3.12 — “The High Ground”
Plot: The Enterprise visits Rutia IV, which is experiencing a terrorist uprising. Dr. Crusher is taken hostage during an attack. The terrorists employ a dimensional shifting technology, which gives them the capacity to physically threaten the Enterprise. Beverly seems to be a little sweet on the terrorist leader, Finn. If I rate this episode a three or above, does that mean the terrorists win?
Thoughts: This is a confusing episode, for more than one reason. Where does this dimension-shifting technology come from? Do the insurgents have the tech to invent it? Well then, there is surely more power to be gained by marketing the technology than from terrorism. How are they so advanced, while Alexana tells Picard she wishes the other side could borrow the Federation’s superior weapon technology?
Besides dimensional-shifting, the rebels can defeat scanners and transporter beams. It seems the Federation could learn a few things from them, and I don’t see how the “oppressor” side even has a chance.
The other thing that confuses me is, does this episode lead somewhere? My scratch notes at the beginning say “Let me guess, the terrorists are surprisingly sympathetic and misunderstood” (like last week, in “The Hunted”). It turns out no… they murder a lot of people. There is some ponderous discussion of whether terrorism is an effective tactic, and whether it can be situationally justified. Then the Federation wins, Picard and Crusher are rescued, and we move on to next week.
Is there a point made? Is it necessary for there to be one? I could argue that this episode is significant because it muddies the normal through line of Federation=good, all paths lead towards greater enlightenment, and everything can be worked out in an hour if you just sit down and talk. Perhaps this episode is important, because it allows for moral gray areas that remain unresolved, leaving the Star Trek world murkier and more complex. Or maybe it’s more that the script is half-baked.
The gray streak in hair of all the men makes them all, even the boy at the end, look like Jon Stewart. The reference to George Washington takes me straight out of the episode. This is a foreign planet. No way Finn has studied 17th century United States history.
I shouldn’t nitpick, but at the beginning we are told that recreational shore leave has been cancelled. Crusher and Worf are then seen drinking champagne at an outdoor cafe. What are they now, wine merchants?
My favorite line is Picard’s “Beverly, it is our obligation to think of escape,” because it reminds me of the Code of the United States Fighting Force, which holds that escape is a prisoner’s obligation. It’s a singular document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_the_United_States_Fighting_Force
Sorry, terrorists. 2.5 of 5 communicator pins which make the ultimate sacrifice for their colleagues.
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