Review of Ensign Ro

Ro Laren was a series regular for some time until she eventually went rogue in a much later episode. During her time on the show, this Bajoran ensign was often grumpy and argumentative--like many Bajorans were portrayed on the show. This was, no doubt, because Bajor had learned to become ornery because they were embroiled in a nasty war for independence from their Cardassian overlords. In many ways, these people seemed a bit like parallels to the Palestinian/Israeli or British/Irish conflicts (among others). My only complaint is that sometimes Ro's character seemed too much like Tasha Yar--too abrasive to be likable. Fortunately, despite my reservations about the character, this episode is pretty good.

The show begins with the Federation and Cardassians coming up with a working relationship, of sorts. The two empires were frequently at odds with each other over the years, but they did seem in agreement that senseless terrorism needs to be eliminated. But, you ALSO need to remember that the Cardassians are a lot like the Romulans--sneaky liars. In light of all this, the Enterprise receives Ensign Laren for a temporary assignment. Her duty is to help the ship establish contact with the various factions and try to work on eliminating the terrorist attacks. But, she is quite ambivalent about this--and her ambivalence makes her a very difficult team player. Can she work through this and become a valued member of the team? For a while, only Guinin thinks so!