I admit Deanna Troi isn't my favorite character, so when I saw this episode on the queue I was worried. Fortunately I was wrong! This episode is really good and Troi is great in it! When she first has to face up to her role as a member of the dreaded secret police of Romulus it seems like the resistance has made the wrong choice and she is going to ruin the plan immediately. But she steps into the role more than I thought possible and is downright scary. The final resolution of the episode is a little quick, but works to wrap up all the loose ends. As a side note this was actually a pretty much perfect episode to watch on Halloween, I know what Troi is going to be this year!
The episode opens with Troi waking up and not quite feeling right. She makes her way to a mirror and turns on the light. To her shock she has been altered to look like a Romulan! A Romulan officer named N'Vek rushes in at tells her there is no time. She is going to need to be Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar and give the captain new orders or they will all be killed. Troi doesn't want to do it without answers, but also senses that N'Vek is telling the truth so she follows him to the bridge and encounters the indomitable Commander Toreth who at first questions her but steps into line with Troi starts giving orders like a champ. They are to proceed to an empty sector with cargo they are not to inspect or question. Back on the Enterprise they are to beam aboard a human Starfleet officer who defected to the Romulans years ago. As soon as he is aboard he insists on talking to the captain. As soon as Picard arrives the defector tells him he is here with a message from Spock that they are to proceed to the same sector that Troi is heading towards to meet a freighter. Picard has his doubts about the man, but does as he says.
Back on the Romulan warship N'Vek meets Troi in the cargo bay and shows her what the cargo is, high Romulan officials in stasis planning to defect to the Federation to create a pathway for more Romulans to defect. N'Vek also tells her the real Rakal was killed so she could take her place. They head to the officers mess for dinner with Toreth who expresses her disdain for the Tal Shiar, her own father was dragged away by them years ago. They are called to the bridge as a freighter arrives. Troi orders Torath to hail the vessel, but when she sees the captain she whispers to N'Vek that he is going to betray them so he opens fire and destroys the freighter. Toreth is outraged, but Troi shuts her down and orders them to hold position. In private she is outraged with N'Vek for killing all the freighter crew but agrees to his new plan to head into Federation space and transport the cargo themselves.
Toreth isn't pumped about the plant to fly through the Federation sensor web on the way into their space, but Troi assures her she will provide the access codes. But this plan is interrupted by the arrival of the Enterprise who detected the debris from the freighter. Toreth starts to sneak away as they can't warp out without being detected if they are in the debris cloud. Troi has to threaten N'Vek with death but he agrees to modify the cloaking device to allow them to be tracked. Toreth can't figure out how, but she does figure out they are being followed. Toreth orders them to prepare to attack the Enterprise but Troi countermands her orders and actually seizes command of the ship. She hails the Enterprise and gets them to drop their shields. N'Vek fires the phasers as soon as they do, but it is a fake blast that hides the transportation of the Romulan officials. Toreth realizes he has betrayed them and one the bridge crew shoots him when he goes for his weapon. Troi surrenders but as soon as they drop shields to cloak Worf beams her to safety.
Review: I may have said this before, but this is probably the best Deanna episode in all of Trek. She transforms before our eyes from the mild mannered ships councilor into a blood thirsty agent of a repressive state.
8 out of 10
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