In many ways, Sarek is a dream come true for Star Trek fans. It is an explicit connection between the original series and TNG. And it heralds the return to prominence of Vulcans who, up until now, had been largely neglected by TNG. The results are mixed. The themes are compelling, but the story often distracts us from those themes.

The premise is simple in origin: Sarek is to undertake one final ambassadorial mission, literally a culmination of his life’s work, before retiring from service to Starfleet. But all is not well with Sarek. His age has left him prone to bouts of extreme emotions — a condition that is offensive to Vulcans who value logic and reason, detached from emotion. The themes of how age ravages the body and often betrays us are powerful. And Sarek’s performance is effective. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding his performance are poorly constructed.

A side effect of Sarek’s condition is that he projects his erratic emotions onto the rest of the crew. In and of itself, it is a tenuous idea. But the fact that the show focuses solely on displaying bouts of rage demonstrates a lack of creativity and, even worse, turns the episode into an imitation of the Original Series — complete with a barroom brawl.

A smarter decision would have had the emotions play on each character’s worst fears or emotional weaknesses, giving the audience a wider array of emotions that end up disrupting the crew. Better still, they should have found an altogether different way to demonstrate Sarek’s deterioration. Instead, the bouts of rage prove distracting and overwhelm the main theme of the episode.

In another nod to the Star Trek mythos, the conflicts are resolved via the Vulcan Mind Meld. This leaves Sarek stable enough to conclude his mission and retire in dignity. But it also, for the duration of the negotiations, leaves Picard an emotional wreck. The scenes of an out of control Picard are intriguing, and Picard is exceptionally convincing — it’s a successful exercise in performance. But it does seem a bit superfluous to go through the exercise in the first place.

Sarek gets a lot of credit for bringing back a beloved character and using him to explore a profound, relevant theme. Had the surrounding story been stronger, the episode would also have been stronger.

Topics: Vulcans
Filed under: TNG Reviews