TNG - "Angel One"

When the Enterprise searches for the survivors of a lost Federation ship, they find them on Angel One, a planet where women rule over men in a purely matriarchal society. The ship's survivors, all men, did not accept being subjugated by the planet's rulers and are now fugitives. While Riker, Troi, and Yar attempt to stop the men from being executed, the Enterprise is plagued by a mysterious and deadly virus that stops anyone from beaming back aboard the ship. In the end, the men are spared, but exiled to a remote area of the planet, while Crusher manages to create an innoculant to the virus.

I'm not entirely sure if this episode is sexist or not. It's definitely attempting to be a commentary on sexism, yet because it constantly shows women in a negative light, one could almost assume that it is sexist in itself. Personally, I think it really comes down to this: sexists are stupid, no matter who they are. Saying that women can't be sexist is also sexist. What if the roles were reversed, and Angel One was a traditional patriarchal sexist society? Would this episode not be viewed as a brilliant commentary on sexism, then?

Okay, I never want to type "sexist" that many times in a paragraph again.

Riker wears the male equivalent of loose, skanky clothing. Troi and Yar laugh at him. This is simultaneously one of the most awkward and yet genuine moments we've had thus far. It's awkward 'cause, well, Riker's chest is all over the TV screen and his legs are showing. It's genuine because of the ladies' amused reactions.

The B plot of the episode is the usual "deadly virus infects entire crew; CMO manages to find a cure at the last possible moment" storyline. It has nothing special going for it. It's seriously just there to fill up time. There is one interesting moment, however, when Picard and Beverly talk about whether or not to sedate Wesley so that he's not awake when he dies. It's a bit disturbing, actually, and I want to call BS on Beverly even suggesting the idea. No mother would ever put her child to sleep like that, even if it was "out of mercy."

This is ultimately a really bland episode filled with awkwardness and near-meaningless social commentary. Worth watching if you're a Trek completionist, but not really worth anything otherwise.