Suddenly Human

When a disabled ship's tiny crew is brought on board the Enterprise, they assume they have been kidnapped and mistreated. They are Talarian's except for one, a handsome, blonde teenaged boy. He considers himself one of them and fears the crew. It turns out that when he was a little boy, the Talarians killed his parents. His only living relative is his grandmother who happens to be an admiral in Starfleet. He is put in a different setting than his crewmates and Picard, reluctantly, becomes his mentor. It is eventually revealed that the Captain of a Talarian vessel adopted him after the fatal battle. He wants his son back. The issue becomes, how do we treat someone who has only known one way of life. The initial effort is to return him to his childhood roots. He understands this but it miserable with it. He is also expected to act as those on the Enterprise do. The alien Captain gives Picard an ultimatum. Give the boy back or face all out war with heavy casualties. An interesting dilemma and worth a look.

When the episode begins, the Enterprise comes upon a disabled Talerian ship. All the soldiers on board are a mess and close to death, so they're brought to sick bay. However, this is a very odd lot--as they're all children--teens pushed into the tough job of being soldiers. But something is REALLY odd about one of the teens--he's NOT a Talerian but a human. How he got to be with the Talerians is initially a mystery, but soon they learn through DNA tests that his family was wiped out by Talerians and the young boy was raised thinking he was a Talerian. The task is now to bring him back to his extended human family, but clearly he's too militant and too damaged to possibly be returned at this time. But, oddly, he will listen to no one but Captain Picard. So, the Captain is given a task he surely hates--to be the surrogate father to a very annoying and difficult young man. And, given that the Captain has almost no paternal instincts at all, this is indeed a HUGE problem! An even bigger problem develops when the Talariens arrive and demand to get the boy back...or else.

This episode touches on many contemporary issues, such as child soldiers (a serious problem in some African conflicts), post-traumatic stress disorder and adoption difficulties. And, it touches on the BIG issue...that Picard hates dealing with children--though he really wasn't that bad with this initial effort. All in all, despite being rather 'touchy-feely', it's a pretty good episode--mostly because it was well written and acted.

Enterprise encounters a human boy raised by a different species.

This is an okay episode with good performances.

The story has some interesting themes, particularly the cultural clash aspects and the question of wellbeing of an individual in this type of situation.

For me it is portrayed with some contrivances and instances of over explanation. Do we need Troi to address Picard's role dealing with the situation? Is it even the correct approach? Does it feel forced into the story to fit Picard's character development? Would Worf have been a better fit to lead the story? Is the eventual "I've learned something today" speech simplistic or even necessary? Has Picard been portrayed as too astute a leader in previous episodes to accept he would not see the right course of action from the start? Why introduce a certain character only to disregard her at the story's resolution?

I think these aspects plus some others tend make the characters and plot feel a bit silly for getting to the extreme situations they are faced with.

That being said the performance of Patrick Stewart (as always) lifts the material significantly. So much so you can buy into most situations because he is such an engaging actor. He is supported well by Sherman Howard in certain scenes. Chad Allen does his best with the material he has in the key role of Jono, but the emphasis is more on the conflict between Enterprise and Talarians than the effect on his character.

Flaws:

* Didn't even mention a strong parallel between the kid and Worf, let alone explore it

* Picard, in Kirk mode, gives the kid back. I think just maybe some experts in trauma and psychological abuse should have looked at the situation instead of Picard coming to an epiphany based on the kid immediately before trying to murder him?

* The possibility that Jono just might be experiencing Stockholm Syndrome, or some other psychological damage, is only barely discussed.

* Jono's living relative is his grandmother, an ADMIRAL in Starfleet. Just maybe she would like to have been consulted before Picard gives her grandson back?

* Chad Allen as Jono is given extremely clunky lines to say.

* Jono playing his obnoxious music really loud. Yes, a teen acting as a teen. But several other annoying bits, like Jono acting like a caged animal when they try to remove his gloves, all the kids squealing for some reason.

* Dreadfully contrived dilemma. Why in the world can't the kid have contact with his human relatives?

This was a very thoughtful episode, and actually made me tear up at the end. I love Star Trek for the Science Fiction plots, not the soap opera in space episodes. TOS Wink of an Eye (where people were sped up so that they sounded like insects), TOS Requiem for Methuselah (where a man aged hundreds of years and never died), TNG Best of Both Worlds, (where you have enemies that are nearly unconquerable and yet hey find a way to defeat them), and the TNG one (what's it called?) where Beverly Crusher ends up alone on the ship after seemingly having crew members vanish one after the other. But for a human drama episode, this was pretty good, and far more interesting than Worf and his son.