Generally considered one of if not the best of the series. It’s more than just a great episode. This is the episode that made TNG go from “yeah I like that show” to “omg I love that show!”
Plot Synopsis:
The Enterprise is observing a celestial anomaly when a starship appears having traveled through it. To everyone's surprise, the ship is an earlier version of the Enterprise, the Enterprise-C commanded by Captain Rachel Garrett.
The instant the Enterprise-C arrives however, history is changed. Captain Picard and his Enterprise are battle weary with the Federation having been at war with the Klingon Empire for 20 years. Lt. Tasha Yar is alive with Lt. Worf nowhere to be found. Guinan knows something is wrong and tells Picard the Enterprise-C must return to its own time and place if their time line is to be restored.
After Garrett is killed Guinan tells Tasha about her fate she joins the C. While the D gives cover the C renters the rift rewriting history.
Guest Stars:
Do I even need to mention Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar? Or Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan?
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Episode pros
There is just so much to love, right from that opening scene clearly there to give Worf some lines since he wasn’t in the episode. Then the wonderful edit when the C emerges and suddenly it isn’t Worf but Tasha!!! It’s hard to believe but there was no internet then to spoil things so we had no idea Tasha was reappearing until the episode promo aired. And we were equally excited and confused as hell.
Love the little changes from the dark Bridge to the altered uniforms to Picard and Riker snapping at each other. Nice casting with Tricia McNeil as Captain Garrett, obviously a female captain long before Janeway and is excellent. Picard is also moodier here it’s nicely played by Patrick Stewart. This is not the same Picard as we normally see. By the way nice touch using the movie uniforms for the crew of the C.
The direction is also a bit odd adding to the feeling things are off, with strange angles and odd close ups not generally used.
The other thing that really works is the romance with the officer from the Enterprise C. They have wonderful chemistry but we can also tell that a Tasha joining the C was due to just more than infatuation. Christopher Macdonald plays a lot of a-holes but he’s great here. This is also Guinans best episode, when she points out that she never pushes for things like she is insisting the ship go back we (and Picard) know she isn’t messing around. It’s why he goes with her recommendation. And her scene with Tasha is perfect,
The idea that the Enterprise C sacrificing itself to save the Klingons leading to a peace treaty makes perfect sense. What can I say about that final fight with the Klingons? It’s wonderful right from the Picard speech about never letting history forget the name Enterprise. Course since it’s a what if episode the creators were able to kill everyone, which they do. But the action is awesome especially when accompanied with the amazing music. The music was so amazing I had the album once upon a time. The music is wonderful as the C enters the rift and we hard cut into the proper time line as if nothing happened.
And yeah wonderful final moment with Guinan asking Geordi about Tasha. I can ignore the fact that he’s wearing the wrong uniform (oops).
Episode Cons
This is nitpicking but some things in this dark time line don’t make sense. Why “military log” instead of the usual “captains log”? Why have thousands of troops on the Enterprise? I get there are no families but there’s room for all these people?? Nice touch making the bridge dark and moody while ten forward bright and well lit.
I guess the big criticism you could make is that we don’t actually spend time with the crew we know and love. They’re there for, what, three minutes? It reminds me of Voyagers “Living Witness” which had a similar issue. But here it’s at least close enough to our real characters unlike the Voyager one where it almost felt like an episode of a different show entirely. Here, Data is still Data, etc just the circumstances have changed.
Of course in reality with a war raging no way the crew would be altogether but we can ignore that. And I understand why she wasn’t in the altered time line but they could have given Troi a line! They gave Worf a whole scene!
Final Thoughts:
What else can I say? Perfect episode and a wonderful swan song for Tasha.
Honorable Mentions:
To many to list. Best of Both Worlds. Cause and Effect. Parallels. And some episodes have really grown on me like “The Defector”. This is the only Trek series I watched regularly every night in reruns for the longest time. As for The Inner Light....that's a little complicated!
Next time let’s have a challenge and talk about Enterprise.
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