The Bonding

An Enterprise crew member dies on an away mission.

This is a strong episode centred around bereavement and grief with a number of great character moments.

The plot starts off quite simple with the surviving family member being informed and helped through the tragedy by various members of the crew. These for me are the best moments. The sci-fi element kicks in later, which for me is okay, but unnecessary.

Given that the Enterprise is portrayed as a ship with families, I like the idea of looking at the fallout from a death suffered on an away mission. I love the depiction of crew members pulling together to help one in a tragic circumstance. After all the redshirts who died without much acknowledgement in the original series it feels badly needed.

Worf, Troi, Wesley and Picard make great contributions to the story and have some fairly memorable scenes that work not just for Jeremy's story but also for the ongoing arcs of both Wesley and Worf. It's a shame that the character of Jeremy is not followed up in other episodes in relation to his bonding with Worf. I also enjoyed the philosophical discussion between Data and Riker.

The sci-fi plot involving the alien species ties into the episode themes, but I think it could have worked just as well as a straight drama without this aspect. Whether or not Gabriel Damon could have pulled it off though as it probably would have required more emotional scenes.

All performances are excellent, particularly Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Patrick Stewart and Will Wheaton. Gabriel Damon was not really challenged with enough emotional scenes to really see what he could do.

Interesting philosophical questions about loss and suffering and a different and moving dimension to the characters and acting of most episodes. It all seems a bit silly because any kid, even a Starfleet kid would just totally freak out at the events in this one. However, like most trek episodes, there is enough in the story to make a feature length movie. It stands to reason therefore, that a lot of potential character and story development has to be cut down to make it fit into 45 minutes. Understandably, it can seem a bit unrealistic at times. Still, great sci-fi provides insights into the human condition by exploring fantasy scenarios, which this episode does, if you can just suspend your disbelief.

I don't have the experience of a deceased parent, but I still know that loss is a fundamental part of the human condition. 'The Bonding' takes that and applies it to life onboard a starship. A Starfleet archaeologist is killed during a routine mission, leaving behind a young boy; Worf deals with his own guilt after leading the expedition, Riker and Picard contemplate the after effects from a command perspective and Wesley vividly recalls the news of his own father's death. Throw in an alien being whose only aim is to relieve suffering and this is a heartfelt look at how we deal with personal pain. All of this can easily become syrupy, but it doesn't. There's sensitivity involved here, and even though the pacing feels a little compressed, this is a very well written episode.

Touching, to the last.

9/10

So far from my chronological viewing of the series, this is the most moving episode yet for me. For anyone who has lost a parent, they can relate.

But this episode deals with death on different levels. It deals with the concept of the temptation of living in the past and ignoring the reality of loss, and mentions the strength of humanity in overcoming the acceptance of our mortality.

There is a great conversation between Data and Riker, where Data questions why we do not equally mourn the loss of those we are close to and those we are not. Riker makes a compelling comment while explaining this to an android, and it ends with Riker saying that if we mourned all loss of life equally, humans would have a much less bloodier past.

This episode brought laughs and tears. The ending with Worf and the boy was great, it made Worf out to have a decent and likable character inside of him.

Tragedy strikes the Enterprise when the ship's resident archaeologist Lt. Marla Aster is killed during an away mission, leaving behind her twelve-year-old son Jeremy alone on the Enterprise. While the crew attempt to help Jeremy adjust including a guilt-ridden Worf, an alien presence boards the Enterprise and adopts the guise of Marla.

Another episode that's very well written, dealing with themes of grief and loss for people of all ages. However, I never quite bought into Worf's subplot which isn't given enough to time to breathe on its own and the performance of Damon as the bereaved Jeremy feels far too wooden and forced. Other than that, a solid outing for the TNG crew.