Star Trek : TNG 5x15 Full Reaction!
Added 2026-01-31 18:00:11 +0000 UTC
Comments
Yeah, Catherine’s death is one that hurts something fierce. Mom was pretty saddened by it as well. Those damned asps. Very dangerous. (Figured you’d have some references, hence the one I snuck in, I had to try to think of a not as readily obvious one.) I was about four months away from being born when Home Alone came out, so first experience with it was the many times seeing it and the sequel on vhs back in the day. We have the mutual introduction to Catherine via Home Alone. Biggest investment was almost always the Wet/Sticky Bandits, though yeah, Catherine did bring so much heart to Kate. Shared love how her career kept going. True about there never being much of a downturn. She was a bit quiet in the later part of the 2000’s, as I recall, and it seemed like she gained renewed attention beginning of the 2010’s, but yeah, she never stopped. Not seen any of Moira, sadly. She did have the great September of 2024. Speaks to better human health, plus greater life experience with how yeah, seventy-one is too young to lose her. They do have The Book of Abby to allow time to figure out how to contend with no Gail in the final seasons of The Last of Us. Really trying not to think of her last scene too much right now. As to the episode, heard about the intent to be a bottle episode that the visuals caused it to backfire. A nice portent to the episode that Jess undoubtedly has as her favorite. (Complete with more of her dream team, amusingly enough.) This one is pretty darn good. The stuntwork was some of the very Best in Show, yes. Shame about Marina getting the broken bone. Good note too on how it allows the sort of Mirror Universe acting as this crew never got to do that. They do a great time with the broken arm that Riker got. Hate to see the trouble he’d cause if someone scarfed down the lovely cheese pizza just for him. We both love the competence porn. Shame about the one guy moving when he did, which well said about the deliberate story move and how it’s not like thinking the hero only has to hold until help arrives, like the Stephen King examples you mention; Christ I LOVE the youtube reactions to those scenes, and the films. The fakeout with the ghostly crew is done nicely enough. There is the awkward touch of Picard forgetting about those such as Satie. (Speaking of which, I have heard about the Drumhead nod in Starfleet Academy, which was very heartwarming to hear.) Worf does raise the fair point, yet as Picard notes, “Please, they’re dead. It’s a little late to be neurotic.” I still note Picard’s point in that if these were Starfleet officers gone Queeg, Bligh, whichever you want, they still seem a mite too brutish; there’s no real remaining decorum. Had they conveyed such an idea better, I think fans might not have jumped on Picard’s idealism. At least that’s my read on those scenes. As it is, they are phonies. They are trying to set free the bébé’s, explaining why the one possessing Data turned him into such The Wild Robot. (Not yet seen that one, need to get on that one too.) That is a fair point of they do sidestep questions of were they innocent, and not Shawshank innocent, for real innocent. It does lead to the whole new solution and a way for everyone to kick ass confirming they’re willing to die to protect the ship as you succinctly describe it. Hear you on not loving the victimization of Keiko. See we both make the note that I’ve heard from others about the O’Brien’s really should be more shaken after the ordeal. (Complete with the notes about this being the dry run for Deep Space Nine.) Yeah, considering Riker fully getting shit that wasn’t entirely his fault, it’s just nice to end this on the sweet scene of the big kiss as A Mighty Wind blows through their hair.
Thomas Corp
2026-01-31 21:17:11 +0000 UTCI went on Star Tours before I knew Star Wars was even a thing, back in 1991. Which means I have no idea what anyone's talking about when they say you join a side. Nice that Guinan's only experience with possession gets to remain some loving with Demi Moore (I'm actually kind of curious if there were any jokes back then about how hard it was to ignore it's actually her). She definitely would have made the episode 20 minutes long. "That was level one. Anyone want to see level two?"
Ryan
2026-01-31 20:32:47 +0000 UTCThere's been a few celebrity passings over the past year or so that have been especially big ball punches, and somehow it felt like even a level beyond that when I saw that Catherine O'Hara was in the waiting room saying "I know people. I am people." As a rambunctious six year old who went into Home Alone interested in nothing but Kevin, she very quickly won me over into being just as invested in her side of the story, and from there it was just one great discovery of how far her career extended after another. Over 50 plus years she never once had any kind of downturn and just seemed to get more popular, until in 2024 she even held the top two box office spots at the same time for a couple weeks. Although this has also been a chance to marvel at how much better human health has gotten even since I was a kid, with 71 now being considered a shockingly young age to go. At least the Last of Us crew have a sizable buffer to figure out how to handle this, with Season 3 being all about Abby's crew. This was designed as a bottle episode, with no guest cast or new sets, but they didn't account for the special effects which ended up making it one of the most expensive of the season. But it was worth it, because it's pretty darn great. I especially have to point out that for a show that's not exactly one you turn to for believable fights, there are some incredible stunts in this one. Better moves than Winkie, even. Which didn't turn out so well for Marina, who broke her tailbone on a fall you can't even see clearly, but I love the rest. And it's nice that it clearly didn't stop her relishing the chance to play the bad guy, especially with this being a rare crew we never saw in the Mirror Universe. You probably figure from the start that Riker's broken arm will be important somehow since it's a rather more extreme injury than the scene seems to need, but I definitely didn't see the exact method coming. There were four people on the planet and he's the only one who has to make trouble. Leading to some more competence porn for most of the episode, only for it to all come crashing down because of Data randomly wandering away. But it actually comes off as a deliberate storytelling move rather than just wasting time, getting us invested in the plan only to pull the rug out, like thinking the hero only has to hold on until Dick Halloran or Sherriff Buster shows up. Also pretty neat fakeout with the posing as another Starfleet crew, which plays just enough into the show's usual tropes that you have a good chance of thinking it's real. Even if it does lead to Picard insisting Starfleet would never act like this. You forgot about Admiral Satie that soon, huh? (speaking of, Starfleet Academy finally confirmed that Judge Satie's reputation survived his daughter's actions and he's still revered and quoted centuries later, which was nice to see). I definitely side more with Worf that after so long stuck on the planet they finally said "I will go insane, and I will take you with me!" But the episode totally sidesteps that and reveals they're all just one note criminals, not even any exploration of whether anyone might have been wrongfully convicted which will always come off weird to me. And Troi is the mother of seven...six babies who she wants to set free, which conveniently allows for a whole new solution and a way for everyone to kick ass confirming they're willing to die to protect the ship. It would be nice if this story didn't come with so much victimization of Keiko, which I swear comes off like they realized they forgot to involve her in Violations and now they're making up for it. And if she and Miles weren't traumatized enough, this same thing will happen the other way around in Deep Space Nine. Some fans complain that they get past it way too fast, but after the last episode had Riker so unfairly chewed out for actions he didn't have full control over, I'm just happy to see them both fully acknowledge and move past it to have their kiss at the end of the rainbow.
Ryan
2026-01-31 20:21:16 +0000 UTCFirst off: Yes, we have been putting more of a spotlight on Deanna as of late, and we both love. Second: Sniffles sounded bad, not that it hampered the reaction, mind you. Hope that’s passed or will pass. This is one of the episodes that, how you describe, you know you saw before, yet the memory was rusty at spots. For instance, I remembered the set-up with the characters possessed. Forgot exactly the lead up to that, how it happened. So, it made for a fun time revisiting this one. A very aggressive episode, as you observed. It also feels like one that breezes by rather quickly with minimal fat. We really went on a journey with this one. Great initial set-up of fastening seatbelts for it was to be a bumpy night. I believe I did Star Tours once, to answer your query. I fail to see how it’s a problem that you’ve never been the rebel spy; then again, my brother and I always live for the Empire. By the same token, my brother is very big into Rogue Squadron material as a matter of fact. Adore the reaction to O’Brien being a sweetheart of beaming down as he did. Love how Picard verifies that O’Brien knows the risks, and only when receiving the answer of “yes” does he give the green light. Leads to the crux of it. The possessed Deanna, Data, and O’Brien: We’ll call them “Slash”, “Buzz”, and “Slugger”, as those were the names given to them by their actors. All the performances of Marina, Brent, and Colm were perfect. Love how Brent said one challenge was to play evil without sliding into feeling like Lore. Love also how you called out Buzz for being such a little bitch. We both clock the shifty eyes, and off behavior before Buzz and Slugger jumped the gun. Like how Slash calls them out on that. Answering the one question: I believe that Guinan was with Maggie Smith, Mary Wickes, and the other Sisters at the time, hence her conspicuous absence. And yes, she would not have it with this shit. The dilemma leads to some quality Beverly excellence, icon that she is. Great how Ro takes in what Beverly says, her look is pure, “You lose me on the medical jargon, but I can piece enough together of what you’re saying.” and through that, comes up with a solution. Would have been amusing if Ro had echoed your strategy of just breaking arms. Shame that her later ploy wasn’t successful, though sweet that Riker offers the compliment of the noble effort. Give Ro additional praise of she moved when the initial attack happened. I KNEW you’d be delighted to see your dream team of Geordi and Ro. Now I’m REALLY even more excited for a future rewatch!! I can’t wait!!! We both shared reactions when Slugger tried to force Keiko to silence Molly. And just in general, we hated those scenes. I yelled that if Slugger kept that up with Keiko and Molly, then we call in Keiko’s other famous tv husband, he’ll swoop in like a big red bird with fuzzy pink feet and BEAT Slugger’s ass. One saving grace is they do let Molly be past a point. Really bad times for the O’Brien family. Sure hope the writers don’t make a habit out of that. Haha, YEESH. These villains were formidable adversaries. Great how Picard does tip his hat to their ploy. How he would have almost given it to them of having a foolproof plan. There was only one problem. The chief flaw of their scheme: the question of how exactly the eternal rest is to be achieved. That combined with one too many convenient non-answers/vaguely cryptic responses, Picard remains skeptical and calls their bluff. Loved your laugh at Picard’s wiseassery when spotting the loose threads. Love how you called shit when they accused Picard of not cooperating when Picard already was. Great eye, Jess. Cackles it incites hearing you criticize Slash and the other two stooges for not committing to the bit. Truly cherish the words that you gave to Picard for his complete confidence, faith, and trust in his crew, such as Riker’s ability to handle shit, and as we know that he loves Beverly as he does, knows her brilliance, she can come up with the solution on the medical level. And I like how you don’t jump on Picard for holding idealism about the true identities of the villains; some fans get a bit annoyed by that. I do concede that the lines feel more the writers’ idealism than it is Picard’s. I don’t doubt Picard’s stance on not buying Starfleet officers acting in such a manner as our villains of the week do here. Worf raises the fair argument of it could be put down to an extreme case of cabin fever. Even before the reveal, they seem a bit too brutish, hence my largely taking Picard’s point, whilst conceding that Worf raises a valid point as well. Picard stands his ground. And it is a good teachable moment for Worf. Picard can impart to Worf the words of wisdom that “you have got to take the upper hand in all situations or people, whether they’re dead or alive, will walk all over you.” Understandable that you didn’t like the bad timing that resulted in Geordi and Ro not getting the Buzz fucker. Well, he moved. There’s nothing to be done about it. Slash foolishly goes full Bond villain with the monologuing, thus removing any incentive to play nice. And our heroes make it know that they would rather die trying to take the villains down than dying giving them what they want. They are all magnificent with the “MY SOUL IS PREPARED!! HOW’S YOURS?” energy. Especially Keiko. Adore your reaction to that part. Love Picard making sure Deanna is ok. Sweet that Data apologizes to Worf, love the words you had about Worf. Michael perfectly sells it in saying how it took some immense restraint to not unscrew Buzz’s head, and shit down his neck. Ending with the wholesome scene of the O’Brien family that Colm and Rosalind sell so beautifully. Yes, realistically, there probably should have been more prominent trauma. But the scene is so sweet, you let that slide. Just such a sweet reaction to that final scene. We both quite enjoy this episode, creepy though it is. Thank you for the delightful reaction, Jess.
Thomas Corp
2026-01-31 18:56:28 +0000 UTC
