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

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

There is nothing more noble in American society, that serving one’s nation. Because making the choice to join the armed forces and defend America and all of her interests is a brave decision. For it can and has put a great many people in harm’s way and far too many have given the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom and everything that the United States stands for. Yet while that decision is indeed something to applaud and respect when veterans return home, the voyage home is one that leaves a lot to be desired for our veterans and their families. Because often times, once they get back from their tours of duty and ugly combat, they’re in need of a lot of care, in every way imaginable.
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In large part because these brave souls have seen some horrible things and performed some actions that most of us could never live with and they are also not used to civilian life and how it functions after spending years taking orders under fire. Plus, sometimes their bodies are battered and bruised and outright broken and the kind of healing they need both psychologically and physically is extensive to say the least and sadly… they don’t get time to do that. For our veterans are often expected to just deal with life once they’re out of the service, or they get poor care from the VA and well, the difficult process of re-integration and what veterans need are things that a great deal of us simply don’t understand. But thankfully, fiction is there to try and help us do so and it just so happens that the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, had plenty to say about this problem.

For ‘The Hunted’ introduced the crew of the Enterprise to a super soldier named Roga Danar who was in quite the tough place because of his service to his home world, something that this episode didn’t quite reveal right away… which was a brilliant stroke of storytelling for certain. Because making Roga’s home world seem like a true paradise, one that had finally moved beyond its violent past, allowed for it to become the perfect allegory for modern America. For we tend to believe that we are the beacon of all things and that we can do no wrong and that our wars are just and true and for a noble cause. When in reality, a great deal of our wars from Vietnam and on, have been based off of ideology or revenge over an actual issue and the end result of these useless wars, is that shattered soldiers have been coming home for generations. 

Which is why you feel for Roga once it becomes clear that he is one of those broken soldiers. Because we learn that he is a good man with good ideals that simply cannot shake his training because of what the government has made him and that’s quite the powerful parallel to put into this story. Because it doesn’t matter what era you grew up in, when you see Roga at his most vulnerable in this tale you immediately realize that he is ripped from an everyday headline about a soldier that couldn’t put the pieces back together again after seeing horrible things abroad, and that makes this episode quite poignant and quite powerful for certain. Since it really does go above and beyond to point out how timeless this problem has become, and that genuine change needs to happen in regard to how we treat our soldiers when they come home from war.

For they are not weapons to be discarded, nor are they a commodity. They are human beings, and they deserve our respect and care. Because they chose to stand in harm’s way and defend the innocent and well, hopefully we learn this lesson sooner rather than later because it really is heartbreaking to know they’re not getting what they need. In the end however, all of these elements make this a top-notch episode for certain. One filled to the brim with biting and poignant commentary and it truly speaks to the wonder of season three and how it is boldly going where the Star Trek Universe had never gone before and it is wonderful to see TNG tackling issues that are relevant today and it really is quite bold for this show to just point out the problem, rather than try to solve it. Since that puts the issue squarely in the audience’s hands and that definitely gives one pause. Until next time.  

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