The sentient Taelon mothership has revived a dead companion protector to protect itself and set the Taelons back on their proper mission of peaceable coexistence with humanity. However, Renee is also required…

This is so much like Beauty and the Beast it’s untrue. There’s a deformed man in the bowels of the ship and he needs the lovely Renee to make his life bearable. Given this factor, you know exactly what’s going to happen. Renee will try to escape, then she’ll find her captor sympathetic and agree to help him, then he’ll die tragically, stopping all hope of the Taelons reverting to their original mission, which is apparently programmed into the mothership’s memory.

The only function the episode seems to serve is to make Liam and Renee aware of a couple of facts that we already knew about: there are Taelon babies on the ship and the aliens’ original mission was one of peace. Aside from some great effects, there’s not really a whole lot to recommend this episode: it’s predictable, it doesn’t change anything in the long term, the resurrected Lt Malley isn’t a very interesting character and once again the relationship between he and Renee isn’t very well drawn thanks to Jayne Heitmeyer. Then of course, there’s the fact that it doesn’t hold onto the Roddenberry tenets of peace, love and understanding very well. Beauty being an issue when it comes to dealing with someone? Whatever next? Wouldn’t get that kind of thing in Star Trek…

The important point is clearly supposed to be at the end when Liam confronts Da’an and asks what the Taelons’ true mission is. Getting a straight answer for once, Liam just gets told that the Taelons are dying and want humanity’s help to live. To this end they left their home to seek peaceful help. We know all this, or at least had worked it out as time has gone on. Presumably the intention is to make Liam aware of their plight as well, but with all the build-up the non-revelation is given, I expected more.

**

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