‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘The Defector’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When we are young, we truly believe that we can change the world with a little elbow grease and a lot of gravitas. For we are filled with wonder and hope for tomorrow and we firmly believe that if an injustice or a roadblock gets in our way, that we will stand up to it and shake the system up while doing so and inspire others to do the same. But alas, as we grow older, we come to realize that the world simply doesn’t work in such black and white terms. And that changing the world requires smaller acts, the kind that slowly inspire others to enact change as well, because sudden blasts of it can cause more harm than good since immediate change can terrify people, and it just so happens that the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’ takes the time to explore this notion in devastating detail.
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For ‘The Defector’ sees the crew of the Enterprise arrive at the edge of the Neutral Zone, simply because a Romulan logistics officer named Setal is desperate to find asylum within the Federation’s borders. For he has powerful information to share with the Federation, in that, the Romulan Star Empire has been quietly building a massive base on a planet within the Netural Zone, named Nelvana III and from this base, the Romulans will launch a massive offensive. One that should overwhelm the forces in this sector and plunge two ancient enemies into war once again and well, this is information that Captain Picard and his bridge officers are quite skeptical of. After all, the Romulans aren’t exactly known for being truthful and some odd irregularities in the chase leading up to Setal’s arrival… truly make this whole thing appear to be a ruse. 

But while the crew is unable to prove that outright, eventually their suspicions regarding Setal’s ability to tell the truth turn out to be true. For eventually he reveals that he is actually a brutal legend in the Empire named Admiral Jarok and he has major concerns about how the Empire is conducting business from a military standpoint. In fact, he is so emboldened by notions of peace, that he actually confronted his superiors in the Romulan High Command in order to enact change. An act that led to his censure and eventual exile to some unknown sector. And it was during that exile that he came across the details of this powerful base and the Empire’s plan to invade the Federation in a pre-emptive strike and that in turn, motivated him to turn his back on his family and his career and his people, all in the hopes of keeping the peace and it is that desire and dedication to a better way, that led to the devastating moments in question.

For eventually, Jarok agreed to give Picard everything he needed intelligence wise regarding the whereabouts of the forthcoming invasion fleet, and that motivated the captain to take the ship to Nelvana III; wherein the crew learned that they had walked into a trap. One designed to capture the flagship of the fleet and embarrass Jarok in the process. For everything that he saw communique wise, was nothing more than a grand ruse. One designed to test his loyalty to the Empire and once the Enterprise avoided conflict with the Romulans by way of an assist from the Klingons, Jarok was left in a lonesome and shaken place. Because he was now a man without a family or a career, or a home for that matter as well. He was simply adrift in the galaxy and embarrassed by his people and that eventually motivated him to take his own life. 

In the end, this was simply a brilliant episode through and through. In large part because it really does do a phenomenal job of showing how grand attempts at change can cause incredible trouble for people because of the fear that it engenders, but also because… this story offered up so much more. For its musings on the nature of war and how we are far more alike when it comes to our enemies, give the audience a lot to chew upon and that’s a wonderful thing for certain. Because this is the kind of thought-provoking episode that TNG was known for and when considers the amount of depth present here, this might be the story that finally earned this series its dynamic reputation. Since it was chock full of powerful and poignant and timely topics, the kind that definitely stay with you long after this episode has come to a close. Until next time.

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