A Look at The Defector (TNG)

[@Lemon_Inspector]

I wish we could see that call between Worf and the Klingons. "Captain Picard came up with this idea to prank the Romulans. Are you in?" "By Kahless, yes."

[@myriadmediamusings]

Romulan defection to the Federation is so unheard of that their Defector shields are never quite operational when the Romulans arrive.

[@sethmaki1333]

At least, not until Tuesday.

[@autisticgamer4949]

10:03 and in STO we meet his daughter, and she absolutely doesn’t think of him as a traitor.

[@Willpower-74205]

The best thing that can be done to a villain or an antagonist is make him (or her) a multi-faceted character with legitimate reasons for doing what they do. Jarok loved his people, but he could see the abyss that they faced with their warmongering ways. He actually hoped that he could prevent a disastrous war, only to learn that the Empire had pranked him to shut him up and hung him out to dry. A truly tragic character. TNG was really good with those. 🖖😎👍

[@orbnaes]

The ending with the Klingon's uncloaking is just! *chefs kiss* Perfection!

[@ravenwilder4099]

Love the comment about the red shirt at the helm not even having an up-to-date uniform. Reminds me of a bit from Austin Powers 3: "Do you know who I am? Have you any idea how many anonymous henchmen I've killed over the years? And, look at you: you haven't even got a nametag! You've got no chance. Why don't you just fall down? Go on, son."

[@marshallhuffer4713]

Ronald D. Moore described the episode's story as "the Cuban Missile Crisis at the Neutral Zone."

[@Cailus3542]

One great aspect of the Klingons popping up is that Picard is sending the Romulans a message: "hey, remember these guys?". It's a firm reminder that the Federation/Klingon alliance is still strong, and that the Romulans could never hope to fight them both. The implicit threat is there: keep this stuff up and you risk your own doom.

[@Psofan220]

Moments like this are why I respect Picard. Everyone talks about his speeches but they forget he wasn't afraid to play dirty or get his hands dirty.

[@CaptainJZH]

And it sets up that the only way for the Romulans to have a chance against the Federation is influencing the Klingon Civil War

[@boobah5643]

I assume that this is what Chuck is referring to with "Reunion." The Klingons make snazzy allies; they don't have to stay Federation allies.

[@Thraim.]

The only reason the Federation/Klingon alliance never utterly destroyed the Romulans, is because the Federation isn't into wars of aggression. The Klingons are basically drooling in anticipation.

[@Manta665]

@@boobah5643 The Klingons are absolutely terrible allies with their constant "all or nothing"-approach to everything!

[@Nyst2]

He was a traitor, and a true patriot. This episode left quite an impression on me as a child.

[@cloudkitt]

I adore this episode. Picard's super big-balls moment is my go-to reference to new trek about it's complete lack of subtlety. Perfectly exemplifying the amount of tension you can create with just a handful of ships that barely fire a shot, instead of giant copypaste fleets and flashy effects for a battle no one gives a crap about.

[@toddfraser3353]

I mostly see it as the difference between pre and post dominion war. Pre war a few big ships, post war a lot of smaller ships in formation.

[@Jokie155]

No-one asked?

[@MrARock001]

So, I know this is probably the lukest-warm take on this, but I was re-watching all the TNG Klingon episodes (specifically the arc that starts with Sins of the Father and ends with Redemption). And I realised I had never considered the fact that because Commander Sela was probably in charge of the "ruin Klingon/Federation alliance" file for Romulus, she probably had a hand in ensuring that the information implicating Duras' father in treachery at Khitomer was found, leading ultimately to Worf's discommodation. And then I realised that Sela and the Romulan intelligence apparatus had been working all her life under the information provided to them by Alternate Universe Tasha Yar. And that the information Tasha had to give was about an alternate universe where the Klingon Empire had never made peace with the Federation and was in the process of wiping it out. Could it be that since Nerrendra III, the Romulans have been working to achieve the split they'd been told existed in the future, to erase the apparent mistake they made by destroying the Enterprise-C?

[@EebstertheGreat]

lol good catch on the red shirt with the old costume. I never noticed, and I've seen this episode three times. It's funny how TNG redesigned these uniforms multiple times but could never really figure out how to make them fit.

[@Toren8002]

Love me any episode of any show with Andreas Katsulas. G'Kar always makes a scene better.

[@bradwolf07]

I've always enjoyed this one. The Defector was honestly trying to do the right thing and it bit him hard.

[@TyrMcDohl]

That joke about Picard having children is even funnier, now, after STP has ended

[@ThePiachu]

Oh, this episode. If I remember correctly, this is the origin of the "Romulan Ale" trope in Trek? Which is kind of missing the point. In this episode the Romulan asks for his home ale because he is defecting and knows that he won't be able to go back. The replicator not having it just amplifies the sense that he won't even be able to get the comforts of home while in exile. It's a touching point that works with the narrative. But nah, let's just make it "Romulan Ale is soooo illegal guys! You need to go to a speakeasy to get it!"...

[@boobah5643]

Pretty sure Romulan Ale showed up in _TOS._ Checks: _Wrath of Khan,_ and noted as illegal at the time. Also: The heck? I search for "Memory Alpha" and the first result is Wikipedia's entry for the site. Modern search engines are stupidly compromised.

[@VerityFraser]

This is one of my favourite episodes in all of Trek.

[@akkristor]

Sadly, it would only be 8 years until the Romulans joined the Federation in the war against The Dominion.

[@BrianS1981]

I believe the Romulan Post Office experiences severe difficulties with at least one customer, in so much as they have banned any mention of Mrs Evadne Cake on any of their premises.

[@Zeithri]

Aside from the Romulans of TOS, Jarok is hands down my favorite Romulan.

[@RiceWarrior34]

Next to Tomalak, I love them both. RIP Andreas Katsulas!

[@andrewklang809]

My favorite TNG episode of all. Aside from the "Jeruul" (or whatever) line, it's perfect. Love to see you giving Season 3 its due all at once. It's the best Trek until Season 5&6 DS9, and better than anything since. Such a legendary season. EDIT: As for placing Picard himself as English Soldier #2, I'm OK with keeping the character himself on the sidelines. I've always found it funny that Picard is a terrible actor, as we saw from his Dixon Hill programs, and that the one time we got to see him (and hear him in a way I never don't find hilarious) furiously declaiming off-screen his Shakespearean sonnets towards Lwaxana in "Menage a Troi", he already knew all the lines, and still acted stiffly, though in a way that lent itself to the artificiality and absurdity of the scene and the ignorant villain they were tricking. The idea of Stewart playing an intelligent, dignified, intimidating man, who nonetheless is terrible at acting, is just adorable. A great little Trek in-joke.

[@MKDumas1981]

"Your knowledge of Klingon curses is impressive, but, as a Romulan would say, only a _veruul_ would use such language in public."

[@andrewklang809]

@@MKDumas1981 You wound me, sir. Seriously, why was that line written and/or left in??

[@SingularityOrbit]

@@andrewklang809 That's Riker's way of putting the defector on notice that he can't just pick on the Klingon in the room when everybody in that ship is Worf's friend -- and playing cutesy linguistic tricks cuts both ways. In other words, letting the Romulan know he isn't in control, and he's not going to get away with anything.

[@marshallhuffer4713]

The planet that the fake secret base is on is called Nelvana III, named after the Canadian animation studio that gave us stuff like Care Bears.

[@DeconvertedMan]

Such a sad story, he tries to do what is right, and its a trap, and he loses everything, for nothing. Damn.

[@Helbore]

Jarok is Picard, if he didn't work for the Federation. How many times do we see Picard put his life and career on the line, in order to do the right thing? He only gets away with it because the Federation has a solid, moral core that always ends up backing him up. Jarok did the same thing that Picard always did - risk everything he had, to do what was right. But he did it whilst working for a power that was happy to let him drown in his own moral superiority. Harsh.

[@boobah5643]

@@Helbore Picard has fewer massacres under his belt, and, much as I loathe _Picard,_ we know what he did when they just asked him to step aside and let people die.

[@BobSentell]

Even now, the Klingons decloakong gives me goosebumps. And Chuck's description of it is outstanding.

[@tbeller80]

The music definitely helped

[@MKDumas1981]

​@@tbeller80: Wasn't that a slight variation on the Goldsmith Klingon theme?

[@lisawatts-co5pt]

The only unbelievable part of the episode I’d that the Klingons didn’t immediately fire on the Warbirds when they fired on the Enterprise.

[@TALCOLMINTHEMIDDLE]

I don't know how this is not a 10/10

[@abraxas365]

This is a Top 5 TNG episode for me.

[@jimibaboza]

I really wish Picard delivered that message to the adminal's daughter in Unification.

[@BTScriviner]

I would have like more Romulan stories than the never-ending Klingon stories.

[@Robizoid]

I thought the little helmets The Romulans wore in the TOS era were goofy, the big shoulder look Jerac & the other Romulans are sporting makes me think all they need are green hats and they could sing "Christmas In Kilarny".

[@Nickelodeon81]

I'm going to the lobby right now 👍

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I just hope those are K'vorts and not B'rels!

[@nonamerequired123]

Chuck mentions the Soviets, but a better parallel would be Hitler's deputy Rudolph Hess who flew to Britain to try and negotiate a peace and end the war.

[@andrewklang809]

He was referring to the Romulan Star Empire in general. The Romulans would never fight face-to-face if there was any alternative that could give them an advantage. This parallels the Cold War, where both sides constantly sought to undermine each other, but never struck each other directly for fear of an equal (or escalated) response. The Romulans favored intrigue, demonstrating that they were not just stronger than their enemy, but smarter as well. They want to prove their righteousness at least as much to themselves as to the enemy. It seems they've had an inferiority-superiority complex since they split with the Vulcans, and everything they do is designed to shore up their own sense of superiority. They're usually depicted as not being comparable with the Federation or the Klingons in pure size and might, but they want to believe they're smarter, so they prefer the indirect route. Feint, dupe, provoke, deny, dare, confuse. Don't strike until you're certain the opponent is off-balance and wouldn't even be able to react, no matter how the fight turns out. Too bad for them their paranoia and arrogance still gets them into trouble. It makes sense the Tal'Shiar teamed up with the Obsidian Order. The Cardassians have a similar MO to the Romulans, only they're more boastful and performatively arrogant. The Cardassians are the extroverts to the Romulans' introverts.

[@nonamerequired123]

@@andrewklang809 The similarity is there.

[@navyreviewer]

As ive said on other reviews of this episode Andrea Katsulas does a fantastic job of portraying the Romulan realization that they are now facing the federation AND the Klingons not the federation or the Klingons. Some people feel bad for Worf for being the most request denied character. I dont. The most denied character is Lt. Smith. Hes the one that keeps requesting permission to seperarate the saucer before they do something dangerous. Flying into the neutral zone? Maybe we should separate the saucer? Denied. From a production POV i get it, but you dont have to show the actual seperation everytime. They already had the battlebridge set, just use it.

[@benives254]

I guess the reason they didn't have Picard acting at the start is because PICARD has never been portrayed as being skilled at acting, or even having an inclination to act.

[@bradwolf07]

I would have had it so Data recreated Picard's face for the hologram. That way you can have a bit of fun with Picard without it being Picard himself

[@Redrally]

"Summer"?! Oh right...reupload 😅s'ok will listen anyway

[@MKDumas1981]

The original upload was part of Romulan Summer, where he reviewed the Romulan episodes of Trek over that summer.

[@Robotrik1]

Shoulder pads FTW !!!

[@zEropoint68]

i feel like by this point there was plenty of reason to show off that you had a royal shakespeare company actor who could actually do the original pronunciations. the narrative context and relative brevity of the scene don't convey the time, effort, and dedication to craft its existence represents.

[@drockjr]

Trek chuck is best chuck

[@no_one_listening9864]

I krunk I wonch dis I drink more cos dis fun thanks (its gmt were I am)

[@charlesvan13]

Why didn't they just make Picard a British captain? Instead we have a French captain who acts British.

[@polishedpebble4111]

I viewed the Romulans as the China stereotype. Vulcans were the Japanese. The Romulans were an ancestor to the Vulcans but "sneaky and bad".

[@polishedpebble4111]

Also ties into the Sino-Soviet split and why it's written that the Klingons and Romulans are enemies too.

[@Cdr2002]

Honestly a fair evaluation

[@SciFi2285]

They are. Although the Vulcans were probably meant to be Taiwan not Japan. The Romulans regard the Vulcans as puppets of the Federation. And the Vulcans say the authoritarian regime on Romulus is a perversion of authentic Vulcan culture. Both sides claim to want reunification. But are only willing to do so on their own terms. Sounds familiar to anyone?

[@boobah5643]

@@SciFi2285 I'd noted the CCP-Romulan allegory before, but never made the connection between the Republic of China with Vulcan. It doesn't work as well with the situation during _Enterprise,_ but for the latter two time periods? Yeah, it fits reasonably well.