Star Trek: TNG Review - 7x7 Dark Page | Reverse Angle

[@kuljeetsingh9]

This episode also explains why Lwaxana calls Troi "Little One".

[@bad-people6510]

Nah, it's because she's Number One. One Senior.

[@mb2000]

That random crewmember in the turbolift with Lwaxana and Troi was a security guard in VOY “Relativity” and an admiral in “Endgame”. Not a bad career for someone who took on the two most dangerous jobs in Star Trek; security and being a redshirt!

[@StrayCatInTheStreets]

"If you left her alone, she'd be married by now" ....... yeah probably to an evil psychopathic sociopath alien telepath like the 12 other fellas Troi had weekly romances with. Riker has saved Troi from so many creeps, he is the only creep for her.

[@thewewguy8t88]

Well spoilers Riker and troi end up getting married( not within this series but eventually)

[@StrayCatInTheStreets]

@@thewewguy8t88 That wedding was a shambles of a wedding in a shambles of a movie. Doesn't count :)

[@LordTalax]

Nah Riker is a great man who was a good friend to her.

[@chrisbullard5901]

Riker gave up on Troi for his career, then couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted, instead of doing a Shelby and taking project work at a major Starbase where Troi could’ve also found what she wanted. In a post-scarcity society, a guy who graduates at the 88% percentile of his Academy class shouldn’t have a problem finding opportunities that also fit his personal life. Riker screwed up, but they should’ve also met a couple years later than they did, and maybe enough maturity would’ve accumulated for the two of them to figure out they were worth sticking together for.

[@StrayCatInTheStreets]

@@chrisbullard5901 yes but on the Enterprise, Riker could shag a new alien hussey every single week. Can't get that at Starfleet command or with their special projects

[@EricNTammy304]

Best so far in season 7, I agree. I can't wait for your take on "Sub Rosa" and "Masks!"

[@daviddiggens8841]

Absolutely. I've been looking forward to those two episodes. in particular... They stick out in my mind as the two worst episodes of the entire series and if I recall correctly they are consecutive to each other. Solid F - to be sure.

[@EricNTammy304]

@daviddiggens8841 I think "Thine Own Self" might come between those two episodes. (The "radioactive Data with amnesia" episode.)

[@daviddiggens8841]

Yeah your right. "Lower decks" is after "sub rosa" then "thine on self" followed by " masks". It's been a long time since I watched season 7 and those two stand out ( and not in a good way) so much I guess I miss-remembered the episode order. Then again if I'm not mistaken " thine own self" isn't exactly a triumph of story telling even by season 7 standards either.

[@mikeluit3027]

Eek, "Sub Rosa". I remember turning that episode off well before the halfway point. I don't mind character development-focused episodes, but that one...

[@Max..Q]

Sub Rosa? Worst PERIOD episode PERIOD ever PERIOD. If this one gets an F you got to raise every other F to a D-. It needs a new scale for this episode.

[@ThirdOfJune4444]

Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn) is still alive at the age of 74 at the time of this broadcast.

[@RamenNSoup]

Lwaxana marching toward you about to tear you apart was scarier than 10 Skins of Evil.

[@michaelwilson-xw4hz]

Ten times zero is still zero...

[@woogha]

This episode had me in tears last time I watched it.

[@dave5511]

I like it when they land early in the morning :)

[@theDuck55574]

Agreed

[@stevenreichertart]

This was quite a powerful episode for me. I think anyone who has experienced trauma will appreciate the emotional impact of the story. Intense trauma like this it’s so painful that the first instinct is to suppress it, but doing so will actually kill you slowly. Traumas have to be faced and processed, and ultimately someone needs to be forgiven, sometimes ourselves.

[@daviddiggens8841]

I must say that having discovered your channel by what I can only call pure serendipity two weeks ago and now having binge watched all your content over the holidays, you two not only have fast become high up on my list of favourite reviewers ( indeed among the likes of the critical drinker, mauler and co, disparu etc... Though I am shocked you don't get the views your quality warrants) but are of direct benefit to me in that I am attempting to go into career video editing full time within the next 6 months ( gaining accreditation with da vinci resolve 18 as fast as reasonably possible) therefore watching your video edits has been inspiring by exemplifying what can be done effectively within a "simplistic" format under ( I must assume based on how how often you produce content) relative time constraints that is both engaging and entertaining to a standard higher than many channels including those I previously mentioned. I genuinely hope for your success as you certainly deserve it.

[@KingOfMadCows]

They always forget about their Vulcan officers when they deal with telepathy. They even have a Vulcan doctor, Dr. Selar. Wouldn't they know a lot more about telepathy? They can even do mind melds that connects multiple people.

[@Pfisiar22]

From what I understand, while all Vulcans are telepathic to a degree, strong telepathy among Vulcans is relatively rare and requires physical contact. Betazoid telepathy is much stronger. And given that Betazoids are given to strong emotions, a Vulcan doctor healing the psyche of a Betazoid might not be the best of ideas.

[@mr.a8315]

Good review, guys. ♥ 2:48 Riker's face. 😅

[@mikeluit3027]

Lol! It's that "what the hell is going on" look! I hate to put a reference to this movie in here because I like Majel Barrett's character a lot, but it's the look I get when I see almost any scene from the movie "The Room".

[@mikeluit3027]

Great review! Some spot-on points. I was thinking before your grades a C/C+ was about right, for the reasons you highlighted at the end. The transition to the revelation seemed a bit sudden and little of the proceeding 3/4 of the show revealed much and it felt too much of a purposeful distraction. However, the reveal was meaningfully emotional. It was just kind of irritating along the way. I think that the telepathic aliens were actually more of a distraction and that something like a crew member's child's near-death incident and Luxuana lashing out at the parents (to watch their loved one more closely or something a little more subtle), may have served the audience better in this case.

[@Doomclown]

I don't like when they give different grades, now I don't know what to think.

[@mikeluit3027]

@@Doomclown I always seem to mostly fall in between their grades when they are that different. One likes the heady misdirection episodes and the other like's more of a flow to the plots. I tend to lean toward the plot flow as well. I usually have an hour or two at night to mentally digest anything. I use TV and movies to escape the arduous day, not extend it.

[@marquiskrystal]

Majal Roddenberry deserved an award for this episode.

[@mikeluit3027]

She was truly a good actress. I liked every episode she was in. Or more specifically the character that she made interesting.

[@jcjc4164]

She was also in Babylon 5

[@1down4upworkshop61]

I actually liked this episode ... Majel Barrett gets a bad rap as being the comic relief, but she is one of my favorite characters. Especially the episode "Half a Life" with David Ogden Stiers

[@NitpickingNerd]

"manhunt" is one of the funniest episodes of the whole show

[@1down4upworkshop61]

@@NitpickingNerd Yeah it was LOL

[@thewewguy8t88]

Hey dude good too see watching fellow reviews. I forget are you one of the guys who makes tng edits lol

[@Doomclown]

I agree. When the writing is good, she lives up to it. Majel Barrett Number One for life.

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

She gets another one of these types of episodes early in DS9, "The Forsaken ".

[@Freakazoid12345]

9:17 the way Kirsten walks away is adorable.

[@geomundi8333]

Terrible accidents where you feel like you should have done something different can have such terrible effect. I always hate people for being so cold, but it also hurts being sensitive because of things like this; i thought using empath to highlight this was perfect.

[@beatnickblanket]

THIS!!! One of the things that made this episode so impactful is the resonance of guilt. Imagine if you've held onto such a deep guilt over such a deep tragedy for SO LONG. Especially if you are the type of person who holds back nothing and broadcasts your - and EVERYBODY'S - business constantly. It would be so deeply psychologically damaging to any normal person, but to someone who is telepathic it would be destructive. This plot used the world of science fiction to explore guilt and trauma SO effectively, and I would even go so far as to say that Majel deserved an Emmy nomination for her performance.

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

In one of these episodes they should have brought back Dr. Pulaski. She'd go into sickbay, clear out Beverly's sizable backlog in a few minutes, and leave. Maybe she doesn't even get a line, maybe just some scowls and glares. When you mentioned that Troi needed to go back further in her mother's diaries, I expected an Inception-style horn. Looking forward to more oatmeal reviews.

[@diosoth]

Reportedly the TNG cast treated Diane Muldaur like crap during season 2. She left the set in tears on her final filming day. I can see why she never came back.

[@BintyMcFrazzles]

The bloke's face when he's sending his hypnotic death stare is hilarious.

[@jerryzeigler1290]

Kirsten Dunst-on Checks In!

[@andrewblanchard2398]

stop monkeying around 🐒

[@seanspartan2023]

I found the bit about her daughter's death confusing. So she drowned? That wasn't made clear. And there's no advanced form of CPR in the future? They couldn't beam her to an advanced hospital and revived her? It just makes little sense to me.

[@miltonruas5368]

Does it really matter? How old are you?

[@lazm3518]

The Karen ...that is all I needed to hear. 🤣

[@WolfRamAndHart]

Wait a sec..do all the end credits have a secret message you have to pause? (This one being about oatmeal?) Similar to Two and a Half Men?

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

I really hope you guys like the next episode. It’s not a particularly intense or showy episode, but for exploring the relationship between Picard and Crusher I feel it’s a damn winner 👍 I feel that it’s _so_ good, it _even makes up_ for what happens in a few episodes, on Space Scotland IV!

[@marshallhuffer4713]

Then in Star Trek: Picard, Riker and Troi would have a daughter named Kestra. They also had a son who was born first that also died young.

[@daviddiggens8841]

It took me a moment to realize you meant star trek: Picard as I was trying to wrap my head around the idea that Picard and Riker both had a son with Diana who died young AND a daughter named kestra at the same time. I just assumed it was a belated Gene Roddenbury inspired episode about 24th century sex and left it at that so it's a good thing I looked twice.

[@chrisinnes2128]

I hope that lwanna met Deanna and Will's kids before she died

[@TheDeadMan79]

Damn those giant space hawks, damn them to hell!

[@riverAmazonNZ]

I like Lwaxana, I think the actress always does a good job. This episode alwaysvmakes me uncomfortable, I don’t know why. The alien guy comes off so sinister, maybe we’re supposed to think he will be revealed to be evil, and the twist is he’s actually nice?

[@mabs9503]

Homeboy just referred to Majel Barrett as "the actress" smh

[@TalkernateHistory]

All those slow zooms on Maques' face are so comical looking

[@andrewblanchard2398]

they say she drowned as a girl but she keeps coming back a curse on Mrs TROI , a death curse a KESTRA TROI curse

[@chrisinnes2128]

I think that when we see lwexanna and ian-andrew troi crying is them watching the paramedics trying to save kestra

[@macmcleod1188]

I think it's cool that they didn't say it. Presumably, Kestra was eaten by the dog. I wish they would have included a half a life reference too. But I guess they couldn't afford it or the writers were ignorant.

[@gregoryalexandersipe130]

Sad the staring contest for five minutes, didn’t last another five like Data and his desktop viewer!

[@jerryzeigler1290]

"Do you like my Forrest Gump/Kim Jong Un haircut?"

[@ogto]

can't wait to hear your thoughts on Power of Dog in... 8 months? ^^

[@alklazaris3741]

There is no way that (8:37) is a "Wolf". I know a good doggo when I see one.

[@Verbalaesthet]

I didnt like that episode but I disliked most of the episodes with her mother. The only one I liked was the one where her partner was told to kill himself because he was old.

[@sethmaki1333]

I'm with Nick on this one. I really enjoyed this episode and I consider it to be among the season's finest.

[@VonWenk]

Robert apparently doesn't understand the point of a mystery.

[@davidjamessheets]

Was it Marquis that played a terrorist in that one episode with James Cromwell

[@GaryPotter99]

Not one “Karen” joke? Not one? 0:35 “explaining the intricacies of Karen communication”? To the manager no doubt… This stuff writes itself! I have to assume you avoided these intentionally and are baiting us to notice so kudos 😂

[@scottfitzpatrick1939]

A+. This is a full box of kleenex episode for me. Such an emotional ride and great send off for the Luaxana character. It helps explain why she is so scatter brained. She stays nosey and busy body to cope with a horrible trauma.

[@bonelessdonutz]

Anyone else laugh at the oatmeal joke. [Sounds good to me]

[@diosoth]

This should have been relevant for her overall character from then on, but it's forgotten about in typical Trek fashion. When she has a daughter in DS9 with some alien dignitary & ends up in a custody battle, it should have come up as a stronger reason for her to not want to lose the child. Instead she acts more like it's a selfish argument over property, this isn't mentioned at all & she all but uses Odo to win her claim- this despite her earlier DS9 appearance letting down her usual outward facade & bonding with Odo when they get stuck in a turbolift for hours.

[@samarat1]

Great job.

[@lonjohnson5161]

Oddly enough, I agree with both grades.

[@andrewblanchard2398]

this episode & the DS9 episode MUSE about a PREGNANT Mrs TROI are best left as NON CANON

[@pacmanrespector9552]

speaking of big brained aliens, you guys should do a one off review of the OG Star Trek Pilot

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

God, that poem’s worse than Data’s one about his cat…

[@michaelkantner6420]

Please don't take this comment the wrong way, but it always bothered me when Majel Barrett acted like she was crying, and you never saw her shedding any real tears. I found that unconvincing on her part as an actress. She acted the part well, but the lack of tears made me feel, like that's all she was really doing, acting. Maybe I'm being really picky, but that has always bothered me about her.

[@BTScriviner]

I don't get plot lines that have hiding the death of a child be a thing. So after Kestra died, the Trois just wiped her from their existence? No relative ever spoke about the eldest daughter? No item remained of hers? How disrespectful to their daughter's memory. Also, while I think it's funny, why do you guys shit on Beverly so much? Gates McFadden was by far the hottest TNG female crew member.

[@chrisinnes2128]

No apparently they put all of kestras thing in storage

[@Mal1234567]

Ugh. I hate those Silly Putty ears.

[@LordTalax]

A- on a boring episode I usually skip every time.

[@Fidi987]

If she and her daughter were both telepathic, should she not have known that the daughter was near or in the lake without looking?

[@VotePaineJefferson]

The Troi episodes were some of the worst, really. This one especially.