Even though I love Lwaxana this is probably my least favorite Lwaxana episode. Not that it's bad, just that it's formulaic and not as creative as usual.
For the background story, it opens with the Enterprise trying to destroy an asteroid that is getting ready to collide with a Starbase. It's not easy, but they get it done and as they're leaving, some mysterious dust particles are absorbed into the ship. So, there is an impending catastrophe. Meanwhile, Troi is involved in family counseling with Worf and Alexander. This is believable. There'd been friction between Worf and his son since they were first introduced, so this is the logical place for it to end up. And the ridiculous advice Troi gives is also believable since this is the direction that modern society has gone... a contract between Worf and Alexander that clearly states the duties of both parties so that Alexander can feel empowered in a relationship where his father makes the rules. Sorry, but I can't help but roll my eyes and think that Klingons would more likely engage in corporal punishment no matter where their living environment is. Just because it's been demonized in our society makes it no less effective. Much of their troubles could've been solved with an ass whoopin' from the minute Worf's mom brought Alexander on board to begin with. Shortly thereafter, Lwaxana come aboard to tell Troi she's finally getting married and that she plans to use Ten Forward on the Enterprise. They're interrupted by Worf and Alexander who is unhappy with his father's performance regarding their contract. I am happy that Lwaxana disapproves of that concept too, although she's more for complete indulgence of Alexander in a grandmotherly fashion. But still, her points are the rational ones in my view. Picard is exasperated with Lwaxana taking over the ship with her wedding plans but is also agreeable to it as the mystery dust continues to float around.
Of course, being a Lwaxana episode there's a lot of comedy. Alexander takes to Lwaxana and goes to see her while he's waiting for Deanna to start his and his father's next counseling appointment. He complains about his dad making rules so she decides to take him to a holodeck setting to get a break from rules for a while. She takes him to a Parallax colony which is like a living cartoon world. I didn't care for it. It seemed a little on the childish side and a little too weird sometimes. But even though I didn't think it was a necessary supplement, it seemed to fit in with Lwaxana's personality. They embrace the random silliness of the place. But when Worf and Deanna find Alexander missing for the appointment, they figure out who he's with pretty quickly. And there's a lot of humor in the fact that Worf has no sense of humor, so when he enters the holodeck program to find his son has ditched the appointment for a mud bath he's not happy. Troi wonders why her mother isn't planning her wedding and she puts it off on Mr. Homn, saying that he's seeing to the details... like the wedding dress her future groom has sent. Troi is shocked that her mother isn't participating in a proper Betazoid marriage in which the bridal party is naked. I think it's neat the way they subtly fix a flaw from an earlier season - something that was probably only intended as a juvenile joke in the first season suddenly becomes a genuine cause for concern as you begin to see that Lwaxana isn't actually looking forward to her wedding and that she's compromising her headstrong and independent spirit as well as traditions that she's always held dear.
That conversation ends with Lwaxana finding sausages in the drink she ordered and it's only one of the many strange things happening with the replicators and other systems. The systems are turning to goo. But Geordi and Data are on the case trying to identify it even though the ship starts to become shaky. Back in the primary story, you see Lwaxana trying on her wedding dress and having a conversation with Alexander about compromise and why she's following the rules of the culture she's marrying into rather than continuing to be herself. They're both trapped by boundaries and rules. The point they're making is a good one and mostly applicable to adults, but not to children. Children have to have boundaries and the things that Alexander is complaining about in this episode are not unreasonable or oppressive to his personality. However, the point of view of a child is always very sobering when we are trying to justify why we start settling for things when we get older instead of letting our dreams guide us like when we're young.
The nobleman Campio comes aboard and although he seems a decent man, it's obvious to everyone that he's not a good match for Lwaxana. He's a stuffed shirt who insists on her addressing him by his title rather than his name and his assistant is obviously shocked and appalled by her free spirited nature. Campio is also a stickler for attending to business before pleasure so when Alexander shows up wanting to go to the Parallax holodeck simulation again, Campio's insistence that she obey him again mirrors the trouble Alexander is having with Worf. With the exception that kids should submit to their parents' will, whereas adults have options. To surrender to the will of friends or lovers or not is a choice and right now she's making that choice to surrender. Worf and Deanna end up in Campio's quarters too and in the mix, Lwaxana and Alexander escape to the holodeck.
Even the juggler in the Parallax world is sad because he "ate his worlds" and although they want to stay and make him happy, the problems of the Enterprise start to disrupt the holodeck program so they leave. The climax of the B story is pretty good. They discover that they're dealing with nitrium parasites that lived on metal and most likely came from an asteroid like the one they'd destroyed at the beginning so they go back to the asteroid belt it came from. It's a ways away so they go there as fast as they can. Data suggests releasing a gas into the ship that'll slow them down, but it knocks everyone out as well, so Data has to save the day by modifying the deflector shield to send a nitrium beam to one of the nearby asteroids which lures the parasites away from the ship. They are then able to restore the ships systems to normal.
Troi ultimately decides against compromising her personality for a marriage and shows up to the wedding naked in Betazoid custom. The only thing I would've done differently is give her a headdress and earrings or something... I mean I get it that the custom is au natural, but it also doesn't seem right for Lwaxana to be completely undecorated. Everyone approves because they could all see that Campio wasn't her type and their marriage wouldn't have been a happy one. And in the end she, Deanna, Alexander, and even Worf are all in the mud bath trying to make sense of it all and come to a conclusion on rules and boundaries with Worf's compromise of joining them seeming reasonable to all.
Of course, it's Lwaxana and her part of the story is very poignant. There wasn't much to be annoyed about, I was only put off by the recommended liberal parenting plan laid out by the writers. Why is making Worf compromise his authority over his child okay when
Lwaxana compromising her life or Alexander compromising childish desires is not? That's the only real problem I
have with the episode. Since I'm not a parent myself, I know most people think I have no right to comment, but you have to admit that kids get worse with each progressive generation the more traditions and rules are relaxed. Look at the snowflakes on campuses today. I don't think it's a coincidence. But I can't give it less than four stars because it's Lwaxana and it's funny and there's a lot of good points otherwise.
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