"We Are Not Qualified to Be Your Judges. We Have No Law to Fit Your Crime.", Picard

Star Trek The Next Generation Season 03 Episode 03 The Survivors

[@Frankie2012channel]

What makes this episode so heart breaking is that the actor John Anderson's own real life WIFE passed away not long before they filmed this episode. He drew upon his own grief for losing his wife to do this scene. It makes watching his performance that much more sad.

[@jdlamb4212]

Guy took method acting a bit too far

[@methos-ey9nf]

I did not know that, but damn it comes through his performance.

[@thomasglynn2282]

I'll always remember him as a cowboy on the rifleman

[@cwill1098]

John Anderson was one of the best character actors to have ever lived!

[@brotherjustincrowe]

@jdlamb4212 That’s not method acting. That’s drama therapy. Colossal difference.

[@nathanfitzgerald6651]

You should have included Picard's log at the end (paraphrasing here) "We leave behind a creature of extraordinary power and conscience. I don't know whether he should be praised or condemned....but I do know he should be left alone."

[@Zamiroh]

Agreed it is a great statement, and what was so great about tng. He was right to feel that way, but wrong for what he did. We don't know what the right answer would be.

[@hexistenz]

That’s what I’ve always loved about Star Trek, at the very least TOS and TNG: the moral thread thet was always at the forefront. Sometimes less explicitly, in the more ‘adventurous’ episodes. But quite often the very humanistic philosophy motor of a lot of episodes. It’s also why I’ve always remembered this particular episode, ever since watching it at the original broadcasting date, somewhere late ‘80s early ‘90s I guess. There is also a very realistic, down-to-earth aspect to Capt. Picard’s decision to let him go: there are limits to what we, humans, can impose on other living beings. We have our own morality. We also tend to unconsciously apply that morality to other beings, whether real or imagined. But a species like the Douwd (or however that’s spelled …) are as different from us as we are from ants 🐜 We might internally feel that what’s wrong for us should be wrong for any other species. But we completely lack any capacity to enforce any sort of moral code on such a species. Knowing our own limitations is very, very good for becoming mature as a species ourselves.

[@1steelcobra]

@@hexistenz And in a way, he'd already sentenced himself to penance for the crime, to live an infinite life of isolation pretending to live with only a simulacrum of another person to the end of the universe.

[@XSilver_WaterX]

Sadly, in Trek-logic, Sec-31 will FIND this nice and sad guy and torture him for info and powers to boost their dark ambitions! Fupp, Trek has good stories but VERY dark faction goals once you see the Trek should have stayed DEAD on the 80's.

[@joshuasitzema9920]

​@XSilver_WaterX in the end paradise would have those darker tones, the watchers in the dark who hold the line against the night. Is it good? No. Is it necessary? Unfortunately yes

[@b.abotan4403]

TNG casually introduced one of the most powerful beings in the universe and we promptly never saw him again. Dude annihalated an entire race with a mere thought. Hes on par with the Q.

[@Invictus13666]

Q couldn’t have done that.

[@florianschneider3982]

He is not even remotely comparable to the Q

[@florianschneider3982]

​@@Invictus13666What?

[@GMJ-rc9nk]

I agree, he's not as powerful as Q. He can't time travel to correct his mistake, and can't bring back the dead 🤷‍♂️

[@Invictus13666]

@@florianschneider3982 if Q could’ve, he would’ve. Or at least he’d have regaled Picard with a tale of great grampy Q doing it-before they made it illegal or something.

[@DarthMeteos]

I just love that Picard offers no pity or sympathy, he gives no forgiveness or condemnation. He just sends him on his way. Kevin does not show gratitude or disappointment, there's no glow of joy at freedom, no bitterness that he won't be punished. He just goes. I could watch these actor's faces during that part forever.

[@JazmynnJones]

More like Picard went on his way. He couldn’t send that guy anywhere he didn’t want to go.

[@DarthMeteos]

@@JazmynnJones he could have told him he was a monster and to get lost he could have helped him with his guilt by telling him it was understandable and a mistake he did neither of these things, he didn't take a side

[@michelvanderlinden8363]

when you love someone and they pass away, everything else becomes secondary. What good it is to him to have his freedom without someone to enjoy it with. What punishment would be worse than what he already experienced. Nothing Picard or anyone else could say or do would matter to him at this point.

[@evenAndre]

The agony when he states, "How I wish... I could've died with her...". Superb acting!

[@TheErockaustin]

John Anderson (the actor). His real-life wife actually passed away a couple of weeks before this episode was filmed. He later said that it was the most difficult performance he ever did because of the subject matter.

[@SessmaruKusanagiGaming]

His wife apparently died. He channeled that grief. I genuinely think it was him grieving his real wife in the line. It was too genuine. Too genuine. Not acting, that one line.

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

Not a dry eye on set no doubt 💔

[@mentalhealthnetwork]

My grandfather felt the same way when his wife (my grandma) died first. He waited 5 years to be with her and was happy when it was his time.

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

John Andrson nearly turned this role down because his wife had recently died and he thought it would be too painful. Instead, he channeled that pain into his performance. Legend. Also, props to Gates McFadden. The subtle, almost imperceptible change in her face when she realized the scope of what Kevin had done; as though death on a scale she could barely comprehend had her not knowing how to properly react.

[@OdinX316]

This episode was on an entire next level most missed! John Anderson was superb and brought out some very good acting from everyone.

[@joen0411]

This is the episode I think about the most. Not that this was the first time I heard of genocide, plenty of real world examples. And not the only time it’s come up in Star Trek. But this guy did it in a moment of rage with just one thought. How do you handle that. Even if federation had the death penalty, this guy would have killed him self if it was possible. Put him in jail, he’s already done that. Even if you impose a life sentence, he’s immortal. You can’t imprison him for eternity. So what do you do, nothing. You let him go knowing there is nothing you could do about.

[@tailstalker]

Sometimes the universe is infuriatingly big and powerfully empty.

[@AncalagonTheDread]

Its funny how judgmental someone can be, until they're place in a similar situation. Picard's behavior in his ready room during the First Contact movie is a good example.

[@mjbull5156]

There is also that the Federation cannot imprison this being unless he consents to being imprisoned. He destroyed an entire starfaring civilization just by thinking about it. He is beyond the Federation's abilities at this time to restrain.

[@lweaver2988]

"Hey, contain the borg without killing them and we can call that community service.'

[@Laceykat66]

And you think about it because of the line Picard uses, "We Are Not Qualified to Be Your Judges. We Have No Law to Fit Your Crime." Some crimes are so heinous that who is high enough to judge them?

[@tet68vietnam72]

I had the privilege of spending time with John Anderson two months before his death. He was born and raised in a small community in West-Central Illinois on the Mississippi River near the city of Quincy, Illinois where I lived. He had many friends in Quincy and the surrounding area and often came back to visit. On his last visit, I was working as a reporter for the local newspaper and was sent to do a story on John's connection with the local community theater. I had watched John on the big screen ("Halleluiah Trail" with Burt Lancaster and Debbie Reynolds) and several TV roles, including Star Trek. I was nervous about meeting him. I met him in his hotel room, and he answered the door in his bathrobe, stuck out his hand and said "John Anderson." He invited me to sit down, and we talked while he got dressed. I guess he noticed my nervousness and, laughing, he told me to relax. Quincy had done a lot of renovation to the riverfront that he wanted to see, so we drove down there in his rental car along with one of the paper's photographers. It was there that we posed for a picture, his arm around my shoulders. John was one of those people that you know from the first hello was a gentle and kind man. Two months later, I was writing his obituary. That photo hangs above my desk and is one of my treasured possessions.

[@stargirl7646]

What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it - I’m glad you got to LIVE it!

[@Bojan_V]

Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing...

[@johnarmenta2199]

I remember the first time I watched this episode . . . and the moment it dawned on me that he "killed them all", just a moment before he actually said it. My heart sank.

[@TheQuietOne937]

First time seeing this clip. Felt the same thing.

[@mariuszmiroslaw2290]

Maybe you can repair some device. It helps Anie...

[@chucksucks8640]

1) I thought picard knew that they couldn't hold such a powerful being in one of his cells 2) Picard knew that if he had the same amount of power he might have done the same thing in an instant 3) He knew the being regretted what he did

[@ahseaton8353]

And he knew not to piss him off.

[@mikebasil4832]

Excellent acting by John Anderson for a most unforgettable guest role in the Star Trek legacy. Even today this episode still has a great deal to say.

[@Invictus13666]

Yup. The Seminole Wind rolled him right on in there and he killed the part.

[@diosoth]

His own wife had passed shortly before filming the episode.

[@StrangeChickandPuppo]

I have been watching loads of episodes of The Rifleman recently, and that particular actor plays several different roles for 1-off episodes, each with diff names, etc, but is obviously the same actor just with a scar, or wearing a priest collar, etc. I kept thinking, his voice sounds SO familiar...

[@Laceykat66]

@@StrangeChickandPuppo He was one of those "actors" who was on everything but I don't know if he ever had a steady role. He was in every season of The Twilight Zone.

[@Invictus13666]

@@Laceykat66 why put his profession in quotes? The man was an actor. He was in demand precisely because he looked the part and was good. A cursory glance at his IMDb and the associated articles will tell you this.

[@SheldonAdama17]

This episode really maxed out the “godlike alien” concept that was a TOS staple… one of TNG’s unsung gems!

[@Patrick-vh7sw]

Certainly since it stands in stark contrast to Q - who will interfere with the affairs of others freely. To be faced with someone of possibly similar power who instead shows restrained and distaste for the power at their control AND remorse for using it.

[@sojourner.]

@@Patrick-vh7sw For all their talk, the Q actually change very very little. They certainly don't wipe out species, they only try to teach them - by acting like a drill sergeant.

[@Roddheel-ih5ki]

could you please redo your comment, but anagram everything so nobody knows what your saying....please please please?

[@joshuahickey9196]

Love that Picard is so in control here, and even after the revelation of the power and magnitude of this man’s “sin” as he called. Picard stays in BBC importer control while you can see crusher is taken aback. Fantastic scene, acting directing writing all of it!

[@RobynLeSueur]

One of my favourite episodes. Kevin could do whatever he wanted, but he respected life so much he refused to harm anyone. Only when he lost the person he loved the most did his willpower crack for a moment. Afterwards he felt nothing but guilt and sadness for what he had done in his moment of anguish. A tragic character, but none of us would have done much different if we saw the person we loved, murdered in an invasion of our home. We would all lash out with all the power we had.

[@DellikkilleD]

any rational being would have destroyed the threat before it hurt those they loved. this man is a great example of why pacifism is idiotic.

[@Leondegrance2]

@@DellikkilleD Or move them 50,000 light years away, say to Borg space. I did nothing, gravity was their enemy.

[@clovernacknime6984]

@@DellikkilleD Or he could had just walked out there and let enemy fire bounce harmlessly off his immortal skin while everyone else hid behind him, or teleport the colonists away, or take the enemy guns away without harming them, or... pretty much anything, really. Killing was not the only alternative to doing nothing here. Like many series which try to be deep and philosophical, Star Trek suffers from the fact that conclusions that hold in our everyday life don't necessarily hold in a fantastical or extreme context. Killing is wrong, but so is letting the Joker walk away to his next act. Pacifism is commendable, being a Chamberlain is not. It was mentioned at one point that Q can rise the dead (when Riker temporarily had Q powers), which kinda changes things from "we must accept death since there's nothing we can do about it" into "the more we fund this research, the faster we get our loved ones back", now doesn't it? Instead it was brought up casually for cheap drama and never mentioned again (and also made both Riker and Picard look like psychopathic egomaniacs while at it). It's not that pacifism is idiotic, it's that the writers - and by extension the characters they write - are.

[@DellikkilleD]

@@clovernacknime6984 never suffer those that actively intend you and yours harm, thats cowardice in its most abhorrent form.

[@RvLeshrac]

@@DellikkilleD Cowardice is taking the easy path, not the hard one.

[@williamnone]

I remember watching this episode when it premiered I was 13 years old at the time. The episode shocked me and my father at the time. I even cried a little. Kevin's grief, his tragedy was immense. An immortal, night god-like being in self imposed torment and exile for a crime that any other mortal being would have committed just as he had. At the end you can only sympathize and pity Kevin. Even now at 46 years old i still remember so much of this episode so clearly. I find myself asking the same question, "Would I have done the same as Kevin? Would any of us?" But i think Picard gave us a good answer. All they can do, SHOULD do, is leave Kevin alone.

[@Barry.Hughes]

The main problem is the same problem we have in todays justice system, say you are happily married with two kids and you come home from work and find your wife in bed with another man, when you grab something nearby and beat both of them to death, can you be blamed for a momentary outburst of rage? does locking you away in prison for 40 years change anything you would do if presented with that in the future, would it stop anyone else from doing it in the future if presented with the same situation? if not then what is the point in putting someone in prison for it? 'decisions' made in anger/grief are rarely beneficial but that doesn't stop them from being our go to response in those situations. (and just so we are clear I'm not suggesting that a crime hasn't been committed or that we start just letting everyone go free, just that jail is not the catch-all punishment most people hope it is and that in the moment of grief and rage we make bad decisions that we wouldn't have made otherwise)

[@DellikkilleD]

@@Barry.Hughes killing someone you 'love' for having sex is not comparable to destroying something that killed those you love. you cant be that ignorant. its sex, if you are upset leave. cheating is never a justification for violence. ever.

[@Barry.Hughes]

@@DellikkilleD I was talking about being blinded by rage not being upset, snapping and doing something you know is wrong but in the moment you aren't thinking clearly, you missed the point of the example.

[@ugaladh]

At the right time of your life, shows can have a lasting impact or memory, I grew up watching the original Twilight Zone series, but recall only one episode. It featured a Clock maker/repairman in a room full of clocks on the walls. somehow, he was granted a wish ( can't recall how) and he wished at 12 o-clock, all the evil people in the world would disappear. the episode ends with all the clocks chiming and the camera scans an otherwise empty room. I didn't expect that and made me think that some actions with good intentions can still be evil. I've always recalled that episode.

[@Barry.Hughes]

@@ugaladh oh damn, a proper unintentional Monkey's Paw, I love it. I'll have to look out for the episode, I don't remember that one.

[@StrangeChickandPuppo]

I was just thinking about this episode today, about how he said "Didn't fool you, huh?" when Worf confronted him about using an inoperable phaser to try to deter the away team. That is some top-tier deception -- him being a 'being of deception' who, is able to create a non-functioning weapon as a way to deceive them from thinking he was a threat, and foreshadowing. Such a clever writing idea to include.

[@gawainethefirst]

Truly a being of guile.

[@dickbahls9012]

"I admire gall."

[@Thy_Boss]

Though Worf would have said "inoperative," as this show came out back when "inoperable" still meant "describing a tumor on which you cannot operate" and "inoperative" was the word used for "that which does not operate, such as a non-functioning device." Not that I'm judging. It's just an interesting shift

[@adammullarkey4996]

3:25 "Not just the men, but the women, and the-wait, wrong franchise."

[@Elriuhilu]

What I've always liked about Picard in TNG is how he has such a strong sense of ethics and morality that he does not defer to or cower from clearly superior powers when he believes he is in the right, but also when he wins an argument he never goes further than what is justified to gain advantages because he might get away with it. He confidently stands up to and sometimes admonishes violent warriors, representatives of aggressive empires and even physical gods knowing they could easily obliterate him because it is righteous to do so.

[@alexinfinite7142]

Most people sneer or gloat. He's very honorable

[@RictusHolloweye]

@@alexinfinite7142 - Small people sneer or gloat.

[@chasethevioletsun9996]

And that, kids, is why you don't go invading random planets.

[@baneblackguard584]

imagine the impact a human had on this creature. for so long he wandered the universe living by that rule "I will not kill". and within the span of a human life he had grown so attached that losing her caused him to abandon a rule he had lived by for who knows how long, perhaps longer than humans have existed.

[@oo7warrior]

A rare example of what awesome acting that occurred in this series. One of the better episodes. Final Caption's Log, "... he should just be left" sent shivers through me the first time I saw this episode.

[@davidcunningham7330]

Mr. Anderson was SUCH a great actor. This is one of the 2 best episodes in STSG lore.

[@sabriam]

Can you imagine the Federation Council after reading Picard's report? "Ok, so...xenocide, let's get something on the books for that one."

[@Egilhelmson]

They could no more chastise him for his Husnakicide than they could for the Organians stopping the Federation-Klingon war. The paramecium votes do not matter to the larger alien races.

[@DLordSadow]

And then what? Imprison this guy? What if he flips out in a Federation prison and wipes out the Federation with an angry thought? Best to just leave him alone.

[@SantomPh]

He's not a Federation citizen and like Picard said they have no way to judge him at all. The Prime Directive and General Orders would suggest they just leave the man alone.

[@Grandtheatrix]

Yeah, this feels pretty clear cut xenocide. The Federation seriously doesn't have anything for it?

[@SapSapient]

​@@GrandtheatrixThey likely don't have laws for dealing with past xenocide committed by someone outside of the Federation. They might have policies about intervening to stop xenocide, or punishing a Federation citizen.

[@whiskeyfur]

The look on Crusher's face when she realized what he meant by ALL... that was an element of horror that just... completely, unimaginable. It's incredibly subtle... but damn.

[@JaimeGirl]

Masterful turn by John Anderson. Very few actors had his gravitas, and the voice that conveyed it. His Twilight Zone appearances all rank among my very favorites, as well as a MASH episode where he played a general who loses his son. Here, he just completely conveys all of what Kevin feels here: the guilt, the loss, the all but unbearable sadness of this being, godlike in his power and all too aware of it. A being that had such reverence for life no matter whose it was, steadfast in his vow not to kill. And then, he loses the one thing he loved in that long immortality of his, loses it to violence he could have stopped with a literal thought- and his vow breaks. And in that grief, he does the one thing he was terrified of-and does it on an unimaginable scale. Can you imagine? An immortal being, forever doomed to his loss, and to the guilt of his action? A being of conscience that can never forget it, without even the escape of death? Picard realized it, and despite his slightly righteous tone in saying it, he knew there was nothing he could do or impose that could be worse for him even were it possible. In the end, we are all our own prisons, and we all do our own time. At least for humans, one day we’re released when death comes for us. Kevin won’t ever have that-and maybe, in that look of Picard’s, there was recognition and maybe pity as well

[@veleriphon]

This is still one of my favorite TNG episodes. That self-awareness from Picard hits a little different 34 years later.

[@jlogan2228]

Man i miss the days where shows could give you a very complex subject matter and not tell you how you should feel about it but let you decide for yourself

[@MichaelPohoreski]

TNG, generally, *respected your time and mind.* i.e. _”One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”_ Star Wreck Picard does neither. 😂

[@shadowki497]

U guys don't love female space Jesus Mary Sue? She is just so awesome, even the captain looks over to ask how they should do their job. If u don't like her u know that must make u a toxic white male ist/ism something :o

[@tenjenk]

If you miss those days then you haven't been looking around well enough

[@98f5]

​@tenjenk did you happen to know some shows with a similar concept? Most today seem akin to propeganda to me. I rarely watch entertainment made after 2010 because of this reason. But my mind is open to find some great new shows that are on par with tng

[@MichaelPohoreski]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@98f5_The Orville_ (the spiritual successor to TNG), _Black Mirror_ (the spiritual successor to The Twilight Zone), and documentaries. e.g. _The Century of Self_

[@TheBigExclusive]

Q would have given this guy a round of applause and a hand shake.

[@johnhardasnails7464]

Exactly

[@rcslyman8929]

"Mon Capitan! Have you missed your all-powerful friend?" "Not now, Q. I've had it with your kind. Beings with far too much power and far too little compassion to use it properly." "Jean-Luc. I'm hurt. What did I do?" "I couldn't even begin to list them, Q, but... admittedly, this time it wasn't you. We encountered a Douwd." "Douwd? You compare moi to a Douwd? That banal race of unimaginative miscreants. What did this one do?" "He destroyed an entire race over his own grief. In one instant, just like that... gone." "See, that's the kind of short-sightedness that keeps them beneath us. The finality of it, when he could have kept them under his heel for eons. How droll." "Q! This isn't the time!" "Oh, very well. We'll stop talking about your Douwd and move on to a far more interesting topic. Me."

[@pappy451]

@@rcslyman8929 sounds exactly how that convo would go .

[@GladioInanis]

@@rcslyman8929 I heard the entire conversation in their voices as I read it. It really does sound exactly how I would imagine the conversation to be written.

[@GuitarGunner]

@@rcslyman8929 This guy Q's

[@MarklovesAngels]

All these years later an this particular episode is still renting space in my head in a good way. Lots to ponder.

[@vurrunna]

I've always held the theory that Kevin didn't just kill the Husnock, but completely wiped them from existence, including all memory of them. No one aboard the Enterprise seems to have any knowledge of the Husnock, and we get no sense of the galaxy reacting to a species' sudden disappearance. They're simply gone. As if they had never existed in the first place... Except for the scars of their passing.

[@vishnu79]

It's Beta Canon, and one of their ships appears in Star Trek Online, which is owned by CBS, so pretty "hard" Beta-Canon, but the novel Fortunes of War actually has some descriptions of what the Husnock looked like and how their society worked, and what happened in their stellar neighborhood when they all exploded into plasma, which is what Kevin did to them. Trying to avoid spoilers here if you're interested in the book, but they were an extremely militaristic empire with a king, appeared to be an aquatic or semi-aquatic species, with seven tentacles, four of which were used as legs, beaked mouths, bulbous heads with multiple sets of eyes, and bluish colored blood. By the point they discovered the Federation they'd already conquered a couple of their local neighbors, they had a highly regimented caste system, used slaves, and were generally a minor species, both size-wise, and technology-wise, with one exception. They had extremely powerful weapons tech. It's never explicitly stated where their empire was located, but after the Enterprise leaves Delta Rana, they're heading to Starbase 133, according to Picard's Log. Starbase 133 is located somewhere between Trill and Betazed, in the Kalandra Sector, so it is hypothesized that Delta Rana was a colony system on the border of Federation space somewhere between the Talarian Confederation, The Cardassian Union, and Tamarian space. Extrapolating from that, it is likely that the Husnock lived out in the unexplored area between where the Cardassian's southeast border stopped, and where the Ktarians and Talarians claimed their territories. There's a lot of unexplored space in that pocket.

[@Thy_Boss]

@@vishnu79Sounds like bad writing

[@darkranger116]

4:18 I feel like this is an example of how amazing Patrick is as an actor with just his face. You can see almost everything inside his mind. Disgust. Shock. Disbelief. All of it bubbling over and becoming tepid by the time of 4:40 as it looks like hes mulling it over, realizing that a human could have just as easily pressed the Nuke button and done the same in grief and anger.

[@Gothic7876]

Considering the Husnock were violently genocidal to all sapient life? This guy saved more lives than he took.

[@richardthomas5362]

It would have been quite an impact if the Husnack had appeared in a handful of earlier episodes, causing problems, etc. After this episode we would not see them anymore. Babylon 5 did that with one of their races - they were around doing things until some disease wiped them out in some episode then, after that, we never saw them again.

[@KurtisRainboltGreene]

Humans were canonically the same, they turned out alright.

[@sterlingmullett6942]

​@@richardthomas5362 Bablyon 5 is a great show. I only saw bits and pieces of it. It's on my watch list, plus the movies. Lately, I've tended to pick a show and watch it from start to finish watching no other show until it's done. Usually takes several months for each show and it's a nice consistent distraction at the end of a long busy day. It's been great going through the back catalogue after the classics; Star Trek DS9, TNG, Stargate, SuperNatural, etc. etc.

[@blastermasterguy]

Precisely and he should be LEFT ALONE! Best to let sleeping gods SLEEP!

[@morrigan908]

​@@richardthomas5362 That was the Markab in Babylon 5. They were essentially wiped out by what they called the Drafa Plague. I won't go into huge detail, but a lot of people assumed it was supposed to be an allegory for AIDS because of the immorality associated with it. JMS denies the AIDS allegory and said it was based on the Black Death as much as anything. Regardless, I agree that it would have made the death of this one-off murder-species more impactful, but you really only see foresight--or foreshadowing if you prefer--like that in a highly-serialized show with multi-season arcs (B5 was one of the first, if not *the* first) as opposed to episodic (all of ST and pretty much everything before the mid 90's).

[@210mdc]

Makes me wonder just how powerful was the real Husnock warship? Clearly the Dowd made the facsimile ship as powerful as he needed it to be to drive off Enterprise. If it really was as powerful as depicted in that awesome battle scene that would put them on par with the Borg if not superior. He did the Federation and probably the whole Alpha quadrant a HUGE favor.

[@SantomPh]

The Husnock were apparently the conventional invader race trope version of the Borg and Dominion. Dowd didn't actually damage the Enterprise in the end, he only made it look so.

[@albertjiminez1144]

Sometimes I forget how many god level aliens that Star Trek has had in their canon history.

[@Cowracer67]

all aliens are a God to a termite.

[@virt1one]

I always found it irritating that despite having made good relations with SO many powerful beings, they never called on them for help with the Borg.

[@BoredPodcaster]

There are two lessons in this scene alone: 1. No one is immune to the effects of grief, of loss, and pain. They have the capacity to make ANYONE act with ferocity, and as long as we accept that we are ALL capable of that, we can all strive to NOT do so. Denying one's enemy's existence cannot win a battle, and it will cause you to lose the war as well. 2. The concept of absolute morals can blind you to the necessity to fight back. Sometimes, despite your best efforts to avoid a fight, you have to fight back. It is not a failing of your morals to be forced to take a life in defense of your own, or others' lives. Additionally, it's easy to run away and hide behind your morals when you aren't at risk personally, but at what cost? Could you live with yourself, knowing you could've stopped an opposing force from harming others, but chose to do nothing?

[@barachiel212]

@BoredPodcaster A game I play has a line that fits Star Trek pretty well, especially in some of the terribly written Prime Directive episodes. "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivable save is not wisdom, father. It is indolence."

[@foxmcld584]

A commentator I follow has discussed a really chilling rule with a VERY dark history, referred to as 'Rule 303'. Simply phrased: "If you have the capability, you have the responsibility to use it." It gets misinterpreted and misused as 'Might makes Right', but it's more meant to be 'Might means you need to enforce what's right'. Sort of like that famous Spiderman line.

[@azkon7975]

@@barachiel212 Alphinaud, quoting his grandfather Louisoix, when speaking to his own father of their nation's inactions. Excellent game.

[@Thy_Boss]

3) the ending suggests that the Federation has no law against genocide, which doesn't make a lot of sense for a fictional setting where one spaceship could commit the crime on a whim in a single day by just finding a primitive planet and shooting at it from space, but which makes dramatic sense for the story and works well as its conclusion. The lesson is that trivia-mongering "lore" and "canon" should be subordinated to effective stories.

[@tommargarites2811]

It was truly a terrible thing for any being to have done, understandable the grief felt by such a powerful being, but to destroy an entire species is well..... thinking about it now, I'm quite speechless. Back when I first saw this I did'nt quite realize the enormity of what had happened, until I had watched the first rerun of this episode.

[@cranbers]

That supreme being could of killed everyone but instead admitted things to picard as if he was a therapist.. TNG was so good, I miss how great the writing and story telling was not to mention a few dozen episodes per season so we go tot know the crew and watch 45 mins stories like this.

[@LBCB94025]

*If your under 30 and or dont watch old TV shows; you probably don't realize how prolific of an actor this guy is!!* _Hes been in hundreds of TV shows and movies playing a wide range of roles!_ Only about 4-5 other people have done as much as him!! About 40%+ of his work isnt even on Wikipedia!! *This guy had been acting since the at least the 40's!!* #JohnAnderson

[@johnroscoe2406]

you're*

[@autoteleology]

@@johnroscoe2406thanks for your non-contribution to the discussion, pedant.

[@johnroscoe2406]

@@autoteleology Correct spelling/grammar is pedantry now? Wow. Society is more screwed than I though.

[@limemobber]

Picard is horrified but at the same time deep down inside he has to wonder if the Douwd did the Federation a huge favor. If he was being honest about the nature and power of the Husnock, and if at any point the ship created was accurate then Kevin may have saved billions of lives in the Federation and billions more across the galaxy.

[@russellharrell2747]

The Husnock make the Dominion and Borg sound like noobs in the planet conquering game. Singlemindedly aggressive and powerful enough to back it up short of a space god just thinking them out of existence.

[@jsmall10671]

When he tells them he committed genocide on a galactic scale with a thought, I always picture Jean Luc thinking "holy crap, how do we get out of messing with this guy after that?" "Uhh... we have no laws for such a crime.... you are free to go."

[@fyrestorme]

"I killed all the husnock.. everywhere..." Beverly: "No one make him angry O_O"

[@sticksara]

One of the best episodes I’ve seen. The story and acting are something to enjoy

[@sharkdentures3247]

One of the greatest scenes/ ending of TNG IMO. So well acted, and so thought provoking. Perhaps the greatest power in the universe . . .our own conscience! Also, every time I hear Dr. Crusher questioning the Doud, I think, "You self-centered, narcissistic human! What an arrogant question to ask! You really think human life is SO much more important that all other life?"

[@TFZ.]

I liked Dr. Pulaski a lot more than crusher... Crusher could be a real JERK sometimes... (Mind you I don't HATE Crusher, but compared with Pulaski, I just don't feel the same way... Pulaski gave me "Bones" vibes. :))

[@edgeofthought]

This was the first episode of STTNG I ever saw, when it aired. I remember this significantly for some reason. Maybe the reason is self evident. It’s not regular tv. ❤ so glad to see this clip. Much love to everyone and merry Christmas and happy holidays 2023

[@dbsommers1]

One of the most chilling lines in literature, honestly.

[@ricardop9196]

I literally just saw this episode 2 days ago. So far season 3 is so good. Glad i started watching TNG

[@davethepak]

A remarkable scene - excellent acting and writing. Very powerful.

[@Muffienuggets]

This is one of the most powerful scenes I've ever watched. As a person just now getting into the trek, (starting with the og stuff :) ) this just blew me away.

[@markohorvat4044]

The way he delivers that line: "I killed them ALL." Bloodchilling...

[@c20995]

"We have no law to fit your crime." That is a lie. What he really meant: "We have no way of enforcing even a parking ticket upon you. Certainly not this. Please don't kill us too."

[@paulqueripel3493]

Well, the fed probably had a law against genocide, but no jurisdiction. Not a member of the federation, and the action didn't happen in federation space.

[@3Rayfire]

And it occurred to me that it wasn't planned. It was like a guy killed his wife and he punched him, the guy fell and broke his neck. Manslaughter. Just applied to an interstellar act of genocide. On a scale that Federation jurisprudence would never even conceive would be possible. I think in Picard's reading of the situation psychic obliteration of 50 billion people in a moment of rage is way beyond genocide. It's way worse and there's nothing they could do about it.

[@Robb1977]

@@paulqueripel3493 also, how would one judge a crime committed through thought? what if the romulans just.... vanished one day? would a starfleet officer who wished them to disappear be tried as a war criminal? especially if it could somehow be proven that it was the officers thoughts which caused the event to occur?

[@MM22966]

But that was the beauty of the scene. While physically true that Picard had no way to make Kevin do anything, Kevin was surrendering himself to Picard's judgement. If Jean-Luc had told the poor guy to go jump in a sun, you're too dangerous to live, Kevin probably would have done it. Instead, Picard was guided by the Prime Directive, which basically says "don't mess with something if you don't know what you're doing", and his own innate mercy.

[@BlokenArrow]

What do you charge him with? Omnicide?

[@WarDog793]

If you are not brought to tears by Kevin Uxbridge's confession and obvious grief, you need a heart transplant...and probably an emotion upgrade. But when you find his grief is two-fold and unimaginably worse--"All Husnock."--you feel his grief even more completely. A fascinating mystery plot, and stellar performance by all.

[@professorhelmling6059]

KZbin is straight reading my mind. I was just thinking about this scene on my drive home-randomly and complete independent of any media consumption. Sit down, open this up and this vid is waiting in my feed.

[@blastermasterguy]

"HOW I WISH I COULD HAVE DIED WITH HER!!!" The sorrow in his voice, the sheer despair of losing her, the woman he dearly loved. Immortality is a HORRIFIC CURSE!

[@shamusomalley4263]

I'd make it work.

[@qevvy]

Every life that isn't immediately cut short is going to experience loss and grief. An immortal life is no different than a mortal one in that respect.

[@icecold9511]

Lorien : We've lived too long, seen too much. To live on, as we have, is to leave behind joy, love, and companionship because we know it to be transitory; of the moment. We know it will turn to ash. Only those whose lives are brief can believe that love, is eternal. You should embrace that remarkable illusion. It may be the greatest gift you ever received. Babylon 5. THE First One.

[@blastermasterguy]

You'll be horrifically disappointed.@@shamusomalley4263

[@blastermasterguy]

Your missing the point. Being immortal means giving up on love and companionship because you know it will eventually turn to ash.@@qevvy

[@daviddaugherty5528]

In a way, he had his own Prime Directive.

[@robertpolityka8464]

Excellent acting !

[@wyhop6071]

One of the best scenes in all of the Star Trek franchises!

[@manthebat]

This scene really feels like a classic doctor who episode.

[@tedski69]

Superb drama here. Worthy of the best novels. What could you possibly do with a being like that who had commit an attrocious crime. The only thing you can do is hope his conscience punishes him. In this case, it probably would.

[@MrTmax74]

What a great scene. I still remember the intensity of it all when I watched it for the first time as a teenager. This is one of those characters that I wish would have been revisited. If he could get over his grief, and move on, he could be a big force for good in the galaxy. What a resource. A Q like being with a conscience.

[@michaelmayhill5464]

And THIS is a great example of why TNG's best will NEVER be topped...

[@rustysanchez8416]

That’s the actor from one of my fave Twilight Zone episodes, The Old Man in the Cave! He was also the used car salesman in Psycho

[@StrangeChickandPuppo]

He also plays loads of single-episode characters on The Rifleman.. I knew his voice sounded familiar =)

[@leftrom9738]

'You're free to return to the planet', said Picard to the immortal alien that can commit genocide with a single thought in a universe-scale, lol

[@3Rayfire]

Well said being was awaiting his judgment.

[@leftrom9738]

@@3Rayfire From the humans? He was an immortal, he lived for thousands of years; he was around when humans were still primates. No-one can understand and judge such a powerful being, except maybe other immortal and powerful beings. It's like a human transformed into an ant and then he awaits the ant colony to judge him, because he stepped onto some other ants, when he was human. I love TNG, but a few times the show went over the edge with the human/federation moral high ground.

[@3Rayfire]

@@leftrom9738 Not what I said, it's what Kevin was on. He didn't actually care about his immortality or hold himself above mere mortals at all. *He* is the one who said I will not kill, he was the the one feeling immense guilt for his crime. This Douwd wanted to be judged and punished because he failed according to his own morals and beliefs. Picard said, "no, I can't help you there." In your ant analogy, he burned every ant colony when he didn't mean to and then asked some passing bees what they thought.

[@leftrom9738]

@@3Rayfire The root of the problem for me is that this character is a hybrid of an immortal+powerful being, with human temperament. He refrained from defending his wife and the settlers, he lost both of them, and then he lost his composure and killed a whole species. Then he's ashamed and awaits judgment from some passing bees. You'd think that a being so omnipotent and immortal (ie *lots* of time for personal growth/improvement) would have a different emotional and logical approach, this is what bugs me. All in all, it was a good 'mystery' episode; the flaw was that they made this alien too human, not a great deal tbh.

[@3Rayfire]

@@leftrom9738 I get what you're saying, but I appreciate him in direct contrast to something like Q who is all too aware that he's usually dealing with ants and all too often enjoys burning them with a magnifying glass.

[@Rotorhead1651]

His crime was not merely destruction of an entire species. It was failing to protect the colonists when he had the chance. With power on a level of the Q, he could have simply set up an impenetrable barrier to keep the Hushnak out of that star system, or confined them to their own home system. He might have even made it so their weapons wouldn't work. At that level of power, he didn't need to be violent with a lower, hyper-aggressive species. But, instead, he chose to do nothing, to not get involved. That is the coward's way out.

[@derek96720]

He's basically just following his own personal prime directive. He's a godlike being who recognizes that it's not his duty to command lesser races. He only violates that rule in a brief moment of overwhelming grief.

[@jeffreycole2816]

One of my favorite episodes.

[@soggycracker5934]

Yeah. I still remember crying when this episode first showed on TV. It was not the most morose story in the series, but it still touches anyone who watches it.

[@johnroscoe2406]

Your Pepe pfp makes you difficult to take seriously. I don't know many racist magaturds with any sensitivity.

[@soggycracker5934]

@@johnroscoe2406 I think by your response, you have outed yourself as the biased one here...

[@johnroscoe2406]

@@soggycracker5934 Sure bud. I was born yesterday too.

[@soggycracker5934]

@@johnroscoe2406 I agree with you.

[@johnroscoe2406]

@@soggycracker5934 That doesn't make grammatical sense you fool. That's not something you can or can not agree with. Regardless of the sardonic nature. Nice fail.

[@davesplayin1534]

Star Fleet officers moralizing about him not interfering, then hiding behind prime directive. Classic.

[@thehellyousay]

I met this actor back in the 90s at my jewelry stand. He was a true gentleman.

[@kucutooms8685]

One of my best episodes of star trek.....

[@MojoPup]

A fascinating episode, though I would wonder why if you have such powers...there were so many options beside fighting them. For such a long lived being, he wasn't very imaginative. For instance, every time they get near the system...have them all go to sleep and reroute their ship. I know, I know...then we wouldn't have this good story.

[@theyux1]

Based on his description of i tried to trick them, which only made them angrier. He attempted what he thought would work only for them to use ingenuity to get around it. For your idea, what if they programmed their ship to auto pilot attack.

[@samirsinha1135]

His main "powers" seem to be tricks and deception vs Q-like omnipotence. So he likely couldn't just teleport them across the galaxy for example.

[@stevenscott2136]

Maybe he just convinced everyone (including themselves) that they didn't exist. There could be Husnock ships anywhere, but nobody notices them. Filled with corpses, because they all starved to death in their amnesia comas.

[@stargirl7646]

@@stevenscott2136oh damn that’s a dark idea

[@stevenbugala8375]

This is one of my favorite episodes. It’s a great mystery with a great twist at the end. But it’s made even better by the acting. I guess I was also drawn to it because we see there are other powerful beings on par with Q. Season 3 was when we started to see TNG at its finest.

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

Thank you Michael Piller! This was his first year running TNG. He understood what Gene was trying to do and understood better than Gene how to make compelling episodes about characters without breaking from Gene’s vision. Today Hollywood only elevates destroyers of what came before…who prefer vinegar over honey, a sledgehammer over nuance, dogmatic self-righteousness over compassion, hubris over consideration.

[@SessmaruKusanagiGaming]

Whelp. Time to rewatch ALL OF ST:TNG AGAIN! God, I love this series. Every generation of it.

[@kathleenhensley5951]

Heart-breaking.

[@r0bw00d]

CRUSHER: We don't have a law for genocide? PICARD: Shut up, Wesley!

[@jakzine540]

It's always Wesley's fault in some capacity.

[@greencello599]

A fitting punishment, really. To live the rest of eternity knowing what actually happened and with ones actions. The Husnock attacked and killed out of a xenophobic hatred to all other life. This guy obliterated an entire species out of anger and anguish. As much as he loved his wife, he valued life in every form. Every person has a breaking point. The death of his wife and the other colonists was this beings point.

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Such a good episode, man…

[@sfperalta]

The gravitas of Patrick Stewart’s performance just makes this show the best.

[@internetgas2020]

I always laugh at Picard's response at the end. "Your free to return to the planet". It's like Picard, The USS Enterprise D, hell even the whole Federation could do a damn thing to stop him. This guy just wiped out a whole species with a thought, in the blink of an eye & Picard is "allowing" him to go back to the planet ??

[@TverangerTrent]

I would think there is some law against genocide too. Not that they could enforce it.

[@tbotalpha8133]

I think it's more of a polite formality. "I have nothing more to say to you, nothing more to ask. If you're waiting on me, don't. You're free to go."

[@stevenscott2136]

Picard is such a natural commander that he talks like he's in charge even when he isn't. That's probably a useful trait most of the time.

[@kebsis]

Listen to what Picard says. We have no laws to fit your crime, you're free to return to your planet. Ie, you're free to return to your self-imposed punishment of eternal grief and a hollow facsimile of what once made you happy. Dude was probably hoping Picard would 'order' him to some jail somewhere and probably would have abided it.

[@jacobwiren8142]

What else do you say when a god submits himself to your mercy?

[@ReaverLordTonus]

This is one of the reasons I think Starfleet was wrong to not be more supportive/appreciative of Captain Sisko being the Bajoran's Emissary to the Prophets. During the Dominion war, having any powerful omnipotent beings willing to act on their behalf in any capacity would be a huge asset. Kevin Uxbridge (don't know his or his species actual name) would likely never have agreed to aid the Federation and you certainly wouldn't get Q to help either, despite them both having the power to wipe out the Dominion with a mere thought.

[@calanon534]

Kevin is a Douwd. He mentions it, but it's not easy to hear among his little speech. Pronounced "Dow-d."

[@ArlanSmith]

This is the first STNG episode I ever watched. Suffice it to say I was immediately hooked.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

GREAT episode.

[@woodrobin]

"We are not qualified to be your judges." -- Okay, true enough. "We have no laws to fit your crime." -- Hold on a minute. We absolutely have laws against genocide, the killing of civilians, the specific targeting of non-combatants, the killing of children. I'm pretty sure the Federation does, too. I'm cool with the notion that the Federation doesn't have jurisdiction over an immortal being with godlike powers who was only pretending to be a Federation colonist. But almost any imaginable civilization would have laws that cover what he did.

[@ZeldaMaster285]

He eliminated an entire species from reality. We have no law to fit the magnitude of such a crime. We have laws to imagine wiping out something on Earth, but not the scope of what this being had done. He would have eliminated entire worlds, a solar system, everything that bears the mark of that species. They were erased from having existed. Imagine destroying something so thoroughly, even the thought of it no longer exists or ever existed. That's what this being did. We have no laws to fit something of such a universal magnitude, just things in our limited views we can use to pretend we imagine the scope. This being had done enough, and left himself in self-imposed exile with the ghost of his wife. He should be left alone.

[@derek96720]

To be fair, he was overcome with grief at the murder of his wife and lashed out in a brief little moment of rage. It was a crime of passion. The only issue is that he's omnipotent and has endless power.

[@Gubble-oq6dn]

@@derek96720I don’t give a fuck. If you kill billions of the same species it’s genocide.

[@woodrobin]

@@derek96720 It was a crime of passion, I agree. But still a crime, under the laws of any civilized society. It might be understandable, but Picard's statement that the Federation doesn't have any laws that fit the crime he committed is still nonsense.

[@ZackofSpades]

"To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom. It is indolence." -Big Louie

[@jonelervorths4110]

"I will not kill". Powerful words, from someone who has the wisdom from an unimaginably long life.

[@johnroscoe2406]

Yeah, and convenient after he killed 50 billion already.

[@cyrussoxlegion]

Excellent episode!!'❤

[@HolySilverStrike]

I hope lower decks does a mention or follow up to this. What a great episode

[@davidsmith5523]

Yes they can trivialise it and make it hilarious.

[@OdinX316]

My favorite episode!

[@Bobaklives]

“So what I’m hearing is there’s a bunch of freshly available planets for colonization nearby?”🤔 “Stop bringing Quark to these things.”😑

[@diosoth]

This episode sums up why "I Dream of Jeannie" had some hidden horror to it. Everyone faults Tony for being "mean" to Jeannie but she's at least as powerful as this being, only kept in check by certain genie rules & Tony's guidance. Imagine what happens to reality if she or any other genie were to become equally enraged or just decided they weren't going to follow such rules- which BTW Jeannie's sister came close to doing just that on several occasions. I wonder if that show was an inspiration for this episode and just like the Douwd genies can make mimics of people but can't make real people nor bring back the dead.

[@midnightrun5622]

PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS...(itty-bitty living space)

[@sheetpostmodernist398]

@@midnightrun5622 Man, this just makes me kind of wonder what TNG (or Trek as a whole) would have been like if Robin Williams had guest-starred as a member of the Q Continuum.

[@sid2112]

A little Galactic weeding, if you will. There's a list, by the way...

[@techno_viking2609]

ooo i like this one.

[@raterus]

I read that line in Q's smug voice

[@Pygar2]

"I have a little list, I have a little list,..."

[@LBCB94025]

Hes an actor that goes back to the beginning of television!! Hes in SO MANY old blk&wht movies and tv shows!!?? Ges ayed every kind of actor from a kid to ab old man good to horrible character and everything in between! At this point in time it was an honor just to include him!! 😁👍🏻🖤👏🏻🤙🏻

[@hasonmorris4968]

This episode was incredible, imagine meeting a creature that has such immense power

[@sterlingmullett6942]

Did he wipe out just the Husnok people or all references to them? 50 billion people going missing across the galaxy would've raised some alarms within Star Fleet, or even other planets Star Fleet adjacent. Wouldn't the news be like "Today all the Husnok on the Husnok Defenses and Attacks Emporium planet disappeared, leaving customers free to take whatever they wanted There is no explanation as to where the Husnok went but they seem to have vanished everywhere. While this is a mystery, some are saying good riddance. They were mean, anyway." Is there canon about this in any other Star Trek show or is it just this episode?

[@susandaniels9733]

Whatever happened it seems like starfleet dodged a bullet.anyone notice how starfleet doesn't keep tabs on federation colonies?Rana 4 was a federation colony and they only knew it had been wiped out when they got there.

[@pvtj0cker]

Space rapture brah.

[@joen0411]

Colonies like this are at the edge of federation space. Galaxy is big, there are still a lot of undiscovered worlds and civilizations. This colony was the first to interact with the Husnok. So if they all “disappeared”; how would the federation know?

[@joshualandry3160]

Space is very big and the area of space was unexplored. It would not be particularly noticeable.

[@nathanfitzgerald6651]

Starfleet probably never knew the Husnock even existed. Even in the 24th century they've only explored small pockets of this enormous galaxy.

[@Whatatwist2009]

Notice how well this was done vs disco and the kelpian who had a temper tantrum and killed god knows how many in the burn. Good writing and acting vs w/e disco is.

[@calanon534]

It's an STD, and should be treated as such.

[@danielmclellan1522]

When we first heard about the Burn, my first thought was "oh, shit, was one of the Dowd involved?" Honestly, it might have made the whole arc better if that had been the case.

[@LBCB94025]

With terrible power comes a terrible responsibility and in the moment he had too much power to do such a thing in aoment without the power to Undo his actions!? Its scary to think about!!

[@SystemYTP]

I can't watch this episode again. Not because of this scene, but because of how Troi is suffering from the music. It is just brutal.

[@edfrawley4356]

I have always been troubled by this episode. A being with such a long life and the power to wipe out an entire species over many light years is unable to protect a single colony without destroying those attacking the colony? Never could wrap my head around that one. He managed to create a powerful warship including weapons and shields and yet could not shield a colony that included the one person he loved. I cannot make that logic jump.

[@mindsight9732]

Rather, his wife dying was the last straw he could no longer be indifferent to. His love, anger, and grief surprised even him in his long life.

[@edfrawley4356]

@@mindsight9732Thats my point He would not defend the colony because it meant using his "power" to kill the Husnock. I find it hard to believe that killing and destroying is the ONLY power he would have that could protect the colony and his wife.. That defies all logic

[@flamingspinach]

​@@edfrawley4356 Yeah, this episode might have made more sense if he had sworn not to use his powers at all (i.e. he'd sworn to be fully human) when he married his human wife, rather than just being pacifistic by nature.

[@mindsight9732]

logic: they can't hurt me, i don't want to interfere. Human wife: humans aren't like other mortals, dies. Emotion: Pain, hurt, anger, rawr, oops. defending meant intervening. He regrets intervening as much as he regrets killing.

[@dogsarebest7107]

@@edfrawley4356 It doesn't. He could have done MANY MANY THINGS. He did not. He even says it in this scene. I locked away my powers, and lived as a human for 50 years. My wife did not know who I was. He did not do it, because, he didn't want her to know. Which is why everything he _DID_ do, was trying to get them to go away, in outer space. But once they hit the planet or whatever, he couldn't hide his power AND protect them. He tried getting his wife to hide with him (probably in a cave, then put a forcefield or whatever to hide them from the outside, where his wife couldn't see his powers). But she refused, and went to defend the colony. And died.

[@Lanceb131]

I can't hear this. The audio is 2 low

[@daveaglasgow]

Put the volume up then. No issues here.

[@corberus3119]

check your system settings make sure your volume is set correctly for the browser audio mixer

[@BlackieBloomberg]

Nah, he's right. I just came here from another video on the same channel and it was twice as loud as this.

[@dalecrowe7757]

Possibly the strongest moment in ST:NG. Love this episode because it channels Gene so hard!

[@exposingproxystalkingorgan4164]

This conversation bring thoughts orbital planetary bombardment to my mind. 😮

[@sunitpatel9830]

Even if you have no law against genocide, how would you keep him in prison?

[@tungstentaco495]

Based on the way the character was written, the "how to keep him in prison" question wouldn't matter. His own guilt over the crime is all that would be needed to keep him confined. He would see it as justice being served, as little of a token gesture as that would be.

[@mrblack888]

The real question is, what do you do when he tells you he is leaving. Try to stop him?