TAPESTRY Much as "Face Of The Enemy" was a Troi episode which succeeded mainly because it was NOT a Troi episode (whoever Marina Sirtis was portraying there bore little resemblance to any Troi we've seen before), "Tapestry" is a Q episode which succeeds because it's not really a Q episode. After providing the basic mechanism for getting the story moving, Q basically stands in the background making snide comments - which, if we MUST have him showing up in Star Trek, is probably the best thing to do with him: Keep him out of the way. Otherwise, the episode is all Picard's show. In short, Q is incidental to this episode. Any mechanism, from a dream sequence to a less obnoxious omnipotent being to god himself - which could have put Picard in his youthful life would have sufficed. In fact, Q's very presence constitutes the episode's most glaring flaw: As with all Q episodes, we don't know why Q does what he does. His motivation remains, as always, completely undefined. One of the least successful characters in the Trek universe, Q is an aggravating cipher, a stone which even John De Lancie's acting skills (which are considerable) can't draw blood from, except for the witty one-liners (the character's saving grace here). Worst of all, we don't even know why Q returned Picard to life. That's pretty much all there is to say about Q in "Tapestry", so, on to the meat of the episode, starting at the end: The "moral" of the story was an ironic one, since in a way is tears down much of what The Next Generation has stood for: Non-violent solutions to problems, conflict and angst as irrelevant to characterization, and so forth. Without having nearly lost his life, without having made the tragic mistake of getting into that barroom brawl, Picard is shown to have lost his fire, the drive that pushed him into command. Training, aptitude, and a cool head are clearly presented as NOT being enough to take one (or at least Picard) to the top. The presentation of this point was made wonderfully vividly, between the "alternate universe" world with Picard as an astrophysicist and the concluding discussion between Picard and Riker. That last discussion represents one instance of the return of a venerable Trek tradition from the Classic series, to wit, the denouement. Rather than ending the episode abruptly at the episode's climax (as has happened with many otherwise excellent TNG episodes, including "Remember Me", one of my own favorites, or "Face Of The Enemy"), "Tapestry" segues into this final scene, which leaves time and room for humor, characterization (both of which were common elements in the denouements of Classic Trek episodes), or, in this case, the metaphor which gave the episode its name. DS9's "The Passenger" also has such a concluding moment, and I think that these bits are vital to making wholly successful episodes. Looking at the body of the plot, the episode did have a couple of flaws. One was the surreal nature of the "flashback" (which wasn't really a flashback). I don't feel that we *really* got a good glimpse of Corey or Marta's personalities, and in particular Marta's ultimate spurning of Picard didn't ring true with me somehow. This leaves me with a sense that some of the "bits" were wasted. The other "flaw" is actually more of a curiosity. Picard has been through an awful lot in TNG. He's been Borgified, he's been tortured, and, most of all, he's lived decades of his life during the course of "The Inner Light", and yet it seems that this barroom brawl had more effect on his personality then any of those incidents. Indeed, it seems rather amazing that Picard can so clearly remember the details surrounding the incident (such as his double- timing that one evening) after having lived perhaps close to a century since it happened (including the incidents of "The Inner Light"). This episode brings home the point that TNG really doesn't *develop* its characters; they never really *change*, no matter how many wringers they're put through. (As an aside, an interesting mental exercise might be to compare the differences between Picard's alternate life here, and the one presented in "Yesterday's Enterprise".) However, for the most part, "Tapestry" was a solid episode. Its ultimate purpose was to move toward the "moral" I described above, and so a lot of the fluff during the course of the story can be overlooked in that light. Picard's grappling with his past life, his efforts to change it, the tension between him and his friends, and his disappointment at being consigned to a life of astrophysics are all vividly presented, even if the details seem a bit muddled. An interesting exercise in time travel and alternate histories, "Tapestry" deserves a look. Grade: B+ TNG SEASON SIX AT A GLANCE: Time's Arrow II: B- Realm Of Fear: C Man Of The People: C Relics: B+ Schisms: B- True Q: D- Rascals: D+ A Fistful Of Datas: C+ The Quality Of Life: C Chain Of Command: B+ Chain Of Command Part II: B Ship In A Bottle: A Aquiel: B Face Of The Enemy: A- Tapestry: B+ --- Total Points: 39 1/3 Season Average: 2.622 (B-) (Rise of 0.051 from previous episode)