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| Wesley's farewell. |
THE PLOT
A spot has opened up at Starfleet Academy, and Picard has vouched for Wesley's readiness, giving the young ensign a new opportunity to advance his Starfleet ambitions. With Wesley leaving the Enterprise, Picard decides to bring him along on one last mission, a routine negotiation on a mining planet. Flown in a shuttle by the grizzled Capt. Dirgo (Nick Tate), it is set to be a simple and routine bit of Starfleet business.
Then one of Dirgo's engines explodes, forcing them to crash-land on a desert moon. Picard takes charge immediately, pushing them to move toward the mountains for shelter, then leading them into a cave. It is there that they see a fountain, protected by a technological sentry. When Dirgo attempts to use his phaser against the sentry, the resulting disruption leaves Picard severely injured - leaving it up to Wesley to reach the water, before the captain dies!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Dirgo makes an early dig about hoping that Picard is tougher than he looks. Picard quickly proves that he is, effortlessly taking command after the crash landing. When Dirgo tries to protest, Picard doesn't shout him down (as Wesley tries to), instead calmly asking for the man's input until the pilot is forced to acknowledge that there is no viable alternative to Picard's urgings to move toward the mountains. Picard talks to Wesley almost like a father to a son during the scenes in the cave, and worries that it was "selfishness" to bring Wesley along on this mission.
Riker: Yet another episode that puts Riker in command of Enterprise, and yet another one that demonstrates his readiness for command. Presented with the radioactive garbage scow, he doesn't stubbornly cling to his first option - directly towing it - when Geordi questions him on it. Geordi points out the risk to the ship and proposes a safer alternative. Riker listens... and even when he learns of Picard's disappearance, he sticks with Geordi's plan for as long as it appears viable. The instant Geordi's plan fails, however, he doesn't hesitate to order a return to his riskier initial idea, now that there is no other alternative. My only question is how long the show can sustain a second-in-command who is clearly ready for his own ship, given that we have yet to even hit the series' halfway point!
Wesley: Wesley's final appearance as a regular (though he will be back for some guest appearances). For the first half of the episode, we largely see a return to the annoying Wesley of the early seasons. He loudly dismisses Dirgo's ship in earshot of the man, then becomes unnecessarily argumentative with him after they crash-land on the moon. Picard eases Dirgo's ruffled feathers both times, and gently but firmly indicates to Wesley to back off, but it's still rather poor behavior. Thankfully, the second half allows him some more dignity, particularly once he is caring for Picard on his own. His admission that the thing he most wants is for Picard - the closest thing he has to a father - to be proud of him is genuinely effective, and the episode's encapsulation of the Picard/Wesley relationship is by far its strongest element.
THOUGHTS
Final Mission is the second and, I believe, last TNG episode to write out a regular. It's a deeply ordinary episode, and one that leaves me with no particular enthusiasm. It flirts with tedium through most of its running time, though I'll acknowledge that it mostly stays on the right side of that line. I am getting far too familiar with the Star Trek cave set, which the production doesn't even attempt to make look different than it did in, say, Captain's Holiday.
The script, by Jeri Taylor and Kasey Arnold-Ince, never does anything to explain the single fountain or the sentry. The fountain is simply a goal for Wesley to reach, the sentry simply an obstacle. It's dramatically effective at giving the story some conflict and momentum, but it doesn't go any further than that. I might be willing to credit the episode for leaving the mystery unexplained... except neither the fountain nor the sentry is ever presented as a mystery. They are there simply to fulfill a narrative function, and none of the characters seems to find their presence in any way strange. A sharper script would have made more of this, I think.
The episode does at least do a good job of encapsulating the Picard/Wesley relationship, and most of the show's best moments come from their scenes together. Wil Wheaton, while not a bad actor, really isn't at Patrick Stewart's level. Still, he does raise his game in the quiet scenes in which Wesley tends to Picard, scenes that are the real heart of the episode. If some of what surrounded these scenes were a bit stronger, or if the episode had simply trapped Wesley and Picard in a cave to await rescue without having to throw in an unexplained sci-fi fountain and an idiot guest character, then this episode might actually be good. As it stands, it's a tolerable time-filler with a few really good scenes.
As an exit episode, one might have wished for better... but, as Skin of Evil reminds us, it certainly could have been much worse.
Overall Rating: 5/10
Previous Episode: Future Imperfect
Next Episode: The Loss
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation
The episode does at least do a good job of encapsulating the Picard/Wesley relationship, and most of the show's best moments come from their scenes together. Wil Wheaton, while not a bad actor, really isn't at Patrick Stewart's level. Still, he does raise his game in the quiet scenes in which Wesley tends to Picard, scenes that are the real heart of the episode. If some of what surrounded these scenes were a bit stronger, or if the episode had simply trapped Wesley and Picard in a cave to await rescue without having to throw in an unexplained sci-fi fountain and an idiot guest character, then this episode might actually be good. As it stands, it's a tolerable time-filler with a few really good scenes.
As an exit episode, one might have wished for better... but, as Skin of Evil reminds us, it certainly could have been much worse.
Overall Rating: 5/10
Previous Episode: Future Imperfect
Next Episode: The Loss
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation
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