Journey's End

As season 7, it's final season closes on Star Trek: The Next Generation this episode marks the fate of Wesley Crusher who goes on a much different path that what seemed to be marked out for him as the series began. This is Wil Wheaton's farewell performance in the role for the television series.

Captain Picard has a delicate situation. Several generations ago an American Indian tribe moved to a planet to preserve their culture and identity. But that planet became part of the Cardassian-Federation dispute and war. Now it is part of the treaty which assigns it to Cardassian jurisdiction.

It is suggested that they move but they've got an understandable fear of treaties.

How Wil Wheaton figures in all of this is for you to watch and see how it unfolds. But in the end he makes a life altering decision.

This episode belongs to him and to Gates McFadden. The scenes with mother and son are really touching.

My disappointment is that this seemed like the premise of another TV series with Wesley Crusher. It's obvious someone had this mind at least at some point. It should have been made so.

One of my favorite TNG episodes. A must for Trekkies everywhere.

Picard is given a mission to move a race of people from a planet that's about to become part of Cardassian territory.

This episode has its problems but I do not dislike it with the same passion as others.

I think it starts very well with Picard being put in a difficult situation with an awful job to do. That hooked me enough to want to find out how it plays out. It's always good to have scenes involving Admiral Nechayev.

The dilemma Picard is in for me continues to be a compelling story thread throughout the episode and there is a strong scene between he and Gul Evek when conflict breaks out.

Unfortunately a lot of the issues with the episode mentioned in numerous reviews are valid. The lazy stereotyping of native Americans, 'chosen one' trope, Wesley's characterisation, Picard's contrived family history link, the unsubtle social message, and the deus ex machina ending are all examples of uninspired writing.

I think all the actors do well with the material they have to work with, particularly Patrick Stewart.

For me it's a 5.5/10, but I round upwards.

One of the silliest TNG episodes ever, although it tries to make a moral point, it's mired in bad stereotypes. Pre-American natives, referred to as "Indians" in the episode, are presented as ridiculous 60s cowboy movie types--something they've been complaining about since the early twentieth century. One of the other reviews suggested this episode was "ahead of its time," but how can it be ahead of its time when it plays the noble savage card--outdated since the 1970s. Wesley is another example of bad stereotyping in the episode. I admit, I've grown to like his character in recent years, but this last visit from him is the absolute worst. First, he's the broody teenager cliché, then he becomes the hippie era white-kid-exploring-non-white-spiritual-culture cliché, and finally, he goes off the deep end with one of the most absurd call-backs to a previous episode ever.

I cringed every time They said the word "Indian". Couldn't they have come up with a specific tribe? Even when this was written in 1995 the word "Indian" was an unacceptable way to reference a specific tribe of Native Americans. Why would a Picard have an ancestor who was Spanish when Picard is French???

An episode that is filled with terrible stereotypes and toxic political beliefs. All native-american characters are treated as spiritual mystics rather than regular human beings. They call them "Indian North Americans" because they are unable to name even a single Native American tribe. Usually The Next Generation is fair an even-handed, but this episode presents cringe-inducing and toxic theories such as generational guilt.

The worst episode of an excellent show.