But unfortunately they undo their show of goodwill and make him ten years older instead. What's most upsetting about this transformation is that Riker confesses to a deep "friendship" in which he and Wesley share "long talks". They've known each other for what, ten episodes? In universe time that's about six months so maybe, but what is Riker doing hanging out with Wesley when he's off duty? The moment would be believable if we had seen one of those talks, or if they had shared more screen time, which leads me to the real problem with this episode: the enterprise crew is not a family yet.
Riker just met all these people six months ago and he is their commanding officer. While they would certainly be familiar, Riker would be in no position to fulfill the deepest desires of the bridge crew, least of all those of Wesley Crusher. Still, there is something poignant here. If you had that power of the Q, why wouldn't you use it? Would you be able to use if for good? Could you use it for good even if you wanted to? What is power without wisdom? These are important questions and the episode makes a reasonable attempt at exploring them, but because the characters are under developed at this point in the series it doesn't really work.
The writers really do get a few things right though. Their portrayal of the French soldiers is incredibly accurate. They don't just get the costume right but the skin tone and facial features as well. They also tip their hand about Picard's innate admiration for imperial conquest as Q reveals that he created the scenario based on Picard's inner thoughts. I offer this as more evidence that Picard fired on a defenseless Ferengi ship when he was captain of the Star Gazer as it appears the spirit of Napoleonic conquest is never far from his mind.
Verdict: Worth watching, but forgettable.
Riker just met all these people six months ago and he is their commanding officer. While they would certainly be familiar, Riker would be in no position to fulfill the deepest desires of the bridge crew, least of all those of Wesley Crusher. Still, there is something poignant here. If you had that power of the Q, why wouldn't you use it? Would you be able to use if for good? Could you use it for good even if you wanted to? What is power without wisdom? These are important questions and the episode makes a reasonable attempt at exploring them, but because the characters are under developed at this point in the series it doesn't really work.
The writers really do get a few things right though. Their portrayal of the French soldiers is incredibly accurate. They don't just get the costume right but the skin tone and facial features as well. They also tip their hand about Picard's innate admiration for imperial conquest as Q reveals that he created the scenario based on Picard's inner thoughts. I offer this as more evidence that Picard fired on a defenseless Ferengi ship when he was captain of the Star Gazer as it appears the spirit of Napoleonic conquest is never far from his mind.
Verdict: Worth watching, but forgettable.