The key problem of this episode is Riker's instantaneous personality transformation when he gets the power of the Q, as others have commented.
Personally, I'm always annoyed at how these stories play out. When offered the power of a god, our character this small. What if Riker had wiped out all disease and aging? Would this morality play have a leg to stand on it Riker was preventing terminal childhood ailments?
And the final scene with the crew turning down all the gifts was profoundly silly and poorly written. Word comes out as asexual, Riker thinks robbing Wesley of ten years of his life is a good idea, Geordie give up a cure for his blindness for ... reasons. Worst was Data giving up the opportunity to become human because of some ridiculous sentimentality which Data could not possibly feel, and with wisdom he doesn't possess.
All in all just a bad writing.
Personally, I'm always annoyed at how these stories play out. When offered the power of a god, our character this small. What if Riker had wiped out all disease and aging? Would this morality play have a leg to stand on it Riker was preventing terminal childhood ailments?
And the final scene with the crew turning down all the gifts was profoundly silly and poorly written. Word comes out as asexual, Riker thinks robbing Wesley of ten years of his life is a good idea, Geordie give up a cure for his blindness for ... reasons. Worst was Data giving up the opportunity to become human because of some ridiculous sentimentality which Data could not possibly feel, and with wisdom he doesn't possess.
All in all just a bad writing.