Based on The Manchurian Candidate, this episode is s set up for the season finale. They hadn't tried this since the first season in which Coming of Age and Conspiracy were supposed to be linked and ride an arc into the second season, but it fizzled out.
Poor Geordi, though. He always gets caught up in the middle of something. Since it is a Geordi episode, and a very good one, there's a lot of technobabble and nit-picky details. I normally try to skirt around as much of that as possible, but I may not be able to avoid it this time. The episode begins with Geordi heading to a cybernetics conference and shore leave and he's having a little fun talking to the computer. He's ordering up music and a computer game when he's surprised by a Romulan ship decloaking. He tries to evade, but he really doesn't have a chance in his little shuttle pod. They send an imposter Risa to replace him.
We also have to get into the weeds over the political layout of the Klingon empire. The Klingons have a colony in the Kriosian system that's fighting for independence. Instead of being on the side of the those who are trying to break free from a government, the Enterprise is aligned with its Klingon allies and is there to help by escorting an ambassador, Kell (who requested Picard personally), to Krios to sort things out. This is a complete 180 for Star Trek which is always on the side of the group that's trying to free itself from any government... especially what I can only assume is a colonialized planet under Klingon rule as India used to belong to Britain. Therefore, there is no representative of Krios other than the governor, a Klingon named Vagh. Vagh thinks the federation is providing weapons to the Kriosian rebels. We then go through what was becoming a standard repetition in dealings with Klingons - Worf is assigned to assist in the investigation and Kell rejects him on the basis that he is a traitor because of his discommondation. Now, I for one wasn't wearied with the discommondation background story yet, but looking back I can see it was high time they started addressing it in earnest since this happened in the middle of the last season. Meanwhile Geordi is aboard the Romulan vessel being tortured and brainwashed. They use his visor implants to expose him to horrific images and issue commands.
Taibak, in charge of this procedure reports to his commander standing in the shadows behind him. This is another tease into the season finale. Her name is not mentioned in this episode but it is Commander Sela, Tasha Yar's daughter. Although the actor was a stand in, they recorded Desnise Crosby speaking her lines and leaving her uncredited at the end to affect a bigger surprise when she's introduced at the end of the final episode of the season.
On the Enterprise they study more attacks and even Kell begins to see the logic in the assumption that the Federation may be providing weapons. When Worf defends their position Kell relents and admits that Worf did the empire a favor by killing Durass, providing another bittersweet moment for his martyred honor. On the Romulan ship they put Geordi through the paces in several simulations where they test how well they can control him. He hesitates before he kills the simulated O'Brien, so more work is needed. They actually cram a lot into this episode. It probably could've been split into two as well.
Things start to move a little faster when Geordi gets back from what he remembers as a pleasant vacation. His arrival coincides with elevated E-band emissions which Data is determined to figure out. Vagh is more impatient than ever after discovering what looks like a Federation phaser rifle and begins to talk to Picard as if the Federation was an enemy, not an ally insinuating that the Federation wants Krios to reduce their vulnerability to attack since it's on the Federation boarder. Kell is the cool head and talks Vagh down enabling Picard to run tests on the phaser rifle.
After teasing a situation in which Geordi spills a drink on O'Brien in Ten Forward while experiencing a little déjà vu from his conditioning on the Romulan ship, they figure out that the weapon was not of Federation design and had a Romulan signature on it. Nobody can deny the Romulans would have a lot to gain from a break in allegiance and war between the Federation and the Klingons, which is the primary set up for the season finale and the motivation of the assassination attempt on Vagh. This would normally be about the end for an episode since the explanation makes perfect sense, but Geordi is still under mind control. He rigs up the transporter to beam some weapons down to Krios and then wipes away all traces of his tampering. Vagh finds the weapons of course and is ready to attack, but Kell stalls by telling him to wait for the permission of the High Council so the Enterprise can investigate the unauthorized transportation. There are four suspects of which Geordi is one and they all have alibis except Geordi who was in his quarters alone. They still don't think it's him and they're frustrated. They also trying to explain to Kell about the strange E-band emissions, but Kell reminds them that Vagh will lose patience and offers to go down personally and get him so they can show him the data from the investigation to try and calm him down.
Before he leaves he calls LaForge to his quarters to order him to murder Governor Vagh as soon as he's back on board which is the major plot twist of the show since Kell was such a nice guy.
Of course, all of his orders are telegraphed by an E-band emission and it's starting to aggravate Riker. This begins the climax which is actually really exciting. Geordi grabs a phaser and begins to walk around slowly, in a trance, heading for cargo bay four while Data investigates the pattern which he just learns can be sent to a receiver in a human brain. He discovers that Geordi's shuttle craft had been exposed to a tractor beam and discovers the anomalies in the memory chips of the shuttle which turn out to be Romulan. Of course it's a lot of work, and Geordi would've made it to the cargo bay first but he's distracted momentarily by O'Brien of all people who he has to stop and help.
Data orders Worf to take Geordi into custody but Vagh's guards react to his sudden movements by trying to stop him. He shouts a warning to Picard just in time for him to stop Geordi before he fires on Vagh. By then Data gets there and explains how Geordi had been compromised. The brainwashing technique wouldn't work at a distance so the person in control had to be a Romulan operative on the ship and the only two people it could've been was Picard or Kell. He suggests a search of their persons for the transmitter. Picard is cool with it, but Kell blusters. Even Vagh can see that it's probably Kell from the moment Data begins explaining and he takes Kell to Krios to search him personally. Kell asks for asylum on the Enterprise which Picard says he's happy to do if he's found innocent. Picard always manages to steal the show.. lol.
In the end we get another rare look at Troi doing her job and helping Geordi through the process of remembering what really happened and trying to pick up the pieces after what is a horrifying psychological violation. When I say, "Poor Geordi," I mean it. It was an exciting show, but Geordi has been seriously victimized here. At least as much as Picard was by the Borg but he doesn't get a follow up. But he's always their sacrifice to the situations and he's very good at it. And I just assume he's a superman for not needing a follow up. I love this episode and I can't find much wrong with it other than there was almost too much in it for one episode. Four and a half stars.
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