The first part of the episode is a stupid attempt at misdirection. Picard is worried about... a Holodeck simulation? What? The simulation itself has dreadful fight choreography even by the low, low standards of Star Trek personal combat.
The second part is yet another all-powerful being testing the Enterprise. The first season already had 4 episodes dealing with this, and they were all bad as well. The main problem with all of them is that there is no tension. By putting the Enterprise against an overwhelming force you know the only conclusion can be a succesful escape, because the only other option is utter destruction. The supreme beings involved also are overly interested in "us" and always end up respecting "us".
The nadir of the episode is that Wesley is suddenly replaced by a black redshirt. It would only have been a surprise if he had survived.
The second part is yet another all-powerful being testing the Enterprise. The first season already had 4 episodes dealing with this, and they were all bad as well. The main problem with all of them is that there is no tension. By putting the Enterprise against an overwhelming force you know the only conclusion can be a succesful escape, because the only other option is utter destruction. The supreme beings involved also are overly interested in "us" and always end up respecting "us".
The nadir of the episode is that Wesley is suddenly replaced by a black redshirt. It would only have been a surprise if he had survived.