Allegiance (episode)
Captain Picard and three other people are abducted and imprisoned by an unknown force and replaced by duplicates.

Summary

Teaser 
"Captain's log, Stardate 43714.1. We have finally succeeded in eradicating the Phyrox plague on Cor Caroli V and will soon be preparing to leave orbit and proceed to our next mission. A rendezvous with the  to assist their terraforming efforts on Browder IV."

Captain Picard is sitting in a comfortable chair and reading in his quarters. He falls asleep when he is scanned by a mysterious probe and transported away to an unknown room where he cannot communicate with the . On the bridge, an unknown energy source is detected by Data in the captain's quarters. The captain doesn't answer when paged, so a security team led by Lieutenant Worf immediately heads to investigate. As they attempt to open the door to his quarters, they find the "captain" standing there, book and glass in hand, as if nothing at all is out of the ordinary.

Act One 

The real captain finds himself in a black holding cell with lights and with two others: Mitena Haro, a female Bolian Starfleet cadet, and Kova Tholl, an intelligent Mizarian from the planet Mizar II.

The "captain" running the Enterprise is a  of some type, but still seems to have all of the memories and experiences of Picard. He orders the crew to stop their course to their rendezvous with the Hood, and instead head towards the well-studied pulsar in the Lonka Cluster. When Wesley Crusher says that at warp 7, they can make the trip in 34 minutes, the fake Picard orders him to instead travel at warp 2, which will take 31 hours. When Riker attempts to communicate with the Hood and inform them of their delay, the fake Picard orders no further communications without his prior approval. The crew does not understand but follows orders. The fake Picard asks to have a word alone with Commander Riker in the captain's ready room. He tells Riker he will be keeping him in the dark and that in the next few days, he may not be as communicative as he usually is. Riker assures him that he and the crew can handle it.

Meanwhile, in the holding cell, Picard takes charge of the situation and attempts to find a way out. Tholl believes in peaceful non-resistance; his homeworld has been conquered six times in the last 300 years. Because of this, he refuses to help in escape and in fact tries to convince the others to stop trying. He states that he tried once earlier and received an extremely painful punishment. Tholl states he will never go near the door again. Cadet Haro is willing to do whatever Picard orders her to do.

A moment later, a Chalnoth named Esoqq materializes and, startled at his abduction, jumps to his feet and draws a large knife. Picard raises his hands to calm him and assure Esoqq that they all mean him no harm, but he doesn't stand down.

Act Two 

After explaining to Esoqq they are prisoners like him, and that their captors will not show themselves, the captain is able to calm him down by saying that he has visited Esoqq's homeworld Chalna twelve years ago when he commanded the .

Back on the ship, the fake Picard stops in at the poker game in Data's quarters and asks La Forge to increase the efficiency of the warp drive from 93% to 95%. He emphasizes that this doesn't need to be done right away, but La Forge, who has had a luckless night at the table, decides it'd be a better use of his time, and leaves. Despite the fact that Captain Picard has never stopped in for a poker game before, when Counselor Troi invites the fake Picard to join them, he decides to watch the others play, yet declines to actually take part. He asks to speak with Troi and when outside in the corridor he asks if the crew is suspicious of their sudden change of heading. She reminds him that such changes are not unusual, and that she will tell him if they become distrustful. The conversation strikes Troi as rather odd, and just a bit suspicious in and of itself.

After belittling Mizarians and their culture, Esoqq finds that he is disgusted by, and incapable of eating the edible tablet that is the only nourishment provided. He is already quick to violence, but he says that he can go only three to four days without food, but no more. He then eyes Tholl, hungrily.

Later, the fake Picard gets a physical examination in sickbay and appears to be in perfect health. Dr. Crusher does not understand why Picard would request or volunteer for a physical; not only was not due for a checkup for a month, normally he hates undergoing physicals, and wonders if he has any personal medical concerns. The fake Picard then invites Crusher to dinner in his quarters and she seems surprised about this unexpected gesture, which he chooses to regard as her acceptance.

In the holding cell, after some discussion, the prisoners decide to try to open the door and escape, notwithstanding the risks, and Tholl's opposition. Esoqq smashes a panel. Haro then works on the circuits to try to rig the door open. The door opens a crack, closes again and then Picard, Esoqq, and Haro are punished by a painful green ray. Tholl ruefully tells Picard that he tried to warn them, earning a scornful stare from the captain.

Act Three 

On the Enterprise, Crusher is having dinner with the fake Picard. After a toast, she tells the fake Picard that she knows that something is on his mind, and he says he wants a more intimate relationship. They talk about their duty and how both their jobs require professional distance. When he asks if it would be simpler if he were not her commanding officer, she reminds the fake Picard that it's more complicated than that. He then asks her to dance. Surprised, Crusher exclaims she thought that Picard didn't dance; he responds, only on special occasions. He then kisses her, and Crusher gets the feeling that something is odd, and asks if she is being played. The fake Picard asks if she regrets what just happened, but then calls it a night and shows her the door.

At this point, in the holding cell, the four captives begin to accuse each other. Esoqq accuses Tholl of being the enemy because he refused to help and seemed to sit there observing them, claiming he was peaceful. The remainder of the attack is directed toward Picard because he was ordering them all around all the time. Haro vouches for him by citing some of the deeds Picard has participated in, including putting his life on the line for the primitive culture on Mintaka III. She also notes his assistance to the Wogneer creatures in the Ordek Nebula, and helping eradicate the Cor Caroli V plague. After clearing up some the conflicts in the holding cell, they all decide that it would be better to work together than to bicker about whose fault it was.

"First officer's log, supplemental. Although we're still 18 hours from the Lonka pulsar, the captain has ordered us to slow to one=half impulse. He has offered no explanation."

Troi and Riker are sitting and having a drink at a table in Ten Forward while talking about the unusual actions of the captain. The fake Picard walks into Ten Forward and greets and congratulates La Forge for increasing the efficiency of the ship's warp drive even beyond his request, to 96%. After ordering an ale for himself, and his officers, and then everyone else in the bar, he toasts the "finest crew in Starfleet", before leading them all in a sing-along. La Forge expresses suspicion about Picard's unusual behavior. Riker says this isn't the Jean-Luc Picard he knows.

Act Four 
The senior staff all meet together in Riker's quarters to discuss the fake Picard's odd behavior. Though they have considerable evidence for suspicion and concern, there is not yet cause for mutiny. "The next move is his", states Riker as the meeting is adjourned.

The Enterprise finally arrives to the Lonka pulsar. The fake Picard then orders to move the ship dangerously close to it, such that their shields will only last 18 minutes before the entire crew would be lethally irradiated. Riker asks to speak in private with the fake Picard, and once in the ready room, complains about these orders, the endangerment of the ship, and the lack of mission or cause behind them, and that without an explanation, he would be forced to usurp command. The fake Picard counters that he is under no obligation to explain himself, and questions if Riker believes he'd be able to convince a board of inquiry. He then suggests that Riker should get a physical examination as he has been under a lot of , or else the fake Picard will relieve Riker of duty. With no actual proof that Picard's judgement is compromised, Riker is forced to withdraw his objections, for now.

In the holding cell, all of the prisoners cooperate in disabling the green ray and opening the access door, only to find a wall behind the door that they managed to open.

On the Enterprise, the fake Picard orders to move even closer to the pulsar, which would almost certainly destroy the ship and kill the entire crew. Riker countermands the fake Picard's orders, who commands Worf to remove Riker from the bridge, but Worf disregards the order.

Act Five 
Riker takes control of the ship and orders Wesley to immediately move the Enterprise away from the pulsar.

By now, the prisoners are depressed and confused. Picard, having long grown suspicious of Haro, announces to everyone that this entire scenario is an elaborate experiment to see how everyone reacts to authority; Tholl, the collaborator, follows whoever has the most power at any given moment out of self-preservation; Esoqq, the anarchist, rejects authority; Haro, the Starfleet cadet, sworn to follow any superior officer's orders; and Picard, a Starfleet captain, trained to command. He notes that there were tasks designed to require them to work together to complete, and that Esoqq was unable to eat the food, to make him a threat. 

Picard then reveals that Haro is not who she appears to be; she had earlier mentioned Picard's mission to Mintaka III, which was unlikely for a first-year cadet to know about, and so Picard tested her; the Cor Caroli V plague, which Starfleet has classified as secret and would not be known of by any real Starfleet cadet. Upon Picard's declaration that he will no longer cooperate, Haro admits that Picard is correct, and then morphs into a trio of aliens, who explain to Picard that they were studying the concept of leadership, which their own culture lacks, so they "borrowed" Picard, Tholl and Esoqq and replaced them with replicas. However, Picard's knowledge of the experiment will taint the results, so they decide to return the captives to their places of origin.

Picard is transported to his ship and the fake Picard is revealed as an alien observer who had been testing if the crew would follow Picard's orders, even to their deaths. 

Picard expresses his moral outrage at him and his crew, not to mention Esoqq and Tholl, being kidnapped, deceived, and subjected to the aliens' experimentation without consent; the aliens are unruffled, finding Picard's outrage to itself be an interesting subject for future study, since they are likewise unfamiliar with the concept. But Picard gives his crew subtle signals to let them know that he wants the aliens to be trapped in a force field. Once trapped, they become afraid and panicked, protesting this treatment since they did not harm Picard or the others in any way. Picard tells them that imprisonment is harm in itself, and that they should rethink the morality of their experiments. He also warns them that the Federation now is not only aware of their existence, but also now has the ability to trap them. Picard then sets them free, and orders them leave his ship. They transport away.

Picard asks the crew how they knew it was a replica, and Riker jokingly retorts that he didn't know that Picard could sing that well. Dr. Crusher enters the bridge, sits next to Picard, and glances at him in an oddly flirtatious manner, making Picard confused as they return to their normal course.

Log entries 
Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2366
First officer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

Memorable quotes
"It's edible, but I wouldn't call it food."
 - Kova Tholl

"My given name is Esoqq. It means 'fighter.'"
"I'll bet half the names in Chalnoth language mean fighter."
"Mizarians, your names all mean surrender!"
 - Esoqq and Kova Tholl

"What is this?"
"Food."
"The only food?!"
"It would seem so."
(Esoqq nibbles food)
"POISON!!"
 - Esoqq and Jean-Luc Picard

"You're destroying yourself and anyone who is foolish enough to listen to you!"
"You've shown none of the concern that Captain Picard would for the safety of his ship, the welfare of his crew."
 - Fake Picard and Riker

"I found it unlikely that a first-year cadet would know of the Enterprises visit to Mintaka III, so I tested you. Starfleet has classified the Cor Caroli V plague as secret. No cadet would have knowledge of that incident."
"Captain…"
"So you may as well drop this pretense. I'm not playing any further. I'm quitting this game. As far as I am concerned, this experiment is over!"
"You are correct, Captain Picard."
 - Picard and "Cadet Haro"

"The next beams might be lethal!"
"Not to you. You moved FAR from the door!"
 - Kova Tholl and Esoqq

"In any event, we now know of your race, and we know how to imprison you. Bear that in mind. Now, get off my ship!"
 - Picard, to the aliens who kidnapped him

"Then my doppelganger caused no serious damage. The replica was convincing?"
"Very convincing, but not perfect."
"Not perfect in what way?"
"Well sir, I find it hard to believe that you're that good a singer."
"Singer?  I look forward to reading your report, Commander. At least I think I do."
 - Picard and Riker

Background information

Production history 
 Final draft script:  
 Premiere airdate: 
 First UK airdate:

Story and production 
 This episode, along with , was written in part to balance the series' budget after . Michael Piller commented, "I'm a great fan of intimate shows, and it was a simple show from a production point of view, because you needed only one set." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 194)
 Piller saw this episode as a chance to flesh out Picard's character. "We wanted to come up with some real fun for both Patrick the actor and Jean-Luc the character, so we came up with this idea. It might have been two ideas put into one. One was Picard gets stuck in a no-exit situation, and a false Picard takes his place on the Enterprise. I loved the stuff on the Enterprise, wonderful character stuff and Patrick was wonderful. I thought it was a good, solid show and immediately following that was , which, again, was borne out of the fact that we wanted to give the captain some characterization." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 194)
 The song that the fake Picard sings in Ten Forward with the crew is called "Heart of Oak".

Continuity 
 The  notes that similar themes of aliens conducting experiments on kidnapped crew appeared in a number of previous episodes, including  and  from .
 Captain Picard's quarters are seen to be on Deck 9, Room 3601.
 This episode features one of only two occasions in the whole series that Picard (real or otherwise) drops into the weekly poker game, the other being in the final scene of .
 This episode marks the second appearance of a Bolian after Captain  in , though technically Mitena Haro was actually a fake Bolian.
 Esoqq's outfit was modified and later became Morn's costume on .
 Captain Picard makes a reference to the Enterprises visit to Mintaka III in  as something unlikely that a first-year cadet would know about. 
 A brief reaction shot of Worf on the bridge seeing Picard's  change into its true appearance is a stock shot taken from , as he is wearing the earlier version of the Starfleet uniform that debuted in  and was seen in several early episodes of the third season.
 Riker and the senior staff discussing a possible mutiny against Captain Picard for acting erratically was previously shown in the first season episode  when he was possessed by the Beta Renner cloud.

Reception 
 Ronald D. Moore commented, "Picard does some things that had only been in the real Picard's mind. Watching him sing in Ten Forward gave everyone a kick. And the scene with Beverly in his cabin was kind of fun. I like the fact we've taken him apart more and really are seeing what makes this guy tick." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 194)
 This was Winrich Kolbe's favorite episode out of the ones he directed. "I like it because we did something stylistically interesting in the lit room where the four people were incarcerated. It was Patrick's show and I always know when it's going to be Patrick's show it's going to be a good one because he's so damn good in everything that he does… I liked the look of it and what Marvin Rush was able to do, and Richard James the set designer. What you have to consider in directing any kind of entertainment concept is time and money. We were so far behind after the first two days that basically the whole hierarchy of Paramount was camping out on my set. Then we went into the new set, the octagonal chamber and suddenly we were taking off. We came in under budget and under time. It was a set that was terrific to shoot in and I could put the camera anywhere I wanted to." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 194)
 Kolbe also remarked, "I like "Allegiance" because I liked working with Patrick Stewart. He's a very subtle actor. I remember talking to Patrick the first time he started playing the clone. I said, 'I think I need more from you.' He thought about it and then gave me more. As we rehearsed the scene, we looked at each other and knew he was giving me too much. So, we just pulled it back. Patrick is like  with a . You have to compare the Stradivarius to the Joe Schmuck violin. To the untrained eye, they're no different. But they are different, very different. Patrick played the good guy and the bad guy so close at times, but it was different and it was right." ()
 A mission report for this episode by Robert Greenberger was published in .

Awards 
 This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Series.

Video and DVD releases 
 Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 33, 
 UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 3.6, 
 As part of the TNG Season 3 DVD collection
 As part of the Region 2 release of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard Collection
 As part of the TNG Season 3 Blu-ray collection

Links and references

Starring 
 Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
 Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker

Also starring 
 LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
 Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
 Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
 Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
 Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
 Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher

Guest stars 
 Stephen Markle as Kova Tholl
 Reiner Schöne as Esoqq
 Joycelyn O'Brien as Mitena Haro
 Jerry Rector as first alien
 Jeff Rector as second alien

Uncredited co-stars 
 Joe Bauman as Garvey
 Michael Braveheart as Martinez
 Debbie David as Russell
 Eben Ham as operations division officer
 Debbie Marsh as command division officer
 Michael Moorehead as science division ensign
 John Rice as science division officer
 Richard Sarstedt as command division officer
 Unknown performers
 Alien #3 and #4
 Civilian
 Command division officer
 Female civilian
 Female command division officer
 Female engineer
 Female operations division officer
 Female operations division officer
 Female science division officer
 Female science division officer
 Science division officer
 Science division officer
 Security officer
 Technician
 Ten Forward waiter
 Ten Forward waiter
 Ten Forward waitress

Stand-ins 
 Jeffrey Deacon – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
 Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
 Tim McCormack – stand-in for Brent Spiner
 Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
 Guy Vardaman – stand-in for Wil Wheaton

References 
21st century; 2354; abduction; abductor; abductor aliens; accusation; adversary; ale; alternative; anarchist; anarchy; annual physical; area of study; assault;  authority; authorization; behavior; board of inquiry; Bolians; Bolarus IX; brain; brainpower; Browder IV; cabin; captain's quarters; captive; captivity; captor (abductor); Chalna; Chalnoth; Chalnoth language; charade; choice; collaboration; collaborator; commanding officer; concept; confidence; confined to quarters; confrontation; consciousness; Cor Caroli V; coward; culture; curiosity; dance; day; dendrite; design; dinner; distance; ; door; door mechanism; doppelgänger; drinking song; efficiency drill; emotion; enemy; energy beam; engine efficiency status; engineer; Esoqq (replica); Esoqq's enemies; evidence; experiment; explanation; fact; fainting; field coil; fighter; first year cadet; flattery; ; food; friendship; gesture; given name; glory; government; harm; "Heart of Oak"; holding cell; ; hostility; hour; Human; Human characteristic; hypothesis; immorality; impostor; impulse propulsion systems; idea; identity; imprisonment; impulse propulsion system; injury; intelligence; kidnapping; knowledge; mathematics; kilometer; kiss; knife; laboratory maze; "Lady Luck"; language; law; leader; leadership; living matter; Lonka Cluster; luck; magnetic field; malice; matter; medical test; meditation; memory; mental stress; Mintaka III; minute; million; mission; mistake; mister; Mizar II; Mizarians; month; morality; Moropa; murder; mutiny; mutual fear; neutron star; obligation; obstacle; orbit; Ordek Nebula; order; pain; panel; peace; percent; physical; Phyrox plague; ; place of origin; player; poison; poker; ; prime number; primitive culture; prisoner; priority one; problem; proof; public servant; pulsar; ; question; race; radiation; ransom; reason; recreation; relationship; relieved of duty; rendezvous; rendezvous point; replica; report; result; right; risk; Romulans; room; security override; security team; senior officer; sensor; sextant; shield; shock; singer; solar mass; sound; species; Starfleet Academy; ; status; ; stun beam; stun mechanism; superior officer; surrender; suspicion; symptom; technology; telepathy; terraforming;  thinking; ; threat; toast; tour of duty; transmission; transporter; trauma; trillion; truce; trust; violence; visit; vocal communication; volunteer; weapon; Wogneer creature; year

Deleted references 
Pozaron; regent

External links 
 
 
 
 

de:Versuchskaninchen (Episode)
es:Allegiance
fr:Allegiance (épisode)
ja:姿なき誘拐犯（エピソード）
nl:Allegiance
pl:Allegiance
TNG episodes