Whoever did the narrator-voice that says “Last time, on Encounter at Farpoint…!”, they sound a lot like the guy who used to say “Last time, on Dragon Ball Z…!” Do they all take lessons together?
Reporting to the captain, Commander Riker reminds us of some facts from the last episode:
- The planet has a lot of geothermal power;
- They don’t have much else;
- They built Farpoint Station with materials they seemingly don’t have; and
- They seem to be able to conjure stuff.
Now, to the viewer, it’s pretty obvious what is going on: the Bandi have someone or something enslaved and they’re making it conjure stuff for them. (How or why that works is glossed over). But the Enterprise crew didn’t see Zorn threatening whoever-it-was with punishment, so they have to figure it out the hard way.
Then Riker meets Counselor Troi, and we have this interesting entirely-mental voice from Troi:
TROI: Do you remember what I taught you, Imzadi? Can you still sense my thoughts?
And this one:
TROI: I, too, could never say goodbye, Imzadi.
Firstly: I had to turn on subtitles to figure out that new word. I initially wrote it as “on Zardine.” So what does “Imzadi” mean? Well, it turns out they explain it later, though not in this episode. If you don’t mind spoilers, hare on over to Memory Alpha and check it out. At any rate, this conversation clues us in that Troi and Riker have a history together. Or it should, if you are less obtuse than I usually am. And have an ear for subtext. And know or can guess what “Imzadi” means. And can hear it right the first time.
Secondly: Wait, Riker’s human. Can telepathy be taught? He’s not shown responding in kind, so it probably has limits, but I would have thought “listening” to be harder than “sending.” That’s interesting. At the very least, we know he can hear some of Troi’s thoughts sometimes, if she lets him.
Thirdly: Both Troi and Riker keep their faces impressively flat during this meeting. Even Riker’s usual smug grin is absent. Did they have a falling-out? Or is this just them trying way too hard to keep it professional?
Picard, Riker, and Troi make another attempt to grill Zorn about Farpoint Station, but he’s having none of it, the slippery devil. At least we learn that Troi is empathic because she’s half-Betazoid.
And then something interesting happens. Troi makes a face – she does that a lot, you’ll get used to it – and we learn that she is sensing extreme pain, loneliness, and despair, from something close. Picard questions Zorn about it, and of course he lies through his teeth.
Okay, so the pain and despair make sense, but loneliness? Our first clue as to the real nature of this encounter.
When Zorn keeps indignantly evading, Picard walks out.
PICARD: “We’ll adjourn for now, while we all reconsider our positions.”
ZORN: “Captain! The Ferengi would be very interested in a base like this!”
PICARD: “Fine. Let’s hope they find you as tasty as their past associates.”
- Another gloriously delivered Picardism. Got a medkit for that phaser burn, Zorn?
- The Ferengi eat people? And I thought the Klingons were bad.
- Subtle setup for later episodes, where we actually meet the Ferengi.
Then we get a succinct little intro to…
Geordi La Forge
Blind from birth, but with a visor that lets him see extra stuff. Apparently he’s in constant pain from the visor, which, dang. He earns my respect for putting up with that, especially when he doesn’t have to. Geordi tells us he can “see much of the EM spectrum, ranging from simple heat and infrared, through radio waves, etc.”
Firstly: neat.
Secondly: This is totally possible and consistent with known physics and biology. Plus some advances we don’t yet have, mostly on the level of how we connect a bunch of neurons to wires without utterly scrambling the signal. For the record, this combination of visor-and-man makes Geordi a cyborg. Also neat.
Thirdly: Of note, the part of the EM spectrum covered by “infrared through radio waves” does not include the visual spectrum. So if we take this literally, then Geordi actually can’t see visible light, and instead can see heat and radio waves. (What do radio waves look like, I wonder?) I missed this the first time, and it now makes a bit more sense to me why Geordi would want “normal” vision. His visor isn’t a strict upgrade, it’s a substitution. (Maybe. More on that later).
Of course, this begs the question: if he can hook a fancy EM spectrometer into his visual cortex, why not, I dunno, A FRIGGIN’ CAMERA?!?!?!
Star Trek logic. Moving on.
The Holodeck
Riker, mildly off balance by the snazzy new Enterprise, locates Data in the holodeck. Data is endearingly attempting to whistle “All Around the Mulberry Bush” – apparently nursery rhymes age well – and Riker helps.
Part of what makes Data charming, rather than terrifying, are his consistent and comical attempts to imitate humans. Think about that for a moment. As Data himself points out, he is “superior [to humans] in many ways.” How well do you think we would tolerate this if he didn’t yearn to be human?
Riker exemplifies this. We can actually watch as his attitude shifts from concern to endearment when Data says “but I would give it all up, to be human.” I can catch my own thoughts doing the same. This fact about my brain mildly disturbs me.
Nothing helps our monkey brains feel safe like a healthy dose of smug superiority. I can whistle just fine. Computers can’t. Take that, computers. Aw, it’s like a little kid with the nursery rhymes, how cute.
It works for Data, but in general, if we need to think of other beings like children in order to be okay with their presence, maybe we should update our attitude a little.
Speaking of smugness, here we observe the Excessively Smug Grin in its native habitat.
Good to see you again, ESG. I was getting worried.
Riker and Data admire the holodeck, which turns out to be misnamed since the contents are actually real, created by transporter/replicator/something-or-other energy-to-matter tech and in no way holograms at all.
Once again: neat. And convenient. Also a great setup for whatever holodeck plot shenanigans happen later in the show. I wonder if they can summon a giant arsenal of guns, like in the Matrix? It’s unclear whether the “patterns” the holodeck stores are the kind they can re-use (replicator) or not (transporter) but either way, still useful.
We see Wesley again (he falls in a stream and gets soaked, poor kid) and Picard meets the officers (and a dripping Wesley) outside the holodeck. Picard is not impressed.
Next scene, Wesley is making doe eyes at his mother and asking to see the bridge. Conversation turns to Picard, whom Wesley apparently dislikes for unclear reasons, and Dr. Crusher…
CRUSHER: “Great explorers are often lonely. No chance to have a family…”
That was a somewhat abrupt tangent, Dr. Crusher. And is that a wistful pause? This just may be our first subtle clue to the romantic subplot with Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard. It’s also eerily accurate – we know from last episode that Picard doesn’t consider himself “a family man” and is not entirely comfortable with that fact. Dr. Crusher understands him pretty well already.
Huh. I miss this kind of stuff when I’m just watching. Something about blogging makes one pay more attention, I suppose. Witness Joe, slowly growing less oblivious.
Under Farpoint
Down at Farpoint Station, the Enterprise away team split up to investigate the station and some catacombs they’ve detected, accessible from the nearby Bandi city.
Of note: Counselor Troi initially suggests that she and Riker go down into the tunnels together. Riker assigns her, Yar, and La Forge instead, and stays topside with Data.
Okay, what is the show trying to communicate here? Is it simply Riker making a command decision, picking people best suited to their tasks? Is Troi attempting to get Riker alone, or is it merely a tactical suggestion? If the former, why? I have to assume Troi’s suggestion was tactical rather than personal. Otherwise she’s behaving like a middle schooler, let’s go on the mission with my crush. You live on a spaceship together, you have time for whatever sappy reunion you choose, while not on a mission that could get you all killed. I think Troi is way more professional than this. So that leaves the question of why the show even bothered with this scene…just showing off discipline and good decision-making, perhaps? Eh, whatever.
Checking out the tunnels below Farpoint, the Enterprise crew discover some strange materials. I can’t help wondering why the Bandi didn’t seal off those tunnels, considering what they are, but maybe they can’t, or they thought it would be suspicious?
We catch another glimpse of Quiet von Sadfellow. Wonder what his deal is?
No, seriously. Does that look like a jellyfish on his head? Yes? No? Maybe?
In the catacombs, Counselor Troi senses agony and misery again, even more intensely this time, and is nearly overwhelmed. Something is clearly going on here.
Perimeter Alert, Captain!
Picard, Crusher, and Wesley share a touching moment on the bridge. I have to admit, I keep expecting Wesley’s youthful eagerness and Picard’s stiff formality to explode into drama and terrible decisions at any moment, but the Enterprise crew all handle this with impressive maturity. Gosh, a show whose protagonists behave like sane adults? Star Trek really was groundbreaking. Even Wesley manages restraint. Well, mostly.
Then, the Enterprise gets company. In the form of a flying saucer much larger than their ship. Uh oh.
Meanwhile, below the surface…
DATA: “Commander, something down here is shielding our communicators.”
TROI: “Yes. That’s exactly the feeling I’ve been reading, as if someone doesn’t want us to be in touch with our ship.”
Question: who is blocking communications? The only likely culprits are the Bandi and whoever they’re enslaving. If it’s the Bandi, they have to know that the Enterprise crew can bypass this problem merely by walking upstairs, which of course they immediately do, and that blocking communications will be perceived as hostile. This is the sort of thing one does when one is preparing for an attack, not pretending you have nothing to hide. And if it’s the Bandi’s victim(s), then why? What do they have to gain by blocking communications of the only people who might be able to help? Perhaps it’s not deliberate, just a natural feature of the catacombs? But then why is Troi sensing that something wants them blocked? Is Q pulling his nonsense again?
Interrupting this puzzling line of thought, the unknown spacecraft starts shooting. Not at Enterprise or Farpoint Station, but at the nearby Bandi city. Just in time for the away team to reach the surface. Riker makes a quick call and orders La Forge, Yar, and Troi to beam back to the Enterprise while he and Data see what’s going on. This prompts an outburst of emotion from Troi.
TROI: “Don’t! If you should be hurt…!”
RIKER: “You have your orders, Lieutenant. Carry them out!”
Definitely an old flame rekindled, here. It’s still not entirely clear whether Riker returns Troi’s affections, but my money is on “yes.” Aside from the obvious objection (it’s always the woman with the emotional outbursts, really?) I notice several good things about this scene. Specifically, I notice how Troi reacts.
- She does not protest further.
- She does not attempt to sabotage or subvert the orders by staying behind.
- She does not try to “be a hero.”
- She instantly regains composure.
- She beams back up with the others.
Regardless of sex, this is how real officers behave. They do not let personal feelings put their mission, or their lives, or the lives of their fellow crew, at risk. The initial outburst aside, this is yet another display of maturity and competence from the crew of the Enterprise, and something very few other stories reliably get right. It is also yet another reminder that these are Starfleet officers, not sitcom or teen novel stars, and they know what the heck they’re doing.
Over communicator, Zorn begs for help from the Enterprise, which Picard ignores in favor of contacting Riker. This may seem callous, but Picard already suspects the Bandi may have brought this on themselves, and for the moment he chooses to prioritize his mission. He orders Riker to fetch Zorn for questioning.
After confirming that saving the lives of their soon-to-be diplomatic allies probably wouldn’t violate the Prime Directive (ugh, that stupid law), Picard orders a phaser lock on the unidentified vessel. Then Q shows up out of nowhere to berate Picard for breaking his own rules. (What the actual heck is up with Q and his double standards?)
Picard points out that he didn’t order firing phasers and that since he has no idea who or what is on the other ship, phaser lock is a routine safety procedure.
Q claims it’s utterly obvious what the ship represents.
Has anyone ever explained the illusion of transparency to this guy? Of course it’s obvious to him, he has god powers and he orchestrated this little test.
Then, literally seconds after berating Picard for thinking about helping the Bandi, Q tells Picard he ought to be preparing to “do something about the casualties down there.”
Which leads us to this wonderful exchange:
DR. CRUSHER, over communicator: “Medical team is already preparing to beam down, Captain.”
PICARD: “Compliments on that, Doctor.“ To Q: “Any questions? Starfleet people are trained to render aid and assistance whenever – “
Q: “But not trained in clear thinking.”
PICARD: “Let’s consider your thoughts. You call us savages, and yet you knew those people down there were going to be killed. It is your conduct that is uncivilized.”
Thank you, Captain Picard. Someone had to say it.
Then Picard orders the Enterprise to move between the flying saucer and the Bandi city. Perhaps not the wisest tactical decision, but thus far the ship hasn’t shown any interest in shooting the Enterprise, so it might buy some time. Or it would, if someone hadn’t disabled all ship control…
Back planetside, something beams away Zorn just as Riker and Data are starting to get some juicy details from him. Drat.
Troi senses satisfaction from somewhere. Looks like whatever-it-was had a grudge against Zorn. Here’s where I start guessing that the rest of the species the Bandi enslaved just showed up to liberate their comrades. It’s a reasonable guess given the circumstances, but so are several others – an ongoing war, for example.
Q, however, just wants to insult the captain and crew some more, so he does that.
Then, in what I’m pretty sure is Q’s first and only genuinely helpful suggestion, he tells Riker to beam over to the alien vessel and check it out. Riker actually thinks this is a decent idea, though he also backs Picard in calling out Q for his nonsense.
RIKER: “With all respect, Captain, I want to beam over there.”
Q: “You show promise, my good fellow.”
RIKER: “Have you understood any part of what he’s tried to tell you? Humanity is no longer a savage race.”
Q: “But you must still prove that.”
While a bit of a non sequitur, this exchange does lay groundwork for some later episodes. Q likes Riker for some reason. I can’t see why; it’s not like Riker is any more friendly to the pompous god than Picard. Maybe because Riker agrees with Q on exactly one point? Regardless, kudos to Riker for backing up his captain to mitigate the loss of face that comes with his initial disagreement.
Q vanishes dramatically, Picard concedes, and Riker hops over with an away team. They find themselves in a set of corridors that look suspiciously like the ones from below Farpoint. There, Troi senses anger, directed at the Bandi.
DATA: “Most intriguing again, sir. The place that this vessel was firing upon was not the Farpoint starbase, but the home of those who constructed…sorry, sir. I seem to be commenting on everything.”
RIKER: “Good. Don’t stop, my friend.”
HA HA HA! Oh, this is a brilliant bit of lampshade hanging which neatly covers how, for the next hundred episodes, Data will be explaining the plot to us. The role suits Data’s character wonderfully.
The away team finds Zorn being tortured and rescue him. This prompts the vessel to “wake up” and start glowing – always a bad sign in sci-fi. Q shows up on the bridge again to harass Picard, who actually calms his temper and begs Q to let him beam the endangered crewmembers back onto the ship. Instead, the alien vessel does it for him.
Get off My Ship Already
Q urges Picard to fire on the ship, of course. He’s starting to sound like a cartoon at this point. A cartoon wearing a Starfleet uniform, because he can.
Q: “It is an unknown, Captain. Isn’t that enough?”
PICARD: “If you’d earned that uniform you’re wearing, you’d know that the unknown is what brings us out here.”
Poignant words, capturing the true essence of Star Trek. We explore the unknown, we do not fear or hate it. This is what makes us civilized. This is what we seek. This is why we grow.
Zorn reveals, under pointed questions, that the Bandi found an injured creature and “helped it”, which the Enterprise crew translate as “kept it starved for energy, feeding it just enough to get it to do what they want.” They warn the Bandi to leave Farpoint, then donate some energy to the creature through some clever phaser recalibration. (FYI: Beaming energy from space is totally legit, we have similar technology now).
One may be tempted to notice Q’s blatant reverse psychology attempts here (“you should totally kill it! Don’t warn the Bandi, let them die!”) and think that maybe he’s not so bad after all. But one ought also to remember that Q allowed an orbital bombardment and actively prevented the Enterprise from intervening, and also that he is a god and decides to spend his time and attention giving silly tests to scientists in the middle of space.
Oh, and, if I may indulge in a bit of sarcasm: yeah, Q, you were right, it was obvious after all. “It’s a giant space jellyfish, a species we’ve never met, with abilities we’ve never seen before, cunningly disguised as a flying saucer for no discernible reason, here to rescue Farpoint Station, which is actually the body of its injured mate, from the Bandi.” This is clearly the most obvious and sane hypothesis in hindsight. All other possible guesses were pure foolishness invented by an overcautious captain so he would have an excuse to shoot things.
Seriously, what was Q thinking?
Picard, once again, asks the real questions.
PICARD: “Why? Do you use other life-forms for your recreation?”
Q: “If so, you’ve not provided the best…”
PICARD: “Leave us! We’ve passed your little test.”
Q: “Temper, temper, mon capitaine.”
PICARD: “Get off my ship.”
Q: “I do so only because it suits me to leave.”
He disappears, then pops back up next to Picard
Q: “But I will not promise never to appear again.”
Q finally goes away
Oh, no. We’ve got ourselves a recurring villain, folks. He has godly powers and he has to use them to get the last word in an argument with a mortal. Dude, is there nothing on four-dimensional television these temporal spans? Maybe you should watch some Star Trek. I hear it’s good. You might learn something.
Also, Picard says “Get off my ship” with the perfect mixture of firmness, frustration, and exasperation. You can tell he’s fed up with the guy. I don’t blame the captain; it’s been a harrowing couple episodes. And his “good riddance” face is brilliant.
Yeah, you better run. I’m a starship captain.
Anyway, Troi can sense “great joy and gratitude” from the aliens. I guess she’s going to be the emotional barometer for the show, huh. I think this breaks the Show, Don’t Tell rule pretty heavily. But again, I can’t really blame the writers; it’s hard to show relatable emotions on a pair of Space Jellies. An empath is a handy plot device to have around.
At least we get a happy ending, right?
Aww, the space jellyfish are in love.
Ackshewally, Joseph, the technical term for this shpeshies is…
Shhhhhhhhhh. Shaddup, they’re Space Jellies and no one will tell me different.
Ahem. Awwww, the Space Jellies are…
Now wait just a dog-gone minute.
There are so many things wrong with this picture.
- Jellyfish don’t mate. They squirt sperm and eggs into the water, and if the sperm and eggs happen to meet then good for them, a while later there’s a polyp.
- Humans fall in love. Well, humans and a bunch of humanoid aliens, apparently.
- Neither of the above is relevant, because Space Jellies only resemble jellyfish physically, and they don’t resemble humans at all. Love, rage, and happiness are human emotions. They occur in the brain. Space Jellies don’t even have spinal cords, let alone brains. Why would their reproductive systems, let alone their mating habits, let alone their emotions, if they have any, be anything remotely resembling ours? Convergent evolution? Bah.
- As if that weren’t enough, look at that picture again. Are the Space Jellies COLOR-CODED BY GENDER?!?!?
What we have here, ladies and gents and miscellaneous, is another sneaky little case of Humans in Funny Suits. You wouldn’t think Space Jellies would be humans in funny suits, but there you go. As always, the real reason for this is so that we can relate to them – I can’t really fault the writers for it.
But from an in-universe perspective, this ought to be fascinating. Not only do we have a bunch of humanoid species that all seem to look, act, think, and feel suspiciously similar to humans, with some slightly different cultures thrown in, but now we know Space Jellies mate! And they feel rage and satisfaction! What a fascinating sociological find. Pity everyone on the Enterprise takes it for granted. (Then again, in this universe it’s common for species that evolved on different planets to interbreed.)
Oh, and silicon-based lava creatures lay eggs and feel fear and pain? Fancy that. (That is actually one of the few TOS episodes where non-humanoid creatures figure prominently in the story, and I think they did a really good job with the Horta).
I can’t help but wonder if every really smart person in a fictional world would end up concluding they’re living in a story. It’s just too convenient that everyone looks and acts just like us.
How’s that for a story idea? The Vulcans pool their observations and conclude they’re living in a pre-warp Earth television show? And they are, of course, correct, but it’s so ridiculous that no one believes them? Talk about surreal. I want to watch that episode.
If I really put on my Explain Everything In Universe hat (the Watsonian perspective, I’ve been told), then I might start hypothesizing that emotions are, in fact, some kind of ontologically fundamental force, rather like gravity or electromagnetism. Otherwise, why would literally every species we meet have them? Perhaps we should assume that the same is true about the humanoid body plan?
Remember: what sounds like quackery in our world may well be true in another. Given different observations, people in the Star Trek universe may well make different guesses about how their world works! Telepathy may be bunk in the real world, but Counselor Troi is hard evidence that it exists in Star Trek.
So what about Quiet von Sadfellow, from Farpoint?
I think he’s some kind of projection that the Sad Space Jelly is using to observe the crew of the Enterprise. I suppose he could just be another Bandi who’s keeping an eye on them, in case they figure something out and he has to tattle to Zorn; but I like the Space Jelly theory more. So that’s my headcanon now. Say hi, Sad Space Jelly!
If we trust the alien gender color-coding, this would be the male. He’s happier now.
I suppose he could also be a Q in disguise. Disturbing.
Conclusion
You know, this whole story could have happened without Q tagging along making everyone hate him. All he really does is raise the stakes. In fact, there are really two whole stories going on here, maybe more.
Picard actually lampshades this at the end of Episode 1 – he comments that they will do exactly what they would have done without an observer. “If we’re going to be damned, let’s be damned for what we really are.”
Have I mentioned I love Picard?
Q is not really necessary to tell this story. All he does is get in the way.
I don’t mind this, oddly enough.
The real world doesn’t come at us one plot element at a time. Sometimes the unexpected knocks you out of your chair.
Sometimes, you’re in the middle of something urgent and important, and an interdimensional god shows up to teleport you to a kangaroo court and try you for the sins of your species. I hate it when that happens.
But you just have to roll with the punches, you know? Get up and keep on trying. And maybe, just maybe, when it’s all over, you’ll get to see a couple of joyful space jellies share a tender moment together. And that’s what makes life worth living, isn’t it?
PICARD: “Some problem, Riker?”
RIKER: “Just hoping this isn’t the usual way our missions will go, sir.”
PICARD: “Oh no, Number One. I’m sure most will be much more interesting.”
I give Encounter at Farpoint a rating of Q.