This episode follows three aliens visiting Star Fleet to learn about what it feels like to be...human? That can't be right, because they choose to follow Worf, Troi, and Picard, and only one of them is human. Maybe they aren't really bipeds, and they want to learn about biped things? They do apparently have the ability to morph from ugly alien men to decent looking human women, so who knows what their real form is I guess. Also, key to the story is that they are not forthcoming about what they're really doing.
The first alien wants to learn about antagonism. First off, this is a strangely specific emotion to wish to experience. I could see going for anger, or perhaps rage. But antagonism? Interesting choice. In order to experience this, he makes Worf his servant and acts like a dick to him until Worf finally kicks his ass, which... is definitely satisfying to watch.The second little alien follows Troi around to learn about pleasure. He does this strictly by eating desert and sweets. Now, I like to eat as much as the next guy, and I would certainly say that it is pleasurable to me. But I don't think that the whole of the concept of pleasure can be experienced just by drinking fruit juice. I mean, there is something I can think of that bipeds do that might better encapsulate pleasure than food. But going this direction would have made that scene with Eric even more creepy than it already was. Perhaps the aliens are incompatible. I mean, we do learn that they don't have children, but rather emerge from some probably slimy pod full grown. But considering what the third little piggy does to pull off his rouse, I don't think it would be out of the question for Piggy Two to have gotten some lovin.
Now for the one that kind of works. Picard is supposed to go the alien home world, but they have shuttle trouble and crash land on an m-class planet. I love how empty m-class planets are so prevalent that whenever you're in trouble you can always crash on one. They apparently come up more frequently than Wendy's on I-75. On the planet, the alien pilot is not doing well, and Picard goes for help. He finds a woman who crash landed there seven years ago. She is extremely creepy, and clearly is sabotaging any possible escape plans that Picard devises. She is trying to keep Picard in an injured state, a la Kathy Bates in Misery. She also tells him that his alien pilot has died, though he shows up to help the second she walks out the door. They search for her, as Picard fears she will jump off a cliff because he refuses to love her. But soon enough Picard pieces it together, and calls her out on not being real. She is the alien. He is trying (and failing) to experience love. A real woman and man crashed on this planet once and fell in love, and the alien was hoping to recreate this experience. This story worked pretty well, mainly due to the very creepy portrayal of the woman. She straight up gave me the heebie jeebies, and while I knew she was up to no good, I honestly had no idea until the big plot twist reveal that she was the alien.
In the end, while gently excoriating the aliens on their unconventional methods, the two delegations part on friendly terms. Worf spars in the holodeck with the antagonist, Troi lets the sweet-toothed one feed desert to a random child, and Picard falls in love with the pilot. Just kidding on that last one. "Liasons" is an Adequate episode of Trek. It's quirky and weird, and the story line on the planet is actually fairly well done. I don't quite understand what the aliens really are, and why they have no experiences in antagonism, pleasure, or love when they seem quite capable of these emotions. Is there really just no sugar on their planet, or what? But overall it's an episode about appreciating the differences in cultures and trying to learn about them by method of immersing oneself within them. I think that's a decent enough message.
Published February 20, 2018
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