Descent is yet another season ending cliff hangar for TNG. And seeing as how it’s the very last season ending cliff hangar, there is a mild bittersweet quality to it. At least, there is when you look at the series years later. The problem, however, is that the series is beginning to feel its age. Fresh new ideas are fewer and farther between lately. And whileDescent deserves credit for bringing together a number of different story lines, it doesn’t exactly deliver the same thrill as, say, The Best of Both Worlds. But then again, that’s indicative of a series that isn’t functioning at the same level as it used to.

The episode opens with Data playing a hand of poker — with Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking (played by the noted scientist, himself). It’s a quirky scene that hearkens back to Data’s explorations of the human equation — an important plot point for Descent (if you’re keeping score, Hawking wins the game with four sevens).

The main plot kicks off in earnest with a distress call from a distant outpost. The Enterprise arrives and finds a massive, though curiously disjointed, spaceship in orbit. Riker, Data, Worf and a redshirt (dressed in a yellow uniform) beam down to the surface to investigate. What they discover are Borg.

The reveal is actually pedestrian, if you can believe it. But what follows is enough to maintain a level of interest. The Borg are acting very strangely. They aren’t there to assimilate. They use pronouns like “I.” They mourn, and seek revenge for, their fallen comrades. But that’s not all. During the fight, Data demonstrates a deadly flash of anger.

Curiouser and curiouser …

Following this, Admiral Nechayev arrives to coordinate Starfleet’s preparations for a Borg attack. While meeting with Picard, she expresses great frustration and disapproval over Picard’s decision in I, Borg to forgo the attempt to destroy the entire Borg collective and to let the captive Borg, Hugh, go.

The scene is notable for returning to an important moral dilemma: Is it ever acceptable to commit genocide? Clearly the events in I, Borg are meant to answer the question by saying no, it is not acceptable. But Nechayev’s opposition to Picard’s decision once again raises the question, and this time, the answers are less clear.

However, it is Data’s exploration of his brush with emotion that is the most compelling aspect of the episode. As I mentioned above, this hearkens back to his explorations of humanity. But this time, with the experience of an actual emotion, his explorations become all the more tangible. And troubling.

Why was his first true emotion anger? What if that is all that he can feel? And more disturbing still, is the sense of pleasure he felt when his anger led him to kill a Borg. Data seeks assistance from his friend LaForge, from counselor Troi, and from the Holodeck (trying to recreate what happened). But he is no closer to discovering the answer when the Enterprise once again engages the Borg ship in combat.

This time, the bridge of Enterprise is boarded by two Borg as a diversion to allow the hybrid Borg ship time to escape. One of the Borg is killed, and the other is wounded. Dr. Crusher revives the Borg to be interrogated by Picard. We learn that this new form of Borg is out to destroy anything “unworthy” in its eyes. It speaks of “The One” who is now leading the Borg, and showing them a new way. It’s a scene that evokes a mild sense of mystery. But because the facts are so vague, much of the potential mystery is lost.

Data is left to examine him. While performing some tests, the Borg activates a switch and Data suddenly starts experiencing emotions again. And the scene becomes one of temptation.

The Borg appears to know quite a bit about Data and, more importantly, about Data’s emotions. The Borg gets Data to admit that he (Data) enjoyed the emotion — even enjoyed the killing of the Borg. It’s reminiscent of Yoda’s warning about the Dark Side, “Once you start down the path to the Dark Side, forever will it dominate your destiny …”

In the very next scene, Data has released the Borg prisoner, stolen a shuttle, and departed for points unknown to the crew. They follow, of course, and the chase ends at a mysterious planet with strong EM emissions that mask what’s happening on the planet surface.

And if there is a major criticism for the episode, aside from its plodding pace, it’s how Picard proceeds from here to the end of the episode. Without knowing anything about the size, strength, or tactical positions of anyone or anything on the planet, Picard has Riker beam down with an Away Team. That makes sense, of course, but when Riker finds only an empty shuttlecraft, Picard orders a massive ground search, with teams of just four, and leaving behind only a skeletal crew on the Enterprise, under the command of Dr. Crusher, no less.

It’s a horribly rash move that I honestly don’t buy from Picard. He isn’t that incompetent. Nevertheless, Picard’s group, of LaForge, Troi and a redshirt (who is wearing a yellow uniform) happen upon an odd structure. They walk inside the structure and, literally, into a trap.

At least we finally get the answers to many of the questions. “The One” is none other than Lore, who is somehow in command of a Borg army. At his side, is Data who seems to be completely and utterly in league with Lore and the Borg.

And it’s anticlimactic. It just doesn’t work very well. For starters, the buildup of suspense is punctured by Picard’s foolish search operation. Secondly, we’ve seen the “good character suddenly evil” cliff hangar before, and better (see: The Best of Both Worlds). And, finally, as much as it is “cool” to have the connections between Lore and the Borg, it has that kind of cheesy “Justice League” feel to it — all the supervillains in one place. The effect is to diminish the impact of each villain.

Descent is a decent story because of its explorations of Data’s emotions, as well as the temptations to give in to negative emotions. But the episode’s pacing is very, very slow. And, too, the impact of the big reveal at the end is diminished because it dilutes the effect of both Lore and the Borg.

Topics: Borg, Lore
Filed under: TNG Reviews