In Which Q pwns Riker and Picard pwns Q
Jul. 12th, 2007 01:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrasteToday's Q-tastic episode was Hide and Q, the only episode in the set that I hadn't already seen. Having caught Q's eye during Encounter at Farpoint, Riker finds himself gifted with fabulous powers. The plot is predictable (and the first half set on the fake planet drags terribly) but it's the details that make it entertaining.
Q's fondness for silly hats and potentially lethal games with humans becomes more pronounced now that it's the focus of the plot. This is an important episode for his development as a character - he's much closer to the familiar trickster than the overly serious Q of Encounter at Farpoint - and it's absolutely key to his relationship with Jean-Luc Picard.
In Encounter At Farpoint, Picard managed to solve a simple puzzle Q set for him and defend his species against the charge of being a 'grievously savage child race'. In Hide and Q the stakes are lower but much more personal. The real game here is not the one between Q and Riker, it's Picard and Q competing for William Riker's soul.
Early in the piece, Picard and Q trade Shakespeare quotations, and Q retires from the field in a huff. The last five minutes consist of Picard sitting in his chair looking smug, because he may not be omnipotent, but he knows his crew much better than Q does. And this is what convinces Q that Jean-Luc Picard is the Best Toy Ever. Picard beat him twice. He's never going to pass up a challenge like that in favour of William Riker again!
Picard comforting Tasha Yar when Q places her in the penalty box is also a charming moment - I love the way Patrick Stewart conveys the captain's mild discomfort with the whole situation.
Verdict: it's not the best episode ever or anything, but it is fun on its own terms.
Q's fondness for silly hats and potentially lethal games with humans becomes more pronounced now that it's the focus of the plot. This is an important episode for his development as a character - he's much closer to the familiar trickster than the overly serious Q of Encounter at Farpoint - and it's absolutely key to his relationship with Jean-Luc Picard.
In Encounter At Farpoint, Picard managed to solve a simple puzzle Q set for him and defend his species against the charge of being a 'grievously savage child race'. In Hide and Q the stakes are lower but much more personal. The real game here is not the one between Q and Riker, it's Picard and Q competing for William Riker's soul.
Early in the piece, Picard and Q trade Shakespeare quotations, and Q retires from the field in a huff. The last five minutes consist of Picard sitting in his chair looking smug, because he may not be omnipotent, but he knows his crew much better than Q does. And this is what convinces Q that Jean-Luc Picard is the Best Toy Ever. Picard beat him twice. He's never going to pass up a challenge like that in favour of William Riker again!
Picard comforting Tasha Yar when Q places her in the penalty box is also a charming moment - I love the way Patrick Stewart conveys the captain's mild discomfort with the whole situation.
Verdict: it's not the best episode ever or anything, but it is fun on its own terms.