3.5 — “The Bonding”
Plot: Disaster strikes an away team as a heretofore undetonated explosive device takes out a staff archaeologist, who leaves behind an orphaned 12-year old son on the Enterprise. Wesley finds that this situation reminds him of losing his own father. Worf feels responsible as a the leader of the away team, and wants to form a relationship with the boy. The ship’s grieving process is complicated when a force from the planet intrudes upon the ship and reaches out to draw the boy down to the surface.
Thoughts: Welcome to Star Trek, Ronald D. Moore. This is Ronald’s first screen credit in television and his first TNG script. He soon joined the production staff for TNG for the remainder of the series, followed by five seasons of DS9 and a brief stint on VOY before moving on to create the Battlestar Galactica reboot franchise, for which he served as showrunner. He eventually wrote or co-write 26 more TNG episodes (a full season’s worth!) and co-wrote the screenplays for Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact with Brannon Braga.
Ron came to Star Trek as a fan who had thought a great deal about Star Trek, which is reflected in this script, which tries to answer many questions. What really happens when redshirts die? Do they have families? What is the Enterprise doing out in space? How do the crew feel about their jobs?
When Riker says “That’s part of life in Starfleet, Wesley,” referring danger, and the risk of death, I had another “I don’t know what show I’m watching anymore” moment, in a good way. Pow! Starfleet is reestablished as a vocation that is risky but noble and worthwhile, just like that (and just as if the first two seasons never happened).
Troi suddenly has a useful, responsible role supporting crewmembers through traumas of service. Who said her ministrations have to be limited to the familiar bridge crew? And she expresses her own sense of vocation and purpose, for almost the first time. I’ll leave it to +Randi to evaluate her technique. Worf, too, is shown taking his work more seriously than usual, although he does get a little whiny for a Klingon.
References return to the still-never-fully-explained story of Jack Crusher, and we have a good episode for Wesley that does not involve him nearly destroying the ship by being smarter than everyone else.
On top of this, we have an original story that raises the hair on the back of my neck. Aliens want to turn Jeremy into Charlie X! It’s good that the crew is able to nip this in the bud this time.
The dead lieutenant in the beginning was fairly gory, but I approve under the circumstances. Rare as crew deaths are in this series, deaths of female crew members are even more so, which makes me think of Star Trek’s first female crew death, in TOS 2.22 ”By Any Other Name.”
Eugene and Torie at TheViewscreen.com rated this episode poorly–perhaps they thought it was maudlin (http://www.theviewscreen.com/the-bonding/). I was touched by it, however, and cried a manly tear. I’m not sure I buy Klingons as candlemakers, though. Are open flames allowed on board now, notwithstanding “Up the Long Ladder?”
4 out of 5 calico cats.
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