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Star Trek: TNG 3x23 Full Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-02-15 18:00:08
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2026-06
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Star Trek TNG 3×23 Full Reaction

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Faction Paradox

"We will always retain the best part of the other, inside us."

Ryan

The video isn't up.

Ryan

I've mentioned before here that my grandfather is currently in special care with dementia, and it came after a long and very storied life (he was part of the team that took down Frank Lucas...and despised American Gangster so much that he's refused to ever again watch anything by Ridley Scott). So going back to this episode very much had me doing my own impression of Sarek listening to Mozart (or you watching him), bringing up a ton of memories of how hard it was to get him to admit the truth, and then seeing how much it hit him. And even before any of this, it was hugely powerful and in the top of an incredibly good season. This is what all "franchise-wide" storytelling should seek to be, very impactful for people who have the full context, but still working perfectly well on its own to anyone coming in cold. And they definitely knew what they were doing teasing Sarek's arrival and then making us sit through a couple minutes of his handlers transporting up first. The one off note is the throwaway reference to Spock's wedding, which the franchise has basically just pretended didn't exist ever since, though the autobiographies for Picard and Spock were both forced into some very awkward spots over it. At this point they had to know about the popular view of Wesley, so I imagine it's not a coincidence that both onscreen early signs of the problem are at his expense. And Beverly slapping him indeed became almost as popular a clip as "Shut up, Wesley." But then the fun has to stop, and Mark Lenard steals the show with his silent reaction as the power of too many notes breaks through his emotional control. And then we're reminded of how for all the incredible epic storytelling Trek can do, sometimes all you need is two great actors working off each other to create this kind of emotional effect. Then it's time for Patrick to take over completely and give the performance of his life in a jaw-dropping single take. Starting off with his impression of me watching the Section 31 movie: "NOOOO! It is...it is...WRONG! It is wrong!" And then cycling through so many other feelings until it all comes back to Sarek's long-repressed love for his family, past and present. I have to imagine the long time fans were chomping at the bit for something about Spock as soon as the ads for the episode came out, and in the absence of actually bringing Leonard back which may not have been thought possible yet, this closure to Sarek's feelings about him certainly fills in nicely. Lenard should have had a much bigger career than he got, an instantly commanding presence who you have no problem believing as someone Picard would look up to all his life. He mostly spent it doing TV guest spots, including several Mission Impossibles that I've now been put in the mood to check out. One even also has Leonard Nimoy!

Thomas Corp

Two weeks in a row, I surmise correctly what the thumbnail will look like. Seeing this week’s thumbnail makes me say, “Yeah, I KNEW this one was going to be a tough one for you, Jess.” Two episodes of Invincible followed by this Next Gen episode. Tough day, tough day, and lingering effects of leg day on top of it. So, obviously, a big deal of this episode is the return of Mark Lenard as Sarek. Alas, no Amanda, though I think Jane Wyatt was retired, plus Amanda would likely be dead, even with longer than normal life expectancy in Star Trek. Joanna Miles is good as Perrin. Talking about how there is the question of what’s going on at first. They set that up well. Picard and Deanna noting Sarek crying being a big red flag as making a Vulcan cry is more difficult than drawing blood from a stone. The tempers running high plot point is expertly explored, as you noted by having Wesley, Beverly, and especially Geordi being our first showings. Like you expressed, Geordi is not that angry without damn good reason. Beverly, likewise, observes she’s never hit Wesley before, so something’s off. Your face was, as you said, a picture during that part with Geordi. Bringing us to the powerful emotions that I knew would hurt for you given your past experience that you have mentioned in the past and reiterated here. I figured you’d clock shit early, Jess. Your keen mind, combined with the aforementioned past experience, easy for you to deduce things, and yes, you could see the penny drop. Hell, when rewatching this episode, before we even got to the hard stuff, I’m grimly noting, “Oh, this one’s going to get Jess. Bad.” Never gone through the exact experience that you’ve described. My mom has. Closest thing for me is Grandpa, Mom’s dad, the last three years, his mind did decline some but never was there that diagnosis. My dad, the seventeen years of being essentially primary caregiver was physical care, though the last time I saw him, the hospice drugs did seem to cloud his mind a mite. All this to say, I can’t imagine how bad this was for you, Jess, but you got me so good. Leading me to answer the question: Do your tears incite tears of my own? All the goddamn time. The intensity does vary, depending on what made you cry, plus my own emotional investment in the proceedings. A case like this one really starts the waterworks on my end to the point that shaking occurs. One thing for sure, there is the STRONG relation to how you say your family are stubborn motherfuckers. That’s me as well, especially my dad’s side of the family; every one of us is goddamn stubborn as SHIT. With Sarek, like you said, hard to blame any party. Like that you kind of lived for Sakkath. You can get the logic that Sarek hid behind, given Perrin’s one line of there was never a true case of Bendii Syndrome in his lifetime. Avoids the separate logic of just because something has never happened, it does not mean that such a thing is impossible. Good on Picard for getting Sarek to face the truth. Leading us to the famous scene that everyone talks about. The mind-meld. Love that Beverly stays with Picard. An occasion that reminds us how truly blessed we are to have the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart, and the magnificent brilliance of his acting, loved your own words of appreciation. He sold everything so well of Picard facing the torrent of Sarek’s emotions. And in addition to the emotions, there is also laced within that, the contention with the past. The past that people always say is etched in stone. It really isn’t. As has been observed, in actuality, it’s more akin to smoke trapped in a closed room, swirling, changing. Buffeted by the passing of years and wishful thinking. And although our perception of it forever changes, one thing remains constant. The past, it never goes away. It always lingers. It’s as if someone burned toast; the pungent smell just hangs in the air and stings the nostrils. You combine all of that with the viscerally intensity of Vulcan emotion, and you understand well the hell that Picard finds himself fighting. The visceral relatability of the scene is STRONG. There have been nights where you just allow the despair to overwhelm you, and you just let yourself feel the sadness, the anger, occasionally the hatred. It is perhaps not logical, but it does sometimes calm the soul and keep you steady. Or at least it allows you to vent occasionally. It so clearly hit you worse than I, which I expected given the personal connection. Your own reaction to it all, Jess, was beyond overwhelming. There is also the love for the moment when Beverly has her moments with Picard here. Gates doesn’t even have any overt scenes, yet the beautiful grace she shows in Beverly’s scenes of standing by Picard, offering comfort, it makes a man sob even more than the sobbing he’s already going through. Really difficult to improve on anything that you said. You question how your mom watches this episode, or does she just skip it. My favorite show is M*A*S*H that I watch multiple times every year. Save for one episode that I skip, and only have the strength to watch it only once every ten years. There are other episodes that are also emotionally taxing enough to warrant not watching them depending on when in the year it is; you know, certain anniversaries, combined with certain subject matter, it’s not a good mix. I could imagine your mom employs the similar only watching this episode sparingly strategy, assuming she just doesn’t skip it entirely. In conclusion, this reaction is one of your most astonishingly striking, Jess. Many hugs sent to you on this one.

Paul Hayes

Given what you've said before in other reactions when dementia-type conditions have come up in stories, I thought you might find this one emotional. Thank you for a very interesting reaction, as always. In answer to your question, I don't remember ever being moved to tears by a reaction, but that's just my nature. I have often found your reactions moving in various ways, though.

Thomas Corp
>>164836471

Yeah, I remember you said something about your grandfather a while back. Interesting to learn about the Frank Lucas connection. With that in mind, in addition to knowing that this would hit Jess hard, I figured it would get you rather good as well. There was my own impression of Sarek listening to Mozart (or Jess watching him) with this as well. Memories of all my grandparents’ deaths, combined with certain memories of my dad’s last days, though not the same as the subject matter here, it still resonates. Good note of what you said, “very impactful for people who have the full context, but still working perfectly well on its own to anyone coming in cold.” It does that and then some. Yeah, the Spock’s wedding thing, I wouldn’t have said no to that being him and the one Romulan Commander back in season three of the original series, unlikely though that would have been. Otherwise, yeah, it never gets talked about again, like Sybok. I have heard how the slapping Wesley was a bit popular in the earliest days of gifs. Ultimately, the sadness really starts in earnest when Sarek is victim to your Amadeus reference, nice touch. Patrick and Mark did the damn thing so well in that scene. Culminates in Patrick doing some of his very best work, which is saying something. The whirlwind of all the emotions and memories, coming back to the repressed love for Sarek’s family, past and present. In the absence of Leonard himself, yeah, they tackle the Spock of it all perfectly. On lighter topics, you say the moment of, “NOOOO! It is...it is...WRONG! It is wrong!” mirrors your response to Section 31, been hearing that a lot lately. Haven’t seen it myself, though I keep noting that if Michelle Yeoh is in it, it can’t be all bad. This on top of my thoughts on how Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country, and Galaxy Quest are forever going to be the three best Star Trek films, so I don’t expect Section 31 to surpass those. Talked with my brother who has seen it. He says he felt it was all right, and that it was trying to do something different, which we both likened it to The Acolyte with Star Wars. My brother also mentioned that, “It felt a little like a side plot to Foundation instead of Star Trek.” to which I said, “...Sounds awesome, when you put it that way.” I got to check if Mission Impossible the series is back on tv, as that is some good stuff.

Josef Schiltz

The experience of losing a loved one a piece at a time is so prevalent in our lives through the curse of dementia. This one also really got to Kat and Paula of Gallifrey Gals. Mark Lenard and Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden are astounding in portraying this episode. I have a feeling, before hearing this episode, and seeing Jess's reaction to it, that before she realizes what is actually happening, there will some consternation at Geordie and Wesley's confrontation. I can imagine the "Wha? WHA?" starting up at their confrontation. However, when it comes to the free-for-all in Ten Forward, do I also future hear amazement, maybe even amusement coming? Pausing no longer. Let's go! . . . . . . . . Afterthoughts. My own experiences within my own family come to the fore regarding my own caring duties towards my mother wherein I was her interlocutor with the rest of the planet for many years because of her dementia, which may, in retrospect, have been early onset in nature. My uncle also had dementia. An intriguing thought occurred, cross-referencing and remembering the sentient nature of the TARDIS. As portrayed in The Name Of The Doctor, and the mention of the TARDIS' dimension dams breaking down in the future graveyard of Trenzalore, and the monumental size to which it grew, the Doctor described it as "All the bigger on the inside starts leaking to the outside." As to Jess's tears. Yes. They do.

Thomas Corp
>>164842844

Patrick, Mark, and Gates are standouts in this one. Got a good laugh out of your pre-viewing predictions. Your past comments on your being primary caregiver for your mom, figured this would be bad for you as it was for Jess, and Ryan as well. Mom’s spoken some of her family that died prior to my being born who went through the experience of Alzheimer’s/dementia. Never have gone through the experience myself. Last years of Grandpa’s, Mom’s dad, life his mind did start to decline over his last three years of life. He was eighty-eight when it started very shortly after my grandma (specifically step-grandma) died, and he just never was the same after that. Taking care of Dad was physical care, though as I mentioned, last time seeing him, the hospice drugs were strong enough that it clouded his mind some. All of how Sarek’s condition is portrayed, they sold it well. Love how Picard already has the respect and understanding of the Vulcan way of life; notably he recognizes Sarek finding his career to be “satisfactory” to be very high praise. It is great how Picard weaponizes logic to help Sarek realize how bad the situation is. Good note on The Name of the Doctor. Wholeheartedly second that about Jess and her tears.

Josef Schiltz
>>164842844

In her last reaction to Classic Who, Jess was wondering if any episodes were shown on on the day of her birth of Tuesday May 3rd 1988. I have checked the broadcast dates on the BBC Genome website and there were none. That date falls within the shooting of Season 25 and also in a period when asbestos was discovered in the BBC and studios were closed during removal. Location scenes and their relevant dates seem well covered and seem to fall either side of that month. Tried to find the dates of studio recording just to make sure and that has been frustrating.

Josef Schiltz
>>164836471

One regular role of Mark Lenard's that has been omitted is that of the Security Chief Urko in the television series of Planet Of The Apes. A very recognizable voice beneath all the gorilla make-up who is tasked with hunting down the human fugitives, Alan and Pete and their chimpanzee companion, Galen. Just a note on the music in this episode's concert segment. The sequence where Sarek is crying is Brahms Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major - Andante ma moderato One of the videos of a performance on YouTube is 'Brahms: String Sextet, Op. 18 - Janine Jansen & Friends - International Chamber Music Festival HD'. That movement comes up as "Most played" and a comment below states "Powerful enough to bring Sarek to tears." Gene Roddenberry was very fond of Brahms, as am I, as was my father and it is in his record collection.

Thomas Corp
>>164842844

I saw Jess posed that question, with the shooting of season twenty-five being the closest approximate answer. Coincidentally, the day of said season premiere was my dad’s thirtieth birthday. It’s interesting that she asked that as I had much the same thought for her and me with Star Trek Next Gen. I would say my brother as well, but he’s born the year before Next Gen debuted. Neither Jess nor I have an episode on the exact birthdays themselves, but we have episodes very close. With Jess, I saw the episode, We’ll Always have Paris aired the day before Jess’s birth. Me, I looked and saw that next season, there was the episode four days before my birthday of Friday, the fifth of April 1991. Mostly I was curious of what were the first Star Trek episodes around when I was born. The first three episodes to air after my birthday are three that I love, one being one of my, as Jess calls them, chapter and verse episodes that I’ve rewatched the most. The whole thing’s an interesting thought experiment.

Josef Schiltz
>>164842844

Interesting indeed. Looking up Saturday 23rd June 1962, I find that the BBC showed the film of W Somerset Maugham's 'The Moon And Sixpence' with George Sanders. Interesting considering my first word clearly spoken was "Moon". Also playing was Perry Mason and the Case of the Artful Dodger with Raymond Burr and a science fiction serial, The Big Pull: Part 3. A science fiction serial in six parts by Robert Gould. Starring William Dexter with June Tobin. Music and special effects by Radiophonic Workshop "The dead astronaut, Major Sklorski, is seen alive, and Dr. Weatherfield has disappeared. Sir Robert Nailer believes that Sklorski and Weatherfield have become one body, one personality."

Josef Schiltz
>>164842844

We'll Always Have Paris is one of my favourite Trek episodes! The conversation about the time distortion is hilarious and another Picard "Shut up, Data!" moment. Data: "A hiccup is a spasmodic inhalation with closure of the glottis. accompanied by a peculiar sound. If we were to continue this analogy (of the time distortion) to a body function, what occurred would be best represented by a . . . " Picard: "That's enough, Data!"

Ryan
>>164842844

Mine is July 24, 1984, during the season hiatus between The Twin Dilemma and Attack of the Cybermen, and shortly after Search for Spock.

Joel Featherstone

So I've watched your reactions for many years and been a Patron for almost as long, so I knew this would be an episode that hit you hard. You asked if we ever got emotional because of your tears and the genuine answer is that it is exactly why I watch you. I have always struggled to feel and express my emotions and watching reactions really helps me to experience them through others, like their reactions gave me permission to feel the same things. I am sure that sounds crazy to others but it's a good feeling to me, getting to experience things through others eyes. Thank you!

Geordie Joe

I had a feeling this one would be a tough watch for you given the subject matter. Season 3 doesn't hold back with the heavy themes. Nice to see a TOS character in TNG but it's hard watching Sarek suffering with what is the Vulcan equivalent of Dementia. Patrick Stewart with some of the best acting in Star Trek history in this episode hands down. I get emotional sometimes during the reactions where you cry. Just like Sarek in this episode while he was listening to the music, I'll feel a tear or two run down my cheek. Your reaction to the 11th Doctor regenerating in Time of the Doctor probably made all 510k people who have watched it cry.

Thomas Corp
>>164879213

Rather like how the group thought is that all of us knew that this one would be hard for Jess. Does get you in the heart seeing Sarek suffer from essentially the Vulcan equivalent of Alzheimer’s/Dementia. This was some of the best acting from Patrick in the history of the franchise. Definitely concur with being one of the many who cried watching the reaction Jess had to The Time of the Doctor, Angels Take Manhattan too. I also sob during the Face the Raven reaction, but that’s more even just watching anybody’s reaction, I’ll weep as Clara’s death hurt me that much. The flipside is being simpatico with Jess in things like Husbands of River Song, in that whilst there are the shared, strong tears, they’re far more happy in nature.