THE PLOT
Picard is relaxing in his quarters as the Enterprise departs for a rendezvous with the U. S. S. Hood. Suddenly, Picard is subjected to a scan, and awakens in a strange place, unable to contact the ship. He is one of four prisoners, all held in the same room. There is no apparent connection between the four of them, and no communication from their captors. They are not harmed, they are not in danger. They are simply trapped.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise diverts from its course. But not to search for Picard. The crew has no reason to search, after all. Picard is right there, in command of the ship - and this duplicate is seemingly determined to push the crew's trust in Picard to its breaking point!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: A natural leader, Picard can't help but take command among the four prisoners in the cell. His "telling everyone what to do" does briefly lead to suspicion from the others, but his natural force of personality and the strength of his arguments keep him on top of the situation. Meanwhile, the duplicate Picard - who has been duplicated to the point of retaining all of the real Picard's memories - acts on some of the thoughts that the real Picard keeps buried, which is likely the explanation for both the singing in Ten-Forward and the dinner with Dr. Crusher. The duplicate just isn't able to separate thoughts and memories that are acted upon from ones that are in the back of the real Picard's mind, yet never acted on.
Riker: Is initially unconcerned when the false Picard orders the ship to alter course. After all, Picard has given unusual orders before, and has generally had good reason. But as Picard's behavior grows ever stranger, Riker begins to have doubts, which crystallize when he flat-out says to Troi and Geordi, "That's not the captain I know."
Dr. Crusher: Gets a very good scene with the false Picard, in which she openly acknowledges their mutual attraction, but insists that their positions require a degree of detatchment. When Picard suggests that this might not be a problem if he were not her commanding officer, she evades, indicating that there are other issues - quite probably ones related to the death of her husband under Picard's command. It is clear that, despite her friendship and attraction to Picard, there is some conflict in her feelings toward him.
THOUGHTS
Allegiance is very much a "B" episode. Something to pad out the episode order without putting much strain on the budget, and its ambitions largely end there. It's not a bad episode. It's thoroughly watchable, thanks in large part to an exceptional performance by Patrick Stewart. But it is very obvious quite early on where this story is headed - and it goes there, with absolutely no surprises along the way.
It does make a strong showcase for Stewart, who subtly alters his mannersims for the fake Picard. The Picard doppelganger speaks in an almost eerily calm tone throughout the episode, showing none of the flintiness that the real Picard possesses. He is always calm, measured, reasonable even as he gives senseless orders. After a while, the effect is one of having a Stepford Picard in charge of the Enterprise, and full credit to Patrick Stewart for how well that works.
Unfortunately, while it's watchable enough hokum, it is still hokum - thin, obvious, and hackneyed. The ending is particularly weak, ending the episode on a dramatically limp note. While watching, I wavered between a "5" and a "6." But the ending sealed the score at the lower end of that range.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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