Star Trek 264: Gambit, Part II

264. Gambit, Part II

FORMULA: The Chase + Face of the Enemy + A Matter of Honor + Redemption Part II

WHY WE LIKE IT: Double crosses and triple crosses galore.

WHY WE DON'T: Crusher's "comedy" pretense.

REVIEW: I think we could see the resolution of the cliffhanger coming, but that helps sell it. It's doesn't feel like a rip-off. And from there, we're back in the fun adventure that is Gambit. Yes, the characters' competence sometimes veers into Mission Impossible territory (such as when they dispatch Baran), but it's so much fun seeing Picard and Riker play the bad boys and do a lot of talking with their fists, that it's pretty easy to ignore the plot holes.

It helps that Baran is easily manipulated. Tallera is the real interesting character here. She's got a triple identity and is playing all sides, which throws even more double crossing into the mix (since Picard and Riker are also playing multiple sides). We don't really from the Vulcan isolationists ever again, but have we seen them before? Was Sybok an isolationist? Tallera certainly shows emotions like he does even if their goals are totally different. Maybe Enterprise will yield more answers. In this case anyway, the goal was getting their hands onn a archaeological artifact with magical (psionic) properties, which made me rather think of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Had a cool effect, and built on what we know of Vulcan history, though aren't we all a little surprised that Worf could survive it? ;-)

Back on the ship, Data chews out Worf for questioning orders, which harks back to Redemption, of course, but also leads me to ask whether he really is running some kind of command subroutine. His stiff and no-nonsense attitude would seem to indicate so even if it isn't explicitly mentioned. At the very least, an interesting acting choice, and his naive impression that he lost Worf as a friend was a good, if a tad sugary, moment. And at the end of the episode, it provides a nice bit of comedy as he escorts Riker to the brig.

Part of the fun of such an episode is getting some off-beat guest-stars. In this case, it's basketball star James Worthy as the tallest Klingon you've ever seen. Not much of an acting performance, but his height IS the performance. It's amusing in and of itself, so I didn't appreciate Crusher's over-the-top nervousness around Koral, especially given the level of pretense everyone manages to exhibit when Galen and bad boy Riker board the ship. The Cosby Show's Sabrina LeBoeuf as Ensign Giusti gets a mention in the guest-stars category, but she's no Stephen Hawking, you know?

LESSON: Make logic, not war.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: For once, a two-parter remains even throughout. Just a good bit of fun.