Violations

Finally, a disturbingly honest story of how "centuries of human evolution" fail to eliminate our persistent problem of moral evil, whether from a snide remark, road rage or sexual assault.

The "entertaining" stories of the early seasons of TNG lack the depth and honesty that this one episode contains. This episode is disturbing...as it should be.

'Violations' sure is an apt title for an episode involving a telepath who's forcibly manipulating the crew's memories (obvious rape metaphor). The one thing I kept thinking about was that scene in "The Undiscovered Country"; Spock violently mind-melds with Valeris. Except that was torture for information when the stakes were high; there was a clear purpose.

Here, it's just something an alien does for kicks. It's needlessly edgy, especially with the manic visions and dramatic camera-work. Why prey on women's fears if you're going to wrap everything up nice and neat in the end and it's all status quo again?

This is a bizarre episode, to say the least.

5/10

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

"Violations" is just what it says on the tin: a series of psychic violations against the crew of the Enterprise, but more importantly a more systematic set of violations against the rules of good drama.

I watched this episode when it first aired, and a reviewer whom I admired at the time (but whose name I have since forgotten) said it best: "There's no suspense here, only rape." That sticks with me because, having re-watched the episode recently, I can see exactly what he was talking about. From the very beginning - from the very end of the teaser, in fact - we already have a sense that the villain of the piece will be Jev (played with an almost mustache- twirling abandon by Ben Lemon). The last shot of the teaser focuses on him, and the trademarked "danger" music swells up. You'd have to be a fool not to guess that something is going to be wrong with this guy.

The episode does itself no favors by then featuring Jev in each of the violations that he commits - against Troi, then Riker, then Beverly - and in the least subtle of ways. He takes the place of a particular character in that person's memory, though it's only in Troi's memory that he's actually forcing himself upon the victim in a rapey way. (I'm not trying to be facetious, by the way - the mental violations that Jev commits are clearly meant to be considered a form of rape, though only in Troi's case does that metaphor become all too literal. Twice, even.) There's no build-up of suspense, no possibility given that it COULD be Jev's father Tarmin, as Jev tries to make everyone believe later in the episode. Before he gets all rapey again and gives himself away, of course.

And that's really the problem with the entire episode: there's no sense of control for the purpose of dramatic effect. Just like Jev, the episode's writers can't help themselves - this episode is going to be about RAPE, dammit, and forget telling a good story. Instead of subtlety, let's just knock the audience over their collective head with the message, or else it won't get through.

Consider how much more interesting and suspenseful this episode could have been had the writers and director gone a different route: having Troi, Riker, and Crusher NOT see Jev's face in their visions, so that we know it's got to be one of the Ulians (which would also have allowed the woman Inad to be one of the suspects, if it had been handled right) but we don't know which one. Only at the end is it revealed that it's Jev - probably because he couldn't control himself, and Troi really IS that damned lovely.

But that doesn't excuse his final act of self-revelation, nor the reasons why the producers of this episode didn't handle the story much more carefully. Not giving away the attacker's identity would have done nothing to cheapen the anti-rape subtext - if anything, it would have returned it to the level OF subtext rather than making it so obvious that the episode should carry a trigger warning for those who care about such things. And on top of it all, we'd get a creepy and mysterious story with a strong payoff at the end, rather than a story that's just...creepy.

Enterprise hosts a telepathic race who can read the memories of others.

This is a disturbing episode that has a strong psychological-horror concept, but is presented in a fairly unimaginative way.

The plot contains the solid and very sinister idea of mind rape, but the story tells it in quite mundane way (if that's possible). The trauma each character experiences is fairly compelling. Likewise is the mindset of the creep who perpetrates it, but when you know what's happening from the start and it ends exactly as you imagine, it pretty much fails as a mysterious narrative (if that was ever the intention).

Picard and Riker have some strong moments dealing with the problem along with Data and Geordie. All actors are on good form, especially Patrick Stewart, playing Picard as very careful in his response to an unproven attack on his crew members.

Counsellor Troi has the most difficult scenes to endure and Marina Sirtis performs well. Gates McFadden is also good.

Visually it works, particularly the memory invasion scenes that have the desired effect.

For me it's a 6.5/10 but I round upwards.

Many people have been violated, or is in a relationship with someone who has suffered from someone's sub-human behaviour. And it will, in both cases, affect their lives for a long time.

This is why this Star Trek episode shines. Its touching a subject that is not only uncomfortable, but needs to be addressed. The violation of someone else.

I've never liked the episode. Mind you, it came to my country in the 80' and I've rewatched it many times after. The topic is unpleasant. The setup unravels me. Deanna's despair is disjolting. All whilst I wanna punch the villain in the face. And frankly, that emotional evocation along with metaphoring real life, is what Star Trek does phenomenally.

It feels as if they failed, however, in the final hour. Picard's diplomatic speech, the sentence-on-planet. No justice dispatched. No on-screen retaliation for the viewer of the abuser. It fell flat.

Just like it often does in real life. That's why it shines.