Captain Picard has been captured by the Cardassians, and is now in the hands of Gul Madred. Madred's questioning of Picard for military secrets soon gives way to intense physical and psychological torture. Meanwhile, aboard the Enterprise, Captain Jellico's leadership style continues to clash with the crew, particularly Commander Riker. It seems they can prevent a war with Cardassia or rescue Picard, but not both. And perhaps not either.
Writer Frank Abatemarco wasn't working out on the writing staff of The Next Generation (keenly visible in his dreadful episode, "Man of the People"). But here he made one worthy contribution to the series before soon leaving the job. He did intense research for this story, including meetings with Amnesty International, to learn about the psychology of torturers and survivors in preparation for this script.
But despite being the sole credited writer on the episode, this ultimately wasn't Abatemarco's script. Showrunner Jeri Taylor stepped in to do a complete rewrite from the ground up -- no doubt the final straw leading to Abatemarco's departure. Patrick Stewart, a supporter of Amnesty who'd been delighted by the first draft, was concerned to hear about the rewrites. He was afraid that the stark reality of torture would be dulled, that the episode might become more of a lecture about the subject rather than a portrayal of it. But Taylor shared his desire, and crafted a final script that didn't pull punches at all. Indeed, some viewers still wrote complaints over the graphic nature of the episode, while the BBC edited one of the scenes for re-broadcast in the United Kingdom. Taylor agreed in a later interview that the episode was intense, and wished that it could have carried a disclaimer -- but she had no regrets or apologies for it being exactly what was intended.
It's actually remarkable how powerful the episode is without being truly, overtly violent. A number of movies and TV series have depicted torture in the 20+ years since this episode was made, and nearly all of them resort to truly horrific bloodletting and maiming to make their point. Picard is essentially physically intact at the end of this episode, but is no less scarred by the experience. And there's no question that we the audience understand that.
The script reflects all that background research, as Madred comes at Picard in a variety of ways. The episode begins with the more legitimate approach of using a truth serum to extract information from Picard -- the only true information he has to provide. And though Madred says point blank that he believes Picard has told him all he knows, he then begins the torture -- apparently just because he wants to, just to see if Picard can be broken. Madred strips him of identity, refusing to call Picard by name. He plays a mind game with the infamous "four lights," reminiscent of a "how many fingers am I holding up?" scene from Orwell's 1984. He teases Picard with freedom, getting him to choose imprisonment out of fear that Beverly Crusher will be next in the torture chamber. He feeds Picard disgusting food just to watch him devour it in desperation.
Picard's attempts to preserve his humanity are equally varied. He tries appealing to Madred's better nature, commenting on the Cardassian's interactions with his daughter. He tries different levels of defiance, from steadfastly replying there are "four lights" to flippantly asking "what lights?" He holds on to thoughts of home. He nurses an image of his torturer as a helpless child, motivated to cruelty by a squalid upbringing. But ultimately, Picard is broken -- reduced to desperately trying to smash the torture control device with strength he doesn't have.
The message of it all is expressed starkly in the final scene between Troi and Picard. The captain confesses that in the end, he would have told Madred anything he wanted to hear, admitted to any lie. Moreover, he wouldn't have thought he was lying in the moment; he truly believed the falsehood Madred had forced upon him. Torture can produce no information but that which the torturer implants.
The powerful script is only amplified by two powerhouse performances. David Warner had worked for Star Trek before, playing a minor role in Star Trek V, and the Klingon chancellor in Star Trek VI. He took this role on just three days' notice, in large part to work with his "old colleague" Patrick Stewart. He struggled with learning his more technobabble-centric lines, and admitted to ultimately reading much of the part off cue cards -- not that you can tell from the finished episode. Warner makes Madred an absolutely despicable villain... with a personality that seems all too real.
Then, of course, there's Patrick Stewart, possibly doing his finest work on the entire series. (And I say "possibly" only because he is so excellent in so many other episodes.) Like the script writer, he too prepared for this episode through research with Amnesty International. It's an intensely physical performance, full of perfectly calibrated details. After hanging in agony overnight, Picard is unable to lower his arms. When Madred first uses his implanted torture device, Picard's reaction is exactly what Madred warned it would be, a complete lack of preparation for the intensity of the pain. As the ordeal wears on, even speaking takes a clear effort. Stewart even insisted on actually performing the earliest torture scenes in the nude.
These performances were supported wonderfully by the production team. The makeup department shows us the scar of Picard's implantation, and the way his wrists have been rubbed raw by restraints. Set designer Richard James built a dramatically lit, stark room for the battle of wills, an environment that intriguingly plays against expectations -- where you might expect a cramped dungeon of a room, it in fact seems quite spacious.
Michael Piller, showrunner on Deep Space Nine by this point (but still involved to some extent with The Next Generation) thought this was the best episode in the history of the series, and praised David Warner and Patrick Stewart for that. In the run-up to Emmy nominations the following summer, Piller himself paid for a full-page ad in Variety, campaigning for Stewart to be nominated -- which he absolutely should have been. Jeri Taylor put it quite aptly: "It is not possible that there are five better male actors in this town than Patrick Stewart!"
In all this (understandable) fixation on one part of the episode, I'd be remiss not to point out that the action back on the Enterprise is quite compelling too, if less intense. Jellico continues to be an abrasive character... though not always necessarily wrong. He's likely correct not to allow a rescue mission to be planned. He certainly justified in relieving Riker of duty, given the disdainful way Riker calls out his "mistakes." The only point in the episode where you could possibly argue Jellico is wrong is when he dismisses the notion that the Cardassians could have peaceful, "scientific" intentions in the nebula. His duty as a Starfleet officer should be to avoid war at all costs, and certainly not to provoke one as he risks doing. But even in this decision, Jellico is nevertheless proven correct in his doubts. Plus, he saves the day and secures Picard's release. He's really not all bad.
And neither is Riker all good. He disrespects Jellico at several points in the episode, most of all when the captain comes to his quarters to ask him to take part in a critical mission. Riker refuses to come to his feet for a superior officer, and ultimately makes Jellico "ask" him to help, with a smirk on his face. We the audience, knowing Riker as we do, can certainly side with his indignation. Still, in the context of a military command structure, he's almost certainly in the wrong.
Other observations:
- It's hard not to compare Picard's experience in this episode with his treatment at the hands of the Borg in "Best of Both Worlds." Ultimately, it's that experience that stays with him more (as we see in the film First Contact) -- possibly because there he could do nothing to resist, where here against Madred he can at least attempt to retain his humanity. Nevertheless, I think it's this experience that resonates more strongly with an audience, as it's less removed from reality behind a veneer of science fiction.
- It's fun getting to see Data don a red uniform in this episode, taking over as Jellico's first officer. And I especially like that no comment on this is made at all. The audience is trusted to infer what has happened.
- The only place where the episode lets you down a bit is in the rather simplistic conflict with the Cardassian fleet -- which isn't even shown. A bigger confrontation was originally envisioned, but it was taken out in the rewrites. This was meant to be a money saving episode, after all.
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