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Blip

Chuck's wrong about Riker here - Sir Humphrey would never have lost the E-D to an obsolete heap of junk.

Six... I would've gone with seven, maybe. Their relationship was handled a lot better than what we've seen before.

I can't believe I am saying this but I have no memory of this episode. Picard likes a girl on his terms. I should remember this. He even broke out the flute!

My main complaint is the ending.

Consider that Picard starts this relationship. And then his problem is that after he sends Nella into danger, he realises that he can't face doing that again because she means so much to him. So be clear - Captain Picard is saying that he cannot do his job as Captain because of his own personal feelings for one of his crew.

And his solution to this is, the crewmember needs to transfer off the ship.

Um, Picard? No. Nella did her job and performed like a professional throughout. She is not the problem here. PICARD is the problem here. The solution to that situation is that Picard transfers off the ship.

Note that Picard has more than once told people under his command that if they have personal problems that get in the way of their duty, it's up to them to get the hell over it and do their duty anyway. Or, if they can't, to get the hell out so he can have somebody who can. Yet here, when it's him, that attitude goes out the window. And I don't really mind that - the whole point of the episode is that his personal feelings have overcome his usual discipline. Fair enough, we all have our limits. But what I don't like is that his response to that is to penalise somebody else for his failing. And the episode never so much as raises this point - the writers just took it for granted that she would leave.

Now of course the show is not going to fire Patrick Stewart. But they at least needed to address this in some way. In the scene where he tells her how he felt when she was in danger, he needed to say that he is going to apply for a transfer as he's the one with the problem. Then she can offer to transfer, voluntarily, agreeing to take the career hit so that Starfleet can continue to have its best captain on its best ship. That's a better ending because even though it's the same resolution, and still unfair to her, at least she is exercising her own agency and making a choice of her own.

I honesty didn't remember if Nella had volunteered to transfer or if Picard just shipped her off. If the latter, then you certainly raise an interesting and valid point. While I'm sure it wasn't done intentionally (more's the pity,) it might be a good place to interject the idea that more than Picard's previously-unassailable aloofness and perfect dedication to duty was "damaged" by his brief descent into humanity; so was his judgement in considering how to proceed once he realized the relationship was impossible.

Okay, I read the transcript and it's not quite as bad as I remembered it. But not ideal, either.

PICARD: I've lost people under my command. People who were very dear to me. But never someone I've been in love with. And when I believed that you were dead, I just began to shut down. I didn't want to think or feel. I was here in my quarters, and the only thing I could focus on was my music, and how it would never again give me any joy. Then I saw you standing on the transporter pad and I knew that I could never again put your life in jeopardy.
NELLA: If I stayed here, you might have to.
PICARD: You could always resign your commission. Stay here with me.
NELLA: And you could resign yours and come to a starbase with me. I'll apply for a transfer.


So he does suggest that she leave. And in fairness she does suggest that he leave. Though as I recall he seems to be serious and she says her line in a kind of "yeah, here's a ridiculous idea" way.

And in fairness she does say she will apply for the transfer voluntarily. So it's not simply a case of him sending her off without discussion, which is how I remembered it.

But I do think it would have benefitted greatly from a line or two where Picard admits that in fairness he should be the one to leave as he's the one with the problem.