Although we are done with STNG and are now in the Delta Quadrant with Voyager, that doesn’t mean you can’t go back and catch up on the episodes you missed. You can find the rest here!
A murder mystery, a romance and a chance for redemption. Originally Airing on February 1, 1993, this is Aquiel.
The Episode:
Stardate 46461.3 Aquiel
The Enterprise arrives at a communication relay station where they discover remains of one of the crew members with the others missing. They soon find suspects in a possible murder, one of which Geordi falls in love with.
The Breakdown:
Arriving at a subspace relay station, Riker and his away team find it deserted with only a dog on board and evidence of a possible murder. They find multiple signs of blood and cells that indicate the death of Aquiel Uhnari. One of the crewman, Keith Rocha is missing and they soon discover that the vaporized remains may have been that of a Klingon Disruptor.
Geordi begins running the logs of Aquiel and is soon able to recover most of her logs. Being the LaForge we know and love, he begins to fall in love with the images and video logs of the possibly deceased Lieutenant. He soon discovers that a Klingon in the area has been harassing the station and could also been responsible for the death or deaths aboard the relay station. Geordi continues to research Aquiel’s logs in the company of her dog and finds more and more connection with this deceased Lieutenant.
Picard contacts the nearby Klingon representatives and, playing his Gowron Card, Picard is able to convince the local Governor to investigate the situation concerning the harassment from the Klingon known as Commander Morag. Governor Torak arrives and reveals that Aquiel is very much alive and was caught fleeing for her life from the station.
Lt Aquiel reports that she escaped her senior officer Lt Rocha after being attacked by him. She escaped only to be discovered by a patrolling Klingon ship. She claims that she has no memories after the attack and that her memories feel as if they had been drained from her. LaForge immediately takes to Aquiel and they begin to have a relationship. Riker is concerned that LaForge is letting his emotions get the better of him.
Riker researches deeper and finds that Aquiel has a checkered past and is known for being difficult where Lt Rocha is quite the opposite. Despite Aquiel’s claims, Rocha is an outstanding officer who seemed to have quite the future. Worf and Riker soon find a phaser on-board Aquiel’s shuttle that is set to kill. Riker and Worf believe that Aquiel may have been responsible for the death of Lt Rocha. LaForge defends her and Riker advises that LaForge needs to distance himself from Aquiel until the investigation is completed.
Commander Morag arrives and things get more complicated when LaForge discovers that Aquiel has deleted some of Lt Rocha’s logs making her look even more guilty. She tries to flee and LaForge tells her that he will find a way to prove her innocence. Things get even more complicated when it Crusher discovers that the dead Lieutenants residue shows signs of life. They soon discover that either Aquiel or Commander Morag is actually a coalescent organism that has to consume others to survive. In consuming another being it takes over their appearance and continues along its way. Just as LaForge is about to be intimate with Aquiel, Riker and Worf arrest both Morag and Aquiel in believe that one of them may be the creature.
Soon Geordi is attacked by the real creature that has taken the form of Aquiel’s dog. He manages to escape by vaporizing the creature, and in doing so proving Aquiel and Morag’s innocence.
In the end Geordi offers Aquiel a chance to join the ship’s crew so they can continue their relationship, but Aquiel leaves the ship to continue her career in Starfleet. Seems she really wasn’t interesting in you after all buddy.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
Presented as a murder mystery this is yet another Geordi centric episode that is just there to give the Chief Engineer a love interest. Really, that seems to be the soul purpose of this episode as there is really nothing else that this entry serves. We once again see the perpetually love less Geordi fall in love, have a moments happiness and lose it all over again. I swear, it seem this guy just can’t catch a break, from a failed relationship with Christy Henshaw to holographic love interests, Geordi just seems to not be able to find the right person even when entire episodes are dedicated to the subject.
The episode itself, while well produced, is very much a throwaway episode. Call it filler, call it what you will, but overall, it is just a forgettable moment in La Forge’s long history of loneliness.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
Despite promises otherwise, we never see nor hear from Aquiel again. So much for that one Geordi.
We also never see nor hear from the shape-shifting creature again although it does look somewhat similar to a certain shapeshifter on Deep Space Nine…interesting.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Face of The Enemy
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Late To The Game 6/14/2020 (Originally published 11/16/2018)
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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