I rated this episode 9. Probably 8 would be more accurate, but anyway. I'm usually not into these 'romp' episodes, but this was just what the show needed, pulp-y as it was. Could have done without Picard hammin it up with the French accent though...
Loved Elnor, but hope he will develop from this one-note character. I think he will.
Some reasons why I liked this episode:
- There was an actual arc (finding Maddox), or rather several. I wished that, within the greater arc, every episode could have one of these.
- Seven and her rapport with Picard, particularly their conversation about "regaining humanity".
Previous episodes were stuck on telling us how badly Picard had messed up, again and again and again. How practically everything was his fault, and they had at least one character per episode blame him for abandoning them.
In contrast, Seven of Nine seemed to have a lot of respect for him. Granted, she all but rolled her eyes at his Federation values and at his speech about revenge, but she card enough for his feelings to pretend e had convinced her. And for all her contempt of the Federation, she didn't seem to blame him on a personal level.
Also she made an interesting situation about his holodeck chateau: "But you like it enough to keep it."
I really hope she'll be back. Would be interesting if she had to face some consequences for her murder, justified or not. (e.g. it doesn't take away the pain, or even though evil Bejazzle is gone, other villains take her place, OR an associate of hers now wants to take revenge on Seven... lots of possibilities.)
Ultimately, while this is a dark show, I believe they will end with a opeful outlook.
