10 Most Important Mental Health Awareness Episodes In Star Trek

When an "old friend" comes aboard the Enterprise-D, something is immediately not quite right. More than stress and exhaustion from working with telepathic species the Cairn, even Lwaxana Troi's outfits are unusually subdued. In the arboretum, Lwaxana collapses and slips into a coma. A profound trauma has caused her to retreat into her Betazoid "metaconscious" mind.

A late addition to the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dark Page began as a Doctor Crusher story a while before the seventh season. According to Jeri Taylor in Captains' Logs: The Unauthorised Complete Trek Voyages, it took writers / producers a significant amount of time to rework the idea, and to settle on "the secret" that was affecting "Mrs. Troi".

Time well spent. Ultimately, Dark Page became a powerful story about loss and grief. The immeasurable trauma suffered by Lwaxana was the accidental death of young daughter Kestra at Lake El'nar on Betazed. Lwaxana blamed herself, and for years after, repressed the memories, until they were triggered by her work with the Cairn.

By the episode's end, the dark page is not turned; instead, through unconditional, unquestioning love and support, Deanna helps her mother to read, to process, and to come to terms with what's written.