The Defector

DVD, TNG S3 (The Defector)

With the Romulans you expect deception, so the pleasure of this episode is in the mystery of whether to believe the defector or not. The series at this point is living up to its classy image by becoming cleverer. As well as the twists of Romulan plots we have Shakespeare performed and Data's continuing quest to understand humanity. Patrick Stewart was of course a lover of the Bard and it's worth pointing out that he was one of the men in Data's holodeck play, heavily made up but not able to disguise that fine voice, despite a commoner accent.

James Sloyan was a reliable character actor that managed to present an arrogance in the roles he took, while also inviting compassion for their plight. He does that here, and even better as the 'father' of Odo in 'DS9' and the destroyer of Neelix' world in 'Voyager'. Tomalak makes his second appearance after 'The Enemy', which this follows up in a way, referring back to the events of that episode, Dr. Crusher even giving Worf a subtle, knowing look. This time it's Picard seemingly in the wrong, but he thought to bring along some Klingons for back up, giving us reason to cheer as the warriors decloak. This kind of thing was common in the later seasons of 'DS9' during the Dominion War, but quite rare on any other series so it's quite a treat, although it would have been even better had we been able to see Picard thank the Klingons on the viewscreen instead of Worf sending a message.

There is a bit of confusion in the episode - early on, when the Romulan ship cloaks and heads back to the Neutral Zone, it is tracked, but later we hear that cloaked ships can't be tracked. Also the Klingon Birds of Prey that decloak at the end are called 'Warships' by Worf, and he should know better! We get a chance to see a different, smaller class of Romulan ship, but only the exterior - much like the crew I was disappointed the Away Team didn't get to visit. I guess the budget could only stretch so far, and we did get quite a few references to Romulan culture, and even the first ever glimpse of Romulus via the Holodeck.

It was quite an action-packed show for the series, with a starship chase at the beginning and a mexican standoff at the end, yet it retained the thoughtfulness and contemplation, the series' hallmark, in equal measure and a strong sense of danger as the threat of war with the Romulans increases. Ultimately they extricate themselves from escalation and the unsteady peace remains, but it shows that the status quo could be shaken up potentially and so creates tension. And at last: a good Romulan episode!

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