed episode towards that end unlike The Child when they were teasing that he might leave the ship to join his mother. His presence is perfectly balanced and his "save the day" moment was actually valuable to the overall story.
Naturally, Lwaxana nags Deanna about marriage and family which brings about the stereotypical fight that never gets old. Then the Enterprise is due to map out a Nebula which is so routine that Picard grants shore leave to Riker and Deanna who decide to go down to Betazed and relive old times. You get the hint that things may still come together with them one day, but they don't get much of a chance to explore that since Lwaxana crashes their alone time with a picnic. I still wish they'd spent more time developing Betazed and Betazoid culture... the scenery is made out to be gorgeous, however, Deanna's costume is pretty awful. Anyway, DaiMon Tog also shows up to kidnap the three of them.
And this of course is why the Ferengi are so frustrating in the early years of TNG. They fall into this piracy sort of mentality that wouldn't be tolerated in civilized society. Nobody would invite people like this to trade conferences, or sales of potential wormhole rights, etc. Tog can't persuade Lwaxana to serve him so he takes her and everyone she's with, presumably for leverage and/or no witnesses to snitch on them. Once they're awake he transfers the ladies to a separate cell without their clothes since Ferengi women don't wear them. One would think that this degrading type of culture development goes hand in hand with kidnappers and pirates, but you can't reconcile the comic value of what they'd done here with a genuinely threatening type of adversary.
Ever quick on her feet Lwaxana decides to pretend to be more receptive to Tog's propositions. He agrees to clothe them again and while Riker is playing chess with his guards and working on outsmarting them, Lwaxana charms Tog while Deanna feels her mother's discomfort as being a willful seductress of the Ferengi captain. It's all very amusing and silly. I'm always biased in favor of Lwaxana and it's always fun to watch her operate. They also introduce the concept of Oo-max. If they'd done this in any other season, it probably would've been horribly and uncomfortably juvenile. But they somehow manage to make this point tastefully, and it makes sense... with ears like that on a now mostly comical race, why not sexualize them? It was a ready made weakness for Lwaxana to exploit. My hats off to this concept. For filler space they have Wesley realizing that he may not necessarily be assigned back to the Enterprise after he's out of the Academy which is a realistic pondering instead of the usual philosophical whining they go through when Wesley is on the verge of a life changing moment. I don't have many complaints about the episode itself.
Lwaxana's charm nearly gets them the Dai'Mon's access code to help them all escape, but at the last minute a Ferengi named Dr. Farek, who was with him on the Enterprise in the beginning and who would also go on to play Neelix, interferes in the nick of time. There aren't too many references to Ferengi scientist at all in either show. Farek is a "mad scientist" type that wants to torture Lwaxana for the purpose of harnessing and using the Betazoid telepathic abilities. But the Enterprise had been informed that the Troi's and Riker were kidnapped and are on their way.
Riker had been sending signals out to to try to get the Enterprise to come back for them, tapping out the rhythm of the music that was playing in Ten Forward during his chess game at the beginning. This is why the Wesley moment isn't as annoying or intrusive to the story as other episodes. He's preparing to leave when he recognizes the music rhythm and elects to stay back to help guide the crew to the source. It's believable that he would because that's how a teenager's mind would work as opposed to an adult's... so he's not outsmarting the adults or anything like that. He's not reprimanded for it, nor do they treat him like a stupid, interfering child although they make note that he's missed his train, so to speak. It's almost refreshing. And of course, it ends up being the reason he can't leave again for a while, so, mission accomplished. Once the jig is up, Lwaxana employs one last trick from up her sleeve to resolve the situation.
She agrees to stay and help Tog willingly as long as Riker and Deanna are released which Tog agrees to immediately. She makes it official by telling the Enterprise of her willingness to stay, which officially voids any reason for hostilities to continue. It's a display of how Lwaxana is not just a crazy old bat, but a smart and perceptive woman. She then plays on the Ferengi's naivety by begging Picard not to come after her out of revenge. It's one of the truly funniest moments in the show. Deanna picks up on the act and explains to the captain that he must play the jilted and jealous lover to scare the Ferengi into letting her go.
When Shakespeare isn't enough, it escalates into a threat to destroy the Ferengi ship over the love of this woman. And why not... I mean, if the Ferengi could just go around kidnapping and acting like pirates unchecked... why couldn't the Enterprise get away with something like that? But, the bluff works and Lwaxana is returned to the bridge. All of the childish flirting with Picard that they'd written into the first two seasons was put to good use and it also puts the awkwardness of her relationship to him to rest allowing her to move on to other types of stories later on. All very subtly done and I really enjoyed it.
It ends with Wesley getting another field commission to full Ensign and a proper uniform. They still wouldn't use him to his full potential, but this was another reset from the first two seasons that was needed.
It'd be hard to not give it four stars because of Lwaxana's personality and the ending with Picard trying to "win back" Lwaxana. I'm just too biased to be reasonable. If I were going strictly on merit, it'd be three and a half stars, but I gotta go with four for the great laughs and fun.
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