Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Face of the Enemy (1993) User Reviews

Don't you just hate it when you wake up and find you've been transformed into a Romulan?!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 29 November 2014]

When the episode begins, Counselor Troi awakens and looks into the mirror--only to discover that she's become, inexplicably, a Romulan! Why?! What's going on here? She has no idea but one of the Romulans comes to her and tells her that she MUST go along with his plan and pretend to be a member of the Romulan Intelligence, the Tal Shiar. Fortunately, since the Tal Shiar is much like the KGB, the commander of the Romulan ship is forced to acquiesce to whatever demands Troi makes--as the commander is scared not to!

I loved this episode because it allowed Marina Sirtis (Troi) to step WAY outside her usual roles on the show. Normally, she's an incredibly passive and dull character but here she is AMAZING. As a member of the Tal Shiar, Troi becomes a very scary woman! She is tough, demanding and even a bit ruthless!! These are all things I loved seeing her character do! Additionally, the show is very exciting and very different from the norm for the show. One not to be missed.

Shame it took 6 seasons for this Troi to show up

[inbreadapple · 9/10 · 6 May 2020]

I had been a fan of Deanna Troi from the start, but I found myself wanting to eventually see this side of her character, especially after each time they would set her up to be either led on by complete strangers or a victim or her own empathic ability.

My only complaint is that my suspension of disbelief would be thrown off a bit with how quick and perfect she would react to each problem as they would happen, but her performance (as well as the performance of the guest actors) was still enjoyable to watch.

Troi is Center Stage

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 8 July 2020]

In "Face of the Enemy" Troi wakes up to find herself surgically altered to look like a Romulan. A member of Spock's movement has kidnapped her and transplanted her as a member of the Tal Shiar, Romulus' spy network. Troi and the defector are attempting to transport 3 government officials sentimental to the cause off Romulus to Vulcan to help with the reunification efforts. Troi must take over control of a Romulan Warbird from its captain's clutches in order to do so.

It's really nice to get a solid Troi episode. This one isn't about Troi's powers or about her being a woman, it's just an episode about a crew member. Really nice. Troi is able to show off her command capability that's been hidden under the surface as ship's counselor. I love the persona she takes on here, her confidence growing the longer the episode goes on.

The finale falls a bit flat for me unfortunately. They just beam her off and that's that? I guess... I realize the episode is running out of time but the last 2 minutes feel super, super rushed. It's a fun ride up to that point though.

Superb Episode

[Qanqor · 10/10 · 30 September 2012]

I just rewatched this episode after not having seen it for many, many years. It still holds up brilliantly. It is one of the best episodes of the entire series, and by far the best Troi episode. Carolyn Seymore is wonderful as the Romulan commander, to the point that one regrets that the character never reappeared in another episode. The whole thing is deliciously edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, and I'm not going to give away one iota of it, for anyone who hasn't seen it.

I was astonished to find only one review of it here; I had expected that surely many people would want to weigh in on this one. It easily makes my Next Generation top-10 list.

One among the Romulans.

[russem31 · 29 April 2006]

ST:TNG:140 - "Face Of The Enemy" (Stardate: 46519.1) - this is the 14th episode of the 6th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Counselor Troi awakens onboard a Romulan Warbird and discovers she's been transformed into a Romulan officer! She is now Major Rakal, an agent of the Tal Shiar (the intelligence agency), who was brought to the Warbird by N'Vek, the vessel's subcommander, explaining that if she wants to survive, she must do what he says - and she must go pick up mysterious cargo.

At the same time, the Enterprise picks up a defector from the Federation, who has come back 20 years later to give the message from Ambassador Spock!

Are Troi's mission and the Enterprise's connected? Watch in this exciting episode.

Trivia note: Carolyn Seymour stars again in TNG (this time as Commander Toreth, the captain of the Romulan Warbird). Also, in this episode, we get to see more of the inside workings of the Romulans Empire.

Underrated episode, great role for Troi

[a-gordon-2374 · 10/10 · 25 May 2022]

This is one of my favorite TNG episodes and I think it's underated. It's Troi's best episode and I think it shows that Troi could have been a better TNG character if she had been a little bit more of a tough telepath who didn't stand for people's crap than an emotional counselor too afraid to use her powers.

The acting in this episode for all the Romulans is excellent, especially Troi and Commander Toreth. From beginning to end this is a fantastic episode that never bores once and has a satisfying conclusion. It is definitely one of my favorite TNG episodes and I think it should be ranked in the top 10.

We need a counselor for this spec op missions.

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 24 April 2021]

I enjoyed watching Sirtis peformance as the Tal Shiar agent in this episode. I feel like Sirtis is nothing like Troi in real life and probably leans more towards a Tal Shiar agent and it showed in this episode. She was excellent! Not to say she's a bad actress ---- she's completely fine.

The best part of this episode was the glorious performance of Commander Toreth as the prickly british Commander. She was just great throughout this episode and it was a nice touch to make her a bit of a dissedent/rebel against the Romulan Military structure in an episode about transporting a high level Romulan Political dissident. They give the Romulan's a bit of a layering here and that's something that has not been explored in depth since the original series.

When you think over the premise of the episode ---- it's just crazy. It's crazy but it works! I admire crazy idea and creativity is a cornerstone of the franchise.

The interior of the Romulan ship looked very TOS and I got a real kick out of that. Overall, quite a good episode.

As I've grown older, I realise that clarity of purpose is a more... ambiguous matter than I had thought in my youth

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 1 December 2021]

Counsellor Troi is kidnapped and sent undercover as an agent aboard a Romulan starship.

This is an entertaining episode that gives Troi a decent storyline and contains a some quite compelling scenes.

I am a 'Hunt for Red October' fan so quite like the defection story and involvement of the Romulan cloaking device. Although the suspense associated with certain plot stakes does not really work when you know Troi will be back to normal next episode and the Enterprise will not be destroyed.

Marina Sirtis did not have the best material associated with her character for much of TNG, but this one is good. There is a reasonably good logic connected to her empathic powers that supports the plot. Above all she gets the opportunity to be a strong lead as opposed to a victim, love interest, or a sympathetic ear. For most of her performance she delivers superbly well. There are a few moments when she shouts at people that feels a bit over the top, but it somehow works due to the fact we know her character is acting the part of someone else.

The guest stars Carolyn Seymour and Scott McDonald are great as the Romulan characters and Sirtis has a number of solid exchanges with them. I particularly like the quite tense scene when Toreth tests Troi on her backstory over the dinner table.

It gives a decent level of continuity and follow up to the TNG 'Unification' episodes and is worth watching prior to the 2009 Star Trek movie and the Discovery episode 'Unification III'.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Tries too hard

[gmaileatsyourlunch · 6/10 · 25 March 2021]

Troi is played so hard against type that this episode feels awkward most of the time. And I'm also just going to say it: Sirtis was only a passable actor in her TNG days. Her character lacks cohesiveness, where one moment she seems frightened and completely uncertain what to do next, and in the next moment taking charge as if born to it. The transitions don't feel smooth or believable, and Sirtis doesn't have the chops or the charisma to set our doubts or scrutiny aside. The story doesn't help her, either, trying to pack too much into a single episode. For example, she wakes from being abducted and surgically altered (which would put any reasonable person into a state of shock and confusion), to agreeing to join a Romulan underground plot, all within a minute or two of screen time. And in that same minute, Troi has to go from a frightened fish out of water to a supposed unquestionable authoritarian, in order to carry out the plot. It doesn't feel convincing. Some of this could have been explained away as part of her resilience as an empath, but little effort is made to do so. Maybe this episode worked at the height of TNG's fame, due to fans wanting to see more depth in the supporting cast, but decades later view on its own merits, it doesn't hold up very well.

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 8/10 · 26 September 2022]

It's noticeable that Deanna hasn't been getting as much air-time as has been the case in previous seasons. Of course, to wake up and find out that you are not who you thought you were, must be something of a shock. That must have been one of the fastest teasers in the entire run.

It has to be said, that Romulans were not necessarily frightening adversaries in an aggressive way but they did have this cunning nastiness which made them cold and untrustworthy. It must be wonderful when you have the authority of the Tal Shia to add studs to the snake-skinned glove, although they did have silly hair-cuts.

I'm surprised that Commander Toreth wasn't thrown into the brig from the outset. As a Romulan, I would expect more loyalty from her.

A well written episode worthy of the higher standards that would soon be set by Deep Space Nine, although the ending here was a bit of an anti-climax. It was certainly one of the strongest stories to-date to revolve around Deanna. It was also noticeable that Miss Troi did get a little drunk on the power-trip position she was forced into, and I found myself wondering if she was really acting at this point. Whichever way we look at it, this was a very different persona from that of the counsellor we all know and love.

This Episodes Clue: Tosk, Goran'Agar (Answer's to all episode clues will appear in the reviews of season seven, episode 25: All Good Things, Part One.)

"I see two traitors in our midst."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 26 March 2024]

Wait a minute, what am I missing here? When Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the rest of the bridge crew first see Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) in her surgically altered appearance as Romulan Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar they express surprise. Well, why? Didn't they know she was missing from the Enterprise? And if she was kidnapped as Sub-Commander N'vek stated, why wasn't the Enterprise on high alert to find out where she was and rescue her? Also, as important as this mission to bring Romulan dissidents to Federation sanctuary was, why wouldn't Ambassador Spock have clued in the Captain on the plan? Or even Starfleet Command to take it a step further? All of this didn't make sense to me.

Casting all that aside, I did enjoy the turn of character for Counselor Troi, but I would have to note that here again, the sudden transformation of her usual empath personality into that of an uncompromising Romulan general didn't square with her prior history. When you consider how she virtually fell apart in the fourth season episode "The Loss" when her empathic powers were temporarily gone, you have to ask yourself where the sudden ability to face down Romulan Commander Toreth (Carolyn Seymour) came from. That along with the free reign given to Ensign DeSeve (Barry Lynch) aboard the Enterprise after he was arrested as a Federation defector just added to my bewilderment.

So all in all, I'm not willing to give this episode such high marks as others do, despite the excellent performance of Marina Sirtis. The change of pace for her was good, but needed a much better plotted story to give it any kind of credibility. Oh yeah, and one more thing. If she was surgically altered as stated early in the episode, how did Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) return her normal features in a matter of minutes once she was beamed back to the Enterprise? See what I mean?

Troi joins the Tal Shiar!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 10 August 2015]

When Counsellor Deanna Troi wakes up and looks in the mirror she has quite a shock… she sees a Romulan looking back at her! She soon learns, from Romulan officer Sub-commander N'Vek that she is in no danger if she does as he advises. She is to play the role of Major Rakal, a member of the dreaded Tal Shiar secret police, to order ship's captain, Commander Toreth, to take a secret cargo to a rendezvous point where it can be transferred to a cargo vessel before it is taken to the Federation. It turns out N'Vek is working with the opposition and this is all part of Ambassador Spock's plan to establish an escape route for progressive Romulans. It soon becomes apparent that Toreth despises the Tal Shiar but she also fears them so does as 'Rakal' orders her. Meanwhile a disaffected Federation defector who had been living on Romulus returns and tells Capt. Picard that he is working for Spock and that he should head to the Kaleb sector.

This is a top notch episode that sees Counsellor Troi taking centre stage; it was great seeing this rather touchy-feely character being forced to show a bit of steel. Marina Sirtis does a great job making us believe that Troi can pull off the deception. The scenes between her and Carolyn Seymour's Commander Toreth were really good and shone a light on the relationship between the Romulan military and the Tal Shiar. This episode also illustrated that the Romulans aren't as a whole keen for battle and do care about others… they are just a little paranoid! Troi's situation keeps the tension high throughout as any slip up could lead to her exposure and execution. There are also moments of excitement when Troi realises that the captain of the freighter can't be trusted then, in the final scenes, where the Romulans contemplate destroying the Enterprise! Overall this all adds up to a top notch episode.

Have a good one, Double Agent!

[makiefer-87128 · 7/10 · 30 December 2023]

A Romulan double agent aboard the USS Enterprise, DeSeve. Admittedly, only as the B-plot. In the A-plot Deanna Troi wakes up as an altered Romulan on a Romulan ship. The more interesting question is: What do you do with a double agent that you caught red handed ? You let him off. Starfleet is a military organisation. Hierarchically organised. In fact, you have to let Picard off for joining the Borg collective 3 seasons earlier. A military organisation is a threat to any 'enterprise' that might want to form within the Federation. In fact, you thank that perpetrator. Because you were wondering anyway, where all this poverty lately came from.

So unnecessary

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 9 June 2020]

I really disliked the premise of the show with Counselor Troi on board a Romulan ship disguised as a Rmulan and a member of tjeir Tal Shiar no less. And having no idea what is going on.

She's on a mission to deliver three dissident Romulans to the Enterprise, but has to be guided n this by a Romulan. So unnecesary, why not just have her on a mission as a straightforward proposition.

Marina Sirtis owns this episode and does a fine job. But the premise was no good.

TNG's "The Enterprise Incident"

[skiop · 20 April 2016]

Troi wakes up having been surgically altered to look like a Romulan in order to fulfill some secret mission. Meanwhile, a human who defected to the Romulans returns to coordinate the Enterprise's side.

This is a nice spy thriller, reminiscent of TOS's "The Enterprise Incident." Though, this episode isn't as good as that one, it is one of season 6's best episodes.

Troi is the focus here. I know many dislike her character, but I find Troi-centric episodes like this, "The Price", and "The Loss" to be very enjoyable.

Carolyn Seymour returns as a Romulan commander, a role she had in season 2's "Where Silence Has Lease." It's a different character, perhaps to avoid paying royalties.

We perhaps learn more about the Romulans in this episode more than in any other.

Counselor Troi has been kidnapped, surgically altered, and put in danger; this is Star Trek at its finest!

[snarky-trek-reviews · 10/10 · 30 July 2017]

Diana Troi awakes in the dark only to find herself in the midst of a Romulan ruse and on board a Warbird. Good thing she's an empath! The audience goes along for the ride as Diana feels out the Romulan Commander and learns to play the part of a Tal Shiar agent. On board the Enterprise a Federation defector to Romulus returns home setting in motion the events that will bring the two ships together. The stakes are high as both the defector and the Romulan that roped Troi into the plot are working for ambassador Spock and his dissident movement, a plot thread set up in Unification parts 1 & 2.

The part of the Romulan Commander is very well played as is the Federation defector. Marina Sirtis knocks it out of the park as well. Rewatchable.

Gaping plot hole: Troi doesn't speak Romulan. Universal translator aside, you'd think the Romulan commander would notice.

She Doesn't Need Acting Lessons

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 25 September 2014]

Deanna Troi is kidnapped by a Romulan underground member. Because she is a star fleet officer, she is the perfect candidate to impersonate a member of the controlling faction (sort of a Gestapo) to smuggle three members of the underground back to the Enterprise or at least away from Romulus. The interesting thing is that she adapts to her role instantaneously and convinces the ships captain that she is the real deal. This woman is never totally comfortable with Troi's character and continues the fifth degree on her, hoping to get her to slip up. Ultimately, she is forced to confront the Enterprise and face off in a warlike posture. She must use her knowledge to make things happen. In the process, she must come across as a brutal, intractable figure who is willing to kill anyone on board. For me, she is just too good to be true.

A Senior Trekker writes..........................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 27 February 2022]

The Golden Age of Star Trek: we had the 6th Season of The Next Generation and the 1st Season of Deep Space Nice on our televisions, Generations on view in our cinemas and First Contact due out soon. This season of TNG contains some excellent stand-alone episodes and several spectacular two-parters, with only the occasional make-weight. Despite the length of time it had already been on the air, it still represents some of the highest standard of television Science Fiction ever broadcast.

Undoubtedly Marina Sirtis's best episode of the series, Face of the Enemy has Troi performing undercover aboard a Romulan ship. Not only is she fully kitted out with alien ears, eyebrows, "Sally Bowles" wig and upholstery fabric uniform but she has become a member of the Tal Shiar, the feared secret police of an extremely paranoid enemy. Of course, being Deanna, she was secretly rendered unconscious and placed in this situation against her will but we are going to have to overlook that if we are to enjoy her tour de force in this highly entertaining espionage story.

The first time I saw this episode and heard her shout "THIS gives me the authority" while indicating the badge on her collar, I almost flinched. Why did we not get storylines like this way back when? What have we been missing? Does the tape of Marina auditioning for the part of the Enterprise's Security Chief still exist somewhere?

Barry Lynch, as the returning traitor, Ensign de Seve, gives quite a subtle performance that has echoes of the Cold War: a weary, homesick double agent who knows he can never again be trusted but must do something useful one last time. It's a real pity that he has to do it in ill-fitting, brown woollen long johns and a nylon platinum-blond wig. Carolyn Seymour, as the Romulan Captain Toreth, is wonderful as always and Scott McDonald will return to Star trek with an important role in Enterprise.

Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.