The Hunted presents us with a deeply profound theme, and is written fairly well. However, flaws in its execution prevent it from being an exceptional episode.

The main theme of The Hunted is how a society treats its soldiers when they return from war. In this episode, the Angosians have all the appearances of a refined, civilized society. However, the Angosian soldiers have been exiled to a penal colony — hardly the most ideal way to honor those who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the safety of their society. And it is this immoral social structure that provides the backdrop for the episode.

When Danar escapes imprisonment, the leader of Angosia treats him as a criminal and enlists the Enterprise’s assistance in recovering the escapee. After displaying impressive elusive skills, Danar is captured. Once on board, his true nature and history is discovered by Troi (who turns a surprisingly solid performance). When Picard raises his concerns about the imprisonment of soldiers, he is rebuffed by the Angosian leader who claims the situation is a matter of internal security. Picard responds with perhaps one of the most profound lines of the entire series: “A matter of internal security … the age-old cry of the oppressor.” It’s a profound statement that carries even more weight now than it did when the episode was first aired in 1990.

One criticism of the episode centers on the character of Danar. His character was written very well, and was given some deeply moving lines. Unfortunately, the episode made a clear error where casting and performance are concerned. Danar looks too much like a man about to go to war, instead of a man haunted by the rigors of war. He seems fit, able, mentally at his best. I understand these are, partially, reflections of his “conditioning” but the episode would have been more successful, and Danar’s character even more tragic, had we been shown the physical and psychological ramifications of war — the loss of “light” behind Danar’s eyes, for instance. And the acting itself did nothing to portary such suffering.

Lastly, aside from the almost G.I. Joe appearance and performance of Danar, the episode sacrifices character and theme development for drawn out action sequences. These sequences become a bit superfluous and they aren’t even done particularly well — with clear inconsistencies arising in several places.

The Hunted is an example of the promise of good writing and the curse of mediocre execution. With a slight refocus of its story, and better casting and acting from Danar, this could have been a superb episode of television. But even with its flaws, it’s well worth watching.

Filed under: TNG Reviews