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| Gul Madred (David Warner): "Tell me how many lights you see." |
The Enterprise is called to the border of Cardassian space for a meeting with Vice Admiral Nechayev (Natalija Nogulich). Picard is the only one at the meeting, where he is given surprising news: He is being relieved of command!
Picard's replacement is Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox), a career officer who was one of the key players in the peace agreement with the Cardassians. Starfleet believes that, with the Cardassians engaging in sabre-rattling near the border, Jellico's presence on the Enterprise might persuade them to avoid taking action that could lead to war. Jellico's first priority is to turn Picard's Enterprise upside-down, making it battle ready as quickly as possible with no regard whatsoever to the opinions of the crew - or of Picard, for that matter.
Meanwhile, Picard is teamed with Worf and Dr. Crusher for a secret mission. Starfleet believes the Cardassians may be developing a metagenic weapon on the planet Celtris III. If true, this devastating biological weapon would be capable of decimating all life on any planet on which it is deployed, making even the strongest world an easy target for conquest. Picard and his two crewmates secure transport to Celtris III and begin their infiltration.
But they are walking right into a Cardassian trap - one which will test the limits of Picard's strength and even his sanity!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: After sitting in the background of the previous couple of episodes, he is thrust back into the foreground. Part Two particularly tests Picard's limits in a way that's never been done before. The Borg assimilated Picard, overwhelming his mind in a way he couldn't resist. What's done to him as a prisoner of the Cardassians might be even more frightening. He is broken down, piece by piece, worn to exhaustion not only by torture, but by Gul Madred's calculated denial of regular sleep and even by his rare moments of kindness. Patrick Stewart's performance in this 2-parter ranks among his very best, and the script scores by allowing him moments of strength even when he's at his most helpless.
Riker: Observing Riker's work, Jellico remarks that it's "no wonder he's still a first officer." He finds Riker to be arrogant and willful, and Riker has much the same opinion of Jellico. Riker resists Jellico's changes every step of the way, though he never crosses the line into direct insubordination. While viewers are encouraged to side with Riker, it is to the script's credit that both men have reasonable points of view, and that each man is pretty much dead on when he reveals his assessment of the other's flaws.
Cardassians: "Cardassians are like timber wolves... bold in large numbers, cautious by themselves." This is Jellico's assessment and, while simplistic, it's not without merit. The new captain's opening gambit in his talks is a transparent ploy to gain dominance, yet it's clear that it initially unsettles the Cardassians. Only when Picard's failed raid provides a clear advantage do the Cardassians begin to gain confidence in their dealings with Jellico.
Gul Madred: The most dominant Cardassian presence by far is that of Gul Madred (David Warner), Picard's interrogator. A lot of Cardassian backstory is revealed in the scenes between Picard and Madred. The Cardassians were once a peaceful and spiritual people, but their world was impoverished and the people starved in the thousands. When the military took over, they instituted agricultural programs and developed new resources, eliminating starvation - though the military expansion also resulted in enormous casualties.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Admiral Jellico (Ronny Cox) is a very different style of commander than Picard. He isn't particularly interested in hearing various viewpoints and weighing them before making a decision. He makes a decision and expects his department heads to "get it done." And done now. Most scripts would turn him into a martinet and make it obvious that he is utterly in the wrong. One of the many excellent features of this teleplay is that Jellico doesn't come across in this kind of 2-dimensional way. When he is giving instructions to Geordi about his expectations for Engineering, for example, Geordi is appalled at the level of overhaul the new captain wants. But Data confirms that every one of Jellico's demands is "an attainable goal." His expectations are high and his manner brusque, but he is neither unreasonable nor incompetent. He simply has a style of command that's 180 degrees removed from the one both the crew and viewers are used to.
THOUGHTS
Chain of Command is the series' first really "big" 2-parter since Redemption, and its best 2-parter since The Best of Both Worlds. It may well be the equal of the Borg two-parter, and it does this not by trying to match it as an action piece but instead by tightening the focus onto character.
The story is framed around two tests of wills among two pairs of strong characters. The first is between Riker and Jellico, basically a battle over how the Enterprise should be run. Both characters have legitimate points of view, with Riker ultimately on the losing side of this contest simply because "captain" (let alone admiral) outranks "commander." It would have been a dramaticaly easy choice to portray Jellico as out of his depth, with Riker needing to save the ship at the climax. Instead, Jellico's plan is sound, and the nod to Riker's dignity is given by having his participation be key to its success.
The other test of wills, the one that's the centerpiece of the two-parter, is the one between PIcard and Gul Madred. We only barely meet Madred in Part One, his introduction providing the cliffhanger. Even that brief scene is enough for him to make an impression as he rattles off Picard's official credentials while circling the captain like a vulture over its prey. He is an immediately imposing figure, and David Warner is superb in the role. He is intelligent and cultured, but also absolutely ruthless in his insistence of total control. The contest between him and Picard is ultimately not about information. He stops asking for defense information very quickly, and instead breaks Picard down with one seemingly innocuous directive:
"Tell me how many lights you see."
In a way that's similar to Babylon 5's excellent Intersections in Real Time, these scenes portray interrogation and torture without showing anything explicit, anything that would push the bounds of broadcast television standards. But it's as disturbing as those bounds would allow, with Patrick Stewart superb in conveying the pain of the Cardassian torture device, and the tactics of Madred's torture based on genuine torture tactics - right down to the denial of sleep and the temptations of food and water. It's stunning stuff, particularly for a series that rarely delves into anything genuinely disturbing.
The episode ends with a scene that's low-key on the surface. Picard and Troi have a conversation, both using normal tones of voice. Picard makes a matter-of-fact statement in a matter-of-fact tone. It's the context that makes this one of the series' best tags. In context, Picard's admission to Troi is one of the most chilling end lines in the entire, enormous Star Trek franchise.
Overall Rating: 10/10.
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Jellico was a toxic commander to put it in 21st century terms. He was right but his methods sowed discontent for no reason.
ReplyDeleteLove your reviews, even 10 years later.