TNG S3E9 "The Vengeance Factor" Review By AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

The Gatherers are a group of Acamarians that long ago left their home world and now survive by pillaging and plundering much like the Vikings of old. But when they plunder a Star Fleet outpost, Picard decides to finally put some effort into solving this very old problem. They learn from Marouk, the sovereign of Acamar III, that the planet was once divided by clan, and the Gatherers were a despised clan that weren't exactly missed when they bolted. In fact, the clans all came together after their departure. Since so much time has passed, Picard persuades Marouk that perhaps it's time to also make amends with the Gatherers.



But when we meet Brull, the first representative of the Gatherers that we can find, we realize that the striking difference between the two cultures will make reuniting difficult. They trade insults like they're telling "yo mama" jokes. Brull wins this competition when he calls Marouk old, and she responds with "You people haven't changed in a hundred years!"

Brull- "You should know! You were there!"

OH SNAP! Good stuff, but Brull loses some points by embarrassingly having a piece of lasagna stuck to his face the entire time. But hey, they strike a truce and decide to take the matter to the next level up in the Gatherer line. Brull comes on board and generally acts like an ass and inspires people to scowl at him.

Meanwhile Marouk's servant/chef/food-taster Yuta is hitting it off with Riker. She cooks for him, he tells her he sees her as his equal, and she responds by wanting to be his sex slave. You know, typical Riker stuff. But Yuta has more surprises up her sleeve, as she's killed one of Brull's men and is going to kill Chorgan, the head of the Gatherers, right as he and Marouk are about to strike a deal regarding land and seats on the council. It turns out that she is actually some kind of genetically modified long-con assassin I guess? I don't know, it really doesn't make an sense. Anyway, Riker comes in at the last moment to prevent her from fulfilling her mission and shoots her THREE TIMES with a phaser, giving everyone PLENTY OF TIME to come up with a better plan than killing her before he kills her. Why didn't they just beam her out? They didn't even need to send Riker down at all, just bring her up. Or Riker could have, I don't know...just handcuffed her or whatever. Why kill the pretty lady?


I want to give this a good rating, but alas it is only Adequate. I like the idea of centuries old beefs getting settled, and actually enjoyed watching the negotiations between the parties. In the end, Brull, as brash as he was, was a force for good. And I genuinely liked Marouk and Chargon as well. I also think it was fitting that Yuta, who was sent to exact vengeance, actually helped to unite the parties and establish trust. Her death scene was powerful, but so unnecessary and it really just ruins the episode.

Published Jan 21, 2020