THE PLOT
The Enterprise picks up Salia (Jamie Hubbard), the 16-year old girl who is to become ruler of Daled IV, a planet that has suffered a long and devastating war. Her parents each belonged to one of the planet's two warring factions, and it is believed that she can bring peace to her world - a world she has never seen.
Not long after she beams aboard, she and Wesley catch sight of each other. She's never seen a boy her own age before, so she can perhaps be forgiven for finding him attractive. He becomes instantly obsessed with her. But given that her protector, Anya (Paddi Edwards), is a shapeshifting alien who is jealous of her charge to the point of insane paranoia, Wesley's innocent flirtation could prove fatal!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: The security of his ship is his first priority, and his current mission is his second. It pains and somewhat embarrasses him that both of these priorities require him to meddle in Wesley's fledgling romance, but he does a good job of explaining to Wesley exactly why he has to interfere in areas he'd as soon stay out of.
Worf: Gets the most entertaining moment of the episode, describing to Wesley the Klingon mating rituals. "The woman roars. And throws heavy objects... (The man) reads love poetry. He ducks a lot." Michael Dorn's delivery, going from aroused to chagrined, is hilarious. Dorn is also quite good opposite Paddi Edwards, and the scene in which the two protectors - one of the girl, one of the ship - quietly challenge each other is the episode's strongest dramatic beat.
Cute Space Babe of the Week: Jamie Hubbard is Salia, the future ruler of a world at war and the object of Wesley's affections. Hubbard is cute enough to be a very believable object of a teen boy's obsession, and she has a likable screen presence. She and Wil Wheaton actually play rather nicely opposite each other, and Salia and Wes make for an appealingly geeky teen couple - something which helps greatly in selling the episode.
SHUT UP, WESLEY!
For the most part, Wesley is surprisingly easy to take, even if he does spend the first half of the episode going up to virtually every member of the command crew whining that he doesn't know how to approach Salia. OK, OK. When you're 16, approaching a cute girl appears a lot more daunting a task than it actually is. Once Wesley does summon up the courage, he does a good job of observing her wants and supplying her with what would make for a really pretty good date (well, until the whole running out crying part, in any event).
Unfortunately, anything likable that he manages to build up through the episode is defused by pouty Wesley in the scene in which Salia goes to his quarters to say good-bye. He has a change of heart (unmotivated) to avoid their story ending on a down note... but then we get mopey Wesley for the tag, which is just as irritating as it sounds.
THOUGHTS
By all rights, The Dauphin should be terrible. It's a teen angst story. It's a Wesley episode. But director Rob Bowman retains a strong visual eye and a good sense of pacing, even in these shallow waters. Add in an above-average guest cast, with a terrific performance by Edwards, and this ends up being surprisingly watchable.
It's still a far cry from the type of Trek episode I prefer. Centering around my least favorite TNG character, this is ultimately a hackneyed story of teen angst. It's moderately well-told, with appealing performances and strong direction. I cringe to imagine how this would have played as a Season One episode, but the cast and crew seem to have found enough maturity and confidence by this point that they can produce something competent and even enjoyable out of these shallow waters.
After A Matter of Honor and, particularly, The Measure of a Man, this is unquestionably a comedown. But it is a pleasant surprise, in that it at least manages to provide an enjoyable 45 minutes.
Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: The Measure of a Man
Next Episode: Contagion
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