The Host (S04E23)
Airdate: 13 May 1991
Written by: Michel Horvat
Directed by: Marvin L. Rush
Running Time: 45 minutes
Certain episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation entered the history books not so much for their quality that made them stand out of the rest, but for providing building blocks for some great thing to arrive in the future. While the franchise boasts a plethora of iconic episodes that are celebrated for their narrative brilliance or technical marvels, there exists a distinct category of episodes that, while perhaps not perfect in execution, are essential for the longevity and evolution of the series. The Season 4 episode The Host is one such episode's prime example. It did not necessarily redefine the genre at the time of its airing in 1991, but it laid the essential groundwork for the symbiotic culture of the Trill, a concept that would become a cornerstone of Deep Space Nine and significantly expand the franchise's exploration of identity and sexuality.
The plot of The Host begins with the USS Enterprise-D dispatched to the Peliar Zel system, a diplomatic hotspot tasked with mediating negotiations between two factions of Pelians, each inhabiting their respective moons, Alpha and Beta. The individual entrusted with this delicate role is Odan (Franc Lutz), a member of the Trill race who had arrived on the ship ten days prior. During this time, Odan and Dr. Beverly Crusher had begun a torrid and passionate affair, adding a layer of personal intrigue to the official diplomatic mission. The stakes are high, as the negotiations are vital for peace between the two worlds. However, the situation is complicated when Odan insists on not being beamed over to the moons, opting instead to take Hawking, one of the ship's shuttles, to travel together with Commander Riker.
The political landscape is treacherous, with many factions on both worlds actively desiring the failure of the negotiations. Consequently, Hawking is attacked and severely damaged. While Riker manages to return to the Enterprise unharmed, Odan is gravely injured. It is during the medical treatment of Odan that Dr. Crusher makes a startling discovery: Trills are actually a symbiotic race, where a humanoid host serves as a vessel for a parasite-like creature residing within them. As the condition of the humanoid host deteriorates, the life of the symbiont is imperilled, threatening the success of the negotiations.
With another Trill host unlikely to arrive in time, Dr. Crusher is forced to take drastic measures to find a temporary host among the Enterprise crew. Commander Riker volunteers, taking the symbiont into his own body. This act not only preserves the negotiations but also forces Riker to adopt the identity and character of the old Odan. This creates a complex web of emotional problems for Dr. Crusher, as she finds herself in love with an entity that is currently inhabiting the physical shape of her good friend and colleague. She enjoys a continued romance, navigating the strange waters of loving a man who is essentially a stranger with his memories. However, complications arise when Riker’s immune system begins to reject the Trill parasite. Riker-Odan nevertheless risks death to conduct the negotiations, ultimately succeeding in his mission.
When the replacement Trill host finally arrives, the identity of the new host is revealed to be a female named Kareel (Nicole Orth-Palavicini). Although the new host retains the memories and character of Odan, Dr. Crusher admits that she cannot accept such a transformation, leading her to end the relationship.
Directed by Marvin L. Rush, a longtime cinematographer for TNG, The Host is very good in a strictly technical sense. Rush successfully utilised all kinds of tricks to hide the late-term pregnancy of actress Gates McFadden, ensuring the narrative focus remained on the symbiotic drama. The episode also features quite effective makeup work to depict the transformation between Riker and Odan.
The script, officially credited to Michel Horvat but actually extensively re-written by Jeri Taylor, had rather unoriginal, but interesting idea. According to Brannon Braga, one of the producers, the original script—which dealt almost exclusively with the concept of the parasitic symbiont creature—was "one of the most repulsive scripts pitched to us." Yet, the genius of the episode was switching the story from a sci-fi horror/thriller to a romance, in other words exploring how this would work in terms of human relationships and issues of identity.
That was the episode’s greatest strength—namely allowing scriptwriters to play with all kinds of intriguing scenario and Jonathan Frakes playing rather a different version of Riker. However, it was also the source of later controversies that last to this day. At the end of the episode, Dr. Crusher, who has accepted her lover in two male forms, rejects a female form. For many of the viewers even in 1991, this was an unacceptable expression of homophobia, and in today ultra-”woke” times, when "trekkies" are supposed to embrace transgenderism as the franchise’s main value, it is all but certain The Host would be rejected.
Yet, despite all those controversies, the introduction of the Trill proved immensely beneficial to Star Trek. Only a few years later, DS9 introduced the Trill host character of Jadzia Dax and explored the similar same-sex relationship scenario in Season 4 episode Rejoined.
The real problems with the episode come mainly in retrospect, by comparing it with the Trills depicted in DS9, with near complete lack of continuity. For instance, Trills not being able to be transported in this episode, unlike in DS9, is just one example of this lore inconsistency. Another issue is perhaps not exactly great chemistry between McFadden and Franc Lutz, which wasn't the case in scenes between McFadden and Frakes.
On its own merit, The Host is a very good, but flawed episode. It earned its place in Trek history by breaking ground in exploring various forms of sexuality and issues of identity, even if it stumbled in its execution and continuity.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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