25 Best Episodes Of Star Trek EVER
19. Lower Decks - Star Trek The Next Generation
It is said in several episodes of The Next Generation that there are over 1000 people on board the Enterprise D, but most of these are rarely seen. Junior officers dot in and out of shots, occupying work stations or bustling through sickbay and main engineering. Rarely does the camera settle on them long enough to register anything other than their profile.
Ensign Sito Jaxa was introduced as a cadet in The First Duty, shown to be part of an attempted cover up at the academy. Here, she has landed a role on the Enterprise and is assigned to Worf's security detail. The entire episode is told from the perspective of her and her friends. The main characters are shown above them all, going about their day to day business. These junior officers are not a part of that. Until they suddenly are. A dangerous mission arrives in their laps and Ensign Sito is grilled by Picard as to her suitability not just to serve on the Enterprise, but to serve at all.
In The First Duty, the story centred on Wesley Crusher and his moral dilemma. The other cadets were mostly forgotten about (although Nick Locarno, played by Robert Duncan McNeil, served as the template for Tom Paris). Here, it is a compelling move to re-introduce a character in this way. The audience already knows who she is, there is a backstory in place and the audience cares. And then, that ending.
It is a heart breaking speech that Picard gives, as so many of the strongest moments of Star Trek tend to be.