February 8th, 1993, "Face of the Enemy"
Fiver by Nic
The Episode
TROI: Computer, lights. Computer, turn on the lights.
(nothing happens)
I wonder why not. Do the Romulans think that vocal commands for routine things are weak? Does it only respond to commands in Romulan? Is everyone wearing Universal Translators to understand Troi's English?
TROI: Warbird? I was at the neuropsychology seminar at Bokara Six. The last thing I remember was returning to my quarters. I was attacked. I felt a hypospray.
N'VEK: It was necessary. I could not be certain you would come voluntarily.
I despise the whole "I couldn't give you the choice because you might not choose my way" trope.
N'VEK: Listen to me carefully. You are no longer Deanna Troi. You are Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar, the Imperial Intelligence.
The Tal Shiar has their own fleet and thus a need for military ranks.
N'VEK: Your only chance to get off this ship alive is to do as I say. You are an empath. You would know if I am lying. Am I?
TROI: No.
It stands to reason that the Romulans would be motivated to create telepathy-blocking technology. The fact that they haven't indicates that it really is impossible. Although I've already talked about how a slight temporal displacement would create a defacto shield, but I suppose it would be too complicted for routine use aboard a warbird.
TORETH: Commence loading the cargo. Notify me when the transfer is complete.
(everyone say hi! to Carolyn Seymour)
Seymour has a lengthy resume of supporting roles in TV. She was only in one episode of B5. I was surprised to learn that she played Mrs. Templeton in Janeway's stupid Regency holodeck program.
N'VEK: Commander, may I present Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar? This is Commander Toreth.
TORETH: Attend to your station.
Since when do visiting Tal Shiar officers have "stations"? This seems like a situation where they'd just sit next to the captain (or Commander, I should say. I'm all for alternate rank systems, but not one that causes this much confusion).
TORETH: Why are you here without your guards? Well?
If Tal Shiar agents have to work in packs aboard military ships, that raises many disturbing questions.
TORETH: I have been ordered to take on cargo but its contents are unknown to me. Does that seem wise? I am responsible for the safety of this ship and its crew. How do I know this cargo is safe to transport?
A good point, but this seems like something that would be covered by her orders. Provide transport only, everything else is out of your control. Don't complain or you might "disappear."
WORF: The man acted dishonourably. He is a traitor.
CRUSHER: He risked his life to get here. He spent two weeks alone in a scout ship.
WORF: That does not excuse his original actions.
There are times when Worf's dialogue gets too cliche and thus painful. Furthermore, when so much exposition about DeSeve's situation hasn't been revealed yet, Worf's remarks seem really clunky. This could've been solved so easily with a Captain's Log a few scenes ago.
DESEVE: The Romulans are very moral, Captain. They have an absolute certainty about what is right and what is wrong, who is a friend and who is an enemy, a strict moral compass which provides them with a clarity of purpose. At one time I found their sense of purpose, their passion and commitment, to be very compelling.
PICARD: But not any more?
DESEVE: As I've grown older, I realise that clarity of purpose is a more ambiguous matter than I had thought in my youth.
This plot point required more exposition. They seem to be implying that DeSeve just abandoned his post and defected to the Romulans. Certainly a court-martial offense, but I wouldn't call it "treason" unless he revealed Starfleet secrets to the Romulans, which doesn't seem to be the case.
DESEVE: The freighter is an old Antares class vessel with limited speed and range. It couldn't have taken on its cargo more than a day ago which means it must be within fifteen light years of here.
PICARD: Why didn't you mention this earlier?
DESEVE: It didn't seem necessary. And on Romulus you learn not to volunteer information. It's a hard habit to break.
There's quite a screed to be had here about comparing Romulan and Cardassian society.
N'VEK: Yes. It's your job to order Toreth to proceed into Federation territory.
TROI: We'll never get through the gravitic sensor nets.
N'VEK: We will, if you provide the correct access codes.
Why would Troi know the codes?
TORETH: In order to reach Draken, we will have to travel through Federation space for nearly twenty hours.
Who said we had to go in a straight line? Go around!
DATA: It appears to be the remains of a ship. My analysis indicates that it was an Antares class freighter.
The model was used in an episode of Enterprise, implying that this type of ship has been in use for hundreds of years. Ouch.
And of course Kassidy Yate's ship the Xhosa is of this class.
WORF: Captain, we are being hailed.
PICARD: On screen.
TROI [on viewscreen]: I am Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar.
I love SF Debris' reaction to this scene: Picard saying that if this is the child of another officer an alternate version of himself sent back in time then he is just DONE.
The Fiver
N'Vek: Wrong! From now on you will refer to yourself as Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar. And you will help me, for I have a cunning plan.
This seems to be a Blackadder reference.
N'Vek: We need your help to deliver this cargo to the Federation. It contains a Romulan Viceconsul and two of his aides. If we fail, the Viceconsul will be killed.
Troi: Sucks to be the Viceconsul.
Vice Consul is two words.
Crusher: So how does it feel, now that you no longer wear the face of the enemy?
Troi: Okay. Although I kind of liked the ears of the enemy. Can I, by any chance, keep them?
Picard: NO! Absolutely not! No pointy-eared green-blooded hobgoblins on my Bridge!
I wonder if this is supposed to be a reference to Sirtis' role of Demona over on Gargoyles.
Memory Alpha
* First appearance of the Tal Shiar. Really?
* First appearance of Worf's ponytail.
* First episode where it's established that you can't have the cloak and shields on at the same time.
* When DeSeve first beams aboard he refers to Picard as Captain, yet later he uses the Romulan term "Commander". Oops.
* First mention of the Romulans using artificial quantum singularities as a power source.
Nitpicker's Guide
* Phil also wonders about the translation issue.
* Carolyn Seymour appeared as a different Romulan back in "Contagion." Why didn't they reuse the character (Taris) here?
* DeSeve defected to the Romulans twenty years ago. Weren't the Romulans still in their isolationist period back then? How did he get to Romulus?
* Phil also wondered why Troi would have the codes.
* Troi grows a lot more hair after Crusher reverts her Romulan look. I don't have a problem with this one; it stands to reason that medical science has advanced enough to encourage hair growth. Picard might choose not to use the tech, requiring him and Data to use wigs in "Reunification."