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Originally Posted by diebitter
ST TNG S5E19: The First Duty
Wow, this was the first Wesley episode I thoroughly enjoyed. Seeing Wes as a young man caught up in a moral quandary he can't technobabble his way out of and struggling with adult responsibilities makes the character so much more relatable than the usual wunderkid Wesley storyline. Solid A in my book.
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The problem with the episode really was Wesley only confessed because he'd been caught, not because his ethical compass made him do it, which means the cathartic resolution that would have served the episode - Wesley's inner compass making him do the right thing - wasn't delivered.
I actually rather liked it that Wesley doesn't do the right thing straight away and that the episode doesn't solve everything neatly. It's a more interesting story with characters who **** up in understandable ways and have to face real consequences. Also gives Picard the opportunity to dish out some tough love moral guidance and set the kid on the right path.
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But Picard said he'd tell the court everything. That's new evidence, right? But you may be right. Whatever, the drama didn't feel like Wesley was confessing from ethical impetus but fear of relevation
It's not 100% clear imo, in the story Locarno points out that Picard doesn't really have enough hard proof to nail them all, although it's hard to believe the admirals wouldn't take his input very seriously.
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Wesley not being the boy scout we all know Wesley is, leading to an air of inauthenticity.
Yeah, it does sort of retcon Wesley's firmly-established goody-two-shoes character. No way the Wesley we know would go along with some dangerous stunt. On the other hand, the boy scout Wesley is a sucky character and I don't mind seeing him made more human.