EARLY ACCESS - The Ultimate Weapon! | Discussing Star Trek TNG - The Arsenal of Freedom (S1E21)

13:35 Actually, Riker did not figure out that the figure he was talking to wasn't a real person. The ship called down and told him there are no life signs around him, just energy signatures.

The main issue with the upgradability of the weapons is the salesman explicitly states there are only 4 generations of weapons. So, that seems pretty limiting of an "undefeatable" foe.

Gates McFadden's acting while injured as fantastic. And it's her character's thinking outside-the-box that got them out of the no-win situation.

This episode was a good example of what the writers could do when they utilized the cast properly and gave everyone something to do. We had two separate stories on the ground (Riker, Data and Yar) dealing with a sophisticated weapons systems out to kill them, Picard and Crusher trapped in a underground bunker with the latter seriously wounded and Geordi taking charge of the Enterprise and keeping everyone alive whilst under attack and trying to rescue his team mates on the surface. This was a fast paced, entertaining episode that showed everyone chipping in and pulling together as one.