The Survivors

[00:00:03] Hosting for With The First Link on the Trek Geeks Podcast Network is brought to you by Fansets, creators of cool pins and memorabilia from your favorite franchises. Visit fansets.com and use code TREKGEKS, all capital letters, for your exclusive 10% discount.

[00:00:32] Welcome to With The First Link, the podcast that hopes to make our future as bright and as just as the one that we see in Star Trek The Next Generation.

[00:00:41] And we think that one way to do that is to recap and discuss the entire series, one episode at a time, doing our best to look at it all through an anti-oppression, pro-diversity, anti-racist lens.

[00:00:53] I'm Ruthie Cowper-Samoshi.

[00:00:55] And I'm Matthew Simone and today we'll be talking about The Survivors. This episode was written by Michael I. Wagner and directed by Les Lando. It first aired on October 7th, 1989.

[00:01:04] Let's just note to start off with that this is another episode, second in a row, about a genocide.

[00:01:11] This one's a little different from the previous one because the last one was about preventing a genocide and this one is about the aftermath of actually two genocides.

[00:01:21] So again, we're going to talk about that, but we're going to do it within the context of the episode and how the episode depicts and handles dealing with genocide.

[00:01:32] So we're not going to do that for the check-in.

[00:01:34] I thought for today's check-in, let's talk about aging because I think this is a really interesting episode in that we're looking at two people in their seniors, which I think is something that's not super frequently depicted.

[00:01:50] Also, the fact that these people are supposed to be like in their 80s and they're played by people in their 50s.

[00:01:56] So kind of two sides about that.

[00:01:58] People age better in the future, Ruthie.

[00:01:59] Yeah.

[00:02:00] We've got aging down, starting to tackle that beast.

[00:02:02] I believe it.

[00:02:03] We see like McCoy in the first episode of TNG.

[00:02:07] He's like supposed to be in his hundred, like 130 something.

[00:02:10] So yeah, like I'll, I'll believe it.

[00:02:12] I don't know, Matt, how do you feel about how this episode, the kind of the content of the episode, we have to put it sort of aside.

[00:02:19] But how do you feel about the way it depicts these two older individuals?

[00:02:25] What do you, what do you think?

[00:02:26] I was thinking about how aging is a lot different if you're not aging in scarcity.

[00:02:33] Yeah.

[00:02:34] Like I don't think people would be so concerned about age if they weren't like, well, I'm not going to be able to work anymore.

[00:02:42] So I'm not going to have like any kind of means anymore.

[00:02:47] I remember doing a cultural anthropology class back in university.

[00:02:51] It's actually one of the most interesting courses I did.

[00:02:53] They talked about how differently we look at age based on the economic system that people are functioning in.

[00:02:59] So if you live in capitalism and your value is directly tied to the level of productivity you have, well, then your value to society decreases as you become less productive because of your age.

[00:03:14] Right.

[00:03:14] And then we just don't want to deal with you anymore.

[00:03:16] Right.

[00:03:17] Basically, right.

[00:03:18] Whereas if you live in a society that honors, say, wisdom or experience based on the value that that wisdom and experience has to community connection, to community building, and maybe also as well to like, you know, knowledge that is just basic for survival.

[00:03:37] Then with age comes honor.

[00:03:41] You become an honored member of your place in society.

[00:03:45] So it was, these are things I was thinking about.

[00:03:47] I know that has nothing to do with this episode necessarily in terms of the depiction of age there.

[00:03:51] But it made me think about just like what would aging be like in the Star Trek universe, especially within the Federation?

[00:03:57] Yeah.

[00:03:58] I mean, I think one of the things that I like about, this is like a really minute thing about the episode.

[00:04:06] But one of the things that I like about it is they kind of talk about the aging head on.

[00:04:11] At one point, they're like, why did you move to this planet?

[00:04:16] And they're like, you mean like as a couple of old people, why did we decide to leave Earth and go to a totally different star system?

[00:04:23] And they're like, well, we thought it would make us fall in love again.

[00:04:26] And I like the idea of old people still having fun.

[00:04:32] Like I think that's, it's not just about like, what are you contributing?

[00:04:37] Which I do think sometimes can be helpful to see older people being full members of society who contribute.

[00:04:44] But also like they're doing things because they want to.

[00:04:47] Because they're like, well, we thought it would make us fall in love all over again.

[00:04:49] And they just, they're enjoying themselves.

[00:04:52] And I think that that's really nice.

[00:04:55] Now you remind me that it did have ties to this episode.

[00:04:58] Because that's what I was thinking about.

[00:04:59] That whole idea of like, you can age and then just enjoy life like later on in life.

[00:05:04] But imagine like that whole idea of like retirement in Star Trek would also wouldn't exist.

[00:05:10] Because it's this whole function right now being like, I'll work hard enough for a while.

[00:05:15] Probably maybe at a job that I don't necessarily like or I don't really get fulfillment from.

[00:05:19] But then maybe at the end, I might get a few years of life where I can do what I want.

[00:05:25] But at that point, you're already old.

[00:05:27] Like you're older, right?

[00:05:28] Yeah.

[00:05:28] And like you need that because you're so burnt out from making, like from working to make money to survive.

[00:05:36] And in this case, that experience was taken away from Kevin, as we'll find out in the story.

[00:05:42] Yeah.

[00:05:43] So he had to create like his own reality around it.

[00:05:45] His own, you know, space retirement home on Rhino 4.

[00:05:48] Yeah.

[00:05:48] But I also think like, like you said, the idea of retirement not really existing.

[00:05:53] It's not necessarily that they retired.

[00:05:55] They just went somewhere else.

[00:05:57] Because maybe if you don't have to work, like if you're able to work on things you enjoy throughout your life.

[00:06:06] And you're not worrying about making money to survive.

[00:06:10] Maybe you can keep doing that work that you enjoy later into your life because you've got more energy because you're not burnt out.

[00:06:17] Yeah.

[00:06:17] And I think there's this notion that unless people are stressed by the need to survive, that they are not going to be productive.

[00:06:26] That people will just like sit around and do nothing.

[00:06:29] I don't think that's true at all.

[00:06:31] In fact, when we are liberated to be able to pursue the interests that we have, I think people would contribute a lot more to society because they'd be creative.

[00:06:41] They'd be innovative.

[00:06:42] They'd be following these interests that they've had, going to school, learning, rather than a lot of us having to just make money for other people.

[00:06:50] I think about that during the pandemic.

[00:06:52] Like how many of us, because at least in Canada, we were fortunate enough that our government set up a program, we called it CERB, that would actually support you if you had been laid off from work, which I had been.

[00:07:02] And then things like this podcast manifest.

[00:07:05] We got to do a new creative project because we had time to be able to work on something.

[00:07:10] And so why can't we have that instead?

[00:07:13] As with many of these check-in topics, it all comes down to capitalism.

[00:07:18] It all comes down to capitalism.

[00:07:21] Yeah.

[00:07:21] It does.

[00:07:22] It is the system in which we live.

[00:07:24] It is.

[00:07:24] And so if it's a system that surrounds you, then aging in that is going to feel different.

[00:07:29] Yeah.

[00:07:29] Yeah.

[00:07:30] Aging, living, working, it would define aspects of how you exist.

[00:07:36] But here we have an example of someone who just wants to live a life in peace and what has happened to them.

[00:07:43] Yeah.

[00:07:43] I've been thinking about age a lot more lately, Ruthie, because I've been sick for a while.

[00:07:47] Oh, yeah.

[00:07:48] And I had the first conversation ever with a medical professional who mentioned my age.

[00:07:55] And so I was in a clinic talking to a doctor because I've been having this bug that I just can't seem to get rid of.

[00:08:02] I was like, you know, is it COVID?

[00:08:03] Is it something more serious?

[00:08:05] And then he was like, well, you know, it's someone your age.

[00:08:07] Oh, God.

[00:08:08] And I was like, excuse me?

[00:08:10] And he was like, well, you know, you're not in your 20s or 30s anymore.

[00:08:14] And, you know, it's harder to fight illness.

[00:08:17] You might get a bug and it's not as bad as you might think.

[00:08:21] It's just that you're not maybe as capable of fighting it off anymore.

[00:08:24] And I was like, wow.

[00:08:25] Wow.

[00:08:26] Wow.

[00:08:26] Okay.

[00:08:27] I see how it is.

[00:08:29] Yeah.

[00:08:29] But wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to worry about making money and you could just rest until you were better?

[00:08:36] Because that's what your body needs.

[00:08:38] Like this is...

[00:08:39] That's what your body needs.

[00:08:40] Yeah.

[00:08:40] And fortunately, I have sick time that I can take from work.

[00:08:43] Yeah.

[00:08:43] But that is also because I work in a unionized environment that makes sure that I have that time.

[00:08:49] Yeah.

[00:08:49] Not everyone does.

[00:08:50] Not everyone has the ability to take time off work sick.

[00:08:53] No.

[00:08:53] They'll just miss rent payments or other bills.

[00:08:56] Yeah.

[00:08:57] Aging outside of capitalism would be a very different experience.

[00:09:00] And it is one that I would really like to have.

[00:09:06] Yeah.

[00:09:06] That's one of the other reasons why Star Trek would be amazing.

[00:09:10] Being young in the Star Trek universe would be great.

[00:09:12] Being old in the Star Trek universe would be okay too.

[00:09:14] Yeah.

[00:09:15] Yeah.

[00:09:15] That life.

[00:09:16] You just get to...

[00:09:17] Life gets to be what it is.

[00:09:19] That we get to live in that kind of freedom.

[00:09:21] Yeah.

[00:09:22] I saw a meme recently and it was talking about how there's almost a normalization of this idea that like 50s and 60s is middle age.

[00:09:31] Right.

[00:09:32] And then we say, okay, well, when you're retiring at that age, that's middle age.

[00:09:35] So you have the other half of life to then live in retirement.

[00:09:38] But average lifespan is not like 120 years old.

[00:09:44] So really, most people work most of their lives.

[00:09:47] And you might get a little bit of that retirement and enjoyment time.

[00:09:50] But not everyone does.

[00:09:51] And some people don't.

[00:09:52] Like they need to continue working.

[00:09:54] Yeah.

[00:09:54] You know, we have staff at even my workplace.

[00:09:56] They retired and then they had to come back to work because they can't afford to live as prices keep going up and up and up.

[00:10:02] Yeah, it's true.

[00:10:03] That house though.

[00:10:04] It's a good house.

[00:10:05] It's a good.

[00:10:06] Nice tea.

[00:10:08] Yeah.

[00:10:09] I'm drinking tea right now.

[00:10:11] It put the idea in my head from watching the episode.

[00:10:14] Literally, I'm like, oh yeah, they got tea in this episode.

[00:10:16] Even Worf is down with the tea.

[00:10:18] I should make a cup of tea.

[00:10:19] Yeah.

[00:10:20] There you are.

[00:10:20] I'm drinking the tea.

[00:10:21] Do it.

[00:10:21] Drink the tea.

[00:10:22] Lemon ginger with a little bit of honey I put in there.

[00:10:25] There you go.

[00:10:26] Kick that bug.

[00:10:27] Yeah, I'm drinking it so it didn't sound quite so raspy for this recording.

[00:10:30] Yeah.

[00:10:31] With the first link after midnight.

[00:10:34] All right.

[00:10:34] Should we start the episode?

[00:10:35] Yeah, what happened in this episode, Matt?

[00:10:37] Okay.

[00:10:38] So in this episode, the Enterprise responds to a distress call from a planet only to find that the entire planet has been destroyed with the exception of one house and two occupants.

[00:10:47] We start with a captain's log saying basically that we're entering the Delta Rana system because they received a distress call three days ago.

[00:10:58] The Federation colony reported that the planet was under attack from an unidentified spacecraft and their plan is to rescue and, if necessary, fight.

[00:11:09] Worf says that sensors are not picking up any armed space vehicles, he says.

[00:11:14] Not spacecraft.

[00:11:15] Space vehicles.

[00:11:16] I think he even says vehicles.

[00:11:19] Vehicles.

[00:11:19] Yeah.

[00:11:19] And I was trying to think of what else would qualify as a space vehicle.

[00:11:22] But they're still going to be cautious anyway.

[00:11:25] Data says that they're not receiving the planet's call sign.

[00:11:28] And Troy is saying, like, even at this distance, I should be able to sense the colonists because there are 11,000 colonists on this planet.

[00:11:34] Yeah.

[00:11:35] Yeah.

[00:11:35] She can't sense anything.

[00:11:36] And also she is wearing a new outfit, which I would like to talk about.

[00:11:41] What color would you – is that teal?

[00:11:43] It's teal.

[00:11:44] So we had in season one, Troy, aside from the first episode where she wore the, like, uniform dress – I think they're called scants.

[00:11:53] Anyway, aside from that, for the first season, she mostly wore the, like, dark gray, like – it was like a onesie with this, like, either green or red belt.

[00:12:07] And then her hair was all on top of her head with, like, jewels.

[00:12:09] So that was season one.

[00:12:11] Season two, she had these other unitards.

[00:12:13] There's, like, the gray and the purple.

[00:12:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:16] And they're, like, tighter than the first season one.

[00:12:20] Now she's got – season three, we're going to have, in addition to those two unitards, we're going to have this dress.

[00:12:27] And this is, like, an entirely monochrome look.

[00:12:31] Like, Matt, when you said, what color is that?

[00:12:33] I didn't have to ask which part of it because it's all the same color.

[00:12:37] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:38] I like it.

[00:12:38] I like it.

[00:12:39] I think she – oh, I mean, she always looks amazing.

[00:12:42] But she's got this full-length dress and tights and high-heeled shoes, which are all teal.

[00:12:51] And then in her hair, she's got this, like, headband that's got, like, all of her, like, long, curly hair pulled up in this, like, teal headband.

[00:13:01] That's also teal.

[00:13:02] Yeah, it's also teal, and it's got teal, like, jewels on it.

[00:13:05] The one thing that used to bug me so much – I'm okay with it now, but the dress has this asymmetrical neckline.

[00:13:12] Yes.

[00:13:13] That I always wanted to, like – I was like, ah, it's crooked.

[00:13:16] I just want to, like, shift it.

[00:13:19] I like it.

[00:13:20] I like the asymmetry of it.

[00:13:22] I don't mind it now, but it really bugged me when I was younger.

[00:13:24] I didn't realize this was the first time we see her in this thing.

[00:13:27] This is a couple times now we've watched the series, and because you do the homework, which is great.

[00:13:33] And you've pointed out, like, hey, this is the first time this thing has happened, or this is the first time that thing has happened.

[00:13:39] But because you grow up with the show –

[00:13:41] Yeah, it's hard to know.

[00:13:41] Those things are just always – you know, they're just – there's always been 10 for it.

[00:13:45] There's never a first appearance of it.

[00:13:47] There's always been the teal dress.

[00:13:48] There hasn't been the first appearance of it.

[00:13:50] But, yeah, they're our firsts of these things.

[00:13:52] So this is cool.

[00:13:52] Yeah, I had to go back and check because I saw it, and I was like, is this the first time?

[00:13:57] Or, like, it's definitely not the first time I'm seeing it, but I feel like I haven't seen it in a while.

[00:14:01] And then I had to, like, look it up, and I looked at, like, images from previous episodes, because she usually only wears one outfit per episode.

[00:14:09] Unless she's been asked to change.

[00:14:10] Unless it happens in the future.

[00:14:12] That will happen.

[00:14:13] And then I also, like, looked online, and yes, according to both IMDB and Memory Alpha, this is the first time we're seeing her teal dress.

[00:14:21] And it's going to be added to the rotation.

[00:14:23] Thanks, Memory Alpha.

[00:14:24] Yeah.

[00:14:25] So there are no life form readings.

[00:14:26] Actually, when they arrive on the planet and they're scanning it from orbit, and you can see on the view screen that it looks dead.

[00:14:31] It's like this topaz gray.

[00:14:34] Like, the entire surface of the planet has been destroyed.

[00:14:37] Yeah.

[00:14:37] But Wesley picks up something on his sensors.

[00:14:40] One structure with two life forms in it.

[00:14:42] And when they put it up on the view screen, you can see all that kind of background destroyed planet.

[00:14:47] And there's one square of green.

[00:14:49] Yeah.

[00:14:49] That you can see from orbit.

[00:14:51] And they think that it might be, like, something fake, like an illusion.

[00:14:56] And Data's like, nope, it's real.

[00:14:58] Then we get this, like, really awkward zoom in on Picard's face when he tells Riker, we'd better go see who's at home.

[00:15:05] And then we, like, zoom in on his face.

[00:15:07] Like, the most dramatic, non-dramatic thing.

[00:15:10] It's just the captain's face.

[00:15:12] We actually have a couple moments where the camera gets really close to his face and kind of from underneath.

[00:15:17] I guess there was a choice that, who was directing it, we said?

[00:15:21] Les Landau.

[00:15:21] I guess Les Landau was making that choice.

[00:15:22] Trying some new stuff.

[00:15:23] Yeah.

[00:15:24] Trying some new stuff out.

[00:15:25] Yeah.

[00:15:26] So Picard, Crusher, and Troi walk to the transporter room.

[00:15:29] Crusher thinks these survivors won't be in very good shape.

[00:15:31] And that seems to make sense considering the entire planet has been destroyed.

[00:15:34] And Troi says that what she senses of them is human, but there's something different going on and she can't explain it.

[00:15:41] And so the team beams down and the transporter operator you mentioned has one of the older uniforms on because...

[00:15:47] Only the main cast gets a new uniform.

[00:15:49] Not everyone gets a new uniform.

[00:15:50] That's right.

[00:15:51] They beam down on the grass and everything looks normal.

[00:15:54] No one can detect anything.

[00:15:55] Worf says that there's a person inside with a non-functional low-yield weapon, but no other danger.

[00:16:00] So Riker's like, okay, well, I'll go knock on the door.

[00:16:02] But that's when LaForge warns him because I guess LaForge can see that there's something in the ground.

[00:16:05] Yeah.

[00:16:06] There's a trap.

[00:16:07] And so when Riker steps on the trap, he gets his foot caught in a line and basically grabs him up by his ankle, swings him upside down, and he's hanging off a pole.

[00:16:16] Yeah.

[00:16:16] He like bumps into the pole a couple of times.

[00:16:19] It's really like...

[00:16:20] I feel like you could have a more dignified...

[00:16:22] You got like Ewoks.

[00:16:23] Yeah.

[00:16:25] Is this the second time we see Riker upside down?

[00:16:28] I feel like in the last outpost with the Ferengi, he was also hanging upside down at one point.

[00:16:34] That's probably why they picked him.

[00:16:35] And they're like, hey, Frakes, we know you can hang upside down because he did it once before two seasons ago.

[00:16:41] Could we do that again?

[00:16:42] Yeah.

[00:16:42] We'd probably get at that.

[00:16:43] It's cool.

[00:16:43] So a guy comes out of this structure, this house, an old elderly man played by someone in his 50s, but he's supposed to be in his 80s, as we discussed.

[00:16:54] And he asks them who they are.

[00:16:56] And Riker, to his credit, introduces himself from his upside down position.

[00:17:01] And I think this is a really sweet moment where LaForge kind of like holds on to Riker and holds him in place as Riker explains what they're doing there.

[00:17:10] Trying to lend any dignity possible in that situation.

[00:17:13] A woman runs out of the house and tells Kevin to let them go.

[00:17:15] She is Rashaun and she's very excited to see humans.

[00:17:19] But Kevin thinks it might be a trick.

[00:17:21] She was like, I thought they maybe had attacked the entire Federation.

[00:17:24] So there is some kind of attack she's alluding to.

[00:17:27] Yeah.

[00:17:27] She sort of, she explains like, we haven't heard from anyone else on the planet.

[00:17:31] We don't know what's going on.

[00:17:33] And then she realizes, she learns from the away team that they are in fact the only survivors from the attack.

[00:17:41] And again, a nice moment where LaForge kind of helps Riker down in the background while this exchange is going on.

[00:17:47] Kevin says that the spaceship was so big that you could see it in orbit, but they never saw the faces of their attackers.

[00:17:57] Crusher does a physical with her tricorder.

[00:17:59] Without asking, it's a little bit intrusive.

[00:18:01] In fact, Rashaun kind of like jumps back from it.

[00:18:04] I guess because the technology in Star Trek is less physically invasive.

[00:18:10] We don't have to poke you or draw your blood.

[00:18:13] And I think doctors feel like maybe they're more inclined or entitled to just start scanning people.

[00:18:20] Yeah.

[00:18:20] But it's still like an intrusion of someone's privacy and nobody is asking.

[00:18:25] Totally.

[00:18:25] Totally.

[00:18:26] But I guess she's worried.

[00:18:26] Yeah.

[00:18:27] So after learning their names, Data realizes, because he memorized the colony registry before they got there,

[00:18:33] he realizes that they are botanists originally from the aquatic city of New Martim Vaz in the Atlantic Ocean.

[00:18:41] So awesome.

[00:18:41] They've been living here for five years and they are in their 80s.

[00:18:45] He just like says that.

[00:18:46] And then he's like, yeah, I memorized the registry.

[00:18:49] I thought it could be useful.

[00:18:51] Again, like a bit invasive.

[00:18:54] Yeah.

[00:18:54] And Martim Vaz is an archipelagula.

[00:18:57] How do you say that?

[00:18:59] Archipelago, I think.

[00:19:00] Archipelago, yeah.

[00:19:01] Located in the South Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of Brazil.

[00:19:07] All right.

[00:19:07] There you go.

[00:19:08] There you go.

[00:19:08] I was looking that up.

[00:19:09] I looked that up.

[00:19:10] But this is the aquatic city of New Martim Vaz.

[00:19:14] Yeah.

[00:19:15] So maybe it's on the floor of the ocean.

[00:19:17] Right.

[00:19:17] Cool.

[00:19:18] Yeah.

[00:19:18] So there you go.

[00:19:19] We both did some homework this time.

[00:19:21] Nice.

[00:19:21] Yeah.

[00:19:21] So Riker wants to look inside the house, but Kevin's like, no.

[00:19:24] Like, what could you possibly find of interest in there?

[00:19:26] He says.

[00:19:27] Yeah.

[00:19:27] And Riker thinks that like maybe there will be some clue in there of why these two were left alive when everyone else was killed.

[00:19:36] So Rashad offers tea.

[00:19:37] This is what she does.

[00:19:38] She's like, no, I welcome people to my house.

[00:19:40] Yes.

[00:19:41] She's like, yeah, it grows wild on the planet.

[00:19:43] But then she cuts herself off because she's realizing now like nothing grows on the planet anymore.

[00:19:47] Yeah.

[00:19:48] I want to point out that they don't lean into this point very much.

[00:19:51] But as much as we're about to see that they protest about their departure and wanting to continue to live on the planet, you do need the rest of the planet to still live on.

[00:20:00] Yeah.

[00:20:00] No, that's not like not even a question.

[00:20:03] Worf tells Kevin that he is impressed with Kevin's attempt to hold them off with a non-functioning weapon.

[00:20:10] He calls it an act of unmitigated gall.

[00:20:12] And we know how much Worf loves gall.

[00:20:15] Gall and guile.

[00:20:17] Yeah.

[00:20:17] Dana looks at a music box that Rashad says has been in her family for generations and it starts playing.

[00:20:23] Yeah, it starts playing.

[00:20:24] And then as it's playing, we go to Troy's quarters on the ship.

[00:20:28] She starts hearing the music.

[00:20:30] And then it kind of starts to, as it's playing, have these sort of sort of like minor key undertones almost.

[00:20:37] And it sounds a little bit more sinister.

[00:20:39] So something is up.

[00:20:43] It reminded me, I made this movie once with my friend Nathan called An Elmo Tale.

[00:20:47] And it was about one of the Tickle Me Elmos actually came alive and tried to kill us.

[00:20:51] Remember Tickle Me Elmo?

[00:20:52] I do remember Tickle Me Elmo.

[00:20:54] Yeah.

[00:20:55] So as the start music, what we did is I took the theme from Sesame Street, but I slowed it down.

[00:21:01] And if you slow down the theme to Sesame Street, it's like a really creepy.

[00:21:04] And it kind of reminded me of how they did the transition with this song.

[00:21:07] So it starts as kind of like this innocent music box song and then they make it all like dissonant and stuff in her brain.

[00:21:13] Yeah.

[00:21:14] On the planet, Riker and Crusher talk about how there's nothing different about this house and its occupants.

[00:21:20] There's no clues here as to why they might have been the ones to survive.

[00:21:26] Riker says to Rashaun and Kevin, we can give you a little bit of time to pack.

[00:21:32] And they realize basically that he means to take them to the Enterprise, but they don't want to go to the Enterprise.

[00:21:37] Yeah.

[00:21:38] Rashaun is like, I can't leave my house.

[00:21:40] I find that interesting because they don't really explain how long ago this attack on the planet happened.

[00:21:46] Well, the distress call was from three days ago.

[00:21:49] That's from three days ago.

[00:21:50] Okay.

[00:21:50] So that distress call must have gone out from the rest of the planet's inhabitants.

[00:21:56] It must have not gone out from them because they don't want to go anywhere.

[00:21:58] So I think that's part of the confusion is that they're like, well, we got this distress call and we're here.

[00:22:04] But now the people we've found, first of all, we don't know why they're alive and they don't seem to want any help.

[00:22:09] My interpretation was the distress call was help us fight these people.

[00:22:14] Right.

[00:22:14] But that fight is over.

[00:22:16] The fight is over.

[00:22:17] And yeah, there's it is confusing.

[00:22:19] And it makes more sense later when you find out what's actually happening.

[00:22:24] Yes.

[00:22:24] Right now.

[00:22:25] Yeah, it does seem a little confusing.

[00:22:27] I mean, we talked in the last episode about like understanding why people don't just want to leave when someone destroys their home.

[00:22:36] Like that is a real thing and it makes sense and that should be validated.

[00:22:40] Also, like they are literally the only two people on the planet.

[00:22:44] Yeah.

[00:22:44] Which I think is different from like a group of people saying, no, we're going to stay and fight or no, we're going to stay and live here even though it's difficult.

[00:22:53] Like we are literally talking about two survivors at this point.

[00:22:58] And they're like, nope, we're going to stay here.

[00:23:00] We've got everything we need.

[00:23:01] Yeah.

[00:23:02] But Riker gives them, Riker does give them a communicator and says that they'll be in the system for at least a few days.

[00:23:07] And that the communicator will have a range at least to talk to the ship up until that point.

[00:23:12] Yeah.

[00:23:12] So back in the ship in the observation lounge, Picard wonders if they are collaborators because he's suspicious.

[00:23:18] He's like, why are these two left alive?

[00:23:20] And it is weird.

[00:23:21] It is weird that they would have been spared.

[00:23:23] And Crusher's like, what could two botanists in their 80s have done to collaborate with these attackers?

[00:23:30] That's true.

[00:23:30] Maybe they gave everyone like sleepy tea, like chamomile, and then it made them less effective as combatants.

[00:23:37] Yeah.

[00:23:38] But what's happening in this conversation really takes like a backseat to the fact that it's getting drowned out by the same music that we heard earlier.

[00:23:48] And the camera focuses on Troi's face, which is clearly in pain.

[00:23:53] And then at one point, Picard kind of gets her attention and she says that she can't sense them well enough to contribute anything.

[00:24:00] And there, I thought this was nice.

[00:24:02] Riker kind of talks about that they have five years of power, but they don't have anything.

[00:24:07] Like they don't have any water.

[00:24:09] They don't have any food.

[00:24:09] But the entire time he's talking, he's like keeping his eye on Troi.

[00:24:13] Like he's, his mind is clearly like worrying about her as he's saying this other stuff.

[00:24:20] Then the conversation just gets totally drowned out by the music again.

[00:24:24] And Troi just gets up and says, I don't feel well.

[00:24:26] Can I go?

[00:24:27] And she's dismissed.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:29] Yeah.

[00:24:29] Now in the corridor, Worf and Picard are walking and Worf tells Picard that they searched the system and the hostile force is no longer present.

[00:24:37] And Picard remembers that a Starfleet admiral once said the same thing about some renegade Andorians who had actually dismantled their entire ship and hidden it somewhere.

[00:24:45] And Worf says that he's more thorough than that and he will stake his reputation on it.

[00:24:49] He's like, they didn't have me to contend with.

[00:24:51] Is that like a reference to something?

[00:24:53] Was that like, did that happen on original Trek?

[00:24:56] Uh, I don't recall.

[00:24:58] Is that a reference to another episode?

[00:25:00] I didn't find anything about that, but I just thought it was such a specific example that I was like, did that happen in like a movie or an episode of like, were they like a bunch of renegade Andorians like dismantled their ship and hid it on a moon?

[00:25:14] Like is that, I don't know.

[00:25:15] That's pretty cool.

[00:25:16] That's, that, that must take a lot of effort, but they didn't have Worf to contend with.

[00:25:19] And he's going to be more thorough than that.

[00:25:21] He stakes his reputation on it.

[00:25:22] Yeah.

[00:25:23] So we go to Troi's quarters.

[00:25:24] She's clearly in a lot of pain.

[00:25:26] She's still hearing this music and it's sounding more ominous and more sinister.

[00:25:30] And then her door chimes and it's Picard checking on her.

[00:25:34] She says she's just tired, but Picard is like, well, okay, I'm no telepath, but I can see when you are in pain and hiding it.

[00:25:43] She feels really silly about this, which I think is like an interesting, this episode is doing something and I don't even know if it knows that it's doing it.

[00:25:53] But there is something about the way historically like women's pain is minimized.

[00:26:00] Mm-hmm.

[00:26:01] That she feels so silly hearing this music and not being able to get rid of it and it's causing her so much pain, but she doesn't want to like bother anyone with it.

[00:26:12] Yeah.

[00:26:12] Actually, I remember this episode differently.

[00:26:14] Okay.

[00:26:14] When I was watching it the first time, I was like, oh yeah, this is this part where Troi's hearing this music, but she goes on and on and on through the episode and doesn't tell anyone about it.

[00:26:23] And so it gets kind of dragged out through the episode.

[00:26:25] But then I went to rewatch it.

[00:26:27] I was like, oh, she actually tells people pretty early in the episode that she's like hearing music.

[00:26:31] But Picard doesn't really take it seriously.

[00:26:35] No, he just tells her to rest.

[00:26:37] Yeah.

[00:26:37] He's like, she's like, he's like, okay, we'll get the necessary rest.

[00:26:40] And she's like, I can literally hear music that won't stop in my head over and over and over again.

[00:26:44] And he's kind of like, meh.

[00:26:45] And I can see why now she might have been hesitant to say anything because she knew that he would just kind of be like, ah, I get some, just sleep it off.

[00:26:53] Yeah, but it's clearly like we can see it's bad.

[00:26:57] And she also, she knows that it, or she thinks that it's sort of connected to their being at this planet.

[00:27:03] It started when the away team was on the surface and she was thinking about these two survivors.

[00:27:09] But she says that they are elusive.

[00:27:12] She can't say any more than that because she's just in too much pain.

[00:27:15] And yeah, Picard's like, okay, well then just rest.

[00:27:17] Get rest.

[00:27:18] Yeah, he's not at any point is like, do you think it's connected to what's going on in the surface?

[00:27:22] Did it start when we, like, she even says like it started when we arrived here.

[00:27:26] And he's like, okay.

[00:27:26] He's like, okay, well, sleep it off.

[00:27:28] Sleep it off.

[00:27:29] Yeah.

[00:27:29] Also down the bridge, this big ship has appeared.

[00:27:32] Yeah, Wesley is like, look at the size of that.

[00:27:34] Yeah, look at the size of that thing.

[00:27:36] So Riker tells Picard that it was riding a Lagrange point hiding behind the planet's farthest moon.

[00:27:42] And it's like five times the mass of the Enterprise, this giant, huge ship.

[00:27:46] Can you say anything about Lagrange points?

[00:27:49] Do you know anything about them?

[00:27:50] Yeah, so we actually have the Webb telescope is parked at one of the Lagrange points between the Earth, the moon and the sun.

[00:27:56] So basically, like, it's like a pocket of gravity that's created by the interaction of other massive bodies in the solar system.

[00:28:03] So one of the ways to think of it is like if you've ever been on a boat and you're kind of like going along in your wake behind you, these little like eddies will sometimes form like little spinny pools.

[00:28:15] And if something gets in it like a leaf or a bit of seafoam, it'll follow you.

[00:28:20] It like gets kind of carried along with you.

[00:28:21] Right.

[00:28:22] And that's what it is.

[00:28:23] It's basically like a pocket of gravity that you can park stuff in and it will follow you in your orbit around the sun.

[00:28:30] So we've put several objects at a few Lagrange points that are created between the interaction of the Earth, Moon and Sun.

[00:28:35] If you put something there, because it gets pulled along in the orbit as the Earth continues around the sun,

[00:28:41] you don't need to spend a lot of fuel keeping it in place and in its position.

[00:28:45] It's like a parking place in space.

[00:28:47] And does it stay at the same point relative?

[00:28:49] So like in the case of, well, like with the telescope, does it stay at the same point relative to the Earth or does it like orbit the Earth?

[00:28:58] Yeah, it's always about the same distance from the Earth.

[00:29:00] So it's about 1.5 million kilometers away is where Lagrange point 2 is.

[00:29:04] And does the Earth turn under it or does it move with the Earth's rotation?

[00:29:09] It moves with the Earth's orbit.

[00:29:11] Orbit, but not rotation.

[00:29:13] No, yeah.

[00:29:13] Okay.

[00:29:14] It might be changed.

[00:29:15] Now I got to look this up now.

[00:29:17] It might be changed by when the moon's position around the Earth.

[00:29:21] So I wonder if the Lagrange point orbits.

[00:29:23] Now I don't know.

[00:29:24] But it's basically like a tether almost.

[00:29:27] Like not a real tether.

[00:29:28] But like a gravitational tether.

[00:29:31] Essentially, yeah.

[00:29:31] So it just like holds on to, yeah, so you don't have to like power, you don't have to have any like thrusters or whatever.

[00:29:38] So basically this ship could have been just hiding by having power down if it was at a moon's Lagrange point.

[00:29:45] Yeah.

[00:29:45] And the Lagrange point itself is an orbited center of gravity.

[00:29:50] So it's like a ball of gravity.

[00:29:51] And the Webb telescope, like our telescope, actually orbits around that pocket of gravity as it then follows with the Earth around the sun.

[00:30:00] So it would still be like moving.

[00:30:02] So it was, yeah, it's riding a Lagrange point.

[00:30:04] It's literally sitting there and being tugged.

[00:30:06] And like you're saying, you could probably put something there that has, that is at low power.

[00:30:10] Right.

[00:30:10] And it would still continue in its motion with the planet relative to where the planet is.

[00:30:14] Right.

[00:30:14] Some science.

[00:30:15] Science.

[00:30:16] It's always, it's nice when they have some like actual science.

[00:30:19] Real spacey science.

[00:30:19] Yeah, totally.

[00:30:20] I like it.

[00:30:21] So they realize that this is the ship that destroyed the planet and Worf is pretty embarrassed.

[00:30:26] He like, he's like, I mean, I staked my reputation on it and now my reputation is shot.

[00:30:32] No one on the bridge gets embarrassed more than Worf.

[00:30:34] I know.

[00:30:35] And it's sad.

[00:30:36] It's frustrating.

[00:30:37] It's not fair.

[00:30:37] Yeah, I don't like it.

[00:30:38] It's not fair in this case.

[00:30:38] Yeah, it's usually because like he's the one who has to interact tactically with the environment around them.

[00:30:44] And if they're being deceived, it's going to make it, you know, fall on him.

[00:30:48] But times where like he has to shoot a ship that's not really, you know, it's like an illusion and it blows up.

[00:30:52] And even though it was the wrong power setting or, you know, his torpedo goes off astray or whatever.

[00:30:58] Anyways.

[00:30:58] Yeah.

[00:30:58] So this ship fires positrons and antiprotons at them, which look like lightning, I guess.

[00:31:07] It's cool.

[00:31:07] But it doesn't actually do any damage.

[00:31:09] So they fire a warning shot and then the vessel turns and runs away and they pursue, but they can't catch up with it because the vessel like matches their acceleration point for point.

[00:31:22] So if they start to speed up, the vessel speeds up by the exact same amount.

[00:31:26] And it doesn't matter.

[00:31:27] Like they go to engineering.

[00:31:29] They're like, Jordy, give us everything you got.

[00:31:31] And he's like, I'll, you know, I'll get you to warp nine point whatever in three seconds.

[00:31:35] But the vessel is able to do the same thing.

[00:31:38] And Picard is like, hang on a second.

[00:31:42] We're being toyed with.

[00:31:43] And he's like, let's turn this around and go back to Rana 4.

[00:31:47] They do that.

[00:31:48] They turn around.

[00:31:49] They go back to the planet.

[00:31:50] And this time just Worf and Picard beam down.

[00:31:54] And Picard tells Kevin and Rashaun that they brought them a replicator.

[00:32:01] They call it a matter replicator.

[00:32:02] And as he's explaining what it does, like Kevin just like, oh, we don't need it.

[00:32:07] But he just keeps talking.

[00:32:09] He like does not notice that this guy has fully interrupted him.

[00:32:12] He's like, I know that now we don't need it.

[00:32:14] And Picard's like, no, this is what it does.

[00:32:16] And here's how it works.

[00:32:17] And yeah, there you go.

[00:32:19] You know, probably if he had played this differently and was just like, yeah, thank you so much.

[00:32:22] We're going to be so good now that you brought the matter replicator and that you'll never need to come and visit us anymore.

[00:32:29] Like, you know, we're good.

[00:32:30] I honestly feel like there were so many points where Kevin could have made different decisions.

[00:32:35] And yeah, this would have ended very differently.

[00:32:37] But we know he's also feeling very guilty about something.

[00:32:39] So that might be altering his behavior.

[00:32:42] Yeah.

[00:32:42] Yeah.

[00:32:43] Rashaan invites them for tea again.

[00:32:45] And Kevin's like, no, don't do that.

[00:32:46] She's like, I have never turned anyone away from our house.

[00:32:49] So they're coming in for tea.

[00:32:51] Rashaan's also like, listen, I love you, Kevin.

[00:32:54] He doesn't say this, but this is what I feel like she's feeling.

[00:32:56] She's like, I cannot live my life only ever seeing one other person.

[00:33:01] This could be our last chance to interact with other people.

[00:33:04] I'm inviting them in.

[00:33:05] So up back in Troy's quarters, now Troy is like, she's screaming for the music to top.

[00:33:10] It's louder and louder and medical teams are there.

[00:33:13] Crush is there now and is trying to help her and gives her like an injection to calm her down.

[00:33:17] And she's like, no, no, it's not working.

[00:33:18] I can still hear the music.

[00:33:19] And so Troy's like, well, I can put you into a deep sleep.

[00:33:23] And Troy's like, no, no, the music's only going to follow me there.

[00:33:25] This isn't just a dream.

[00:33:26] It's real.

[00:33:27] So this is some serious stuff.

[00:33:29] It's really scary.

[00:33:31] It honestly, like when people talk about, I don't get migraines very often.

[00:33:36] I don't know if you're a migraine person.

[00:33:37] I used to.

[00:33:38] I've gotten them.

[00:33:39] Yeah.

[00:33:39] Like this is, this is what it seems like to me.

[00:33:42] Like just, you just, you just can't escape it.

[00:33:45] And like, even if you sleep, like it's still not necessarily restful.

[00:33:49] It's just, it's bad.

[00:33:51] Yeah.

[00:33:51] I would not want a song playing in my head like that over and over and over.

[00:33:55] Yeah.

[00:33:55] Or to be tortured by any kind of thing that's in my head over and over and over again.

[00:33:59] No, thank you.

[00:34:00] Back on the planet, Rashaun explains how she and Kevin met when they were students on a ship.

[00:34:04] Like a boat, a boat ship.

[00:34:07] Because, you know, they lived in Watertown there on Earth.

[00:34:11] Yeah.

[00:34:12] She asked him to marry her after two hours of knowing each other.

[00:34:15] Now, Ruthie, I wanted to ask you.

[00:34:17] Yeah.

[00:34:17] If you met someone and they asked you to marry them in two hours, how would you feel about that?

[00:34:22] I mean, I'd say no.

[00:34:24] Like.

[00:34:25] Maybe if it was Rashaun though.

[00:34:27] Like you'd feel differently.

[00:34:28] Like what if the connection were that strong?

[00:34:30] I mean.

[00:34:30] Did that happen?

[00:34:30] I guess that could happen.

[00:34:31] I mean, I think like I would.

[00:34:34] Okay.

[00:34:34] To me, if someone asked me that after two hours, that would be like a bit of a flag.

[00:34:40] Maybe not like a red flag, but like a bit of a flag to be like, okay, this person like

[00:34:44] is making a very big decision based on not enough information.

[00:34:50] Yeah, probably.

[00:34:51] Yeah.

[00:34:51] Like I've definitely met people and been like, I really like this person and I want

[00:34:56] to have them with my life.

[00:34:57] And I have had that be right.

[00:35:00] But like I still spend time getting to know them before I decide what kind of relationship

[00:35:05] I'm going to have with them.

[00:35:06] Yeah.

[00:35:07] I think that makes total sense.

[00:35:09] Yeah.

[00:35:09] I think that's important.

[00:35:10] Rashaun.

[00:35:11] So they're drinking from these very tiny brown little teacups and Worf takes a sip and he

[00:35:16] immediately grimaces.

[00:35:17] Like you could see it's like tea is not for Worf.

[00:35:20] But then Rashad asks Worf what he thinks and he says, good tea, nice house.

[00:35:26] Yeah.

[00:35:26] It's one of his iconic lines.

[00:35:28] So good.

[00:35:28] Worf is like, Worf is a funny character.

[00:35:32] And I love when he like gets to do comedy that's not at his expense.

[00:35:37] Like that's not making him like embarrassed or, you know, like I like when stuff like that

[00:35:43] when he's because he's so, his voice is so deep and he's so serious and he's so stoic.

[00:35:50] When he gets to like, yeah, say little things like good tea, nice house.

[00:35:55] I love it.

[00:35:56] So I love that line.

[00:35:57] So I was waiting for it.

[00:35:58] I'm like, oh, this is a good tea, nice house.

[00:35:59] This is the episode.

[00:36:01] That's the episode where he's going to say it.

[00:36:02] Yeah.

[00:36:03] Picard reflects on how terrible it must have been when they were attacked.

[00:36:06] And he points out that they survived when the rest of the planet was destroyed.

[00:36:10] And Rashad has no answer.

[00:36:11] She doesn't know why.

[00:36:13] Kevin at one point says that he's a person of special conscience and considers that maybe

[00:36:18] that their survival was because he decided not to fight back because he's got a list of

[00:36:22] other reasons why they might have survived.

[00:36:24] And that's what Kevin says.

[00:36:25] He's like, well, I'm a man of special conscience.

[00:36:28] And maybe that's why we weren't killed because I decided I was the only colonist who decided

[00:36:33] not to fight.

[00:36:33] Yeah.

[00:36:33] But he also says that he's like that.

[00:36:35] But they also wouldn't have known that like from space that I personally wasn't fighting.

[00:36:40] So he's kind of acknowledging that it doesn't make sense.

[00:36:44] Yeah.

[00:36:44] But you can see that Picard is like trying to he's trying to kind of push at them to get

[00:36:49] them to admit something or give some information because it's true that like this is not this

[00:36:56] doesn't make sense.

[00:36:57] It doesn't make sense why not just like these two people would have survived, but that their

[00:37:03] entire like house and property was preserved while the rest of the planet was not just destroyed.

[00:37:10] Like there aren't even ruins.

[00:37:11] It's just like a wasteland.

[00:37:14] A wasteland.

[00:37:15] Yeah.

[00:37:16] And the reason why they're trying to figure this out is because Picard tells Kevin and

[00:37:20] Rishon that the ship has returned.

[00:37:22] It is it was in orbit and they chased it off for now, but they need to figure out what's

[00:37:26] going on.

[00:37:26] Yeah.

[00:37:27] Eventually.

[00:37:28] Yeah.

[00:37:28] Rishon says to Picard basically like, thank you for the replicator.

[00:37:33] And that's kind of a way of like sending them on their way.

[00:37:37] Yeah.

[00:37:37] And he asked them one more time.

[00:37:40] Will you come with us?

[00:37:41] Yes.

[00:37:41] But Rishon says that she she can't leave Rana even for her own survival.

[00:37:45] She's she's not gonna leave.

[00:37:48] And then we go to Troy's quarters and she's like on her bed asleep.

[00:37:54] Crusher says she has inhibited almost all of the activity in the neocortex, but she's still

[00:37:59] hearing the music.

[00:37:59] And she says she's gonna have to remove all external stimuli by inducing a coma.

[00:38:06] Yeah.

[00:38:06] It's serious.

[00:38:07] Yeah.

[00:38:08] And and meanwhile, the red alert goes off and the ship is back.

[00:38:11] The the the other the other enemy vessel.

[00:38:14] Yeah.

[00:38:14] And Riker says that it looks a lot meaner this time.

[00:38:17] And it kind of comes from a higher angle on the view screen to make it look more menacing.

[00:38:21] I noticed.

[00:38:23] And this time the ship they hit the ship with 400 gigawatts of particle energy.

[00:38:28] So much particle energy.

[00:38:29] What the hell's a gigawatts?

[00:38:31] Anyways, so there's like an explodey bit of sparks in the background and random ensign

[00:38:36] guy in the back goes flying to the ground and that there's superficial damage, but that

[00:38:40] the shields have collapsed.

[00:38:42] Yes.

[00:38:42] And so finally, the Enterprise fires back, but there's no effect on the ship.

[00:38:47] And this enemy vessel fires back on the Enterprise and does a lot more damage.

[00:38:52] And so then the Enterprise like has to leave.

[00:38:55] They go out of range.

[00:38:56] The vessel then stops chasing the Enterprise and it goes back into orbit around Rana 4.

[00:39:03] At this point, Picard decides to leave it for a moment.

[00:39:09] And he thinks like Riker is kind of like, OK, but what about Rashaun and Kevin?

[00:39:13] He's worried about like, I don't think they're actually in any danger.

[00:39:17] Back in Troi's quarters, Crusher tells Picard that she's done everything that she can, but

[00:39:20] doesn't understand the nature of the music.

[00:39:22] But she does suggest that it could be telepathic, but she's not an expert on that.

[00:39:26] I think by this point now, Picard's hopefully putting the threads together.

[00:39:29] Yeah.

[00:39:29] But here's this is a bit of a weird thing.

[00:39:31] She's like, well, I'm not the expert on telepathy.

[00:39:35] But like, why aren't you?

[00:39:37] Like, you're the doctor.

[00:39:39] You shouldn't have the person of the telepathic species be the only expert on telepathy.

[00:39:46] On the ship.

[00:39:46] I think there's a couple episodes where they seem to imply that telepathy is not well understood

[00:39:52] by medical science.

[00:39:54] Because they said that there's not ways of like blocking telepathic signals and stuff

[00:40:01] like that.

[00:40:01] So is it not even like understood by like Betazoid scientists and doctors?

[00:40:07] Like...

[00:40:07] Yeah, you'd think there'd be some kind of research on it, I suppose.

[00:40:11] Yeah.

[00:40:11] Yeah.

[00:40:11] Which then like Crusher...

[00:40:13] It's not like Troy is from a planet that they have otherwise no contact with.

[00:40:18] Yep.

[00:40:19] Yep.

[00:40:19] Yeah.

[00:40:19] And obviously they must have medical science about their own people.

[00:40:23] Yeah.

[00:40:23] And since they're a part of the Federation, that should be accessible.

[00:40:26] You'd think.

[00:40:27] Yeah.

[00:40:27] Yeah.

[00:40:27] That makes sense.

[00:40:28] I think it's one of those things that sometimes...

[00:40:32] I don't know, especially in like earlier Trek, there are things where I'm like, I don't

[00:40:37] know, this just wasn't super well thought out.

[00:40:39] But the idea of when she's like, well, I'm not the expert on telepathy.

[00:40:42] So I don't know anything about it.

[00:40:44] Like...

[00:40:44] Yeah.

[00:40:45] Yeah.

[00:40:45] But yeah, the main point here being that Troy is being sabotaged because she can't clue

[00:40:49] in on what's going on.

[00:40:50] Yes.

[00:40:51] Picard says that Kevin and Rashaun are blocking her sensitivity so that she doesn't see the

[00:40:55] truth about them.

[00:40:56] So he's made that connection now that like this is the way of basically jamming the censors

[00:41:01] but with music.

[00:41:03] Yes.

[00:41:03] It's a different kind of jam.

[00:41:05] Yeah.

[00:41:05] In fact, it's a waltz.

[00:41:09] Yeah.

[00:41:09] So Picard calls to Riker from Troy's quarters and he says, we're going to maintain this

[00:41:14] course for another hour and then we'll turn around and go back to Rana 4.

[00:41:20] And Riker's like, okay, but we won't have shields back in an hour.

[00:41:25] And Picard's like, doesn't matter.

[00:41:26] We're still going to do it.

[00:41:27] I guess it's an hour later now.

[00:41:29] We're on the bridge.

[00:41:30] Worf says that he can't find any ships around Rana 4, but clearly like he doesn't trust

[00:41:36] himself anymore.

[00:41:37] He's like, well, I can't find anything, but I also couldn't find anything the last time.

[00:41:42] And Picard tells him not to worry about his previous error.

[00:41:46] And he thinks actually that the ship is protecting Kevin and Rashaun either directly or indirectly.

[00:41:57] And that's what he wants to find out.

[00:41:59] Yeah.

[00:41:59] That it like responds to their will.

[00:42:01] Yeah.

[00:42:02] Like it literally is what he says.

[00:42:03] So Picard and Worf beam down to the planet where Kevin and Rashaun are dancing to the same

[00:42:07] music that Troy is hearing.

[00:42:09] Yeah.

[00:42:09] Kevin is upset that they're back, obviously.

[00:42:10] Yeah.

[00:42:11] He's beaming into their house.

[00:42:11] And tells Picard that if he wants help, he should leave them alone.

[00:42:15] If he wants to help, leave us alone.

[00:42:16] Yeah.

[00:42:17] And Picard says, when I leave, I promise I'll be leaving for good.

[00:42:21] But the Enterprise is going to stay here because you're in danger from that warship.

[00:42:26] And he says, many of my crew have been injured, including a woman whose mind is being slowly

[00:42:33] destroyed by telepathic manipulation.

[00:42:37] They set this up as though Kevin is the one who wants to stay and Rashaun is only staying

[00:42:44] for him.

[00:42:45] But Rashaun has also said several times that she doesn't want to leave.

[00:42:49] She's just a little more friendly about it.

[00:42:51] She's not trying to get him to leave.

[00:42:53] She's like, no, I want to stay here.

[00:42:55] Kevin says that Rashaun will be safe in the house.

[00:43:00] Again, like Picard is like, there's something weird going on here.

[00:43:03] And so he asks, he says, if Rashaun were in danger, would you kill to save her life?

[00:43:09] And Kevin says he would not.

[00:43:11] Picard says he has a duty to protect them and that he will stay in orbit around Rana

[00:43:15] for as long as the two of them are alive, which obviously is exactly the opposite of

[00:43:20] what they wanted.

[00:43:21] He's being very deliberate in what he's saying.

[00:43:23] He's like, I'll stay here.

[00:43:24] We're going to stay here as long as you two are alive, which means we won't stay here

[00:43:29] if you're not alive.

[00:43:31] Right.

[00:43:31] And the warship is close now, even though there's nothing on sensors.

[00:43:34] Yeah.

[00:43:35] But Riker orders Worf to get ready to fire on it.

[00:43:38] Picard says belay that and he says, let it come.

[00:43:40] So they won't take evasive action or use any weapons.

[00:43:43] And Data sees that the ship is getting ready to fire on the house.

[00:43:46] Picard does not interfere.

[00:43:48] And so the ship fires and you see it like shooting down on the planet.

[00:43:51] You see an explosion on the planet surface and they have obliterated the house with no

[00:43:55] survivors.

[00:43:55] Yeah.

[00:43:56] So then Picard tells Worf now to fire a torpedo at the ship, which he does.

[00:44:00] And that destroys the ship.

[00:44:02] Picard basically says out loud, I guess, well, we have no reason to remain here.

[00:44:06] And so we should go.

[00:44:07] Yeah.

[00:44:08] The people we were protecting are gone and the threat is gone.

[00:44:11] So let's go.

[00:44:12] But instead, they just move to a higher orbit.

[00:44:15] So they're still able to keep the surface of the planet.

[00:44:20] He says under surveillance.

[00:44:23] He doesn't say surveillance.

[00:44:24] He says surveillance, which I...

[00:44:26] Is that a real word?

[00:44:27] I don't think so.

[00:44:28] Well, I feel like it's just a different pronunciation, but it's like...

[00:44:32] Oh.

[00:44:32] I don't know if it's a British pronunciation with the L's as a Y.

[00:44:36] Surveillance.

[00:44:37] Anyway, I'm sure...

[00:44:38] Like, it must be a pronunciation of it because like survey would be related to surveillance.

[00:44:43] But anyway.

[00:44:44] Then he goes to his ready room.

[00:44:45] Yeah.

[00:44:46] He goes to his ready room and everyone on the bridge like looks at each other like, what

[00:44:48] is our captain up to?

[00:44:50] What are we up to?

[00:44:51] That's where I would want to go hang out to.

[00:44:52] I'd make bold statements and then just go to my ready room and know that everyone's

[00:44:56] thinking about what I just said.

[00:44:59] In the ready room, Riker enters and says that they haven't seen anything after three hours

[00:45:02] of observation and has the impression that Picard is waiting for something.

[00:45:06] And Picard says that he's acting on an assumption and isn't sure if he's correct, but thinks

[00:45:10] that there actually is at least one survivor of the war on Radifor.

[00:45:14] And this is one of those shots where he said the camera kind of gets weird and sort of under

[00:45:18] his face.

[00:45:18] It's so close.

[00:45:18] It's under his face.

[00:45:19] And yeah, he's saying he's like, there were two people left, but there was only one survivor.

[00:45:26] Bum, bum, bum.

[00:45:27] Bum, bum, bum.

[00:45:27] Now, Laforage and Worf scan the planet and there's like a beep.

[00:45:30] The sensors need to beep plot beep.

[00:45:33] And Worf is getting frustrated, but Laforage calls Picard and tells him that the house is

[00:45:37] back.

[00:45:37] This is the beeping saying that the house is back.

[00:45:39] The trees, grass, everything, as well as the two survivors.

[00:45:42] And when they put it up on the view screen, you can see the house there again.

[00:45:45] A little green square.

[00:45:46] A little green square.

[00:45:47] Yeah.

[00:45:48] So Picard orders to this time have Kevin and Rashaun beamed up, I guess because he said

[00:45:55] he'd never set foot in their house again.

[00:45:57] So he's like, well, I guess I'll bring them to me this time.

[00:46:00] So he gets them beamed up.

[00:46:01] And when they get there, he's like, I'm sorry if I interrupted a waltz.

[00:46:05] But he says he wants to end the suffering of one of his crew members.

[00:46:11] And Rashaun is confused.

[00:46:12] But Picard says that Kevin understands and that he is, in fact, the cause.

[00:46:16] And so he explains what he thinks happens, Picard.

[00:46:20] So he says the house actually was destroyed in the attack on the planet.

[00:46:24] The place that they saw is a reproduction that can be created and destroyed and created again

[00:46:32] all on a whim.

[00:46:33] And he says that they wanted the Enterprise away from Rana, or more accurately, Kevin wanted

[00:46:40] the Enterprise away from Rana because he wasn't prepared to explain the house's

[00:46:46] existence.

[00:46:47] When the warship wouldn't chase them away, Picard gave them the only condition that would

[00:46:54] make Picard leave, which was the death of Kevin and Rashaun.

[00:46:58] Kevin apologizes for hurting the woman.

[00:47:00] Yeah, it's Troy.

[00:47:01] It says, it's Troy, that's what he means.

[00:47:03] It says that he'll help her and asks what will happen to him.

[00:47:06] And Picard says that he'll be taken to the nearest star base and held responsible for the

[00:47:10] attacks on the Enterprise and possibly the destruction on the planet.

[00:47:13] But Kevin explains the destruction of the planet happened as he described it.

[00:47:16] And so Rashaun is confused as to what's going on.

[00:47:18] So Picard explains you're real, you have your own beliefs, and I can smell your perfume,

[00:47:23] but that you don't exist.

[00:47:25] That you died with the others and that Kevin has recreated you.

[00:47:29] And I thought would have been an interesting plot twist here is if then Kevin vanishes.

[00:47:33] Yeah, that if Rashaun had actually been the real one.

[00:47:35] And Rashaun was the actual survivor.

[00:47:37] It was using Kevin as like a red herring this whole time.

[00:47:40] Yeah, that would have been interesting.

[00:47:43] But no, we're not there yet in our Star Trek storytelling.

[00:47:46] No, we've touched on it.

[00:47:48] We got these moments there.

[00:47:49] Yeah.

[00:47:50] So Rashaun disappears.

[00:47:51] She like dissolves.

[00:47:52] It's a kind of a neat, like it almost looks like she dissolves into light.

[00:47:56] It's like, yeah, it is cool.

[00:47:57] Yeah.

[00:47:58] And so Picard goes up to Kevin and says, you're actually the only one who survived that attack.

[00:48:04] And, and you're not human.

[00:48:06] And Kevin sort of disappears as well.

[00:48:08] He kind of turns into like sort of silvery light and then disappears.

[00:48:12] And LaForge, I don't know if LaForge can see him, but he can tell that he's in the turbo lift.

[00:48:19] And why?

[00:48:20] That's what I was trying to, this moment I was like, listen, if you can teleport yourself around, why do you still need to take the elevator?

[00:48:25] I know.

[00:48:27] It really didn't make sense.

[00:48:29] I was like, oh, okay.

[00:48:30] But so, so Worf wants to attack.

[00:48:32] And I think Worf in this case is not the only one who wants to go after Kevin.

[00:48:37] Like Worf says he's dangerous.

[00:48:39] And Picard is like, yeah, he's so dangerous that he could have destroyed us at any moment.

[00:48:43] And he didn't.

[00:48:44] Right.

[00:48:44] So instead he says, let's keep clear.

[00:48:47] Picard is, is pretty sure that he, before he goes to the planet, Kevin is going to fix whatever's going on with Troy.

[00:48:55] And that is in fact what happens.

[00:48:57] We go to Troy's quarters.

[00:48:58] We see Crusher enter and she sees Kevin standing over Troy's bed.

[00:49:03] And he says, he's taken the music from her.

[00:49:05] She was starting to sense who he was.

[00:49:07] And she suffered because of his pride and his selfishness.

[00:49:12] Picard enters and asks Kevin for the truth about what happened.

[00:49:15] So Kevin is a Daoud, an immortal being of disguises and false surroundings.

[00:49:20] Yeah.

[00:49:20] So when he was traveling in human form, he fell in love with Rashaun and put aside his powers.

[00:49:25] And married her.

[00:49:26] Eventually they came to Rana IV to live their final years.

[00:49:28] And she died never knowing who he really was.

[00:49:32] Yeah.

[00:49:32] So he explains that the attack on the colony was by the Husnak, which is a species of hideous intelligence that knew only aggression and destruction.

[00:49:44] What is hideous intelligence?

[00:49:46] What does that mean?

[00:49:47] I don't know.

[00:49:48] Okay.

[00:49:49] I want to actually talk about this because this description of a species that knows only aggression and destruction, I have a real problem with it.

[00:50:01] We hear ways that people are described in order to justify the things that are done to them, especially as a whole group.

[00:50:07] Yeah.

[00:50:08] Yeah.

[00:50:08] So because what we learn is that once Rashaun went out and fought with the other colonists, once she died and he couldn't die with her, in an instant of grief, he destroyed the Husnak.

[00:50:21] He didn't just destroy the Husnak who killed this colony.

[00:50:27] He didn't just destroy like some of the Husnak.

[00:50:31] He wiped them out.

[00:50:33] Yeah.

[00:50:34] We've got two genocides happening here.

[00:50:36] We've got the Rana IV genocide and then the genocide of the Husnak.

[00:50:42] I just, I feel like they want to show this immense grief that Kevin was feeling.

[00:50:52] And they want to show like even a being of such power, like of an immortal being is capable of such powerful grief.

[00:51:05] But what they end up saying is some people are actually evil and it's actually okay if those people die.

[00:51:13] And that is something that is actually used to justify genocide.

[00:51:18] Maybe not in so many words, but that is sort of the mentality.

[00:51:22] Like if we look at the ways in which we talk about things going on in Palestine right now, like that's part of it.

[00:51:31] Part of the reason that Israel for so long has been able to oppress Palestinians is that they have been so dehumanized in the media.

[00:51:42] Yeah.

[00:51:42] This is the same thing happening.

[00:51:45] Like I think, I almost think like it's irresponsible to even depict anyone as purely evil.

[00:51:53] As saying like they know only aggression and destruction.

[00:51:55] Like there is no good in this species.

[00:51:58] We never also don't get to ever meet any of the Husnak.

[00:52:02] No.

[00:52:02] They're just these entirely faceless.

[00:52:05] Yeah.

[00:52:05] Faceless creatures that the only description of which we have from Kevin.

[00:52:09] And so the story focuses more on Kevin's guilt that he feels over the choice of what happened.

[00:52:14] But even then, he is still the one who describes them as the beings of just hideous intelligence.

[00:52:20] That's his description.

[00:52:22] Only aggression and destruction.

[00:52:24] So if you really feel that, then why?

[00:52:26] I mean, obviously you still feel guilt over these 50 billion people.

[00:52:30] If they actually are only just anger and destruction or aggression and destruction, then why do you still feel guilty about it?

[00:52:35] So there's some conversation that has to be had there around what he has done.

[00:52:41] So then he says, is the love of a woman worth destruction of an entire species?

[00:52:45] And I think some of the conversation that needs to be having and is happening right now overlooking at what's going on in the Middle East is,

[00:52:54] is this attack on Palestinians worth as a reprisal or is this like a fair response to the attack that happened in October?

[00:53:06] And at what point is it enough damage that is done to another group of people who ultimately had no role in what's going on?

[00:53:14] Yeah. And it like it obvious, I mean, you're asking that question.

[00:53:17] I like it's obviously not right.

[00:53:20] Like it's obviously not an OK response.

[00:53:23] Before we started recording, you mentioned it like Picard says, we're not qualified to judge you and we have no law to fit your crime.

[00:53:33] But we do like the crime has the name.

[00:53:36] It's called genocide.

[00:53:37] And we like we right now in the here and now watching this show, we have laws against genocide.

[00:53:44] We don't always do anything about it, but we have a name for this.

[00:53:48] This is not like something that is so outside of what humanity is capable of that we can't even fathom it.

[00:53:55] Like, yeah, no, we one person cannot destroy an entire species.

[00:53:58] But we do have a name for this.

[00:54:01] It is genocide and we do have laws against it and we we can hold people accountable for it.

[00:54:07] Yeah, we have countries trying to hold Israel accountable for that right now and actually going to the international courts and saying like, just do these actions fit the description of a genocide?

[00:54:18] And the argument is that it does.

[00:54:19] So, yeah, I was surprised that when when I'm watching the episode that Picard says, like, we don't have a law to fit this crime.

[00:54:24] I feel like the Federation would definitely have laws against genocide and that, you know, obviously there would be I don't think there would be a genocide between Federation planets.

[00:54:36] But if a planet were to try to have some kind of arbitration after a genocide that occurred or during one, I'm sure the Federation would have like rules for how it would engage in that process from like a justice and legal standpoint.

[00:54:48] I would find it like very hard to believe that there isn't some way to actually have some kind of judgment or maybe like Kevin himself, like in a way has kind of created his own judgment.

[00:54:59] I'm going to live in isolation on this planet.

[00:55:01] But maybe Picard could be like, well, let's maybe there is some way we can work together to try to repair some of the damage that was done.

[00:55:08] What does that look like?

[00:55:09] Yeah.

[00:55:09] And I think I think one of the things that's going on in this episode is that it's a very symbolic episode.

[00:55:16] Like, I think what we are supposed to take from from this is how massive his grief is.

[00:55:24] And it's using the destruction of an entire species to demonstrate like how big that grief is.

[00:55:35] It doesn't work because genocide is a real thing.

[00:55:39] Like you can't have genocide be a symbol for something because genocide is an actual thing that happens.

[00:55:44] And this is something that I think happens a lot in certainly in early TNG.

[00:55:49] They get better at it later on as they start actually engaging with more of the political things that are happening within the show rather than just using them symbolically.

[00:56:03] Like, I think they do still use them symbolically, but they also treat them as real later on.

[00:56:09] Whereas in these earlier episodes, they're not really treated as real.

[00:56:13] They're just treated as symbols.

[00:56:15] And when you have genocide as a symbol for grief, I think you're you're getting into some pretty dicey territory.

[00:56:22] Because what ends up happening is they just leave him there in the captain's log.

[00:56:28] He says he isn't certain if Kevin should be praised or condemned only that he should be left alone.

[00:56:37] What do you like?

[00:56:38] What are you even praised?

[00:56:39] Like, what are you talking about?

[00:56:42] It's kind of like the arguments about what's going on right now.

[00:56:44] And people are like, well, it's a complicated situation to understand.

[00:56:46] Like, it's it's this is complicated.

[00:56:48] Yeah.

[00:56:49] I don't know.

[00:56:49] This is a pretty asymmetrical use of force here.

[00:56:52] Like, I think we can clearly see that that is the case.

[00:56:54] Yeah.

[00:56:55] I mean, I can understand it a little bit from Picard's point of view of like, it's it's not that we have no laws to fit your crime.

[00:57:04] It's that you are so powerful.

[00:57:05] I don't know what we'd even do with you.

[00:57:07] But that is a different conclusion.

[00:57:09] I think that like we we can't actually do anything to you.

[00:57:13] But it's it seems like he might be in a state where he's willing to try to undo in some way what happened.

[00:57:19] Yeah.

[00:57:20] Maybe there's a way he could use his powers to do that.

[00:57:22] Maybe that's something they could have talked about.

[00:57:23] He's like, I don't deserve to stay here.

[00:57:25] I'm going to come with you.

[00:57:25] Yeah.

[00:57:26] There could have been something like that.

[00:57:27] And instead, it's just like, no, you need to be left alone.

[00:57:30] You're dangerous.

[00:57:31] Yeah.

[00:57:31] Like, there's so much with that that I I have a problem with, like all the stuff we've said.

[00:57:36] And then also, yeah, this idea of like, you are dangerous and nobody should ever interact with you.

[00:57:41] Like, that's also not right.

[00:57:43] Like, there's there's nothing restorative there.

[00:57:45] Yeah, there's no restorative element whatsoever.

[00:57:47] Like, what does OK, so maybe he can't bring the who's knocked back.

[00:57:49] But what is their renewal have in terms of implications for the rest of the galaxy that might be mitigated or changed in some way?

[00:57:55] Right.

[00:57:56] But to your point as well about the symbols of things not being the actual things in Star Trek, the first thing I thought about as an example, because I think that's very true.

[00:58:04] But one of the first moments where I think those political elements stop being just symbols and actually being grappled with real politics in Star Trek is with the rival of Rolaren.

[00:58:15] Yes.

[00:58:16] I was just going to say with the Bajorans.

[00:58:18] Yeah.

[00:58:18] Yeah.

[00:58:18] So when the Bajorans show up now, we're talking about it's not like a one off episode and kind of a symbolic representation.

[00:58:24] We're talking about like real politics happening in the galaxy between the Federation and the Cardassians and other people that are impacted by that.

[00:58:32] And then how do we deal with the real like nitty gritty of that real situation?

[00:58:38] Yeah.

[00:58:38] But I think that's when some of that transition begins to happen.

[00:58:41] And I think I could be wrong, but I think I heard that the Bajorans were created as a representation of Palestinians.

[00:58:50] Oh, that's interesting.

[00:58:51] I thought that it was more of a representation of Jewish people and the Cardassians being like occupiers during the Nazis.

[00:59:03] But that maybe that's not like as basically like a fascist oppressive for us.

[00:59:08] But you might be right.

[00:59:09] I think I heard that that's what they were.

[00:59:10] That was the idea behind it.

[00:59:13] I don't I could be wrong.

[00:59:14] I'm sure people will have thoughts as they're listening to this.

[00:59:17] That story could be played out between many different people groups, I think, on the earth.

[00:59:20] Totally.

[00:59:21] And it's not like a because it's it's not just symbolic because they actually deal with it as what it is.

[00:59:28] It's not like I'm going to be a perfect representation of anything.

[00:59:32] It is its own thing.

[00:59:33] But yes, I agree with you that that's part of where they start to take their own storylines a little bit more seriously and continue to engage with them and not just use them to teach us some sort of lesson or leave us with what's supposed to be like a poignant.

[00:59:51] And they're just like, yeah.

[00:59:52] And they're just like, yeah, I think.

[00:59:52] They're just like leaving us kind of baffled.

[00:59:57] Like, really?

[00:59:58] Really?

[00:59:59] That's this is where we're ending it.

[01:00:01] They're dancing with the topics, but really maybe not diving in nearly as much.

[01:00:05] And I think it's because the story isn't about it's not about the genocide.

[01:00:09] It's not even really about the attack.

[01:00:11] It's about this one character's grief.

[01:00:14] And that's really where the scope of the story is.

[01:00:16] Yeah.

[01:00:16] And it's, you know, similar to the last episode where the story wasn't about the genocide.

[01:00:21] It was about Data's growth.

[01:00:22] Yes.

[01:00:23] So if you use genocide as a vehicle for something else, then yeah, you're not going to.

[01:00:30] Engaging with genocide is not a one episode thing, right?

[01:00:34] It has to be a multi episode topic, which is why I think, yeah, it starts to work when when they introduce the Bajorans and it becomes a whole series.

[01:00:44] Yeah, absolutely.

[01:00:46] Yeah.

[01:00:46] Yeah.

[01:00:47] Oof.

[01:00:48] So final thoughts.

[01:00:49] That's the end of the episode.

[01:00:51] I think that those are all of my thoughts.

[01:00:53] I similar to you.

[01:00:55] I had a memory of this episode, but it was not exactly as it happened.

[01:01:01] Like I there were things that I remembered about this episode, right?

[01:01:04] But I totally did not remember the fact that he killed all of the husna.

[01:01:09] Oh, I remember that.

[01:01:10] I remember the fact that I remember him saying it that he went insane and then it.

[01:01:14] Yeah.

[01:01:14] An instant of grief.

[01:01:15] Yeah, I don't.

[01:01:16] I didn't remember that.

[01:01:17] You know, I mostly I mostly remember that Rishan is like who I remembered her actor because she's like been in a few things.

[01:01:25] She's also on an episode of Deep Space Nine.

[01:01:28] And then she was in like Mrs. Doubtfire.

[01:01:31] And she does look familiar.

[01:01:32] Who is she in Deep Space Nine?

[01:01:34] She plays this like Bajoran judge or like magistrate or something when they try to extradite Dax in like one of the early episodes.

[01:01:43] Okay, cool.

[01:01:44] And then, yeah, she's in Mrs. Doubtfire.

[01:01:47] I think she's also in Liar Liar.

[01:01:49] Like she was kind of like a 90s like no nonsense actor.

[01:01:53] Like she plays these characters who are like, you know, they don't have time for your guff.

[01:01:59] Yeah, which is very much not this episode.

[01:02:01] No, she's playing against type in this episode.

[01:02:03] She's like, Kevin, tell them to go away.

[01:02:05] Kevin, tell them that I don't want to leave my planet.

[01:02:07] Kevin, like very much reliant on him to speak.

[01:02:11] Yeah.

[01:02:11] On her behalf maybe because she's not real.

[01:02:13] Yeah.

[01:02:15] So in the episode of Deep Space Nine where she plays this Bajoran like judge, she is very annoyed.

[01:02:22] And she plays annoyed really well.

[01:02:25] Yeah, she plays the role very well.

[01:02:27] She does.

[01:02:28] She's very believable at the part.

[01:02:29] Yeah.

[01:02:29] Yeah.

[01:02:30] That's the episode.

[01:02:31] I think we did it.

[01:02:33] I think we did it too.

[01:02:34] Well, thank you so much for listening to this episode of With the First Link.

[01:02:37] If you liked what you heard, please feel free to leave us a five star rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or your podcast provider of choice.

[01:02:44] Our cover art was created by Nathan Nunn and you can find more of his work at NathanNun.ca.

[01:02:50] Our theme song is An Amazing Adventure by Flame Lion Studio.

[01:02:54] You can follow us on Instagram and on Twitter at FirstLinkPod or send us an email at FirstLinkPod at gmail.com and tell us about the stories that you think cannot be told in just one episode but deserve a full arc.

[01:03:09] I'm Ruthie.

[01:03:10] And I'm Matthew.

[01:03:11] And whatever calamity befalls your planet, may you always have good tea, a nice house, and a Klingon to appreciate them.