Synopsis: While chasing a Ferengi vessel, the Enterprise encounters a powerful alien on an uncharted planet.
This episode harkens back to a similar storyline in the episode “Arena” from the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series, in which an advanced powerful alien race that does not allow violence in their space is encountered. In the earlier episode, Captain James T. Kirk and the captain from the Gorn starship are transported down to a planet to fight among themselves until one of the combatants kills the other for the prize of freedom of their crew and vessel.
Similarly, in this episode the away team led by First Officer, Commander William Riker, beam down to the planet as do an equal number of Ferengi crewmembers. And similar to the discussion in my last post, the crewmembers from the Enterprise project their shadow traits upon the Ferengi. Greed, avarice, unreasonableness, and their disregard of the feminine. This time the powerful alien, the Portal, the Guardian of the Tkon Empire, tests Riker by asking him a philosophical riddle. Riker responds with the answer: “Fear is the true enemy. The only enemy. Know your enemy and know yourself and you will always be victorious” (Wright & Colla, 1987), which he declares is the basis of his training with Starfleet. Riker and the Portal walk off into the proverbial sunset together: Riker sparing the lives of the Ferengi, because if we killed them, they would learn nothing.
On the surface, this all seems very well and good in our American culture; but it is just one perspective by which to see life. Riker’s behavior at the end of the episode could be seen as self-congratulatory and patronizing from the point of view of the Ferengi. That should not be forgotten.
Reference:
Wright, H. (Writer), & Colla, R. (Director). (1987, October 19). The last outpost (Season 1, Episode 5) [TV series episode]. In G. Roddenberry (Executive Producer), Star trek: The next generation. Paramount Television.
Original post created 11 May 2021
mydailysoultrek 