The Mind’s Eye is a dark, disturbing episode that provides both mystery and suspense. And, too, it serves as both a thematic and explicit bridge between Reunion and the season-ending Redemption. The acting and pacing and direction are all very well-done. But there is one issue with the plausibility of story, however, and the overall enjoyment of the episode greatly depends on how a viewer interprets this story element.

This episode melds the growing interference of the Romulans with the political and personal machinations surrounding the Klingon Empire and Worf. The Mind’s Eye opens with LaForge’s abduction and subsequent psychological conditioning by the Romulans. It continues with the mystery of Federation weapons that are discovered in the hands of separatist Klingon rebels. The two plotlines slowly coalesce into a suspenseful mystery that has deep implications for both the characters and the series.

I’ll start with the story’s main problem: LaForge’s psychological conditioning at the hands of the Romulans. The Romulans use the interface technology of LaForge’s VISOR to affect their influence on him — to literally program him to follow their commands. It works, as evidenced by LaForge’s “murder” of a holographic Chief O’Brien. And they control LaForge via a series of E-band emissions that access the underlying program.

But here are the problems: Can LaForge actually make a full recovery after such a devastating and profoundly altering experience? Can he be allowed to remain in a position with access to sensitive information or equipment? How can they be assured that something like this will not be used against him again? Just like when Data hijacked the Enterprise in Brothers, these questions are very difficult to ignore. And, too, the quality of the episode rests on whether or not these questions can be satisfactorily answered. If not, they become a distinct distraction and the episode falls flat.

However, if you can look past these issues, The Mind’s Eye episode becomes quite ominous. The weapons are not Federation issue. Instead, they are replicas that have been cleverly, but not perfectly, constructed by the Romulans as an attempt to undermine the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. After the discovery, a programmed LaForge sends actual weapons to the surface, and manages to erase all evidence of his activities. The shipment is intercepted and the Enterprise soon has to contend with one Klingon battle cruiser and two Birds of Prey, ready to attack (the actual space footage is reused from Reunion). The Klingon governor is brought onboard to observe the investigation and LaForge is ordered, by a Klingon Ambassador, to murder him.

The scene in which Data investigates and discovers LaForge’s complicity in these matters is actually quite riveting. And the ramifications of such an explicit Romulan-Klingon collaboration are quite dire, indeed. Finally, there is a shadowy Romulan commander who will gain prominence in the very near future.

With so many different threads and details to interweave, The Mind’s Eye succeeds quite well. The pacing, acting, and directing are all quite good. If you can accept the implications of LaForge’s conditioning, this is one heck of an episode. But because it is such a glaring issue, I cannot grade this episode any higher than I have.

Topics: Klingons, Romulans
Filed under: TNG Reviews