‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap: ‘Haven’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Tradition is something that means a great deal to every family out there and with good reason. Because carrying them on year after year, regardless of how silly some of them might seem, offers up a unique connection for everyone involved. For we are in fact, keeping alive the memory of an event or our ancestors, and performing the act in question somehow brings us closer to them and helps us to understand what they were all about. But while most traditions are healthy and harmless in their own right, and special for that matter too, some don’t age all that well. For they were grounded in a different time and a different world and practicing them now just seems out of place and occasionally, wrong, and oddly enough, outdated tradition just so happens to be one of the focal points of the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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For ‘Haven’ sees the crew of the Enterprise arrive at a paradise world that shares the namesake of the episode to get a little respite from the stresses of space travel. But alas, that break doesn’t last all that long. Simply because an important request arrives from the planet below, one that results in a beautiful messenger box being transported aboard the ship. And inside said box is an important message for Counselor Deanna Troi, in that, the marriage that was arranged for her long ago has finally come to fruition and she is to accept a bevy of precious jewels as a pre-wedding gift before the groom’s family beams aboard to begin preparations for the big day. It is of course an announcement that rattles Deanna and the man she truly loves the most, and this is where the show’s exploration of tradition gets underway.

Because arranged marriages are a time honored one on Betazed and despite her misgivings and concerns about this sudden development in her life, one that will force her to leave Starfleet, Deanna doesn’t want to rock the boat and plans to go along with it. Which leads to a hurried planning phase aboard the 1701-D as her mother Lwaxana and everyone involved in the big day try to find common ground on the ceremony and with one another. A sequence of events that actually features some fascinating storytelling as Deanna and young Wyatt, who is the groom to be, try to figure out what their life together is going to look like since they’ve never met until this blessed event. But alas, while this could have been a grandiose exploration on traditions that have outlived their welcome, since Deanna is a wonderfully independent woman who can function just fine without a man and knows what she wants in life, the story finds a way to sabotage its potential commentary.

For it instead explores a strange sub plot revolving around destiny when a mysterious ship shows up on Haven’s sensors. One that turns out to house a species of aliens known as the Tarelllans, who were thought to be extinct thanks to a biological warfare experiment gone wrong. But here they are after all these years, and the closer they get to Haven; the antsier Wyatt becomes and there is good reason for that. For aboard this ship is a woman that Wyatt has dreamt of since he was a boy, and the woman in question has suffered from the same dreamy affliction. Meaning that the souls of these two spirits were somehow connected by cosmic and psychic means that no one quite understands and that the wedding is off as well. For Wyatt and his dream woman need to be together and that frees up Deanna to marry Will Riker in Star Trek: Nemesis and it leaves the audience feeling a little hollow. 

Because that’s just a hell of a curveball to throw into this particular tale. But alas it is just more of season one being timid and inconsistent, and there’s not much that one can do about that. However, this episode was not a total loss. After all, this is the first on screen appearance of Lwaxana Troi, who became a fan favorite thanks to Majel Barrett’s wonderful portrayal of the character, and her blunt nature and severe crush on Jean-Luc Picard made her quite the delight to watch on screen. And her arrival here did allow for the story to loosen up, and her antics laid the foundation for comedy to come and it was just a real treat to see her arrive at last and it was equally as fun to see Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart play off of her energy. But outside of that important character introduction, there’s not much else to say about this tale, other than it definitely entertains, and there’s really nothing wrong with that. Until next time.  

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