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Star Trek: The Next Generation reviews — season 7

Star Trek: The Next Generation — 7x04 — Gambit, Part I

Synopsis

Picard disappears and is found posing as a smuggler.

Remarkable scenes

  • The alien describing Picard being vaporized.
  • Riker forcing more information from the alien who witnessed Picard's "death."
  • Data questioning Riker going on the away team, since he's captain now.
  • Data becoming captain!
  • Worf: "Sir, they have taken Commander Riker. We must do something. We cannot just sit here!" Data: "On the contrary, Lieutenant. That is precisely what we must do."
  • Picard appearing on the smuggler ship, voting to kill Riker!
  • The engine trouble aboard the smuggle ship.
  • Picard explaining why he wasn't vaporized. A beaming gun! Cool!
  • Picard hitting Riker as soon as the smuggler captain walks in.
  • Picard's conversation with the Romulan.
  • The fake battle.

Review

I loved seeing Data as captain and I absolutely love how Picard and Riker maneuvered whilst aboard the smuggler ship. This episode sets up an exciting premise to the two parter. The captain's supposed death is contrived, but well played nonetheless, and Riker's capture makes both the Enterprise plot thread and the smuggler ship plot thread quite interesting. Overall, this episode is wonderful very intelligently written.