Power Play is a good episode, but it could have probably been a lot better. Having three central characters have their bodies taken over by hostile aliens is a interesting idea, but having them end up being space prisoners is a bit silly, and having them just totally give up despite having probably the greatest technical knowledge of anyone in Starfleet on their side is super dumb. Other than the questionable ending though this is a good episode with some real creepy moments, especially between possessed Miles and Keiko.
The episode opens with the Enterprise detecting a distress signal coming from an apparently unoccupied moon. The moon is being swept with powerful electromagnetic storms making scanning and transporting impossible. However Troi says she detects life on the planet so she goes to the surface in a shuttle with Data and Riker piloting. Despite his best efforts the shuttle crashes and Riker breaks his arm. They get out of the shuttle but it is damaged beyond repair. Before they can do much more O'Brien beams down risking his life but bringing with him three transport signal boosters which should let them all get back. Just as the third booster is about to be turned on there is a bolt of lightning and they are all knocked out. Then four glowing clouds of light fly in and implant themselves in Data, Troi and O'Brien. Riker wakes up and turns on the final booster and they are all beamed to sickbay.
When they wake up they are all pretty much OK. They return to duty but on the bridge Data requests that they move the ship to a polar synchronous orbit over the south pole (which for those of us that understand how an orbit works is just downright insulting). Riker says no but he does it anyway. When Riker tries to stop him O'Brien and Data pull phasers and start shooting. Troi knocks out the captain and all three resist several phaser shots. They make their way to Ten Forward to secure hostages. Worf tries to stop them with forcefields and such but O'Brien and Data out smart him. When they arrive there is another phaser fight but they manage to secure the room full of hostage. Picard comes down to negotiate and Troi explains she is the captain of a Federation ship that crashed there 200 years earlier and she is determined to get some rest.
Despite claiming to be a Federation captain they refuse to give up their hostages. In sickbay Crusher has figured out that they are being possessed (duh) and for some reason that pain will drive the aliens out. Ro and Geordi try to blast them with some sort of pain field or something but it doesn't work. This only pissed them off more and they decide to use the transporter in a cargo bay to beam their bodies to the ship to take to Earth or something. They make it to the cargo bay which Riker correctly assumes means the captain intends him to open the door to space if his plan doesn't work. Now for some reason Troi tells them that they aren't from Starfleet (duh) and that they are instead space prisoners and are determined to escape with the comrades. Somehow Geordi keeps them contained when they are beamed up and Picard, Worf and Keiko being willing to die being sucked into space somehow convinces they aliens to just leave and go back to an eternal hell trapped as pure energy.
Review: I feel like this one worked when it was being described, and honestly most of the episode works pretty well. But damn that ending really drags it down. Not as bad as some recent episodes, but it could have been so much better!
5 out of 10
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