6.19 Lessons

Rating: 5

A relationship between Picard and Lt Commander Daren, an intriguing stellar cartography expert, poses a problem when command decisions have to be weighed against a growing love.

Comments

Wendy Hughes (Daren) is refreshingly relaxed in her role. She’s an established dramatic actress with high credentials, and Patrick Stewart must have been happy to get a chance to work with her (and vice versa; their chemistry is excellent). She delivers her dialogue with natural changes in pacing that make it feel unrehearsed and realistic. She’s also well-cast here; it’s believable that Picard would be attracted to an intelligent, confident, somewhat haughty woman, although his overreactions of joy do seem just a tad out of character.

Once again, the arc of Picard’s Ressican flute-playing experience is worked into the script. In fact, he shares his Ktan ‘experience’ with Daren in a very moving scene. These little touches of continuity are highly appreciated by dedicated watchers of the series.

This is the second Picard-heavy episode in a row, and I say, keep ‘em coming, because I could listen to this guy deliver dialogue all day.

Director Robert Wiemer adds a few unusual camera locations and angles, and varied lighting, and we are grateful that he moves the camera occasionally too.

As in Birthright, Part 2, this is another adult relationship handled with mature dialogue. It’s as if a switch has been flicked lately in NextGen, because up until recently most adult relationships were treated very childishly.

Writing, directing, use of classical music, and excellent acting…I wish all episodes were as good as this one.

Nits

In this age of high-tech ways of adjusting components, it seems outrageous that Daren needs complete silence and lights out to manually ‘eyeball’ an adjustment. Why doesn’t she just get Data to do it?

In the scene where Daren and Picard are playing a duet together in his quarters, when Picard is improvising the more tricky part on the flute, his hands look twisted at an odd angle, and the angle of the flute has changed from pointing downward (in scenes where we can see it is definitely him playing) to pointing parallel to the floor. My guess would be that someone else is lieing down in front of him, reaching up to finger the flute correctly for him. Patrick Stewart also seems to be having a little trouble keeping a straight face, which might have something to do with this.

Memorable Moments

•    There’s a nice zoom-out shot of Daren and Picard playing a duet in the Jefferies tube. Cut to Engineering, where Geordi hears the music. The music stops, and we suspect why – but don’t know for some time until we see they are kissing.

•    The golden light and the approaching storm as Daren and the perimeter team work on the ravaged planet.

Quotable Quotes

Daren: I’m trying to construct a mathematical model of an emerging star system. If it works, we’ll be able to predict the configuration of a star system that won’t be formed for another two million years.
Picard: A long time to wait to see if you’re right.
Daren: I have a few things to do between now and then.

Picard: The Enterprise encountered a probe that had been sent from the planet before it was destroyed, and it scanned me, and I lost consciousness…and…in the space of twenty-five minutes, I lived a lifetime on that planet! I had a wife, and…and children, and a grandchild! And it was absolutely real to me! And when I woke, all that I had left of that life was that flute that I’d taught myself to play.
Daren: Why are you telling me this?
Picard: Because I want you to understand what my music means to me. And what it means to me to be able to share it with someone.

"I’ve lost people under my command, people who were…very dear to me, but never…someone I’ve been in love with."
- Picard to Daren