Season 3 is apparently the season I didn't watch as often as the others! I had totally forgotten that TNG had a non-Q godlike being episode, and it is at least as good as the best god episodes of TOS. Also it is fun to see TNG feature hostile aliens that aren't the Ferengi (hahaha), the Romulans or the Borg. The elements of the psychic attack on Troi are never very clearly defined and are one of the weaker parts of the episode. Also the idea that an ancient god would be entertained by reliving a past life is a bit of a stretch, but I guess he is a sentimental god.
The episode opens with the Enterprise investigating a distress call from a colony. When they arrive the find the entire surface of the planet devastated by an unknown force. Careful sensor examination reveals one house with two lifeforms on the surface. Riker leads an away team to the anomalous house and they find it appears to be just what the sensors described. Riker is caught in a snare trap and an old man with a phaser appears, but his wife calms him down. Kevin and Rana claim to not understand why they survived and have no intention of leaving. Data is fascinated by the house and picks up a music box which starts playing. Just then Troi is struck with some sort of psychic attack in the form of the song from the music box.
Riker returns to the ship and suddenly a warship appears and comes in to attack. The attack doesn't damage the Enterprise but the ship manages to flee faster than the Enterprise can follow. Picard breaks off the attack and returns to the planet and beams down to talk to Kevin and Rana again. After having some tea Picard fails again to get them to agree to leave. As soon as he returns to the Enterprise the warship appears again and manages to destroy their shields in no time and is unaffected by their most powerful weapons. The Enterprise flees again, but after an hour turns back. Picard beams down again and tells Kevin the only way he is leaving again is if he and his wife are dead.
Picard returns to the Enterprise and the warship appears only this time it fires at the planet and is then destroyed by a single photon torpedo. Picard has the ship wait in high orbit and sure enough, after some time the house reappears. Picard has Kevin and Rana beamed to the bridge. They are outraged but after Picard explains that Troi is being devastated by the music and that he knows Rana is already dead Rana disappears and Kevin flees to Troi's quarters. With only Dr. Crusher there Picard confronts Kevin to admits to being some sort of godthing and that he refused to fight the attackers but after they killed his wife he wiped every one of them out of existence. Picard decides to agree he can't judge a god and they get the hell out of there.
Review: This episode suffers for its lack of a B story, but the A story is strong enough to keep it entertaining. Having to watch Marina Sirtis act like she is in pain gives me some pain so that isn't exactly ideal. I admit I am a sucker for a plot that ties up all loose ends and this certainly qualifies for that.
6 out of 10
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