Plot: This was such an exciting time to be a Star Trek fan because the series had hit the screens with uneven effect, brought to life by a production team that was unsure if a new crew would find its audience and with one foot still stuck in the past. Come season three TNG had gotten its act together, pulled in Michael Piller to ensure there was a uniformity of storytelling and a much higher bar of quality for everyone in the production to aspire to. The result was the show felt confident and willing to experiment in a way that played to its strengths and the season three of TNG is still one of the highest achieving single years of Star Trek you will find in the franchise. Watching The Defector I was hit with the same excitement I had at the time when you realised that not only was TNG working, but it was producing Star Trek of a quality that we hadn't yet seen.
This was a stage where the mere mention of the name Romulan could strike terror into the heart of any Star trek fan...until you see the terrible shoulder pads they are forced to wear. There is talk of war between the Romulans and the Federation and it is nice that TNG flirted with the idea, even if it took until DS9 to actually take the notion for a dance.
Character: I think it is fascinating that they should give Patrick Stewart the line of advice to Data that by embracing your own performance and not imitating others that he should discover his own worth as an actor given that Stewart could so easily have aped Shatner instead of finding his own way as the head of a Star Trek show. Picard is presented as a thoughtful man, a strategist, a thinker. Kirk would have headed into this situation guns blazing and made things ten times worse. How refreshing to watch a man who weighs up all the options, considers the facts and agonises over a move that could have devastating consequences for the Quadrant. There's a wonderful moment when Picard admits that he doesn't have any children and Jarok accuses him of sacrificing too much to his career. I don't know if they had this scene in mind during season two of Picard but the personal sacrifices that Jean-Luc has made are highlighted and agonised over 20 years later. The man is married to Starfleet.
There's a superb scene where Jorak states that he likes Worf and that he is exactly the sort of person that will get them all killed if they aren't careful. We're pushing away from that Roddenberry ideal that everybody on this ship has got to be a perfect, and it's about time.
Production: The teaser is extraordinary in that it feels like we have wandered into the wrong show with Stewart playing Shakespeare but actually when you strip away the florid dialogue and riveting performances it is just the same actors in the same stock Trek forest sets. There is a deliberate attempt to tie the frivolity of playing Shakespeare into the main theme of the episode, where Picard admits that unlike King Henry he cannot disguise himself and walk amongst the crew. Actually with Data as his eyes and ears, he kind of can.
We're still in the period of the show before Berman decided that all music should be like the blandest of wallpaper and the Romulan theme is genuinely dynamic.
Performance: James Sloyan is the go to 90s Trek actor for a handful of character parts from this to Dr Mora to Jetrel and for a very good reason: he's incredibly good in every part they give him. Jarok is a difficult part to pull off because Sloyan has to convince that he could be telling the truth (so if they episode decides that he is a genuine defector that the previous 40 minutes doesn't ring false) or that he could be a Romulan plant (just in case the script twists into a cautionary tale for the Enterprise crew about Romulan duplicity). Sloyan walks that fine line brilliantly. He's spiky, but also has moments of likability and warmth. I was uncertain about him throughout, which is exactly where the episode wants you to be as it plays its games with you. The only time I think this sort of thing has been bested is with Waris Hulin in Duet, and that is because the entire episode is squarely focussed on the mystery of identity. This is a superlative performance and The Defector would have bombed had it been handed to a lesser, or less convincing, actor.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'It's always a game of chess with them, isn't it?' Picard says about the Romulans potentially setting up a base in the Neutral Zone and poking them into responding with force.
'It's a bitter thing to be exiled from your own home.'
'One worlds butcher is another worlds hero.'
'Shall we die together?'
Best Moment: As with the majority of TNG, the best moments are acting moments rather than action and the confrontation between Picard and Jarok is extremely well written and played. Picard pointedly tells his collaborator that he has made his choices, and now he can never go home again.
Worst Moment: You know those people that sit on the conn and wait for one of the regulars to take the station and just seem to wander off when that is happening? I would be really annoyed if that was my job. Just filling in until somebody more important comes a long.
A reason to watch this episode again: 'I will not risk my crew because you think you can dance at the edge of the Neutral Zone...' Superb, and an episode that its still spoken about today all these years later. The Defector poses the very simple question of can the Romulan defector be trusted and wrings every drop of intrigue out of it. It's one of those rare TNG episodes that uses the entire regular cast to their individual strengths; Picard is the thinker, Riker and Troi interrogate Jarok as good cop/bad cop, Data and Geordi have a scientific mystery to unravel and Worf is the muscle. The script is sharp and keeps the audience on the back foot throughout, playing games with Jarok's integrity and I was uncertain about his honesty until the very end. Patrick Stewart is finally being given opportunities to show the audience what he is made of and the show is embracing his past in the theatre and bringing that to the show. The climax, that shows that the Romulans are as labyrinthine in their deception as ever, and exposes Jarok as an honest man, prove extremely satisfying. The Defector turns from a mystery to a character tale, and Jarok is somebody I wish the show had kept around if the final suicidal sting hadn't been played. It feels like the Alpha Quadrant is sitting on the edge of a precipice with the major powers all being superbly characterised and it would take just one wrong move to plunge into war.
Best Moment: As with the majority of TNG, the best moments are acting moments rather than action and the confrontation between Picard and Jarok is extremely well written and played. Picard pointedly tells his collaborator that he has made his choices, and now he can never go home again.
Worst Moment: You know those people that sit on the conn and wait for one of the regulars to take the station and just seem to wander off when that is happening? I would be really annoyed if that was my job. Just filling in until somebody more important comes a long.
A reason to watch this episode again: 'I will not risk my crew because you think you can dance at the edge of the Neutral Zone...' Superb, and an episode that its still spoken about today all these years later. The Defector poses the very simple question of can the Romulan defector be trusted and wrings every drop of intrigue out of it. It's one of those rare TNG episodes that uses the entire regular cast to their individual strengths; Picard is the thinker, Riker and Troi interrogate Jarok as good cop/bad cop, Data and Geordi have a scientific mystery to unravel and Worf is the muscle. The script is sharp and keeps the audience on the back foot throughout, playing games with Jarok's integrity and I was uncertain about his honesty until the very end. Patrick Stewart is finally being given opportunities to show the audience what he is made of and the show is embracing his past in the theatre and bringing that to the show. The climax, that shows that the Romulans are as labyrinthine in their deception as ever, and exposes Jarok as an honest man, prove extremely satisfying. The Defector turns from a mystery to a character tale, and Jarok is somebody I wish the show had kept around if the final suicidal sting hadn't been played. It feels like the Alpha Quadrant is sitting on the edge of a precipice with the major powers all being superbly characterised and it would take just one wrong move to plunge into war.
***** out of *****
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