‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Coming of Age’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The old saying, a guilty man has nothing to hide, has a lot of merit when you take a moment to think about it. Because good honest people, who find themselves under scrutiny for whatever reason, rarely do anything to impede an investigation into their affairs. Instead they are helpful and open with the curious and do whatever it takes to give them the answers they so seek, simply because deep down they know they will be exonerated from whatever they’re being accused of, since they have done nothing wrong. But that sure doesn’t stop some people from trying to discover otherwise, since some folks will stop at nothing to prove that the accused are as guilty as they come.

If anything, this particular notion is relevant to today’s discussion, because it just so happened to be the focal point of the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For ‘Coming of Age’ saw Admiral Gregory Quinn and his attaché, one Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick, come aboard the Enterprise to discover the impossible. In that, Quinn believed that something afoul was happening aboard the NCC-1701-D and Remmick was going to uncover it come hell or high water. Which led to a fascinating dissection of how an innocent man handles false and outright outlandish accusations, since there’s no way in the cosmos Jean-Luc was doing anything illegal aboard his ship. Something that he was able to prove to Remmick and Quinn by offering up kindness and openness at every turn. 

Yet while it was fascinating and satisfying to watch the crew unify in the face of a witch hunt, there was another interesting plot line rolling along in between the investigation. In that, young Wesley Crusher was getting his first crack at a career in Starfleet. For the planet the ship was in orbit around, was hosting candidates from the sector for admission into Starfleet Academy, and only one of the four in this group would be chosen for that honor. Which means that young Wesley was put to the test in every way imaginable, including having his greatest fears put upon display before his eyes. But despite handling his coursework and his tough tests like the smart and balanced young man he is, the time simply wasn’t right for Wesley to head to San Francisco, giving him a harsh taste of how life doesn’t always go as smoothly as we might like. 

But while those two plot points are pretty by the numbers in their own right and should make for a fairly middle of the road episode, two key elements in this story make it far more important the second time around. For starters, this is a tale that does a phenomenal job of establishing what kind of leader Jean-Luc Picard really is. Which is a bit of a refresher for fans re-watching this series, but you simply cannot go wrong with becoming re-acquainted with the best parts of Picard. Such as coming to learn/be reminded of how cool and collected he is under pressure when young Jake Kurland steals a shuttlecraft in a panic, and of course, how he handles Remmick and his ridiculous snipe hunt speaks volumes to his integrity since he allows the investigation to be handled in unfettered fashion, until it is time to step in.

Yet while those elements are quite intriguing upon further review, we would be remiss to not point out that this is also the first time in Star Trek TV history that the franchise toys with arc-based storytelling. For Quinn and Remmick are going to return in a couple of episodes for a supremely controversial tale and this episode lays the foundation for the events of ‘Conspiracy’ by having Admiral Quinn inform Picard that something is happening behind the scenes at Starfleet Command and that is incredibly ominous, now that we know how this baby arc comes to an end. Either way, this was simply one entertaining tale, one that allowed for young Wesley to grow, one that establishes the wonder and the legend of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and seeing this episode a second time around, makes it supremely valuable and important to the future of the franchise. And it gives one a newfound appreciation of what appeared to be a run of the mill tale, back in the day, and it should be interesting to see what other foundational surprises await us as we close in on the season one finale. Until next time.  

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