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Episode
263
Preemptive Strike
Ro Laren is back from Advanced Tactical Training, and just in time. Starfleet wants her to go undercover and infiltrate the Maquis. The Maquis have taken to attacking the Cardassians. Yes, the same Cardassians that killed Ro’s father. Right in front of her. And occupied her home world. And Starfleet wants her to help them. It is a mission that will test her loyalty – to Starfleet, to Captain Picard, and to her own past. What will she do? Find out when we launch Preemptive Strike into the Mission Log.
I adore this episode. Definitely one of TNG’s best and a shine out moment in a sub par season. Michelle Forbes is fantastic as Ro, like the guys say I wish we’d had more of her in previous seasons as she always brought her A game.
I love her interaction with Picard yet I never before saw them as falling for each other. It’s clear Picard has a strong emotional attachment to her but I always saw it as a Father /Daughter type thing, yet here we are in this episode and the dynamic is so different. Such as shame Ro never featured in future Trek.
A fitting penultimate episode which leads us to the finale…
Really looking forward (with a tinge of sadness it must be added) to your final TNG TV Mission log.
Still on the plus side after this one there’s still 450+ episodes of Trek (so far) for you to discuss. Should keep us all entertained for a good while yet!
Many thanks to John and Ken for this podcast, your love for all things Trek shows through week in , week out.
definitely father daughter, mentor, mentee…ugh, otherwise…just inappropes…lol. Wish Ro was used more and could have been in the finale. One of the failings of the show was its fixation on the main 7 and no supporting staff….Barkley, Guinan and O’Brien were just not enough
Same. I never saw this as more than a mentor relationship. The final discussion just happens to take place under very strange circumstances.
I guess they were just role playing for anyone watching. Certainly a weird scene given how their relationship was over the course of the show.
It is such a sad ending… good sad, but sad.
It’s also very difficult to hear you guys say, “Next week: ‘All Good Things…'” Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!
I’m with you bro, right there with you. As stated previously this and Quantum leap were the TV shows of my teenage/early years. Have a some wonderful memories related to these shows.
A really solid episode that never would have been made under Roddenberry’s helm.
A great final episode before the finale
YUP…the more hard hitting, emotional, realistic and heavy episodes just didn’t fit in w Gene’s vision…unfortunate.
Gene had some pretty hard hitting episodes.
The issue was that he envisioned a future where Federation folks never had these deep doubts and conflicts that we see Ro face.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d43d5e7b9adb7182a8269071cb785fd8c1e698236d2734eb57fcccdd46bf96a2.jpg
after a change in service…she eventually gets promoted to ADMIRAL!
The problem with this episode is that Picard is not Picard. He should have articulated the moral ambiguity of the episode and made me believe he was the real Picard I knew. Like Kirk did in A Private Little War, or Picard himself in Insurrection.
When Ro said she wanted to join the Maquis, it didn’t sound convincing or authentic.
Otherwise, really great episode. A bit sad to see TNG ending.
I get the impression you guys plan on doing all 4 TNG movies before going into DS9. Seems like those would be hard to do since they have knowledge of post Dominion War or the outcome of the entire Voyager series. Maybe you’d be better off discussing those as they line up with the release dates. Plus, we’re all anxious to hear your thoughts on Deep Space Nine already. 😛 Or do you plan on stalling further with a podcast on the rules of Fizbin?
Upon rewatching this episode, I thought it was an appropriate finale for Ro Laren, but the episode felt really flat to me. I endured it rather than enjoyed it. Unlike “Emergence”, which was pure endurance.
With regard to the upcoming finale, I realized that i can’t be sad about it, as it was an ambitious end to a wonderful series, and I’ll always have my favorite episodes from the seven seasons and your podcast to re-experience. AND, I look forward to the rewatches of DS9! It is my least favorite Trek series to date, but with a new perspective and an open mind, maybe it will rise in rank. It does, after all, have two of my Top Twenty Trek episodes ever in it, so as much I’m looking forward to next week, I’m really looking forward to DS9 and your thoughts on it.
Thank you for a constantly satisfying and excellent podcast!
I am glad they took a risk and did not give it a clean resolution w Ro doing the right thing and completing the mission for Starfleet…. The recent Star Wars “The Last Jedi” Civil War among fans has given me a new perspective on my love for DS9. I do think it was the best, most realistic and serious version of Trek…however, I know many dislike it. I really disliked “The Last Jedi”, but had to realize that perspective in shows, art and music doesn’t always go as expected…I hope you like DS9 this time around!
Interesting comment made about it being sad that Ro feels like she can only fit in into this difficult situation. What if Ro’s character is considered with a background of trauma? She comes from a terribly traumatic background (see ‘Rascals’ for her childhood info) – anyway, what if Ro doesn’t know how to have a normal, non-hard life? Not quite Stockholm Syndrome, but more of a battering victim returning to their abuser. When viewed through that lens, it’s even more sad, and a knock on Starfleet and especially the crew (Riker particularly at the begining of her arc) that she wasn’t able to find the healing she needed. If only the ship had a counselor…
Hi guys,
Great episode with such weight. That look on Picard’s face at the end! The anger & disappointment.
One thing I thought was really noticeable was the difference between how Ro was treated by PIcard & how she was treated by Macias.
I’ve always thought that Ro looked up to Picard as a father figure. He has put a lot of faith in her & gone to bat for her with Star Fleet a number of times. I agree with others here in saying that this was not the typical Picard we know; this was a more stern, by-the-book Picard. He was the authoritarian. I think that while she was trying to please Picard she was also alienated by him & the situation into which she was being placed. He was backing her in to a corner; do this or you will be in trouble.
Compare that to how Macias treated her. He was warm, welcoming, and encouraging. He praised her. He reminded her of her own father. He told her she had potential but didn’t place overt pressure on her. And to me this is where Picard lost her.
I don’t think the Maquis came into it as much for her. Both sides had a good reason for what they were doing & she could see that.
I think she made the decision with her heart. In essence, she chose Macias over Picard. Of course, it didn’t help that Macias was shot down by a Cardasian, but I think at that point her decision was mostly made.
You guys didn’t seem to find any messages that you liked. I kind of thought that the main point was that this was not a black and white issue of right and wrong, and both sides had a legitimate point of view.
I’m a little disappointed neither of you picked up on the problem with the entire premise of the Maquis; while I understand and empathise with the idea of being displaced from one’s home by a distant government, the Federation is post-scarcity; the Federation is constantly colonising new planets. Other than the emotional attachment the people in the DMZ feel for their homes, what exactly is the justification for turning to violence and violating a peace treaty? When we consider that all the Federation citizens are entitled to all their material needs regardless of the treaty, to me, they seem to be the most unscrupulous group in the mix here, behaving incredibly selfishly.
Of course, this issue is not addressed because the writing staff wanted to tell these DS9-style “dark” stories, but they so bent Star Trek to do it that it broke.
Love the show, guys.