YMMV / Star Trek: The Next Generation S6E10 "Chain of Command"

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Captain Jellico inspires a lot of this. Some see him as a micro-managing Jerkass who enforces his own standards just because he can and thereby alienates those who serve him, others see him as a responsible officer who had every right to run the Enterprise as he saw fit and saved the day through his genuine competence. The funny thing is that neither interpretation is actually mutually exclusive with the other. The Expanded Universe occasionally references him with both depictions, Depending on the Writer. Probably depending on whether the writer thought it was a Moment of Awesome or a Moral Event Horizon that he told Troi to put her boobs away and don an actual uniform — which she does for the rest of the series, since Marina Sirtis was becoming unhappy with not wearing a proper uniform herself.
• Anvilicious: The episode drops a massive anvil against the use of torture. It shows the experience of torture is so absolutely dehumanizing and horrific that it can break even the strongest person. People like to quote Picard's "THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS!", but tend to forget that he said this after another Cardassian came in with orders for his release. As the man himself said:
  Picard: ... I actually believed that I could see five lights.
  • Furthermore, Picard points out that information extracted through torture has never been reliable, and implies that its only point is to give emotionally damaged sadists an excuse to exercise control over someone else.
• Base-Breaking Character: Captain Edward Jellico is one of Star Trek's most polarizing characters. His fans see him as a bold, effective captain who quickly prepared the Federation flagship for what could have been a large scale war, and then magnificently outwitted the Cardassians to prevent said war (and, not incidentally, rescue Picard from a life of torture). He is also thought of as being justified in taking Riker off duty because Riker did a really bad job of hiding his dislike of the new captain, who as a new commander in a crisis needs supportive officers, and Riker was undermining his command while failing to follow orders, from literally the first order Jellico gave Riker. His detractors consider him a huge Jerkass with an unhealthy need to control everything, no trust in the crew he was commanding, and no willingness to listen to objections, alternatives, or opinions that didn't match his own. Fans (of the show in general, not of Jellico) who aren't invested in the argument think that he is basically both.
• Designated Villain: Jellico has quite a few fans who see him as one, while thinking Riker comes off as a whiny child. In particular, his making Troi wear a uniform (which she continued to do for the rest of the series) is seen as a point in his favor. However, the episode itself never really presents him as a villain, or even as incompetent, just a bit of a dick. He butts heads with Riker frequently due to their differing command styles, and is easily irritated and reluctant to listen to alternative opinions, but that's really the extent of his antagonism. He never does anything inappropriate, improper, or foolish, and in the end, his decisions save the day. Even Riker (who actively dislikes him) acknowledges that they're ultimately on the same side.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Seeing how David Warner starred as Bob Cratchit in the 1984 adaptation of A Christmas Carol and Patrick Stewart would later star in a one-man stage version as well as play Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1999 adaptation, one may imagine the episode as being Bob Cratchit brutally getting back at Scrooge for years of mistreatment.
  • It's a good thing Picard got Madred for his torturer if he got someone else he would have seen a whole lamp store.
• Jerkass Woobie: Gul Madred, Picard's Cardassian torturer, grew up on the streets, starving and alone. He relates a story of a group of older children breaking his arm for some food he had. Picard calls out this Freudian Excuse for what he's become:
  Picard: Whenever I look at you now, I won't see a powerful Cardassian warrior... I will see a 6-year-old boy who is powerless to protect himself.
• Memetic Mutation: A Shout-Out to 1984: THERE... ARE... FOUR... LIGHTS!
• Realism-Induced Horror: With the exception of the pain device, everything the Cardassians do to torture Picard was taken from Amnesty International archives in a terrifying case of Shown Their Work. Stripping for the purposes of humiliation? Check. Deliberately acting to dehumanize the prisoner and negate their identity and dignity? Check. "Stress positions", aka suspending the prisoner by their arms in such a way that their feet barely touch the floor, for long periods of time? Check. Idea that non-official combatants aka "terrorists" are not covered by conventions forbidding torture? Check. Offering to let the prisoner go, but doing so will mean torturing their family and friends? Check. Objective of breaking the prisoner through distorting their perception of reality, successful to the point of producing hallucinations? Check. Patrick Stewart carefully studied the behavior of the victims to get the broken, defeated look just right and even insisted on being naked on set.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Counselor Troi improved significantly during this episode, starting when Jellico orders her to put on a standard uniform. She continues to appear in uniform when on-duty for the rest of the series... and apparently started taking her career in Starfleet seriously beyond being just a counselor, beginning to take command training and becoming certified for conn duty. Troi wearing one of her little jumpsuits or a uniform is usually an indicator of if you're getting "I sense emotions, Captain!" Troi or "Emergency power to shields, return fire!" Troi. As for the fans, the vast majority cheered at this change, noting that Troi looked really spiffy in a standard uniform.
• Strawman Has a Point: Is Jellico a micromanager and something of a dick? Yes. But he's also got a point that the Enterprise is a little too Mildly Military, given that they're potentially days from a major war, and their ship will be a central command point. He wants big changes, and wants them right away, because entire battles may turn on how prepared the ship is. While Deanna's suggestions about granting the crew more time for the transition sound reasonable, Jellico also has a valid point that they simply don't have time to slow down. That conflict makes sense in-universe: The Enterprise is normally tasked with exploratory or diplomatic missions, shutting down their science labs to get on a war footing is a big adjustment for the crew to make, but it's necessary under the circumstances. Had the Federation ended up in a shooting war, Jellico's changes very well might have saved all their lives.
  • Interestingly the episode straddles Both Sides Have a Point as Jellico's is never deemed to be in the wrong entirely either. Jellico is preparing for war but crew morale and trust in the commanding structures are also important during wartimes, especially in a rapidly escalating situation. Jellico's behavior leaves the ship ready for war but could as easily have put the crew in the worst mindset for exactly the kind of spontaneous situation with crew rosters being uncertain and senior officers mentally exhausted.

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