Star Trek 277: Eye of the Beholder

277. Eye of the Beholder

FORMULA: Phantasms + Frame of Mind

WHY WE LIKE IT: Worf and Troi do it. Seeing inside the warp nacelle. I'm not sure which one I'm most interested in though.

WHY WE DON'T: Imaginary story alert!!!

REVIEW: A creepy suicide story that isn't hampered much by its being 1) mostly imaginary and 2) yet another ghost story. At least this time, there's no energy being posing as a ghost. It's psychic phenomena. Soft science, but given that the Star Trek universe has telepaths, it doesn't seem out of place. And the episode doesn't screw us around too much with its imaginary section, giving us ample clues as to the switch over, especially if you've seen it before.

And this is yet another strong episode for Troi, who is well used as an investigator here. More importantly, Eye of the Beholder picks up the Worf-Troi romance where Parallels left off. Though the love scene actually happens in Troi's infected imagination, it tends to support the idea that she is attracted to Worf. Otherwise, the scenario might have used Riker instead. And after all, Troi must be able to sense something from Worf, so it's not like it can ever be some kind of ironic unrequited love thing between them. In the real world, we have Worf squirming while trying to ask Riker's permission. That's damn funny right there.

It's very cool to see the inside of a nacelle, I love it when they show new parts to the ship. There are weaknesses, mind you, such as the preachiness inherent in Data's suicidal thoughts and the babbly ending where a lot of people explain the plot to a silent Picard, but overall, this is an atmospheric and very dark thriller that doesn't come off as cheap and tawdry the way Sub Rosa did.

LESSON: There's an unwritten code about dating your friends' exes. I just made it into a written code.

REWATCHABILITY - High: Worf-Troi fans take note! It's really been a good season for those two, both separately and as a pairing.