Frame of Mind is a good episode. It features by far the most compelling Riker performance in some time. And it is a solid mystery — even if it does become a bit repetitive at times.

This episode is all about losing your mind — and the struggle to keep it from happening. We begin with Riker rehearsing for one of Dr. Crusher’s plays. His role is to play a man who is accused of murder and insanity, with Data playing the patronizing doctor administering the “treatments.” The scenes are compelling by the sheer force of Riker’s performances, which he handles very well.

Riker’s adopted character is right on the edge of sanity and he begins to feel overwhelmed by his brushes with his own dark side. Things become sinister when he begins seeing and hearing things. And this is when the episode descends into its labyrinthine mystery. To go into detail would become tedious — and that is, perhaps, the biggest criticism of the episode. It twists and turns just a few too many times. It isn’t critical, but it does tend to make it drag on a bit more than it ought to.

What ends up happening is that Riker alternates between different realities, both on board the Enterprise and on the surface of a restive alien planet — the planet on which he was to be conducting a risky, clandestine mission to locate some missing Federation personnel. Riker suddenly appears to be in the psych ward on the planet, and his grasp on reality is severely put to the test.

Perhaps the most interesting element is watching Riker undergo something called “reflective therapy” — a process by which he projects images of his psyche via holograms. In this we see him conjure Troi to represent his feelings, Worf for his actions, and Picard (rather than Data) for logic. It’s a curiously insightful statement about Riker’s character.

In the end, the strength of Riker’s character helps him claw his way out from beneath multiple layers of reality. The journey out of the labyrinth is as compelling as the journey into it — but the final moments do leave a little bit to be desired. I’m not entirely sure what else the episode could have done, but the final solution felt a bit anti-climactic.

That being said, the final scene, with Riker tearing down the set of Dr. Crusher’s play is entirely plausible, and compelling.

Frame of Mind benefits a great deal from Riker’s performance — which is important because, up until now, he had been a stagnant, almost regressing character.  This episode doesn’t exactly develop his character further, but it does give him a stronger “frame” of reference.

Filed under: TNG Reviews