Star Trek: The Next Generation--"Unification II"

If ‘Unification I” went at a glacial pace, then “Unification II” travels at warp speed. It is jammed packed with exposition, action, and character moments. While it sounds like too much for a single episode, it all flows pretty well.

Spock begins the episode by laying out his intention to facilitate the reconciliation of the Romulans and the Vulcans through peaceful means. He went rogue so as to avoid causing what was the then unknown trouble behind Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. (In theaters this Chrisrmas! We hired Nicholas Meyer to direct! We did not let William Shatner anywhere near the director’s chair! No Vulcan mystics, either! Go see it!) Okay, it was more subtle than that, but not by much.

It is not that bad, but the opening verbal duel with Spock and Picard is the weakest of both episodes. They are just throwing out all of Spock’s plan in one lump in order to justify his being on Romulus before the action starts. Jeri Taylor even makes an effort to distract us with aquip from Spock that Picard is just as stubborn as Kirk was, thereby forcing the audience’s mind off the current plot into the Kirk v. Picard debate.

This is as good a place as any to weigh in on it myself. I am not so sure it is fair to compare Kirk and Picard’s stubbornness. They both indeed were, but in opposite directions. Kirk was stubborn in his sense of right and wrong. I have called him on it in a number of my TOS reviews because he has opted to destroy gods, computers, or various dictators maintaining the status quo of a given society because it did not suit his sense of justice to let it go.

Picard has been the exact opposite. He has often bent over backwards to compromise in situations you almost want to shake him hard to come to his senses. Take several of my most recent reviews. Picard has sacrificed a respected captain’s career while helping cover up that Cardassians were arming themselves near the federation border in “The Wounded” just to avoid further conflict. Not too long afterwards, the Cardassians destroy a Federation colony with impunity in “Ensign Ro.” Picard, against the better judgment of everyone, tries to communicate with the Crystalline Entity instead of destroying it even though it has killed thousands and will kill even more if not stopped.

I hate to drag up a French stereotype, but Picard is an appeaser at all costs while Kirk is a cowboy at all times. The value of their track record is debatable, but consider this: Spock was always the one advising Kirk not to interfere in the statuesque of societies such as the one controlled by Landru. By the 24th century, Spock has taken it upon himself to risk life and limb to change the paths of two major peoples because he has decided it is in the best interest of both. You can argue whether he is right, but it is hard to argue his attitude about such things has shifted from Picard’s to Kirk’s over time. A vindication? Perhaps.

See how easy it is to get sidetracked with that?

Anyway, spock, picard, and Data aresoon captured by Sela in her final appearance. She never got a good send off, which is too bad considered all the emotional issues that ought to have surrounded her character. I have yet to figure out if she was not popular or if Denise Crosby was not available to play the character further. Considering she returns for the series finale, produced the documentary Trekkies, and shows upat more conventions than tribbles, I suspect it was not a lack of willingness to participate.

Sela is behind a plot to use Spock’s movement to force an invasion of Vulcan. The plan is foiled due to Spock and data’s ingenuity combined with Riker’s extraordinarily good timing in unraveling his half of the mysterious plot. I am not doing it justice here, but we are talking about phasers and ship to ship fights here, not the usual preachy moralizing in order to avoid further conflict. “Cowboy diplomacy,” indeed.

Speaking of Riker, he demonstrates yet again how ready he is to be captain, yet he refuses to accept promotion. The writers have given off some clear hints in recent episodes to his rationale for turning down three command offers, but they are getting flimsier by the season. Riker was angry at Ro for her opinion that serving on the Enterprise is better than prison because he considers it a privilege. He has also defined what he meant by Picard needing him as first officer by nudging him strongly to destroy the Crystalline Entity instead of opening a dialogue. But it is still clear he is ready to work without a net. The character has to stay where he is, of course, but it is becoming laughably difficult to justify it.

All that notwithstanding, it is the character moments that make the episode. It is finally confirmed, unless you want to count an offhand quip by McCoy in the pilot, that Data is the Spock character of TNG. He is the perfectly logical emotionless Vulcan who longs to be human while Spock has to constantly battle his emotions to maintain proper Vulcan stoicism. When asked by data, he replies he has no regrets for his choice. Data tells him that is a human response. Of course, data’s desire to be human is an emotion, but who is counting?

The episode ends with Picard allowing Spock to meld with him in order to experience his father’s feelings towards him. It is a bittersweet moment to realize Pocard knowssarek better than his own son does.

“Unification II” is the better of the two parts. It sends the story into the top tier of TNG episodes. It did risk becoming rushed with so much stuff crammed into one episode, but I suspect that was because the powers that be wanted to end the first episode cliffhanger on the Spock revelation come hell or high water instead of the Romulan plot serving the role instead. It is awkward for the first episode of a two part story to have no hints of the real conflict, but it still works here. So I have no particular gripes.

Rating: **** (out of 5)