12 Most Beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

The Enterprise's predecessor, the 1701-C, passes through a rift in space, arriving in an alternate timeline where the Federation is at war with the Klingons. By travelling to the future, the Enterprise-C escaped death during a crucial battle with the Romulans while helping a besieged Klingon outpost, an incident that would be viewed as a noble gesture paving the way for peace between the Klingons and The Federation. To thus restore the timeline, the Enterprise-C and its crew must go back to die.

Yesterday's Enterprise is filled with moral questions that have massive implications. Are the Enterprise-C crew really obligated to return to the past to sacrifice themselves? 40 Billion people have died in the war and shouldn’t that be changed if possible? Who gets to decide which timeline is ultimately correct? There are no easy answers though one thing’s clear, the crew are heroes willing to perish for a better future they will never see.

In addition, it works wonders as an act of redemption for Tara Yar. She learns that her demise in the other timeline was meaningless and now she gets to dictate how she will go out choosing to join Enterprise-C back to the past. By giving back Tara's agency, her ignominious death in the first season is mitigated.

The performances also deserve mention. Patrick Stewart gives this alternate Picard a more hardened edge while still retaining that strong sense of virtue and Whoopi Goldberg shows us a more frantic desperate Guinan who senses there is something wrong that needs to be fixed.

With its philosophical themes and engaging dilemma, Yesteday’s Enterprise will remain a classic in any timeline.