The Vengeance Factor is an episode with a worthy premise that happens to misfire on many different levels.

The episode begins ominously with evidence of a violent raid on a Federation outpost. After determining that the culprits are a violent outlaw sect of Acamarians, called the Gatherers, one would expect the Enterprise to hunt down the brigands and bring them to justice. Instead, Picard goes beyond the event and and sees the bigger picture: arresting the culprits won’t change the circumstances that lead to the raid in the first place.

It’s an important point because instead of seeking a measure of vengeance for the raid, Picard tries to solve the root of the problem by reconciling the differences between the native Acamarians and the Gatherers. That is the message of the episode and, up to this point, the episode works.

The problems with episode begin when we reach the Gatherers. In order for the story to work, we need to see some redeeming quality from the Gatherers. Instead, we get cartoon characters that are selfish, devoid of any manners, sport the worst mullets I’ve ever seen (and I lived through the 80s), and are dressed like extras from a Mad Max movie. They aren’t simply scavengers, they are thugs who take what they want by force, and create nothing themselves — not even a minor invention or cultural achievement.

The political situation between the Gatherers and the Acamarians is also oversimplified. One can understand the need to simplify a sprawling political conflict for the sake of a 45 minute episode, however, we don’t get any representation from key voices of the conflict. We see only the perspective of the leaders and hear nothing of what the average citizen might think or feel about the prospect of granting land, amnesty, and representation to a society of criminals. All that was required was to have an advisor give voice to these points of view. Instead, they are wholly ignored.

One last item of note concerns Riker. There’s nothing wrong with his character being perceived as sexually attractive by hordes of intergalactic females. The issue is that he uses his official position as First Officer to exploit that attraction (see also: Up the Long Ladder and Angel One). Riker is on official business, and yet he takes the opportunity to make obvious overtures toward Yuta. Even this would not seem so bad if it were an exception to the rule. But the fact that Riker manages to woo women at an exceptional rate means that each experience is slightly devalued. In other words, had this been the first time Riker truly gave in to his feelings, at the expense of his official duties, his subsequent trauma at having to kill Yuta would be all the more poignant.

The Vengeance Factor has a strong moral message, but you have to sift through an awful lot of mediocrity to be able to access it.

Filed under: TNG Reviews