7x24 Preemptive Strike

This is one of the very few times where Picard made an error in judgement. He didn't seem to notice Ro's inner turmoil when they met in the bar.
There is a deleted scene on the BluRay when Picard and Ro met in the observation lounge on the Enterprise. Here Picard tells Ro that, if the Marquis would not surrender to the overwhelming Starfleet force, he may be forced trying to disable their ships, which then might lead to casualties. I wonder why they cut that as it gives Ro's descision even more depth. Going back to her conversation with Picard at the bar it is clear she was trying to prevent harm to come to all the Marquis. The way the episode stands now it seems the only reason for her betrayal was the death of Macias in whom she saw bits of her father. And that was too convenient and not entirely believable given the short amount of time she spent with him.
In any case it was good to give the character a chance to appear one last time on the show. In hindsight then, maybe it was good that she hasn't been used so much on TNG because this episode might have been even tougher to sell. Althought a lot of characters seem to be at odds with themselfes at the end. I don't quite remember just now if she appeared on DS9, I know the character appears in the books later.

[6.8/10] I appreciate Star Trek: The Next Generation’s willingness to tie up loose ends in its final season. Whether it’s sending Wesley on his way, fending off Bok the vengeful Ferengi, or directly addressing the feelings between Jean-Luc and Beverly, the show adds finality to several of the series’s dangling threads.

The last of those is Ensign Ro, who was effectively a regular character for a stretch only to straight up disappear without ceremony or explanation. Bringing her back into the fold in the series’s penultimate episode to bid her farewell and round out her arc is a commendable choice by the show’s writers and producers.

What’s more, they choose to bookend her story in TNG by a focus on her relationship with Captain Picard, how he sees things in her and shows a trust in her that isn’t hard to come by, which complicates her strained feelings about Starfleet, the Cardassians, and her comrades stuck in between them. “Preemptive Strike” is as much a call and response with “Ensign Ro”, the episode that introduced the character, as it is a standalone episode.

Unfortunately, it’s not especially good, albeit not especially bad either. But “Preemptive Strike” has trouble turning those worthy ideas and a noble goal into a compelling story. Much of that stems from the fact that it’s tremendously predictable. From the second Admiral Nechayev (who gets around this season!) taps her to go undercover with the Maquis, you just know she’s going to find common cause with them over Starfleet.

To the episode’s credit, it tries to create a legitimate dilemma for Ro through two contrasting father figures. The first, of course, is Picard. As in her debut, Ro credits him for giving her a chance, in this case recommending her for a tough but prestigious tactical training program that leads to a promotion. But he also recognizes her emotional needs, finding an excuse to give her an out from an overwhelming social interaction upon her return. Their bond, though thin given how little we’ve seen them interact, is strengthened here.

The second is Macias, the elderly leader of the Maquis cell Ro infiltrates. Like Picard, he believes in her even when his lieutenants are skeptical of her. They bond over Bajoran cuisine and tearful discussions of what Ro’s actual father meant to her. The two only share a few scenes together, so the connection’s a tad rushed and contrived. But between a winning performance from guest star John Franklyn-Robbins, and Macias’ timely death scene to add a measure of tragedy to the proceedings, you understand why Ro would sympathize with him and the Maquis' cause.

In the wake of those two conflicting mentors, you can see TNG trying to establish an internal conflict within Ro. Her mission is to infiltrate and undermine these people. Doing so will not only help prove that she’s worthy of her bump to lieutenant within Starfleet and the extra time spent training her, but fulfill Picard’s faith in her. On the other hand, having grown up in the Bajoran camps, she has an innate understanding of why the Maquis don’t want to live under Cardassian rule and don’t trust their new supervisors to do anything but make their lives hell. And Macias is another mentor and father figure she doesn’t want to disappoint since he shows such kindness and trust in her.
You could do worse than that sort of moral dilemma. It plays on the same sort of tension Ro Laren entered the series with, between doing what she feels is right for a struggling people and meeting her obligations as a Starfleet officer and bearer of Jean-Luc Picard’s faith. There’s a certain poetry to it, which I can appreciate.

Despite that dilemma, it’s a simple story that often comes off surprisingly lifeless given the emotional stakes. Maybe it’s just the time away from the show, but this wasn’t Michele Forbes’ best performance, despite the actor acquitting herself well in other outings. The proceedings feel rushed in how quickly the episode jumps from major incident to major incident, but also languid in its pacing, with scenes that drag and play like filler in between.

More than anything, it seemed preordained that Ro would give up on her orders and join the Maquis. Charitably, maybe I just remember this one from childhood which biases me toward finding it overly-telegraphed. I don’t recall seeing it before, but sometimes memories like that are buried deep and peak out just enough to orient you in the right direction. Either way, the inevitability of Ro’s turn removed much of the impact of it for me.

It doesn’t help that “Preemptive Strike” puts its thumb on the scale. We know from prior episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine that not only have the Federation citizens living in the Demilitarized Zone legitimately received rough treatment from their Cardassian governor, but that the Cardassians at least had been smuggling weapons in via third parties. There’s complications to all of this, but their cause is at least partly justified.

Meanwhile, the Federation isn’t just trying to stop the skirmishes, but resorting to active entrapment. Feeding false intel of a biological weapon to Federation citizens in order to smoke them out and neutralize them seems contrary to the principles of Starfleet and something Picard himself wouldn’t stand for under normal circumstances. Infiltrating the Maquis already seems a bit underhanded, but tolerable given the need to maintain a delicate peace. But the plan to set this trap, using the bait of fake intel of an existential threat that would justify taking drastic action, makes Starfleet seem like the obvious bad guys here. Worse yet, it makes the ethics of the situation a lot simpler for Ro, and flattening moral dilemmas is the opposite of what good Star Trek episodes do.

Not for nothing, it feels like Ro’s complicated friendship with Riker gets short-changed here. While I can appreciate the show vindicating her fatherly relationship with Jean-Luc, it’s Will who had more consistent interactions with her. From the tongue-lashing he gave her in “Ensign Ro”, to his criticisms turned romance when their memories were wiped, from his readiness to give her eulogy when the crew thought she was dead, there was a potent but messy dynamic between the two of them. I wish “Preemptive Strike” had given them more closure or affirmation than just, “So long, Ro. Take care of yourself.”

And yet, I can appreciate that the episode lingers on the cost of Ro’s choice. She knows what she has to do. Helping the Maquis is practically in her blood, given her lifelong struggles against the Cardassian and critiques of the Federation’s inability to help the little people. But she’s also genuinely sorry for how that choice will undoubtedly disappoint someone who believed in her and supported her when no one else did. All we have on that front is one contemplative look from Picard himself, in an episode where so much feels rushed and undercooked, but the sentiment is a worthy one.

In the end, I don’t mind “Preemptive Strike” as a swan song for Ro Laren. I’m biased in favor of endings that are bittersweet, like so much of life is. The idea that Ro lived up to her potential in Starfleet but couldn’t ignore the call to help those in need with direct actions beyond the strictures of Federation laws and protocols seems true to the young woman we met two seasons ago. But as always, the way you tell the story counts for a great deal, and this one falls short. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see Ro return once more, make a hard choice that’s still very much in-character, and take a well-deserved final bow.