Vadic forces Picard to make an impossible choice: deliver what he can never give… or watch his crew perish.

While every episode this season ultimately forms one single story, this hour is very much a conclusion to a mini two-parter set up in Part 7. In true Trek style, the bigger the peril or ‘no win situation’, the more satisfying the payoff is. And if you don’t punch the air at least twice this week, are you even a TNG fan?

Vadic has control of the bridge of the Titan. She wants Jack Crusher to join her, or she’ll start killing hostages. Beverly and Jean-Luc’s son has some special powers crucial to the success of the Changeling plot, as we witnessed when he entered the mind of Sidney La Forge. Just what does all of this mean, and what’s behind the red door in his mind?

Apart from a short sequence, we didn’t see Riker last week, and nothing at all from Troi, Worf and Raffi. But you don’t keep them out of play for too long, and the Enterprise-D crew are soon back doing what they do best. And that’s part of the joy – Troi gets to read people, Bev gets to be medical, Geordi flexes his engineering muscles – they do what they do best.

By the end of the episode, we’re in a good place to tackle the enemy head-on for the show’s final two hours. Frankly, I’d watch this team sat round a table, reading the shipping forecast. Thankfully, they’re given more to do than that, and as a single unit they’re formidable.

Verdict: As a TNG fan, this ticks all the boxes. Bring on the final episodes! 9/10

Nick Joy