Star Trek: The Next Generation | Season 5, Episodes 19–21

We're continuing my first-time watch of Star Trek in release order! This week, we're tackling moral obligations, questionable parenting, and the Enterprise's seemingly nonexistent security protocols. From Wesley Crusher's difficult choices at Starfleet Academy to Lwaxana Troi's unconventional approach to life, there's plenty to unpack—and not all of it is good.

This week, we get:

• The moral, ethical, and legal codes

• Chaotic benevolence

• Enterprise security is awful and leads to some mediocre stories

We covered:

• The First Duty

• Cost of Living

• The Perfect Mate

The First Duty

Wesley Crusher finds himself caught between loyalty to his friends and his moral obligations following a tragic accident at Starfleet Academy. We discuss the differences between legal and ethical responsibilities, lies of omission, and whether Wesley is obligated to provide self-incriminating evidence. It's an interesting character study that challenges how we feel about Wesley—and leaves us hoping this isn't his final appearance in TNG.

Cost of Living

Lwaxana Troi returns, bringing her particular brand of chaotic benevolence to the Enterprise. We discuss the episode's collection of loosely connected stories, Lwaxana's surprisingly effective parenting compared to Worf, and whether any of these little vignettes deserved an entire episode. Plus, mud baths, NewsRadio, and the realization that Lwaxana might actually be growing on us.

The Perfect Mate

Enterprise security takes center stage again, and not in a good way. We discuss how easily visitors seem to cause trouble aboard the flagship, why this episode failed to capture our interest, and the many tangents that proved more entertaining than the story itself. From Jean Grey saying "mutant" to dolphins aboard the Enterprise, we find plenty to talk about—even if we'd rather be talking about something else.

Final Thoughts

Three very different episodes, with varying degrees of success. The First Duty gives us a compelling exploration of truth and responsibility, Cost of Living provides another dose of Lwaxana's peculiar wisdom, and The Perfect Mate leaves us questioning Starfleet's security standards yet again.

Join us as we continue watching Star Trek for the first time, one episode at a time.

Never give up. Never surrender.

We're continuing our first-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and this week Aaron and Nate are discussing Season 5, Episodes 16–18: Ethics, The Outcast, and Cause and Effect.

This week, we get:

• Worf confronting his honor, his mortality, and his responsibilities as a father

• A time loop, a poker game, and a familiar face from '90s television

We covered:

Ethics

Worf suffers a devastating injury, leaving him to wrestle with his understanding of Klingon honor and what it means to be a father to Alexander. We discuss euthanasia, experimental medicine, informed consent, and why the episode's handling of these interesting questions ultimately didn't work for us.

Naturally, we also find time to discuss Geordi's poker skills and take a surprisingly deep dive into Gargoyles.

The Outcast

We continue our journey through Season 5 with The Outcast.

Cause and Effect

Now this is how you do a Star Trek episode! The Enterprise finds itself trapped in a repeating time loop, and we're along for the ride. We discuss déjà vu, poker, clever storytelling, and the fantastic execution of an episode that became one of our favorites.

And with Kelsey Grammer making an appearance, we couldn't resist a detour through early '90s television. We also discuss Memento, time-loop movies, Babylon 5, and the unlikely Star Trek/X-Men crossover.

Next time: The First Duty, Cost of Living, and The Perfect Mate.

Join us as we continue our first-time, release-order journey through Star Trek!

Never give up! Never surrender!

Aaron and Nate continue their first-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Season 5, Episodes 13-15: The Masterpiece Society, Conundrum, and Power Play.

This week, we get:

• A genetically engineered “perfect” society

• An Enterprise crew with no memories

• Some very off-brand versions of characters we know and love

• Another hostage situation

We covered:

• The Masterpiece Society

• Conundrum

• Power Play

The Masterpiece Society

A “masterpiece” this was not.

There is an interesting thought experiment buried in The Masterpiece Society, but the episode never quite gets where we wanted it to go. We talk about the fragility of genetic “perfection,” antifragility, and whether removing adversity might also remove some of the things that allow a society to adapt and improve.

There is also plenty to unpack around productivity, optimization, and the tradeoffs that come with maximizing one thing at the expense of everything else.

And, naturally, we have another Prime Directive conversation. Does it apply? Does it not? Did it apply and then stop applying? What exactly is the answer here?

Conundrum

This one was just fun.

Conundrum gives us a well-executed slow burn as the Enterprise crew loses its memories and attempts to figure out who they are, what their mission is, and whether the information they are being given can actually be trusted.

Even when we started seeing where the episode was heading, it didn’t really matter. Sometimes it is enough to spend time with characters you love in a story that works.

We also get some wonderfully off-brand character moments, some mistakes are made, and an important question arises: how far does a phaser shot actually go?

Power Play

For the second episode in a row, we get to see familiar characters behaving very differently than usual.

Power Play turns into a hostage story aboard the Enterprise, with Troi, Data, and O’Brien under the control of mysterious entities with their own agenda.

It may not be the greatest Troi episode, but it gives Marina Sirtis an opportunity to do something very different with the character.

We also learn that Keiko must really like the wings.

Next time, we continue Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 with Ethics, The Outcast, and Cause and Effect.

Never give up. Never surrender.

Aaron and Nate continue Aaron's first-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation with Season 5, Episodes 10-12: “New Ground,” “Hero Worship,” and “Violations.”

This week, we get:

• Worf learning some hard lessons about being a parent

• A child dealing with trauma by becoming Data

• A deeply uncomfortable attempt at Star Trek horror

• One of our least favorite episodes since season 1

We covered:

• New Ground

• Hero Worship

• Violations

New Ground

Worf’s son Alexander is back, and this time he’s moving in. We talk about Worf’s struggles as a father, the challenges of communicating with kids, and how the episode captures some of the difficulties of raising a child who might be a little different from everyone else.

We also question some of Worf’s decisions, wonder whether he would have acted differently if Alexander weren’t his son, and ask the most important question of all: why exactly are we going through the wave instead of around it?

Hero Worship

After surviving a disaster that killed the rest of his crew, a young boy begins imitating Data as a way of dealing with his trauma.

There are some great performances and interesting ideas here, but we found the episode rushed and disjointed before everything gets tied up rather cleanly at the end. We also talk about Patrick Stewart-directed episodes, our tendency to nitpick, and whether we would judge these episodes differently if they appeared in another season.

Violations

Well...fuck this episode.

Star Trek takes a swing at psychological horror, and for us, pretty much everything is a miss. We talk about why “Violations” is so uncomfortable, its attempts to be clever, and whether there is anything redeeming about the episode.

“This is the worst thing since Code of Honor” gets uttered, which should give you some idea of where the conversation goes.

Not exactly the strongest slate of episodes.

We also discuss:

• Future plans for the podcast

• Movies versus television as storytelling mediums

• The importance of stories

First-Time Watch – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Our release-order journey brings us back to the original crew for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Watching the films alongside The Next Generation continues to make the larger Star Trek universe feel more connected. This time around, we get another link between TOS and TNG, some major additions to the franchise’s history, and one last adventure with the crew that started it all.

This week, we get:

• Another bridge between the TOS and TNG eras
• Political intrigue, assassination, and conspiracy
• One final adventure with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the original crew

We covered:

• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Release-order viewing pays off again as the movie adds more connections between the original series and The Next Generation — including Colonel Worf, grandfather of the Worf we already know, and the events surrounding Khitomer.

There’s a lot happening beneath the surface of the movie. Who is actually behind the assassination plot? How much of the conspiracy do we really see? And does the ending have enough time to resolve everything the movie sets up?

We also talk about how familiar parts of the movie seemed, deleted scenes, literary references, suspension of disbelief in science fiction, and perhaps the most important question of all - does Kirk surrender?.

But more than anything, this felt like a movie made for Star Trek fans. Not everything has to appeal to everyone. Sometimes it’s enough to make something for the people who already love these characters and this world.

And after spending so much time away from the original crew, it was simply fun to spend some time with them again.

Next time, we return to our release-order watchthrough.

Never give up. Never surrender.

Aaron continues watching Star Trek for the first time from the beginning, joined by Nate as we continue through Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation with “Unification I,” “Unification II,” and “A Matter of Time.”

Spock has arrived on The Next Generation — which immediately raises the question: Why Spock? Why now?

“Unification I” and “Unification II” give us a pair of seemingly disparate storylines that slowly move toward one another. We talk about the advantages of having the time to properly tell a story on television, narrative storytelling versus how information might actually be communicated, and the effectiveness of bringing one of Star Trek’s most recognizable characters into TNG.

But watching in release order adds another layer. With Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country right around the corner, we discuss the timing of Spock’s appearance, using a television series to promote a movie, movie-release strategy, and how differently audiences consumed media in 1991 compared with 2026.

Along the way, Aaron makes a painful admission, we ask why everyone calls the planet “Vulcan,” revisit Sarek’s relationship with humans.

Then there’s “A Matter of Time.”

Nate doesn’t like it. Aaron thinks it’s...fine.

Naturally, that sends us into a deep dive through Matt Frewer’s IMDb profile, the Dumb and Dumber cartoon show, Robin Williams nearly playing Rasmussen, Foo Fighters, and whether an otherwise average episode is lifted by just how good The Next Generation has been lately.

Never give up! Never surrender!

We continue Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation with “Silicon Avatar,” “Disaster,” and “The Game.”

This week, we get:

• An episode with a great premise that can’t quite stick the landing
• The Enterprise crew thrown into unexpected situations and unusual pairings
• A story about addictive technology that feels a little more relevant every year

We covered:

In “Silicon Avatar,” an old threat returns when the Crystalline Entity attacks another colony. The Enterprise picks up a scientist who has dedicated her life to studying the Entity, but her interest turns out to be a lot more personal than scientific. We discuss the callback to Data’s origins, whether this episode ever had a chance at a satisfying ending, subtle character development, actors pretending to play instruments, and what it means to dedicate your entire life to finding and destroying something.

In “Disaster,” the Enterprise is crippled and the crew is scattered into some very unusual combinations. Picard gets stuck with a group of children, Worf finds himself delivering a baby, and Troi unexpectedly ends up as the senior officer on the bridge. We talk about why these unlikely pairings work so well, Troi being forced into command, whether her empathic abilities should have been more useful, questionable space physics, science words, and why sometimes a little cheese is exactly what Star Trek needs. Galaxy Quest also enters the conversation.

Finally, in “The Game,” Wesley returns to the Enterprise just in time for nearly everyone aboard to become hopelessly addicted to a new game. On paper, it has everything we should love...a mysterious conspiracy, addictive technology, a solid discussion of screen addiction, and even the return of Wesley. But, we just couldn’t get invested. We discuss social media, phone games, dopamine hits, South Park, Neuralink, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, jigsaw puzzles, anti-drug specials, and, of course, Kwazy Kupcakes from Brooklyn 99!

Three episodes with plenty of interesting ideas — even when the execution didn’t always work for us.

A quick production note: I had some internet issues while we were recording, so there are a few moments where the audio might get a bit jumpy

Next time: TBG 069 — Unification I | Unification II | A Matter of Time

Never give up! Never surrender!

We begin Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation with “Redemption II,” “Darmok,” and “Ensign Ro.”

This week, we get:

• A Klingon civil war on a massive scale
• A first contact where understanding the words isn’t enough
• The introduction of a complicated new member of the Enterprise crew

We covered:

• Data in command and what happens when he decides not to follow orders
• The continuing legacy—and tragedy—of Tasha Yar
• Klingon politics, culture, and the difference between a society and its government
• Whether Data actually gets angry
• Communication through metaphor, memes, GIFs, and shared stories
• The Epic of Gilgamesh and the stories we use to understand one another
• The limitations of the Tamarian language
• How “Ensign Ro” builds an entire history around a character before she even appears
• Riker’s immediate reaction to Ro
• Competing loyalties and what ultimately motivates Ro

“Redemption II” brings the Klingon Civil War to a satisfying conclusion while giving Data one of his strongest command stories yet. The episode operates on a huge scale without losing sight of its characters. And we thought we already knew Tasha Yar's tragic story...

Then comes “Darmok,” one of the best-known episodes of The Next Generation. The words are understandable, but their meaning isn’t, leading us into a conversation about metaphor, shared cultural references, memes, ancient storytelling, and what communication actually requires beyond simply translating vocabulary.

Finally, “Ensign Ro” introduces a character who somehow feels established before she even walks onto the bridge. We talk about the episode’s worldbuilding, Riker’s visceral response to Ro, her competing loyalties, and the motivations behind a character who immediately makes the Enterprise a little more complicated.

It’s a great start to Season 5.

Join us as we continue watching Star Trek for the first time, in release order, one episode at a time.