Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Unification II (1991) User Reviews

Can any Romulans be trusted?

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 25 June 2015]

After a brief recap this episode starts where the last finished with Picard meeting Spock; the former is somewhat surprised to be told that he should leave Spock to get on with his unauthorised mission. That mission, as the episode title suggests, is the reunification of the Romulan and Vulcan peoples. He has managed to make contact with a young Proconsul who claims to support reunification but Picard advises that this man has been promoted surprisingly fast so might not be trustworthy. Back on the Enterprise Riker is following the trail of the stolen Vulcan ship.

This was a good conclusion to this two part story; early conversations lead us to wonder which if any Romulans can be trusted and as the story progresses we learn that not only are some trying to stop the sort of unification Spock is working for; they wish to use his work as a cover to invade Vulcan! This plot sees a return of Sela, daughter of Tasha Yar… to my mind Sala is a potentially more interesting character than her mother; Denise Crosby does a good job in the role. Not surprisingly it is Leonard Nimoy's appearance as Spock that steals the show; he puts in a fine performance as this iconic character. The appearance of Spock leads to an interesting philosophical discussion with Data; the Vulcan who aims to suppress all emotion and the emotionless android who strives to be more human. While this is primarily a dramatic episode there is some humour; seeing Worf singing Klingon opera in a bar was particularly entertaining although I'm pleased he didn't sing for long! The conclusion to the story is satisfying; plots are thwarted and there are signs of hope that young Romulans want a better relationship with the Federation but for the time being the Romulans remain interesting antagonists.

"I am Spock"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 November 2018]

Continuing from the first part of this story, Jean-Luc Picard and Data are traveling incognito on Romulus where they meet Spock the legendary diplomat of the Federation. It's been quite the journey for Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner to find Leonard Nimoy who is on a most unofficial diplomatic initiative.

Spock is meeting with a number of younger Romulan dissidents who are being championed by Malachi Throne in the Romulan Senate. There are many who want diplomatic relations to open up between Vulcan and Romulus which have been at odds for thousands of years.

Sad to say that the mission was betrayed from the start and the whole thing has been monitored by Denise Crosby returning again as Tasha Yar's half human half Romulan daughter. Personally that's one component of the TNG saga I never thought was satisfactorily explained.

Nevertheless there are some fine moments with scenes of Nimoy with both Stewart and Spiner. And we learn that Klingons are opera lovers.

Fascinating !

[nicofreezer · 9/10 · 10 December 2021]

To see Picard and Spock talk was awesome in itself, the plot is solid, Spock beeing here make it a fantastic épisode, his talk with Data was absolutely Incredible, His father died but Picard offert him the chance to see what his father truly feel... Amazing Thank you Star trek 9/10.

Continued unification with the Original Series.

[russem31 · 25 April 2006]

ST:TNG:107 - "Unification, Part I" (Stardate: 45245.8) - this is the 8th episode of the 5th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (as a NOTE, this is the 107th episode to go into production, whereas "Unification, Part I" was the 108th episode to go into production).

This is a pivotal 2-part episode, which aired in November 1991, coming at the time of Star Trek's 25th anniversary and tying it into Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (which was released a month after this episode in December). It also occurred at the time of Gene Roddenberry's death (he died in October 1991.

It concerns Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), now an ambassador, who has seemingly defected over to the Romulan side. Picard and Data, aboard a cloaked Klingon ship, head to Romulus to figure out why he defected. Once there, they meet Spock who explains his true intentions of Unification between the Romulans and Vulcans, a goal shared by some on Romulus, including seemingly his old friend Romulan Senator Pardek (whom he met at the Khitomer conference in Star Trek VI).

Meanwhile Riker in command of the Enterprise continues his investigation of a theft of a Vulcan Vessel, which in the end leads him to Galorndon Core (from the 3rd season episode "The Enemy"), a planet the Romulans again have interest in.

Suffice it to say, things are not what they seem in this concluding second part of the historic "Unification" episode, to be cherished by fans and non-fans alike.

Trivia note: the Romulan Imperial Senate is seen (just like in Star Trek: Nemesis). We hear Klingon opera. Spocks recounts how he involved Kirk in the Star Trek VI mission, how he's taken part in "cowboy diplomacy" before. The Ferengi are seen again here (a fat one this time), and we also see Denise Crosby as Romulan Commander Sela again. And finally, Data and Spock learn from each other (Spock about Data's quest to be more human, and Data about the Vulcan Nerve Pinch!).

Spock's presence raises it above the writing

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 9 August 2021]

Ambassador Spock reveals his motives for being on Romulus.

This is an enjoyable conclusion to the story with some solid character moments and (importantly) Spock has plenty of screen time.

The plot has a great concept from a character perspective. Who wouldn't want to find out what became of arguably Star Trek's greatest character following his depiction in the original series and movies? Mostly it works, as Spock has a satisfying continuation and some great exchanges with TNG characters. Unfortunately the scenes and dialogue involving a previously introduced villain is not a very inspired aspect of the episode's writing and drags it down a little.

The exchanges between Spock and Picard and Spock and Data are the highlights of the episode. Leonard Nimoy is fantastic playing a more evolved Spock whilst retaining his most important traits and mannerisms. Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner are the best actors on TNG so having Nimoy share the screen with them makes the most of his guest appearance.

I quite like the scenes with Riker and Worf for sheer amusement value. Riker's attempt at cool banter at the piano is bizarrely entertaining, but Jonathan Frakes and Karen Hensel are no Bogie and Bacall. In the grand scheme of the story though I would rather the writers had focussed more on Spock, but it was reasonably good fun nonetheless.

The visuals are great for what they are, especially the holographic sequences. I appreciate the budgetary constraints, but there's only so much cave and dark interior sequences I can see of places like Romulus and Qo'noS before it starts to feel a bit stale.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Spock made it so!

[tcwaterford · 9/10 · 10 May 2022]

IMHO, the very best episode of Next Generation.

While STNG was a huge success in it's own right, the inclusion of Leonard Nemoy as Ambassador Spock in these past two episodes, have made them truly magical!!.

The simple presence of Spock made these episodes very special, for those of us who are old enough to remember and treasure the original Star Trek.

9 out 10, Loved it!

Hope Without Crosby

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 1 September 2014]

This is a continuation of the efforts of the Federation to capture Spock and bring him back. He is on Romulus leading a group of peace-seeking rebels. He has been joined by Data and Picard. Spock wishes to play by the rules, but Sera (the daughter of Tasha Yar and a Romulan commander, played by Denise Crosby) has other ideas. Instead of a peace mission going to Vulcan, the Romulans have loaded three ships with warriors to attack Vulcan and start a conflict. To make this a surprise attack they are going to force Spock to make a statement that the Romulans are heading for Vulcan to arrange a peace agreement. Sera tries all she can to force this, but Spock will have none of it, and they are forced to use a hologram. The crew uses great ingenuity from here on. The great stoic Spock hadn't aged so much at this time. Today, Leonard Nimoy seems so old and his voice has betrayed him. There is an incident where we see just how awful the Romulans are (I said in a previous review that they are much like the Soviet Union). Certainly a worthy episode.

REVIEW 2022 Part II

[iamirwar · 10/10 · 13 September 2022]

The dedication to Gene Roddenberry at the start of this episode together with the original Star Trek theme tune was very touching

PART ONE: "Live long and Prosper" I don't believe it logical that Vulcans choose to sleep without a blanket to cover them... But something is going on and it involves the Romulans and one well-known Vulcan.

Sarek isn't well and is babbling, can we really believe anything he has to say? Vulcan bedrooms could certainly do with better décor.

It seems that Gowron is doing well on the Klingon home world.

As this is a two-part episode, we know that part one is laying the foundation of the story.

However, I would rate this episode very highly simply for the Picard-Data sharing a cabin scene.

PART TWO: I don't really need to add my views on these two episodes, but I would encourage anyone coming upon these stories for the first time, to watch both episodes as a double-bill.

The depth and layers to what is a brilliant story never let up from the opening credits of part one and unlike some of these stories that tend to sometimes loose their way, this one was required watching from start to finish.

This is definitely one of my favourite offerings from the TNG camp... maybe my favourite of all.

It is for that reason that I have limited my review in an effort to avoid giving away too many spoilers.

This Episodes Clue: Songs for my Valentine.

"I ought to take the opportunity to remove my ears."

[classicsoncall · 10/10 · 16 February 2024]

With a potential peace agreement between the Romulans and Klingons at stake, Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) perseveres in trying to make the impossible happen while unseen forces work in an entirely different direction. Having Nimoy on hand for the two-part story that began with the prior episode was a special treat for fans of the original series. He didn't disappoint this viewer both times when he used his famous hallmark phrase, 'Fascinating'. Although accused of 'cowboy diplomacy' for undertaking his mission in secret, the one thing we know about Spock, as did his father Sarek, was that there was no way he would betray the Federation with his clandestine trip to the Romulan Empire. This episode hinged on the behind the scenes manipulation of the Romulan Sela (Denise Crosby), working hand in hand with new Proconsul Neral (Norman Large), to secretly deploy three stolen Klingon vessels with Romulan warriors aboard for a surprise attack on the Klingon home world. Though their own Romulan disguises were discovered early, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander Data (Brent Spiner) managed to overcome Sela and Neral to disrupt the attempted attack against the Klingons. The poignant conclusion of the story had Captain Picard suggest a mind meld with Spock so that the Vulcan could understand his father just a bit better, since Sarek's death would no longer offer the opportunity for the father and son to reconcile their fraught relationship.

A bit of a disappointment

[dafoat · 6/10 · 8 August 2019]

I'm a huge fan of both Next Generation and the original series. But I've always felt this episode was a bit of a letdown. Sela is kind of a silly character. Given the timeline of the events that led to her birth, she can't be much older than 20. That's pretty young to have such a prominent position in the Romulan military. And her plan to invade Vulcan seems pretty half baked. Two thousand troops isn't enough to occupy a single large city, let alone a whole planet with millions of inhabitants.

There are some nice scenes between Spock, Data and Picard. But all of the stuff with Riker and the alien lounge singer is just goofy. And that final shot of Picard awkwardly grinning through a mind meld is odd, too.

Overall it's not a terrible episode. But I was expecting so much more from Spock's appearance on TNG.

Back in the saddle again.

[thevacinstaller · 6/10 · 3 April 2021]

The idea of Spock using his golden years to facilitate a reunification between the Romulan's and Vulcans is good and fitting of his character being in constant struggle with his dual identities.

The episode though..... Snore... Don't get me wrong ---- I love episodes of TNG of a bunch of people talking to one another for 45 minutes but in this episode the idea of the Romulan's sending 2000 (?) soldiers to infiltrate Vulcan to conquer it (?) is not full formed and does not seem viable to me and overall I never felt the impact of the stakes in the episode.

With the talent of (Piller/Menosky/Moore/Bragga) this is the best episode they could come up with to bring back Spock? There's a whole universe of crazy idea's or other Romulan based arc's they could have brain stormed or spend a weekend together and come up with something a bit more vibrant.

It's not all together uninteresting. Spock choosing to embrace his humanity in making the decision to go to Romulas was interesting. The idea of Sarek seeping out of Picard was also interesting and they could have played even more into that I think.

It's okay .... I maintain it is getting favorable reviews simply because people are happy to see Nimoy and that is not an acceptable answer to me.

I was going to give this a 7 but I am giving it a 6 because I am truly bummed out at the wasted potential and I had to fight to keep awake during my re-watch.

That's It?

[Samuel-Shovel · 5/10 · 27 March 2020]

In "Unification II" Spock tries to push his agenda of a reunification between the Vulcans and the Romulans. The Romulans seem receptive to the idea... a little bit too receptive. Meanwhile the Enterprise further investigates who was behind the scrapyard thefts. Signs also start to point to the Romulans.

This episode really felt rushed to me. This is interesting because the previous episode felt like it had a lot of filler to it. The pacing between Part 1 & 2 could definitely be a lot better. I suppose they wanted Part 1 to end with Spock's initial appearance. Even so, I think there could have been a way to edit this into a more cohesive story. As it is now, this two parter is probably my least favorite of any multi-episode story thread. It all wraps up quickly and rather bizarrely. I expect better from TNG on something like this in Season 5.

Without Sela, I would have loved this

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 November 2014]

I like the Romulans--they're sneaky jerks and make for excellent villains in the Star Trek universe. So, I expected to love this two- part episode about these tricksy folks. However, the appearance of Sela (Denise Crosby) at the end really left a bad taste in my mouth. After all, the way they re-inserted Denise Crosby into the show seemed incredibly contrived and her new character was about as one-dimensional has her old Tasha Yar. She really deserved better than this.

As for the episode, it's the second of two episodes and once again it finds Picard and Data on Romulus in disguise as Romulans. They're trying to figure out if the peace overtures some Romulans have made towards Spock are real or yet another plot to harm the Federation. It's all very nice to see and I enjoyed it up until Sela arrived--then I mostly lost interest.

Leonard Nimoy is Here!

[StuOz · 1 June 2022]

Leonard Nimoy (Spock) makes an appearance.

45 minutes of television that perfectly reveals why Original Series is better than Next Generation. With Leonard Nimoy given all this screen time and with the talented Malachi Throne also being present - this should have been totally mind blowing! But it is not!

Like no other time in Star Trek history, this hour will make you compare the two shows. TOS had energetic music cues playing all the time but TNG has these endless sleepy cues playing.

There is talk, talk and talk but nobody is really saying anything of interest. The conversations were better in TOS.

Unification briefly shines when Spock has a thought provoking conversation with Data, but other than that, this hour will send you running to your Blu rays for an Original Series repeat viewing!

Boring

[zombiemockingbird · 2/10 · 9 April 2023]

The only thing that saves this is the reappearance of Spock, and I wish they had written a better story for his return. There was a lot of talk, no action and it was too long, drawn out and tiresome. Why are they so obsessed with repeatedly dragging Denise Crosby back? Yar was a one-dimensional, lifeless, boring character and so is Sela, and I don't buy her as a Romulan leader. Besides the characters being poorly written and developed, Denise Crosby just isn't a good actress. The whole story was non-cohesive, and I honestly lost interest in it, so was only half-heartedly paying attention. I did kind of like Data and Picard as Romulans, however.

Terrible overhyped episode

[cmorrisx · 3/10 · 21 May 2022]

This was about as entertaining as Star Trek V. The most anticlimactic 2-parter. The needless re-insertion of Sela...the most unnecessary and quickly forgotten character of TNG...made it even worse.

There could have been many interesting ways to bring Spock back...this wasn't one of them.

A Senior Trekker writes..................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 8 February 2022]

The Fifth Season of TNG contains some remarkably strong episodes while continuing to push the boundaries of what could be achieved within an episodic television format. It is notable for the tragic loss of its creator, Gene Roddenberry, who died on 24th October 1991 at the age of 70. His influence upon the positive depiction of humanity and diversity in Science Fiction endures to this day. Senior Trekker continues to score all episodes with a 5.

Yes, it's the return of Mr Spock, now aged in the two hundreds and intent upon assisting in the re-unification of the Vulcan and Romulan races. Leonard Nimoy gives a splendid performance as a mature and highly principled character who is, nevertheless, not above one last piece of "Cowboy Diplomacy" in order to help achieve his ends.

This episode is even more full of visual treats than the last. We get to see Riker jamming with a four-armed pianist, Amarie, in the bar on Qualor II while he awaits the outrageously boorish Ferengi trader, Omag. We enjoy the return of Denise Crosby as Sela (".... I HATE Vulcans") and both Malchi Throne as the treacherous Senator Pardek and Norman Large as the even-more treacherous Pro-Consul Nerel all add to the intrigue.

The counter-invasion of Vulcan is narrowly averted and this highly entertaining adventure comes to an end with a reflective moment when Picard informs Spock of Sarek's death and offers himself as a conduit so that father and son may finally carry out the mind-meld that was never performed in life.

Decent

[eztoronto · 4/10 · 17 September 2023]

I enjoyed this 2-part episode.

Lots of got moments in it.

The best was seeing Data as a Romulan, and interacting with the Kilogons - he just makes me laugh a lot.

I didn't like Denise Crosby's but. She is just a bad actor and I'm baffled why they plugged her back into the script. She just wasn't convincing and there was no synergy in her performance.

--

I enjoyed this 2-part episode.

Lots of got moments in it.

The best was seeing Data as a Romulan, and interacting with the Kilogons - he just makes me laugh a lot.

I didn't like Denise Crosby's but. She is just a bad actor and I'm baffled why they plugged her back into the script. She just wasn't convincing and there was no synergy in her performance.