Episode #86: The Wounded
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Episode #86: The Wounded
THE WOUNDED episode #12 of 4th season / Air Date: 1/28/91; Directed by Chip Chalmers
written by Jeri Taylor, Stuart Charno, Sara Charno, Cy Chermak
There's a scene early in this episode when Troi looks at O'Brien (Colm Meaney) for a brief moment; we know she's empathetic and senses some emotion from him. A trio of Cardassians had just beamed aboard; the Federation had been in conflict with the Cardassians up until a year ago when peace was made and we know some humans probably.. are not fond of Cardassians. O'Brien seemed neutral on the whole matter, but now.. we know differently, don't we? That's all it took: just show Troi looking at O'Brien for a second or two and we know a lot more about O'Brien's character - not that it's spelled out, but that's the beauty of such a very brief shot.
With a Cardassian captain and his two aides on board, the Enterprise sets out to track down the rogue ship and its captain - The Phoenix and Capt. Ben Maxwell (Bob Gunton). O'Brien used to serve under Maxwell years ago. He's questioned by Picard on any possible motives Maxwell may have. It's not a secret, however, that Maxwell's family had been killed by Cardassians during the past conflict. It seems obvious that Maxwell is out for revenge. Also, just having 3 Cardassians aboard the Enterprise-D raises the tension level on the ship three-fold.
All the actors rise to the occasion in this one - Stewart, Meaney, Gunton and Marc Alaimo as the Cardassian captain are all dead on here, nailing every scene they're in. Some scenes, such as the climactic one with Maxwell and O'Brien, even have a poetic tonality. I remember several scenes from this episode very well, more so than with most episodes. BoG's Score: 8 out of 10
TNG Trivia: this was the first appearance of the Cardassians, who soon became the equivalent of TOS Klingons in the 24th century; they may represent the worst of us. Later, the Bajorans were introduced and, still later, the Bajoran-Cardassian enmity was in full swing on DS9. _________________________ The song of war: "The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him...
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung be-hind him...
Land of song, said the warr-ior bard,
Tho all the world betrays... thee...,
One sword at least thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee."
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung be-hind him...
Land of song, said the warr-ior bard,
Tho all the world betrays... thee...,
One sword at least thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee."
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