The Second Season of Star Trek the Next Generation has often been downplayed due to multiple production and writing staff problems, and several major cast changes. Although of mixed quality, it does contain some outstanding and brilliant episodes. Senior Trekker is extremely grateful to all those people who worked so hard under difficult circumstances to keep it on our screens.
Wesley's leadership test is a well-realised segment about the challenges faced by an inexperienced young officer leading an away team for the first time. He doubts himself when challenged by an older team member (and just about everyone on the Enterprise is older than Wesley) but sticks to his original plan and makes a success of it. Considering how much Will Wheaton's character was disliked by now (apparently some viewers competed to think up the worst possible end he could come to), it is quite a satisfactory attempt to make him more relatable.
Data, on the other hand, REALLY screws the pooch. He falls for the cute kid's "only you can help me" line, breaks the Prime Directive and endangers the ship all because it felt like a good idea at the time. Captain Picard's decision not to discipline him (or better still disassemble him) is totally inadequately explained. Senior Trekker would like to have been a fly on the wall in the writers' room when this idea was mooted.
(Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5)