252. LessonsFORMULA: The Inner Light + The Perfect Mate
WHY WE LIKE IT: The music.
WHY WE DON'T: The hairdos.
REVIEW: Captain Picard falls in love and he and Neela make beautiful music together. Sounds trite when I put it that way, but this episode is anything but. For once we have an extremely believable romance, played over a number of weeks (it seems), and with the potential to continue (as opposed to "I'm shipping out tomorrow babe" romances usually associated with Star Trek). Neela Daren is as willful as Vash, but far more likeable and not just a foil for Picard, but an equal partner as well (too bad about the 24th-century plastic haircut).
She's not intimidated by him in the least, which he finds immediately attractive. Then it turns out she's not exclusively about dry astrophysics theories, she's also a great pianist. When she takes interest in his flute-playing, it's simply meant to be. The Frère Jacques improvisation is excellent, but it's the scene in the Jeffries tube that gives me the chills. Or rather, that arrangement of the Ressikan melody from The Inner Light. Since Picard associates that folk song with the family he had during that story, sharing it with Neela solidifies their bond.
The relationship is played realistically, with the crew reacting believably to the "Captain's girlfriend"'s requests. Riker in a tight spot, Troi's permission, and Picard's awkwardness. It shows that the good captain keeps people at arm's length not because he is cold, but because he is too sensitive. When Neela goes on a near-fatal mission, his vulnerabilities are exposed and the romance is doomed. The episode loses something when the musical interludes give way to the SF jeopardy (though the firestorms look nice), but it's a necessary plot element that makes you believe in the break-up.
LESSON: The way through a man's heart is to let him know you could break him in half.
REWATCHABILITY - High: The soulful music by itself is enough to recommend Lessons. That it's also one of the best romances Star Trek has produced (with a not-too-tragic ending, at least) is just the cherry on the sundae.
Comments
And then we get "during the second arpeggio I noticed you played an F minor instead of a diminished D", followed up with the truly breathtaking bit of humblebragging in "I'm just an amateur."
(But you're right, the romance is sweet and the music is lovely.)