The Good: Action, Acting, Sense of menace
The Bad: Plot predictability, Forced character elements
The Basics: Picard and Riker work to thwart the mercenaries they find themselves in the company of in "Gambit Part 2."
When last we left Star Trek The Next Generation, (in "Gambit, Part 1," reviewed here!) the crew of the Enterprise was convinced Picard was dead, Riker had been abducted by the mercenary crew of Artus Baran, and Picard was found there aiding the crew in recovering ancient Romulan relics under the aegis "Galen." With one of the most anticlimactic cliffhangers of the series came a sequel that seems too familiar with "Gambit, Part II."
Riker and Picard work together to determine what the device Baran is building is supposed to be. When a piece of the device is intercepted by the Enterprise, the pair boards the ship and Galen appears to kill Riker. Riker awakens on the Enterprise with the knowledge that Baran's mission is nearing completion while Galen organizes a coup on the mercenary ship. However, the Vulcan Security agent that Picard has come to trust is not all that she appears and the completed device may spell doom for all emotional beings.
"Gambit, Part II" is too familiar to be fully enjoyable. Too much of the episode, especially the resolution, is derivative of the earlier episode "Starship Mine" (reviewed here!). The similarities are more repetitive than fun as the producers of Star Trek The Next Generation apparently wanted to hammer home the idea that "crime doesn't pay."
What the episode does well, though, is use the supporting cast to create a very real sense of atmosphere. The crew of the mercenary ship "reads" as very real, as if they have been at this for some time, which it seems clear they have been. Julie Caitlin Brown stands out as Vekor, one of the more hardened mercenaries. She plays the role with flair and a great deal of hostility that fits her character perfectly.
Similarly, Robin Curtis is an excellent choice to play Tallera, the Vulcan Security Agent. She has played Vulcans before and here she is given a chance to spread her acting wings and fly. Instead of simply rehashing her feature film role of Saavik, Curtis makes Tallera distinct and cold, dry and without the humor Saavik had to her. It goes well beyond the script; her performance is one that is filled with subtlety of body language and precision in vocal tones.
Patrick Stewart gives his usual good performance playing Picard playing Galen, which - as always when a character is acting - is difficult. Stewart accomplishes the task expertly.
What distracts from the plot and the fine acting and even the decent sense of menace that the building of the Vulcan device represents is the forced character work. This takes the form of a ridiculous conflict between Data and Worf aboard the Enterprise. Just as the first episode ended with a sense of "here's the 43 minute mark, it's time to put 'To Be Continued . . .' up," the Data and Worf conflict in "Gambit, Part II" feels like filler. The conflict does not seem real and it does seriously detract from the episode.
The "Gambit" two-parter represents a low point in Star Trek The Next Generation cliffhangers. It is an ultimately pointless and droll story that lacks the real passion of other two-parters (like "Redemption" or "The Best Of Both Worlds") or the intrigue and flair of other mercenary stories (like "Starship Mine."). Ultimately, the low "bang for the buck" sinks "Gambit, Part II," making it viewable only by fans of the series.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Seventh Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the final season by clicking here!
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4.5/10
For other Star Trek episode reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2008, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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