This episode had a lot of potential. The first half was very strong, involving the death of a woman who had a newly orphaned son on board the Enterprise.
There are a lot of great character moments here. Some great character moments from Picard, Troi, Worf, and Data. In particular, I loved how the episode involves a meditation on the ethics of bringing children on board the Enterprise, and putting them in danger.
The big problem I had with this episode is the way the plot twists towards the end. Rather than exploring the character of the boy, or the ramifications the death has on the crew, it devolves into an alien of the week story.
I found myself wishing that the original story for this episode was used. Instead of the alien of the week, we could have had one involving the holodeck.
It is by no means the worst episode, but I was let down by the plot, because I saw the potential for something a lot more interesting.