One of the best TNG episodes ever! And they’re starting with a game of poker! Yay!
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As much as I love “A Matter of Honor”, and as much as I love some of the upcoming season 2 episodes (like “The Royale”, “Q-Who?”, and “Samaritan Snare”), this is the best episode of season 2, and is a contender for best episode of the whole show (though I know a ton of amazing episodes are forthcoming in later seasons).
A Starfleet Commander wants to take Data apart and build more Soong-type androids. Data refuses, of course, so the Commander says Data is Starfleet property and cannot refuse. A courtroom drama unfolds in which Picard defends Data’s sentience and Riker is forced to prove he is just a machine (otherwise, the judge will just summarily decide he is a machine).
There is a scene before the courtroom in which Riker is looking through Data’s schematics and finds his off switch. At first, Riker smiles because he thinks he found his ace-in-the-hole and will win his case, but his smile quickly fades as he realizes what winning his case will mean for Data. It is an amazing scene with no words that makes me think Jonathan Frakes is a much better actor than I ever gave him credit for.
There is another scene where Picard talks with Guinan and she talks about how an army of disposable people would make things easier for humans. Picard catches on, and says, “You’re talking about slavery.”
Seriously, you guys, this is such an excellent episode, and one of the best examples of what Star Trek can be.
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