Season 1 Episode 8: Justice
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: A bit campy at times, but it the first allegory episode that is a hallmark of the series.
Notables: Prime Directive. Wesley episode.
This episode is a fairly heavy handed allegory for the death penalty. And while it is a bit preachy, I like that it takes an idea and follows it to an extreme. This technique is something that reoccurs often in TNG. It's also one of my favorite uses of science fiction. Sometimes it can be hyperbolic, or reductionist, but I always like to think of it as an experimentation of sorts. In my imagination, the writers start out with an idea and just start writing and see where the story takes them. To bring it outside of Star Trek, the season of The Wire that explores legalization reminds me a lot of this kind of storytelling.
This next part is a bit spoiler-y for the episode if you haven't seen it.
It is also the second time that we see the Prime Directive. Having seen the show almost front to back and having seen many episodes literally dozens of times, there are constants of the Star Trek universe burned into my mind. One of these is the Prime Directive. It is something I remember as being almost universally upheld in the Star Trek universe.
This episode presents a plot that is fairly typical of the episodes that feature the Prime Directive. Wesley has broken the law of this less advanced civilizations and the penalty is death. Everyone seems to agree that the situation was unfair, but the leaders of the planet maintain that the law is the law. Picard is presented with either violating the Prime Directive, or letting Wesley die.
The end of the episode has Picard basically saying "Your laws are stupid" and leaving by force with Wesley. I was a bit shocked by that ending, given my recollection of the show, but I suppose it feeds into the overarching theme of the episode. The point was that all laws are imperfect and cannot allow for every possibility. Picard's violation of the Prime Directive just solidifies that point. The laws of the Federation are in some ways flawed in the same way as the planet in this episode.
But how could a planet with so much scantily clad constant running ever be wrong?
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was interesting that a society consisting almost solely of white, blond citizens was presented as a utopia. I understand that framing it as a utopia makes it all the more shocking/ridiculous when one can be killed for accidentally running on the flowers, but still. I suppose that's just a reflection of the decade it was shown but it was kind of a bummer considering they are supposed to be in this progressive society.
Yeah that is rather unfortunate. Even though it was 25 years ago it, seems a little weird that it was still an acceptable portrayal of perfection. I guess there is only so much progressiveness you can have in 1987.
DeleteYou also have to remember that this season is is TNG at it's worst, and it really does get better (ugh... though Season 2 had its moments... wow I am really selling the show).