The Host

What a great concept for an episode that unfortunately fell flat. Jonathan Frakes had what is in my opinion among his best performances of the series, but it wasn't enough to rescue a mediocre episode. On a plus note, the concept gave birth to an idea that DS9 truly brought home. So even bad episodes can have good long term outcomes, which this one definitely does.

Dr Crusher is in a relationship with a Trill mediator on a negotiation mission.

This is a mediocre episode that introduces a brilliant concept within a fairly uninspired story.

The plot serves the higher purpose of introducing the Trill species to the franchise, which is fantastic idea that comes to fruition in Deep Space Nine and continues in Discovery. However, it is unfortunately framed within another bland Star Trek romance and not helped by a fairly clichéd subplot.

'Dr Beverly' and Odan are another in a long line of Trek couples who are in love just because they are. I could not invest in their relationship because it did not develop on screen. All his presence does is disrupt the dynamic of TNG lead characters so psychologically I think found myself routing against them so things get back normal. Crusher is a good character as a starship medical officer, but not as a swooning love interest.

The subplot has been done to death in Star Trek and in particular TNG. Mediation between two conflicting species was wearing thin before this episode and it feels unnecessary other than to give Odan a reason to be involved.

I enjoyed the visuals, particularly the Trill creature effects and surgical scenes.

There has been much written about how things finish between Crusher and Odan. For me it works fine to draw a line under what is pretty bland screen romance, but it is very reflective of 1991 and how the producers were unwilling to risk alienating the audience they obviously deemed not ready for a bisexual relationship. For me it finally gets interesting in that scene but they chose to stay away from it.

All performances are good, with Gates McFadden leading it strongly and supported well by the other cast members.

I understand the reservations that people have for Star Trek when it comes to their female characters: ever since Dr. Pulaski left, there haven't been many episodes that could pass the Bechdel Test and just treat their female characters as pieces of meat with little personality.

Despite this episode also not passing the Bechdel Test, the struggle felt real for Dr. Crusher to accept Odan. Her wants and needs seem real this episode. It is a shame that the writers don't manage to use flesh out female characters' wants beyond those in the love department, the show is much worse without it. I have not watched DS9, do I'm judging this episode solely on its merits alone and that said, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit!

Star Trek often gives the viewer excellence in story telling. Sometimes, though, it gives the viewer mediocrity. This is one of those times.

Star Trek has always suffered from very bizarre choices by the show's producers. Much of that is Gene Roddenberry's fault. Even after he died, his silly, arbitrary restrictions to storytelling remained.

This is an example of very poor television. Whenever TNG gives us episodes involving either of the female characters, they are often reduced to being love-sick twits. It happened with Troi (who was a criminally underused character), and here it happened with Beverly.

The other problem is the show starts with Beverly all of a sudden 'in love,' and her love interest is introduced out of the blue. No set up. No development. Just BAM, there he is. Lazy writing at its worst.

Then when the episode ends, even though Beverly and Riker both go through traumatic, life-altering experiences, the next episode starts with the 'magic reset button' that Star Trek is notorious for. If you're lucky, you might get one line of throwaway-dialogue that references what happens, but usually, it's completely ignored.

I have never understand why character continuity was rarely addressed in Star Trek. I have never understood why they couldn't do a better job at telling stories and having sub-plots across several episodes. It's quite possible to do that without having each episode run into each other, and it's quite possible to do that yet still keep each episode contained in its own story. It's also quite possible to let characters develop, change, and grow over the course of a series. Yet the producers of Star Trek always refused. Data was allowed to have an ongoing character arc. I don't know why he was the only character given that respect, but other characters should have as well. Especially Beverly, because Gates McFadden is an excellent performer, and she has always been well-loved by fans. So why treat the character and the actor who plays her with such disrespect?

Star Trek's show runners insisted on being lazy, and it's what prevented Star Trek from truly being great. They did improve with story arcs and subplots with DS9, but I guarantee had Roddenberry still been alive, that show would have been stuck in his little box, too.

As a result of this standard of poor, lazy storytelling and refusal to employ proper character development, Star Trek has always been a mixed bag for me. Sometimes, you get excellent television. Sometimes it's even some of the greatest television ever made. Sometimes, though, you get drivel. This episode falls into the drivel category.

Episodes like this are insulting to the viewer, and even more insulting to the actors. I know that I can't expect every episode to be a home run every time, but I wish they'd at least try. Reading about the behind-the-scenes of of the production reveals that the producers were constantly and purposefully hampering the storytelling. Why? Shouldn't the goal always be to achieve greatness? Mediocrity may be an easy mark to hit, but it's a waste of time for the viewer.

Let female characters be real people. Treat your audience like they're intelligent, because they are. Skip this episode. You'll be better off for it.

Brings to mind some intriguing conceptual questions around symbiosis, consent, and what the Trill/symbiont's relationship dynamic/ societal structure /hierarchy might look like, tempered somewhat by a soapy romance A-story that feels like a re-hash of S03E08 "The Price," in which the love interest isn't entirely who he says he is.

Where "The Host" falls short of the former is in the lack of a substantial B-story to give the audience a sense of objective distance, contrast, or levity from Dr. Crusher and Odan's situation, i.e. The wormhole real estate expedition B-story in "The Price."

A more dramatic choice might have been to save Odan's life by having Dr. Crusher herself volunteer as temporary host, which might have - by virtue of their proximity and shared mind - given us deeper context as to how and why they had fallen in love in the first place.

In spite of this dud, Gates McFadden puts forth some of my favorite performances in the series, and has a real knack for conveying gravity and urgency that keep the dramatic aspects of TNG from going pure cheese. Here's to hoping for another "The High Ground" - tier character episode to truly give her character some human latitude.