It's slow, but it's all put together with lots of believably characterizations, with one notable exception I'll mention later.
This is a great one because what this colony is doing is absolutely plausible based on human history and absolutely chilling for the same reason. Of Trek stories, this is very high on the "possible" scale.
The part of the leader, Aaron, is well written and very well played by John Snyder. This kind of role could easily be written as a mustache twirling villain, but that's been done to death and then some. He's personally, honest and earnest.
The colony's scientists behave very believably when they see what's beyond the dome. They think their society is ultimately a silly joke, and for reasons literally bred into them- they are curious and want to see what's really out there.
I thought the romance subplot between Deanna and Aaron was the best of its sort I've ever seen in Trek, and I'm hardly a fan of romance subplots. It's gradual and believable and doesn't feel at all tacked on. They KNOW they are being very foolish and let things get out of hand. Also the chemistry between the two is far higher than it ever was between Deanna and Riker.
I do think they overly hammered the anvil of the fact that Geordi would never have been born in this society. It's good, but they kind of beat it to death.
However, the way Geordi instantly knows Hannah is lying about the dome breach because his visor would pick it up is great. It's low key and perfectly consistent with the capabilities the visor has previously been depicted with. And it was great that Geordi waited until they were alone to confront her.
Now, the annoying flaw is that Picard seems to keep reversing himself, and especially at the end suggesting the Enterprise visit was as damaging as the colony being destroyed by the comet. Makes no sense.
This is a great one because what this colony is doing is absolutely plausible based on human history and absolutely chilling for the same reason. Of Trek stories, this is very high on the "possible" scale.
The part of the leader, Aaron, is well written and very well played by John Snyder. This kind of role could easily be written as a mustache twirling villain, but that's been done to death and then some. He's personally, honest and earnest.
The colony's scientists behave very believably when they see what's beyond the dome. They think their society is ultimately a silly joke, and for reasons literally bred into them- they are curious and want to see what's really out there.
I thought the romance subplot between Deanna and Aaron was the best of its sort I've ever seen in Trek, and I'm hardly a fan of romance subplots. It's gradual and believable and doesn't feel at all tacked on. They KNOW they are being very foolish and let things get out of hand. Also the chemistry between the two is far higher than it ever was between Deanna and Riker.
I do think they overly hammered the anvil of the fact that Geordi would never have been born in this society. It's good, but they kind of beat it to death.
However, the way Geordi instantly knows Hannah is lying about the dome breach because his visor would pick it up is great. It's low key and perfectly consistent with the capabilities the visor has previously been depicted with. And it was great that Geordi waited until they were alone to confront her.
Now, the annoying flaw is that Picard seems to keep reversing himself, and especially at the end suggesting the Enterprise visit was as damaging as the colony being destroyed by the comet. Makes no sense.