The Hunted

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.

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.

This was a Super Annoying Episode because of the inablity of the "Supposedly" Trained Enterprise security members to take down one man.

Also, the writers, AGAIN, made the Bridge Team Powerless and Inept. Unable to stop this lone guy or even catch him with all of their advance technology.

Just a plain dumb episode!

A problem recognized long ago in earth's history. A nation mobilizes for war and wins. Now what do we do with these suddenly unemployed soldiers?

The planet Angosia with its prime minister James Cromwell is applying for membership and they've sent Captain Jean-Luc Picard to look the place over. While doing so Jeff McCarthy escapes from a lunar penal colony. The Enterprise with some bit of doing subdues him and he's held in there security cell to get his story.

McCarthy gives a lot of mixed signals to Counselor Troi. He's a cultivated but violence can spring from him in an instant. His fighting skills are enhanced, programmed right into his DNA. He's a super soldier no doubt.

The best example in earth history is the Roman Empire who when they reached their zenith did not know what to do with all their trained fighting men except maybe make them gladiators. The USA had a GI Bill of Rights which is the best answer humankind has devised. The Angosians weren't that clever.

It's a good episode and you can only imagine the report Patrick Stewart gives the Federation.

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.