Star Trek Redemption II

Redemption II welcomes in season 5 of Star Trek The Next Generation.  I forgot to mention that Redemption as a whole represents the 100th episode of the series.  I also didn't title it right on Friday - Redemption was not labeled "parts 1 and 2" but simply, I and II.

It starts out with a fast paced battle sequence to indicate that the Klingon civil war is proceeding as expected.  Worf is on board Kurn's ship at tactical and they're on the verge of losing when Kurn decides to warp towards the sun.  Not enough to send them back in time (wink, wink), but just enough to cause a solar flare and take the other two ships out. It had to start fast paced like that because a considerable amount of time would have to be devoted to setting up the Enterprise's role in the conflict.  Picard is at a star base to discuss the fact that the war is going badly for Gowron.  He convinces Admiral Shanthi and others that there is no doubt in his mind that the Romulans have instigated this in order to break the Federation and Klingon alliance. They agree but  since the Federation must remain neutral they can't see what is to be done.  Picard proposes a blockade on the Klingon-Romulan border to stop any supplies that the Romulans may be trying to pass to Duras' forces. He explains how Geordi has set up a detection grid that would expose any cloaked ships trying to get through the blockade.  If one is caught they would then have justification to help defend Gowron's forces.  That scene and the scenes that follow, although they're not action oriented, show a lot of depth in portraying a detailed organization of a fleet of 23 ships, getting them up to spec and fully staffed. It's a credit to the actors that none of this is boring and displays how the writing had matured since the early seasons and TOS in general. Finally, Data asks why he was not assigned to command a ship since he'd heard Picard lament the lack of experienced officers.  This is where we find out that Data has been in service for 26 years.  It was never one of my favorite scenes since Data almost comes off as whiny when he suggests that perhaps Picard doesn't think Starfleet is ready for an android captain. He's not crying discrimination because he has no feelings to hurt, but the writing is indicating it and I just don't like seeing anyone guilted into a situation because of those kinds of threats, even fictional characters.  Picard relents quickly however and gives Data command of the Sutherland.

 We then move to a scene that delves into the complex Klingon culture a little bit.  Kurn and Worf are back at the Klingon home world celebrating the war in the capital city which is neutral ground. Supporters of both Gowron and Duras are at this bar. The concept of drinking with the enemy is not easy for Worf to accept, but the situation is a little different when all participants are Klingons.  They'll battle to the death in their ships, but down here they drink like friends. Worf also aggravates Kurn by wanting to talk of nothing but the war and strategies, but he eventually has to yield to Kurn's lead on this issue and at least try to embrace his cultural traditions.  Lursa and B'Etor are in a corner taking note of how Worf is different from Kurn and are trying to figure out how they could take advantage of this. Meanwhile the Federation fleet prepares to move out and we see some of the real discrimination Data faces that, perhaps, Picard was trying to protect him from by denying him a commission to Captain. He meets the senior officer on board - Ellis De Wald!  No, I'm kidding, I just loved him as Ellis De Wald in Beverly Hills Cop III. Here he's Lt. Commander Chris Hobson and he's an ass. He doesn't have the confidence that Data is qualified to command a ship since he's a machine.  He doesn't say it, but I think the implication is that he lacks instincts.  At least I hope that's the implication because it's a valid fear. He asks for a transfer strait away, but Data denies it. It's a nice set up for tension between these two and the audience can see that Data's first command will not be an easy one.

But they're not the only ones with tensions.  The Duras sisters don't trust Commander Sela and her assurances of Romulan supplies.  They know of Starfleet's movements but they don't think it's a Federation invasion.  Sela of course, knows she's got her identity as a card up her sleeve and rounds up her ships.  Meanwhile Gowron's authority is challenged since their side is losing the war.  Worf tries to stop the fight to the death.  I must point out that he was fine with this sort of thing when he avenged K'Ehleyr's death.  But the point being made is that even though Worf is with his people and fighting in a worthy cause, he's still quite out of place having been raised by humans.  Gowron kills his challenger anyway and things move on. 

The Federation arrives and sets up their blockade.  More friction between Data and Hobson.  I liked these scenes.  Even though Hobson's insubordination is over the top, it's a wonderful page in Data's character development to watch him handle the situation. Laughter and love are a small part of human development.  Data trying to apply learned behavior to assert authority is great. Sela and her general discover the detection grid and she decides to try to scare them away by revealing her face to a stunned Picard who inadvertently says, "Tasha?" when he sees her.  She tells them that Tasha Yar was her mother and Troi is convinced she's telling the truth.

As they scramble to understand how Sela could possibly be Tasha Yar's grown daughter, Guinan comes to Picard to explain exactly how, although she doesn't know why she knows it. Guinan's word has always been good enough for him so he arranges a meeting during which Sela confirms that Tasha was taken alive from Enterprise C while defending the Klingon outpost. The Romulan that captured her fell in love with her and told her she could live if she'd become his mistress; later she gave birth to Sela. But to leave the audience in no doubt that Sela is 100% a bad guy she explains how she was responsible for Tasha's death by crying for help when Tasha tried to escape with her. She is a loyal Romulan. Picard doesn't know whether to really believe it or not, but refuses to back off nonetheless.  While this was going on Worf was captured by Duras' men and the sisters try to seduce Worf into siding with them so they can rule the Empire together.  Talk about misreading his attitudes at the bar. Sela loses patience though and wants him properly interrogated.  Meanwhile Picard convinces Gowron to launch a full scale attack on the Duras forces in order to draw the Romulans through the blockade.  He even arranges a weakening in the detection grid for them to make use of, but Sela is too smart for that and chooses instead to try to cross at the weakest spot which she deems to be by the Sutherland which has the android captain.  I assume she knows that because of intelligence reports. But she's clearly counting on him not having any natural instincts either.

So begins the dynamite climax.  Gowron's attack works, but Sela disrupts the grid to the point that Picard has to order the ships pulled away.  Data complies but also double checks what the cause of the disruption could've been while Hobson questions this tactic. He figures it out and orders his ship back to its position. Hobson is fighting him all the way as he ignores Picard's hails and asks for torpedoes to be reconfigured to send out harmless energy bursts even though it puts the delicate ship in danger of radiation exposure. He turns out to be right when he exposes the cloaked Romulan vessels crossing into Klingon territory.  Sela immediately turns tail and runs leaving Duras' fleet to twist in the wind.  Hobson finally respects Data.  A little predictable and corny, but it worked well and it was a good Data moment.

Once defeat is imminent and they fail to kill Worf, the Duras sisters ditch Toral before they can be captured by Gowron's forces. Data submits himself for discipline for disobeying orders, but Picard was impressed with his results and explains that too many things go wrong because of officers that just follow orders.  After all, one can see that Data behaved that way after watching Picard routinely act on instinct for 4 years. He has no emotions so he can't appreciate it when Picard tells him, "Nicely done," but the audience can.  It's a great scene.  Picard goes to Gowron to give him a full report on the incident with the Romulan ships and stays while Gowron offers Worf Toral's life as revenge for his dishonor. He chooses to spare him and then officially chooses which side he on as far as his beliefs and values go. Kurn wants him to kill Toral because it is the Klingon way. But it's not Worf's personal "way." He asks to resume his Starfleet commission and leaves with Picard.
It's a better episode than the first part. Data's story somewhat overshadowed the Klingon aspect, but I didn't mind. I don't have too many complaints.  It's not my favorite two-parter as a whole, but this episode definitely gets five stars.