10 Star Trek Episodes That Seriously Deserve A Second Chance

This second season episode of The Next Generation is one of the stronger offerings from that year, even though it tends to fade beside episodes like The Measure of a Man and Q, Who? The tale of Data breaking the Prime Directive to save the life of one child offers the audience one of the first, great discussion scenes in the show.

Picard invites the senior staff to his quarters to discuss Data's actions, which is then followed by a debate - did Data do the right thing, leading to the Enterprise interfering in the natural evolution of a planet, or, did his actions show a lack of judgement?

There are convincing arguments on both sides - Worf may be the stereotypical hardass in the scene, but his argument that the Prime Directive is clear on such matters is solid. In the end, emotion wins the day - the Enterprise does indeed go to Sarjenka's aid - but in true Trek style, this ending was by no means guaranteed.

The episode also features a good b-plot for Wesley Crusher, who in the second season had developed into a more capable, likable character.