Hey, we’re back to working our way through the second best Star Trek TV franchise. The third episode of the season sees the Enterprise arriving at a planet with some interesting cultural mores, but which also happens to be the only possessor of an antidote for a virus that’s ravaging some other colony.
Of course, it’s not nearly so simple as the Enterprise dropping into orbit, Picard saying “Hey, this is the Federation, send us the antidote.” and then going on their way. Oh no, the planetary leader of Space Wakanda has a problem that he needs solved, and the Enterprise, or rather, Lieutenant Tasha Yar, is going to do just that.
You see, on Space Wakanda, the men are in charge, but the women hold all the property, unless there’s no female heir to pass those lands on to in death, in which case it goes to the husband. This particular leader would like his wife’s lands, but for that he needs a convenient way for her to become no longer living. Enter a convenient desire to marry Tasha, or at the very least, have her fight his current wife to the death, otherwise, no antidote.
In a plot finale that largely mirrors the classic Trek episode Amok Time, we get a solution by having Tasha win the battle, “kill” her rival, then have Doctor Crusher revive her. However, since she was technically dead for a bit, that dissolves her marriage. The episode ends with the planetary leader getting demoted by his kinda-sorta-ex-wife, who picks a new primary lover, and the Enterprise warps away with the needed antidote.
As we’re still in the “Getting to know you” phase of this show, there are some great character lines in what is an otherwise forgettable episode.
Beverly’s “Where are the callouses we doctors are supposed to grow over our feelings?” question to Picard, and his reply back of “Perhaps the good ones never do.” is a great bit of interaction between them. Data gets shown trying to understand humor, noting that he’s told six hundred and sixty-two jokes to Geordi. None of which have landed.
Also, Wesley mostly stays out of the way, other than being granted additional time on the bridge.
Overall, it’s a pretty bland episode with some subtle character building. Space Wakanda and the casting required to make Space Wakanda apparently offended the delicate sensibilities of the Very Smart Reviewers crowd. Meh. Fortunately the episodes do get better.