‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Redemption II’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

For the most part, Star Trek: The Next Generation was a series that worked to separate itself from its predecessor after its inaugural season. For Gene Roddenberry and his merry band of writers came to realize that Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D populated a different era of mankind’s future, one where beating the odds and saving the galaxy on a consistent basis didn’t have to happen because of the geopolitical makeup of the 24th Century. Which in turn allowed for grand explorations of the human condition and modern world to become the norm for this series… and that gave life to powerful storytelling, the kind that truly genuinely gave the audience pause back then and still does now, thanks its forward-thinking themes and concepts.

But you will note that the phrase ‘for the most part’ was featured in that summation of the franchise. Because every once in a while, the series would in fact… step away from those more cerebral themes and notions and return to the franchise’s pioneering and heroic roots and it just so happens, that the season five premiere of this storied series, took the time to do just that. For ‘Redemption II’ put the United Federation of Planets in quite the difficult place. For Klingon Civil War was going poorly for Chancellor Gowron because somehow, he was losing at every turn, despite the strength of his forces and that brought Captain Jean-Luc Picard to the conclusion that the Duras family was getting assistance from the Romulan Star Empire and that incredible measures needed to be put into place to stop the Romulans from de-stabilizing the peace between the Klingons and the Federation and well… that allowed for the Captain to receive some special privileges.

Specifically, he was given his own fleet to command. One that would be used to set up a detection net along the Klingon/Romulan border so the Federation could catch the Romulans in the act of interfering in galactic affairs and well, that led to all kinds of epic moments for certain. Because it finally brought Commander Sela and Captain Picard together, wherein both Patrick Stewart and Denise Crosby were able to flex their acting chops by giving us an intense moment where the twisted offspring of the late Lieutenant Tasha Yar challenged a man that her mother revered. Plus, this sequence also allowed for Lieutenant Commander Data to shine as the acting captain of the U.S.S. Sutherland, since it was his quick thinking that allowed for the fleet to detect the Romulans after all, effectively bringing an end to the war and saving the galaxy since Gowron was able to handle his business back home.

But while all of those elements were epic in their own right, and a perfect throwback to those heroic adventures that Captain Kirk and his intrepid crew undertook on a regular basis, this particular premiere also made a point of hammering home themes that were native to TNG, specifically how we can be better and how one man can influence that kind societal improvement, and that was handled by way of Lieutenant Worf. Since he consistently took the high road in this story and demanded better of his brother and his fellow warriors, to the point where he even spared Toral from a cowardly death in the hopes of showing the Empire that constant infighting and bravado brought forth a civil war in the first place and that perhaps trying a different way might help. And it was quite nice to see Worf work to inject this into the structure of the Empire before returning to duty aboard the 1701-D.

If anything, this was simply a satisfying premiere through and through. Simply because you cannot go wrong with a good old fashioned, Star Trek epic, where the fate of the galaxy and our heroes is on the line and boy did this episode deliver that to a tee. For there was tension and high stakes in this particular tale and grand and heroic moments and that really was quite the magnificent way to open up season five of this series. Since it signals the fact that year five is likely going to be quite the versatile year for storytelling. One that will pay homage to the franchise’s roots while pushing the envelope in a brave new manner and well, that definitely motivates this reviewer to continue the journey post haste. In order to enjoy all the classic and wondrous moments that this year’s adventures are going to provide us with. Until next time.  

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