"Preemptive Strike" is a rushed episode which features the return, and departure, of Ensign Ro Laren. Ro returns to the Enterprise after a lengthy absence while she received special training. She is greeted warmly by Picard, who then immediately assigns here to an undercover assignment to infiltrate the Maquis. The Maquis are engaged with a gorilla war against the Cardassians. The members of the Maquis who she meets provoke ambivalent emotions in Ro, which ultimately leads her to betray Picard and defect to the Maquis.
While the acting, dialogue and production values are good to great, the episode feels like a misstep. Picard's genuine feelings of affection for Ro are overridden by his desire for her to complete the covert operation. The operation itself is questionable. I would expect Picard to raise many more questions than he does; in fact, he seems quite eager to be a 24th century CIA operative. He makes Ro into a tool to be used. If that was the goal, then the producers succeeded. The exception to the episode's failure is Ro's relationship to the elder Maquis leader, who symbolically takes Picard's place in Ro's life before his death. Again, if that was the goal, then it could be called a success. I call it a sellout, forcing Picard to behave in a manner totally inconsistent with what we know about him. Not recommended.
While the acting, dialogue and production values are good to great, the episode feels like a misstep. Picard's genuine feelings of affection for Ro are overridden by his desire for her to complete the covert operation. The operation itself is questionable. I would expect Picard to raise many more questions than he does; in fact, he seems quite eager to be a 24th century CIA operative. He makes Ro into a tool to be used. If that was the goal, then the producers succeeded. The exception to the episode's failure is Ro's relationship to the elder Maquis leader, who symbolically takes Picard's place in Ro's life before his death. Again, if that was the goal, then it could be called a success. I call it a sellout, forcing Picard to behave in a manner totally inconsistent with what we know about him. Not recommended.