‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Each and every one of us out there, have a love that has outright escaped us. The kind that took us by storm in our youth, and left our minds filled with thoughts the future as we planned a life with a person that sent our spirits soaring the instant the thought of them snuck into our minds. But alas, it is a love that was never meant to be and somewhere along the line, we lost touch with that lover for whatever reason. And while both of our lives moved along, and we found new people to love, we never quite forgot the one that got away, and there is always a part of our mind that wonders how they fared in life after our paths diverged in vastly different directions. 
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Which is a concept that seems quite out of place to discuss in a Retro Recap of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it is quite relevant to the next episode in this storied franchise. For ‘We’ll Always Have Paris’ sees Captain Picard reunite with a long-lost love from his youth, in quite the unique manner. Because while the crew is en route to a vacation world for some much-needed shore leave, a strange temporal distortion garners the ship’s attention. For this sector-wide problem needs to be investigated and addressed and that brings the U.S.S. Enterprise to a remote world, where a brilliant scientist named Dr. Paul Manheim has been toying with notions of the multiverse, and he just so happens to be married to a woman named Jenice, whom Picard once loved dearly. 

A reunion that makes this episode a bit of a melodrama, one where we see Captain Picard wrestling with the rambunctiousness of his youth since he must face the woman, he abandoned at a café all those years ago and this actually does make for some fascinating moments for certain. Because they once again, give us insight into what makes Jean-Luc Picard tick, and seeing him face the past and the one that got away, makes it clear just how dedicated he is to Starfleet and how much space travel and exploration means to him. But what matters most about this reunion, is that rather than take the plot down the jealousy route, Picard and Jenice are both respectful of the paths they’ve taken, despite their obvious chemistry. And they look fondly upon the past as a learning experience, which is a beautiful way to handle this. 

Yet while it is quite nice to learn more about Picard and his past, fans of this series are here for some delicious science fiction and Manheim’s machinations and experiments handle that part of the story just fine. Because he really did discover a gateway to the multiverse, and it is quite incredible to hear him break down his experiments and the endless possibilities they represent. Plus, to top it off, the episode does a phenomenal job of exploring the wonder of the multiverse, specifically by way of Lieutenant Commander Data. Since it is up to him to close the rift and set the multiverse right and that leads to quite the unique finale. One that serves to remind us that this wouldn’t be the last time that notions of parallel dimensions and the multiverse would pop up within the framework of this particular series, or the franchise for that matter as well.

In the end however, this is simply a serviceable TNG story. One that clearly was an attempt to widen viewership, because romantic notions always bring in a more diverse crowd and while it does a fine job handling that in classy fashion, the love story here is easily forgettable. Simply because it is nothing more than a quick character moment that we are able to move on from with ease, which is a bit of a shame. Because something with a little more depth could have made for something quite special. But make no mistake about it, this is a decent episode. One that balances everything quite nicely and one that features some earnest performances and there really is nothing wrong with a middle of the road Star Trek tale. For this one serves as a fine palate cleanser for the nightmare that awaits, for a sequel story is about to play out, one that would shock audiences with its bleak and gory (yes, gory) content. Until next time.

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