I love the relationship between Sisko and Jake. It’s so refreshing to have a father-son relationship that isn’t full of anger. This episode was particularly poignant because the accident that keeps them apart affects each of them differently, and each is willing to make a sacrifice for the other. Their reunion at the end is joyful for all of us.
There was a time in my life when I was regularly interacting with people in the deaf community, and this episode came out at that time. Thus, I was familiar with Howie Seago as an actor, and it was thrilling to see him get a chance to play a big role on TV. This episode is sensitive and true to the deaf experience as I understand it (Data’s poor signing notwithstanding). And I also appreciated its thoughtful message about how hard it is to stop the fighting long enough to negotiate peace.
This is a charming episode, although it does include the trope of two men (Picard and his brother Robert) fighting and then they are friends after they have finished. It does acknowledge that Picard has been through a lot and needs time to deal with his trauma. It is logical to look for that at home, but he must deal with some old unresolved family issues on the way to healing. Samantha Eggar is stunning as his sister-in-law Marie. I like episodes about healing and grief. Worf and Wesley also get some story time about some healing needed in their family relationships.
I was not a big fan of Lwaxana Troi when she first appeared. I found her annoying and over-the-top in a way I did not enjoy. But episodes like this changed my feelings toward her. David Ogden Stiers is so different from his M.A.S.H. character, and he is just lovely. Their relationship is touching, and the emotions they go through as their cultures clash take me through all the feelings. And then the resolution is tough and yet honest.
I really enjoy the relationship between Tom Paris and B’Elanna Torres. This episode is where B’Elanna is getting frustrated with their relationship. It seems like other things are more important to Tom and she tries to get close to him by joining him in a big race. At a crucial moment in the race, he can tell that something is bothering her. I love that he stops the ship so that they can talk, showing that their relationship is important to him, more important than the race. It also shows that we must ask for what we need and not assume that others know already.
I’d never seen Harry Groener before this episode, but his performance as Tam was very compelling. And I always like a chance to see the Betazoid empathic abilities explored. I like that Data is the one Tam is more comfortable with because there’s no emotion to get in the way of their relationship. It really makes you think that it’s a good thing we can’t read each other’s thoughts or emotions! When Tam connects with Gomtu, I can feel his relief—the completion of purpose and calming of the mind.
This episode is simultaneously touching and horrifying. Kirk and McCoy are savagely tortured, all to test the empath, Gem, to see if she is worthy to save her people. The aliens, Vians, are needlessly brutal in their quest—it defies comprehension. But I love the wordless moments of Gem’s interactions with our heroes, and the actress is marvelous. Her care, suffering, and other emotions are palpable in a way that I adore.
This episode is a thinly veiled retelling of Flowers for Algernon, except with a happier ending. Dr. Bashir is joined by his fellow genetically enhanced friends in order to repair the problem with Sarina, played by Faith Salie (a very smart person in real life). What follows is a miraculous recovery and Bashir falls in love with her. Then she seems to regress back to her old non-responsive self. What is wrong? I really like Bashir and even though he loses his doctor-patient boundary for a bit, I forgive him a lot. In the end, he does the right thing.
This romantic story guest stars the luminescent Virginia Madsen as an alien named Kellin. She comes aboard saying that she and Chakotay had a relationship, but he does not remember it because her people have the ability to erase the memories of people they visit. They are a very xenophobic race. But she wants to leave her people and join Voyager because she is so in love with Chakotay. The struggle for Kellin is to help rekindle those feelings in Chakotay before her people catch up with them and take her back, erasing their memories again. I find their relationship believable and touching.
This episode was the beginning of Tom and B’Elanna’s commitment to their relationship. The whole reason I like this episode is the moment that happens right at the end. In the beginning, B’Elanna is struggling with her Klingon-ness and whether she should do the ritual for the Day of Honor. It’s also about Seven of Nine learning to be part of a different kind of collective where people care about each other and make sacrifices. The end is a typical trapped-in-an-elevator scenario, except that they’re in spacesuits floating in space. Will they be rescued? Will they profess how much they mean to each other? I like it when rascal Tom shows his sweet side and gruff B’Elanna reveals her soft side.
