The Defector (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"The Defector" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 58th episode of the series overall.

"The Defector"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 10
Directed byRobert Scheerer
Written byRonald D. Moore
Featured musicRon Jones
Production code158
Original air dateJanuary 1, 1990 (1990-01-01)
Guest appearance(s)

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, a Romulan defector requests asylum aboard the Enterprise after claiming to possess vital information about an imminent Romulan invasion.

Plot

The episode begins with Data exploring the human condition through acting in a Shakespearean play, Henry V. Captain Picard is giving Data some constructive criticism when he is notified by Commander Riker that a Romulan scout vessel is being pursued in the Neutral Zone. The scout vessel is under attack by a Romulan warbird, and they are approaching Federation space. The Enterprise moves to intercept the ship, causing the Warbird to cloak and return to Romulan space. The occupant of the ship is brought aboard the Enterprise, and claims he is Sub-Lieutenant Setal, an insignificant logistics clerk seeking to defect to the Federation after coming across information about a secret Romulan installation on the planet Nelvana III, within the Neutral Zone, that could sustain a large Romulan fleet.

Picard and his crew remain skeptical of Setal's claims when he refuses to provide them with any more evidence, and Picard orders an investigation of Setal's reliability while the Federation relays to the Enterprise that the Romulans are seeking Setal's return. When Setal's ship auto-destructs, the crew is forced to review the records of Setal's arrival, and believe that the Romulans arranged Setal as part of an elaborate hoax. Picard refuses to enter the Neutral Zone on the baseless claims.

Setal confides to Data that his defection came at a heavy price, that he will never be able to see Romulus or his family again; Data attempts to alleviate Setal's feelings by taking him to a holodeck representation of Romulus. Setal dismisses the hologram and reveals that he is actually Admiral Jarok, a high-ranking officer who previously had led a vicious campaign against several Federation outposts near the Neutral Zone. Jarok again beseeches Picard to investigate Nelvana III, but Picard refuses, and demands either Jarok provide the full information or he will be damned as a traitor. Jarok gives in to Picard's request, and gives detailed tactical information to Picard. Picard orders the Enterprise to Nelvana III.

When they arrive, the crew finds the planet completely barren with no evidence of any installation, to Jarok's surprise. Unexpectedly, two Romulan warbirds decloak and fire upon the Enterprise. Picard realizes that Jarok was used as a pawn by the Romulans, feeding him disinformation to lure the Federation into the Neutral Zone and at the same time disgrace Jarok. In response to Romulan commander Tomalak's demand for the Enterprise's surrender, Picard reveals he had prepared for this contingency: at his command, three Birds-of-Prey, sent by the Klingon Empire at Picard's request (as relayed by Worf), decloak and surround the warbirds, rendering the situation a stalemate. The Romulans re-cloak and retreat, allowing the Enterprise to leave. After the Enterprise has left the Neutral Zone, the crew finds that Jarok has committed suicide leaving behind a note for his family. While Data notes that relations with the Empire make delivery of the letter impossible, Picard states that, as long as there are Romulans with Admiral Jarok's courage and conviction, it may, one day, be possible to deliver Jarok's letter home.

Notes
  • In addition to his regular role of Captain Picard, Patrick Stewart also played the role of the holodeck character of "Michael Williams" from Shakespeare's Henry V, Act 4, Scene I, in the opening scenes of the episode. Stewart requested this out of his love for Shakespeare—Stewart is himself a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart uses a regional English accent from the 'Black Country', an area between Birmingham and Wolverhampton; his version is of the strong 'Gornal' variety of Black Country dialect.
  • This is the second episode to be written by Ronald D. Moore, and the episode that earned him a position on the show's writing staff. Moore would go on to have a long association with Star Trek, staying with Star Trek: The Next Generation through its final season and then moving to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where he would eventually become a co-executive producer. Moore would also later co-write the first two feature films based on The Next Generation, Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact.

Releases

The episode was released with Star Trek: The Next Generation season three DVD box set, released in the United States on September 3, 2002.[1] It was released in high-definition Blu-ray in the United States on April 30, 2013.[2]

Reception

In 2019, Screen Rant ranked this episode's character introduction, Admiral Jarok, as the tenth most important Romulan of the Star Trek Franchise.[3] Later that year, they noted "The Defector" as one of the top ten important episodes to watch in preparation for the series Star Trek: Picard.[4] In 2020, SyFy also recommended watching "The Defector", in this case as background on Romulan aliens for Star Trek: Picard.[5] They note the episode highlights the layers of trust and mistrust between the forces at work in the Romulan Star Empire, and how this complicated its relations with other quadrant inhabitants.[5]

In 2020, Vulture.com recommended this episode to accompany viewing Star Trek: Picard, noting how it establishes the Romulan alien's lust for power and tendency for deception.[6]

References
  1. Beierle, Aaron (July 2, 2002). "Star Trek the Next Generation – Season 3". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  2. Miller III, Randy (April 30, 2013). "Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Three (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  3. "The 10 Most Important Romulans In The Star Trek Universe". ScreenRant. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  4. "Star Trek: 10 Most Important TNG Episodes To Watch Before Picard". ScreenRant. 2019-07-27. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  5. Britt, Ryan (2020-01-13). "9 essential Romulan episodes to watch before Star Trek: Picard". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  6. Phipps, Keith (2020-01-27). "The 14 Best Star Trek Entries to Accompany Picard". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  • Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 3, disc 3, selection 2.
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