Star Trek: The Next Generation - 10 Best Episodes Not About The Main Cast

In a list of episodes about the supporting cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, there is no question as to which episode tops them all.

Lower Decks is not only a fantastic episode of Star Trek, but it also served as the spiritual influence on the recent Lower Decks series - albeit nowhere near as light-hearted.

While the show had depicted officers with only smaller roles before, this was the first that told the story almost exclusively from their point of view. Seeing these crew members doing much of the same things that the audience were used to seeing the main cast do was a reminder that even with the hierarchy on board a starship, there are still hundreds of other people on board, all leading their own lives.

The return of Sito Jaxa was an inspired choice. The audience already knew her as having attempted to cover up the accident along with Wesley, so seeing her on the Enterprise came as something of a surprise. Hearing Picard speak to her the way that he does is more shocking that his speech to Wesley. At least with Wesley, one could understand the personal disappointment that Picard felt. With Ensign Sito, he seems almost cruel.

However, it is all a test - one that she passes with distinction. Her reward for passing is to accompany a Cardassian informant, masquerading as his prisoner. It is a mission she accepts with bravery, though in a crushing end to the episode, the audience discovers that she was killed while trying to return to the ship.

The episode is a fantastic example of the lives of others on the Enterprise and about how the main cast are viewed by them. It is a reminder that the other officers on board matter too. Finally, it is an example that, in just forty minutes, the writers knew how to make a character so dear to the audience that they felt the loss as if it had been Data or Worf.