The Defector

[DanCPA]

Not having the battle gave the end one feeling, but they also could have had a battle... It just gave it another ending

 

[The Old Mixer]

This was always a favorite of mine as well...the original airing had me at the edge of my seat, and I thought we were headed for a "To Be Continued..." before the Klingons showed up! It was very gratifying to finally see the alliance in action, and while no battle was joined, I always imagined that Picard must have earned the respect of those particular Klingons for the way that he faced down Tomalak..."Shall we die together?"

 

[Vanyel]

Tighs Eye said:
I love this ep...

I would have loved to see this episode made with current CGI, we could have had a real battle scene with the Enterprise and the Klingons attacking the Romulans!

The scene with the BoP decloaking would have been great to see on the big screen. I hope that when the series is remastered, if it can be made HD that the scene is given the look it deserves.

 

[DWF]

IT didn't need a battle the ep. works just fine without it.

 

[RAMA]

Tighs Eye said:
I love this ep...

I would have loved to see this episode made with current CGI, we could have had a real battle scene with the Enterprise and the Klingons attacking the Romulans!

This episode wasn't about a battle it was a about brinksmanship. They didn't need to fight.

CGI might provide us with a better perspective of the face-off than the cramped-for-4:3 TV picture tube-FX though.

 

[LancasterTrek]

The climax of "The Defector" when the Klingons decloak and the Romulans are screwed is one of my top-3 moments in all of TNG. I think I openly cheered out load when I saw it the first time, and I still get giddy when I watch it. I love that moment.

 

[J47]

I rewatched this yesterday, and it was basically the first time I was old enough to get it (I was 4 when the episode aired, and probably haven't seen it in reruns at all in the last 10 years). It's just fantastic, to the point where I'm actually considering bumping it to my favourite TNG episode. The writing is topnotch and you truly feel for Jarok when he realizes he got played.

 

[Unicron]

^^ Yeah, I tend to think the stalemate works somewhat better than a battle would. As I said in my original post, this is how I'd have liked to see the Romulans used more often.

 

[SmoothieX]

J47 said:
I rewatched this yesterday, and it was basically the first time I was old enough to get it (I was 4 when the episode aired, and probably haven't seen it in reruns at all in the last 10 years). It's just fantastic, to the point where I'm actually considering bumping it to my favourite TNG episode. The writing is topnotch and you truly feel for Jarok when he realizes he got played.

I am at work when TNG is on Spike but I catch the occasional episode now and then. It's cool when an episode I like for action and creepy aliens as a kid I now can appreciate in a different light.

I too think The Defector is a great episode. You really feel for Jarok.

 

[AJBryant]

I still get a shiver when I hear, "Tell your captain.... that ADMIRAL JAROK wishes to speak with him."

Tony

 

[Unicron]

Easily one of James Sloyan's best roles, and I think this might have been his first guest appearance. What's nice about Jarok is that he does his best to seem sincere, but we're in the dark as much as Picard is. Jarok truly wants to keep the peace without betraying his people (though Picard correctly points out he had no other choice), but he has no way to prove his case. And it shows how treacherous the Romulans can be, by using a high-ranking officer so cruelly.

 

[Vulcanian]

DWF said:
IT didn't need a battle the ep. works just fine without it.

Agreed.

 

[Who_Trek]

Walk softly and carry a pack of Klingon shiips at your back.

 

[DanCPA]

Unicron said:
And it shows how treacherous the Romulans can be, by using a high-ranking officer so cruelly.

They had concerns he was a traitor... And he was. If anything, it's a sign of the greatness of the tal-shiar