The Hunted

Enterprise visits a planet that wants to join the Federation.

This is a strong episode with the crew up against a cool adversary and in another position of mediation.

The purpose of the story is the main theme of society's treatment of its servicemen and women. It does this well, with clear allegories to Vietnam and is relevant today like it would have been if it had been made in the 60s or 70s. There is a familiar plot structure of Picard and the crew mediating, but in a slightly more reluctant way than usual.

How it addresses the main theme reminds me a lot of the movie 'First Blood' with the guest character doing a John Rambo on board the Enterprise. One extended action sequence is by far the most cinematic part of the episode and puts him up against the entire Enterprise. I like it because it mostly emphasises the resourcefulness and cunning of the character more than his fighting prowess.

It ends in somewhat of an anticlimax but I do like the fact that Picard doesn't babysit the negotiation process and how it implies the Angosian government will do the right thing because they want to be part of the Federation.

While assessing the viability of a colony on Angosha III for Federation membership, a violent and cunning prisoner escapes from a maximum security facility. After eventually being captured by the Enterprise, the prisoner's dangerous nature soon becomes apparent which gives Picard some pause for thought.

Another action-orientated episode with McCarthy's super soldier proving to be a fantastic presence in the show. But instead of mindless phaser fire for the sake of it, the show makes some powerful points about the psychological effects of serving in the military and the mistreatment many veterans face when they return. It's full of drama, suspense, new areas of the ship we hadn't seen before and oh yes, lots of phasers! Great stuff!

Danar's story seems to follow a similar arc of Rambo in First Blood albeit without all the death and destruction.

After not being welcomed back to society, a former soldier relies on his military training and reflexes to survive in a world where they feel unwelcome.

The first time I saw this episode, I hated it. I found the plot to be dumb, and the character of Danar to be terrible and nonsensical. It is also makes no sense to think that the crew of the Enterprise, with all of its resources and technology, would have trouble dealing with this one man, regardless of how enhanced he is.

However, after watching this episode for the first time in many years, I realized just how excellent a metaphor it is for the PTSD. Danar is a soldier through and through, and as a soldier he is conditioned to do one thing, survive and win at all costs. Unfortunately the byproduct of this conditioning is that it becomes impossible for him to be integrated into mainstream society.

It's amazing to see the ethics of Picard on display. On one hand, Danar is a criminal, while in the other hand, his actions are a result of societal oppression. Either way, it ends up having serious implications for the society that he comes from.

It's not a perfect episode, but I do think that it deserves to be considered among the classics.

I loved this episode... Kept us guessing and the resolution was true to Starfleet and Picard. Teaching a little lesson. Always good to get back to basics. Deanna Troi used as she should be without any special attraction added to her talents.