Dr Katherine Pulaski is set to leave the Enterprise, and a farewell party is being held in her honour. All of her closest friends have been invited, but she notices a big absence; a certain yellow-eyed android who inexplicitly has not shown up. When she goes to confront him about it, however, she finds out something quite horrible:

Data believes that Kate does not consider him a friend of hers.

First published July 30th, 2022 on Archive of our Own by Superfloxes.

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Peak Performance (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S2 E21) was recommended by Kayodé Lycaon / Kay·o·deh Lie·kay·on, who said: I picked this episode for one line from Picard to Wesley: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”

That quote was life changing for me. I had spent my entire life struggling with being bipolar. Parts of my brain just do not work. I was one of the brilliant kids in school but my grades never showed that. I couldn’t focus on homework no matter how hard I tried. Later in my life I had manic episodes that took control over me and I couldn’t stop myself from saying things I shouldn’t have. I’ve lost jobs and friends to episodes.

Captain Picard made me realize I was trying my best and it was not my fault that my best wasn’t enough to meet anyone’s expectations.

The other parts of the episode also resonate with me because I’m always trying to find ways around my own limitations. I don’t need to do things the way people say I should. I can what works instead, even if it means breaking a few rules.

Peak Performance first aired on July 10, 1989, written by David Kemper, and directed by Robert Scheerer

The Enterprise and USS Hathaway face off in simulated combat maneuvers. Data fails to beat a humanoid at a game of Strategema and exhibits self-doubt.

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The events of the episode The Naked Time from the perspective of the one department guaranteed to have been the busiest during the chaos. When the entire ship is going mad around them, it is up to the Redshirts to keep their crewmates safe. POV of Security Chief Giotto. Some implied slash for Kirk and Spock.

First Published on October 3rd, 2021 on Archive of our Own by queenofroses12.

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Assimilation (Star Trek: Picard, S2 E3) was recommended by Hauke he/him, who said: While it’s very hard to pull out individual episodes of Picard (especially the first two seasons) on my current rewatch this one stood out to me.

Having narrowly escaped the horrible Confederation of the alternate 2400, the crew travels back to 2024 to correct the timeline. “Let’s see what has been lost in the wake of your fear” Q whispers to Picard again as they jump to the past.

Assimilation sets up the character arcs for the rest of the season.

Raffi is racked with guilt and anger for Elnor’s death early in the episode.

Seven, gets to experience not being met with fear since the timeline hop means she was never assimilated.

Rios immediately gets into some good trouble meeting the charming doctor Teresa.

And Jurati, still racked with guilt over killing Maddox in season one is doing something difficult and dangerous: impressing the Borg Queen (played in this iteration by the magnetic Anne Wershing who sadly passed away in early 2023).

Fear, Hope, guilt, forgiveness. Picard season two is about all these things, deeply personal to both Picard and Stewart, and it doesn’t get enough credit.

“ Move backward to go forward. Shatter to mend. The past is now.”

Assimilation first aired on March 17, 2022, written by Kiley Rossetter & Christopher Monfette, and directed by Lea Thompson

Seven distracts the Magistrate long enough for the group to overpower and kill him and his officers. The ship comes under attack, and the Queen takes advantage of the situation to directly connect herself to the ship's computers. She destroys their pursuers and slingshots the ship around the sun, creating a wormhole to 2024. She tells Picard that they must find "The Watcher" in Los Angeles who knows what Q changed to cause the new timeline. The ship crashes near Chateau Picard in France, and the Queen diverts all power to sustain herself. Elnor dies of his wounds, and Raffi angrily blames Picard before departing with Seven and Rios to start searching for the Watcher. Rios's transporter malfunctions and he is knocked out, waking up in a clinic that secretly treats undocumented immigrants. Before he can leave, immigration officers raid the clinic and arrest both Rios and his physician, Teresa. Rios's communicator is left behind. Despite Picard's warnings, Agnes connects her mind to the Queen and learns the exact location of the Watcher before she can be assimilated, impressing the Queen.

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The Ascent (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S5 E9) was recommended by Matt Kennedy he/him, who said:

Hi guys! This is my first recommendation - I've been listening for a while now and I adore the show, and it's taken me a long time to decide which episode I want to recommend.

And it's got to be The Ascent. This is a wonderful showcase for the "enemies with benefits" Quark and Odo. And the reason I love this episode is because, as someone who is firmly on Team Space Goblin, this is one of the few times where Odo gets called out for his bulls*** - I always scream and cheer when Quark calls him a fascist to his face. But this is classic Trek, because as much as they hate each other they have to learn to work together in order to survive. The B plot parralels this, with Jake and Nog learning to live together as roomates, while Sisko finds an unexpected ally in Rom. This episode is about being open to each other's differences and for that to lead to acceptance.

The Ascent first aired on November 25, 1996, written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and directed by Allan Kroeker

Forced to crash-land on a desolate planet, Odo and Quark must climb a mountain to transmit a distress signal. Jake and Nog (temporarily back at DS9) find sharing quarters isn't as enjoyable as they thought it would be.

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Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus (Star Trek: Lower Decks, S3 E8) was recommended by Alex Russet, he/him , who said:

This is one of my favorite episodes of this series alongside the finale for that season (Shax's finest hour was amazing.) The central conflict of Boimler trying to find meaning to life was fascinating to watch. Fun action scenes, a couple pokes at us fanfic writers not understanding story flow or proper exposition (I like to think I improved in that department... I hope...) and of course, Captain Sulu cameos is always a plus. Overall, a fun episode with a thoughtful central conflict. Hoping we see more of Will Boimler. As of me writing this Halloween 2024, there's still time.

Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus first aired on October 13, 2022, written by Ben Rodgers, and directed by Michael Mullen

Boimler's holodeck movie sequel tries to live up to the original.

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Tapestry (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S6 E15) was recommended by Bill Ricardi - he/him, who said: Tapestry is all about regrets, and the mistakes that become part of who we are, for better or for worse. As an older fan, I often look back on my own life and curse the moments when I handled something badly or missed an apparent opportunity. But this episode reminds all of us that the wisdom of age is sometimes just hindsight seen through rainbow tinted lenses. Tapestry teaches us that we are who we are partly BECAUSE of our flaws. And that's okay.

Tapestry first aired on February 15, 1993, written by Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Les Landau

An accident kills Picard. He finds an afterlife with Q analyzing his past choices.

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Latent Image (Star Trek: Voyager, S5 E11) was recommended by Tana he/they, who said: I always love when Trek does a moral dilemma episode. Sometimes they pull it off, sometimes not so great. This one is probably a mix of both to be honest.

The Doctor is sentient and sapient, but he’s still a program in many ways and sometimes a program when pushed so far beyond its limits breaks, but is he alive and free willed enough to push beyond that?

Latent Image first aired on January 20, 1999, written by story by Eileen Connors, Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, teleplay by Joe Menosky, and directed by Mike Vejar

The Doctor finds out that some of his memories have been blocked.

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