Preemptive Strike

DVD, TNG S7 (Preemptive Strike)

The finale of 'Enterprise' often gets flak for choosing to focus on something other than itself, and though this episode isn't the finale, it's the last regular one of 'TNG.' I have to wonder if the cast felt badly at being sidelined for a story focused almost exclusively on a minor recurring character? I can see why they would do this, continuing the Maquis setup that had begun earlier in the season and with 'DS9,' but it would have had more impact had the border wars become much bigger an element of the succeeding series'. In a way it was a sacrifice for 'TNG' to be using up their penultimate episode for the good of 'Voyager,' and I wonder what aspect of the series might have been considered for this slot if they had chosen to think more about the ending of their own show. It may be that the actors were tired after a long season, and the writers were scrabbling around for ideas in the home straight and perhaps nobody minded, but in my mind this seems as controversial an episode as any other.

I think knowing the content of the episode makes it a marginally better viewing experience than when I first saw it, and it does have sensitive character moments for Ro, it just totally becomes her story when I want to see the Enterprise crew interacting. There is the feature-length finale to come, and that's probably good enough, and it's not like we don't see life aboard the D at all, just not enough of it. 'DS9' chose to run with the Maquis storyline much more than 'Voyager,' only to be expected since the latter series was far out of that region of space, but even on 'DS9' the Maquis took a backseat to the spreading fear of the Dominion in the season to follow 'TNG,' so we never got any payoff to Ro's betrayal. She came like a whirlwind, a character not quite like any before her, cropped up occasionally, and then returned to make an exit in the same manner as she'd entered. She had changed, Picard had changed her, and made her realise she could do something with her life, trust people and believe in something, so for her the Maquis came long at just the right time. You could see she still had issues with the Cardassians over such things as the cruel death of her Father, and it's a missing piece not to see her come to terms with herself as Kira did. She leaves as a still broken person, but broken in a different way to how she'd been. Picard inspired her, but not in the way he'd hoped.

To begin with, she returns to the ship from Starfleet, radiant with gratefulness at all Picard has done for her, so it shows how big a deal it was for her and how much the Maquis' fight meant to her, when she turns to their cause, and the trust of an old man showed her something more homely and personable than the proud discipline she'd learned to accept in Starfleet. Macias was the best character in it, making the other Maquis members look very bland and without personality - even their clothing was almost nondescript and dull, which all may have contributed to the Maquis never totally catching on as a force. I'm not sure if the writers ever knew if we were supposed to be rooting for the rebels or siding with Starfleet, and no doubt hoped 'Voyager' would address the issues in depth. Instead it was left to 'DS9' to cover them, and that was more of a personal conflict between Sisko and an equally treacherous crewmember. I thought I recognised Kalita, so it was a nice surprise to find she was the same character and actor in 'Defiant', the next Maquis episode on 'DS9'.

When I first saw Macias I thought he had a Chakotay tattoo on his forehead in the dim light, until he explained it was a scar, so no connection to the Commander after all (though according to 'The TNG Companion' he's the respected Commander who left Starfleet for the Maquis, which is a great link). It was good to hear the Maquis name on 'TNG,' and a mention of 'DS9' helping to tie the series' together. Even Admiral Nechayev has what must be her only completely civil appearance ever, though I hope Beverly gave Jean-Luc permission to borrow the sacred tea set! Gul Evek completes the set of expected Maquis connections, but the problem with the episode, beyond that it leaves people on a down, is that Picard and Riker are betrayed and there's no room for the optimistic viewpoint the series had been founded upon. Patrick Stewart directs his last 'Star Trek' and it isn't bad, though neither does it show great flair. He was hampered by the sets, with the Maquis village being so enclosed and an obvious reuse of the Indian village from a few episodes back. The same with the internal of the Maquis raider, which was the same blocky configuration as Rasmussen's timeship from 'A Matter of Time'.

As usual I have trouble with Picard and Riker going undercover (though fun to see the Commander as a Bajoran), especially among humans in an area where the Enterprise is known, because who wouldn't recognise the famous Captain and First Officer of the flagship? I was also a little muddled about the Maquis claim that Cardassians were supplying biogenic weapons to their colonists, because Picard says that all ships that go into the area are searched. But on the Cardassian side they must be searched by Cardassian ships, who would let these weapons through, so how was it possible to stop them coming in from the Cardassian side?

Though something of a disappointment that Ro Laren should own the episode, and the sets didn't quite measure up, and the Maquis plotting was a bit vague, Michelle Forbes gave a good performance, having taken the brash, sarcastic Ensign quite a way, showing that Picard's faith in her (and others, such as Guinan who really needed to be here!), was not misplaced, except in terms of her doing what was in her heart, not her career path. We needed to know what became of her, and in that line lies only frustration. She was perfect for a guest shot on 'DS9,' but it had to be left for a non-canon novel to show her meeting Kira. Maybe it was in the spirit of the series that they chose to have no build-up to the end of it, as much of 'TNG' was all about the single stories, and in the character's eyes their stories weren't really coming to an end any more than their lives were, and the next episode would be the first time a Trek series had ever been given the luxury of concluding itself so it was unknown territory and who could know what to expect?

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