Star Trek The Next Generation Ruminations S1E23: Skin Of Evil

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[@peterkottke2570]

Armus: You are trying to make me angry. Trying to trick me so you can escape. It will not work. If you have no intention of letting me leave then you shall stay here with me, forever! Picard: Very well. You have forced me to resort to plan B. Riker, beam her down. Armus: And what fool do you send to share your fate? Who do you think can save you and Troi? Picard: Her mother. We called her for help. Lwaxana Troi: You must be Armus. I am Lwaxana Troi. Daughter of The Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings. You're in luck as I'm far more interesting than these dull, plodding humans. Why, Armus, your mind is like an open book! So much anger. And passion! You remind me of my first husband. He got particularly energetic when he got jealous. Really Captain? Now? That man sometimes has a mind like a teenage boy. But let's talk about us. I understand you like to envelope people. I've got to say that could be a fascinating experience. ( 5 Minutes later, everyone including Lwaxana safely back on board the Enterprise ) Data: Incoming transmission, from the planet Armus: And don't come back!!! Picard: Number One, establish a level 1 quarantine of the planet and erase any mention of Lwaxana Troi's assistance from the ship logs. There are things that are best left forgotten. ------------------------- Actress wanted out. They chose to make the death senseless and it's a valid choice. And the crew reaction I thought was the correct military one. A crew member has died but they're in a combat situation and they have no time to deal with that right now. So they're just going to not focus on it until the crisis has passed except for the necessity of having someone take over the dead crew member's duties. And then they'll deal with it. Trying to shoehorn in some meaning to the death into the plot structure of this episode would have been a mistake. And it's Picard, the seasoned veteran, who snaps the crew back into focus. "We will deal with Yar's death later. We have a crisis right now and need to focus on that." At this point in TNG I was so hungry at this point for an actual, dangerous enemy that I was almost willing to overlook what a flawed, pathetic, easily manipulated creature Armus is. Almost. But yeah, he's all emotion and power but not much intellect. I doubt the "titans" even knew the skin they left behind had gained sentience. As a "one off" villain he works. The syrup was laid a little to thick for me at the end scene though. It progresses from emotional to kind of awkward. Data got a nice line though.

[@LostMercenary99]

Brilliant

[@oakleysierney1918]

I wish you'd put your fan fiction into a different comment because I always love it. Your other opinions are hit and miss.

[@Belzediel]

On why it's always the A-Team, this does make sense. On RW military ships you usually have three shifts, morning, day, night. Each is divided into eight hours. Each crew person does eight hours working, eight hours sleeping, eight hours washing, eating, chatting, playing and studying. (Sometimes this is different, many submarines do 6/6/6/6, for example.) So at any point in time a ship has either it's A crew, B or C crew. Some of those crew will have non combat duties, such as the kitchen, the laundry etc. If, however, something serious crops up then in the RW your Xo will likely call for general quarters (sometimes action stations, the terminology varies), in which case both the active duty shift and the upcoming duty shift are expected to be in their work positions, or battlestations, where everyone not currently laid up in sickbay is at their station. Everyone who's not normally assigned a combat role, so the cooks etc will have a battlestation, usually this will be in some kind of damage control) The basic idea is you need A number of people to keep a given gadget (which might be an AA gun, a sonar station, the radar mast) working. You need twice that number to actually fight with the gadget, and if you ARE fighting, you have another half again essentially to make up numbers when the other crew get themselves killed. So, for example, who is present and awake in phaser control room nine? Normally, Jeff and Helen. Yellow alert? Jeff, Helen, Mike and Zorblax. Red alert? Jeff, Helen, Mike, Zorblax, Jenny and Ralph. Most of the time officers cut deeply into their off-duty hours to remain on deck, so they tend to work on a sorta 12/6/6 basis, overlapping with other shifts. This would be the weak but not outrageous explanation for how often Picard, Riker and Data are all on the bridge at the same time. So. If the Enterprise gets in a sitch which they see as dangerous, the normal crew all jump up and go running to wherever they're expected to be, but the upper level, the command officers will ALL be on station, taking command. You simply don't have your second best sonar guy operating the sonar when you might be getting torpedoed. Trek could have made this more obvious; having some of the senior officers running to their stations each time, but the essence of you have your best guys working your toughest calls because why the hell would you not? Is perfectly valid. That it also means our main cast always have something to do is a bonus, but it's very far from being worst practice. That TNG made a point of rarely having Picard on site was a plus, at least for me.

[@cr-nd8qh]

Yep I was in the navy and that is how it works . We worked 12 on 12 off though on a carrier

[@flyingfiddler90q]

Re: them calling out all the emergency procedures as they're doing them, actually that happens in real life on the flight deck of an airliner in an emergency. The reason we do it is first to keep the other pilot (who may be working on solving a different problem) in the loop, and to give both pilots a chance to object if we don't agree that is the best course of action. Not that unrealistic, really.

[@timf7413]

One of the ironies to me is that Yar being written out arguably catapulted Worf into that top tier of characters (I would argue he effectively became the 4th most important/focused on character on the show in the final analysis.) as well as arguably one of the most important Trek characters overall, considering how long he ultimately stuck around.

[@williammcguire130]

I would say by the end the three most focused on characters were Picard, Data, and Worf

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

@@williammcguire130 to me, Troy was an important character...

[@DrownedInExile]

Worf was smiling at Yar's funeral. She said she hoped she met death with eyes wide open. A very Klingon attitude! I'm sure Worf found some place private later, to let out a mighty roar. To warn the dead of Yar's arrival.

[@thetrembler8791]

My favorite idea for the origins of Armus was that he was cast off by the Organians. Even if their morality can be questioned, they don't appear to have anger; the Changelings do. I first heard the idea in a STO Foundry mission that sadly isn't published anymore, but the idea worked so well for me.

[@WestChesterCybersecurityDaily]

Lorerunner. I am a 53 year old Star Trek fan. Trek has guided my life in many ways. Trek has made me a better worker, husband, father and person. I have been a fan of your Trek Ruminations throughout and this is one of your best (which is saying alot). You are such a pleasure to watch talk about Trek (movies - VOY - DS9 & TNG) that even in this 50+ YOA Trek fan you have brought new & fresh ideas. You are awesome!! LLAP friend!

[@quasimodojdls]

Possibly the best episode of Season One, in my opinion. For the simple reason that they had the guts to give Yar, a main character, a truly meaningless death. Trek has a real problem with doing that with main characters. So many get to go out in blazes of glory in one way or another. Well, meaningless death is a huge part of the Human Condition and shouldn't be regulated to only redshirts. We can argue all the live long day about how her death was executed story-wise, but I really appreciate that fact that they had the guts to do this.

[@Gkbdhmpj]

Printer ink must have been a lot cheaper back in the 80s. Imagine if they'd done that effect today, they'd blow the entire seasons budget on a couple of scenes!

[@mapleicecream4819]

Yeah, it would probably be cheaper to use 20 year old whiskey these days!

[@janicewymore3860]

It wasn't cheaper then.

[@evertonporter7887]

@@mapleicecream4819 Or molasses😁

[@Bojack727]

I really enjoy parts of this episode: Ron Jone's music is superb- he apparently worked in a Choral aspect, to make sound like a funeral hymn. I also enjoyed both the presentation and characterization of Armus. The dialogue is really sharp, such as when Data calmly remarks "You should be destroyed", as well as Picard's dialogue about 'evil' with Armus near the end. And of course, the coda at the end still makes me break down into tears to this day.

[@mygaffer]

Denise felt she destined for bigger roles, and she did Pet Cemetery right afterwards. If she knew how popular it would become she almost certainly would have stayed.

[@athrunzala6919]

I forget, the shuttle pilot was alive right? It would have been interesting and appropriate for Troi to give him some first aid despite her injuries. She just sits there the whole time while the guy has a concussion.

[@mb2000]

Athrun Zala He wasn’t injured, he just passed out from the shock of realising that he’s a black guy wearing a redshirt who’s just crashed Shuttlecraft 13 and it’s not him that’s going to die!

[@DrownedInExile]

Thank you for pointing out how Troi played Armus like a cheap fiddle. She's trapped by him, yet she's in control for most of their exchanges. Your point about Armus envying Tasha because he can't die blew my mind! But Armus would not show weakness by openly admitting that, so they'd have to trick him somehow. That would have been really interesting. My favourite part: Data gives his analysis on Armus, concluding with "I think you should be destroyed." Armus mocks him, and Data takes an aggressive step forward. Oooh I wonder what he would have done, had Picard not stopped him! I had no idea about the working conditions on S1 TNG. I don't blame Crosby for leaving, she wasn't getting what she wanted out of the show. As far as Tasha's death being "unfair", that's a feature not a bug. Forget life on a starship, life in general is dangerous. Any one of us could die in a car accident tomorrow. As Dr. Franklin of B5 said, "It's not fair. Death never is." One little detail many people seem to miss: at Tasha's funeral, Worf was smiling. Tasha said "she hoped she met death with eyes wide open." That's a very Klingon attitude, and would have resonated strongly with Worf. I like to think afterwards, he found some place private, and let out a mighty roar to warn the dead Tasha was about to arrive. Great rumination!

[@northerntoe]

microencapsulated ink tends to cause a reaction with organic solvents like those in super glue. I’m guessing that the glue basically melted into the ink as it reacted because it wasn’t cleaned

[@harpercole5321]

My Favourite S1 episode, and somewhere in my top ten for the series. I just found Armus a unique and fascinating adversary - I could almost feel sorry him at the end. It would have been interesting to meet up with the Vagrans who abandoned him later in the series. They tried to shed themselves of all evil, but ditching Armus was itself an evil act, so perhaps they're not so pure as they thought they were. Given that the planet is now a wasteland, I see the abandonment as having taken place somewhere in the order of a million years ago. No-one in established Trek canon quite seems to fit the Vagrans' description, so I imagine them as either having left the galaxy or as being tucked away on some obscure planet. I'm in the "Pro" camp for Yar's death. It's original and realistic to have a main cast member die in this fashion. If it was Season 7 then perhaps we might have expected more for her, but as you say she was a C list character - a quick death followed by a moving funeral scene feels about right.

[@thewildcard83]

This is my favourite episode of Season One, mainly because of the exchanges between Picard and Armus near the end, debating about what true evil is...

[@StefanTravis]

I disagree that Yar's death served no function. The lack of melodrama is itself an emotional gut punch. To draw it out and make it the focus of the episode would also have been emotional, but not in the same way. The flat, factual tone of Peter Weiss' plays are essential to their impact. It never occurs to most of Samuel Beckett's characters to express their pain, in spite of their compulsion to describe it. The purpose of the clinical tone of the SCP Foundation serves to highlight the horrors described. Not crying out communicates just as much as crying out.

[@dsmithum]

I love you nitpicking about the definition of nitpicking +1 well done.

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Goodbye, Tasha. You lived not long, but hopefully at least you prospered .

[@BPond7]

Lore, this is by far, your best TNG Rumination. Maybe because we agree on everything! 😀 The way Armus was brought to life, through the costume, and through the voice acting, still plays extremely well, and he's a terrifying, menacing villain. Patrick Stewart shined brightly in this episode, as did Sirtis, in they way they assessed Armus, and spoiled his designs. It's a shame Crosby didn't stick it out a couple years longer. She was a better actress than McFadden and Sirtis put together. She was a "strong woman" without being an obnoxious, "I'm role playing a man", type of character, kind of like Starbuck in the BSG miniseries. Yeesh! Excellent video, as always, and I can't wait for more! 🖖😀

[@wobe-nh8ii]

i was 15 when this aired. man. i am old now .lol

[@phillipdando9006]

I can only imagine how good of a character that Tasha could have become if Denise had decided to stick it out even another year. I don’t blame her, she left for valid reasons, but if the writers could have used her and Crusher and Worf more during season one, she probably wouldn’t have minded if Yar had more to do in B or C plots during the series. Denise’s comments at a Con about just putting a mannequin with her boots for Picard’s closeups so that she didn’t have to stand around for the full 16 hour day made sense to me. (They said no to that) Could see Worf becoming more command oriented in season 2 since Geordi was moved to Engineering: bam: Worf’s the new Conn officer. Would have been great to see the dynamic of the characters with that strong female in the cast. That’s why I welcomed Ro with welcome arms, for the few episodes she was in anyway. There’s nothing wrong with portraying women in caring roles in Star Trek or TV on general, but I think Deanna and Crusher would have softened Yar over time and in the same token, maybe have given Deanna’s character a different strength earlier than we started to see after Captain Jelico put her in her uniform. To me, Troi got much better from then on. Imagine the gold that would have been for Denise to play if they put Yar as a rescuer of an abused child, that she has to adopt.

[@Enkarashaddam]

I agree 100% with your revised treatment of Yar, having Armus compare his immortality with her mortality

[@worldsbestpantz3445]

Everyone takes command of the Enterprise at some point. If Crosby had stayed, the Episode where she would inevitably have taken command would have been awesome.

[@brenswee681]

Glad I found this. You present really well and you're very easy to listen to. Thanks. I quite love this episode, I always enjoy the soundtrack, the dialogue and the acting. Stewart and Sirtis are fantastic in it.

[@thetree2044]

You do a good impression of Armus

[@mr51406]

Finally rewatched it. Quite good actually. I hesitate because it’s sad. It’s not at all “empty” it’s meaningful, poignant, avoiding most melodrama. The idea is that Yar was not to be the ultimate redshirt. In that sense they succeed. So why did it get a reputation for “emptiness?” Mostly by what happens later which sought out to make Crosby’s 2nd disappearance more impactful. We’d all love our ends to be “meaningful.” Unfortunately real life usually doesn’t work like in a Shakespearian drama. That should be recognized. It’s sad but true. Some of us don’t make it to Sto-Vo-Kor. Nor do we want to anyway… It’s a Yar episode but as much one for Troi.

[@SonnyBubba]

The death of Tasha helped up the dramatic tension for the next couple seasons. It made the jeopardy seem like another character might die in the next season.

[@MrAnthonyDraft]

Speaking of redshirts - Long War mod for XCOM Enemy Unknown has all rookies wear red armour...

[@WiqidBritt]

While I kind of like the idea of a character defined by insatiable unquenchable rage, Armus always felt like a petulant child to me. It's one of those episodes that, aside from Yar's death, ultimately feels pointless. I can't even think of a way to elaborate on why I feel that way about it.

[@kristermister4791]

Finally! Every week I've been expecting this one to come up - in my memory it was much earlier on in Season 1. Gonna rewatch the ep first though.

[@timriggins70]

It was funny I was watching a 4th season episode of the Flash and the backdrop of an Earth that Cisco and Breacher went to was driving me crazy. I knew I had seen it before. It looked like this planet.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

According to the Changelings themselves, they had had no exposure to the alpha quadrant outside of Odo until we see them in DS9. Considering they told this to Odo, I doubt they were lying. So unless I'm missing something that pokes a big hole in your not quite Head Cannon theory. By the way, I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and have binge-watching some of your Star Trek content. Very enjoyable, you have yourself a new subscriber.

[@derekstaplin1007]

I'd like to see Armus and Data's evil brother Lore could partner up.

[@corssecurity]

Troi gets kidnapped and its an emergency. Tasha gets kidnapped and oh well i suppose we will have to have a staff meeting.

[@dirtywashedupsparkle]

I liked the start between Worf and Yar, I thought that was a great moment between them of respect and possibly attraction. I agree with the sense of urgency being a good thing. I thought them actually holding a tray of dilithium crystals was funny and unfortunately broke the credibility a bit. I would expect a huge floating crystal, not a tray of odd-shaped crystals you can put on a tray. This episode shows they were working with extreme budget restraints by having the meat of it on a stage on the planet's surface. The entity Armus was basically a guy in a pool of metamucil and printer ink. I don't mind this - it smells strongly of TOS style, but I thought even as a 'cheap' looking episode it was making the best of it. I felt there was a convincing sense of danger in Armus, and for a suit in a black bath he was a compelling character villain. Losing Yar so early in the episode and not even by the end of the first season was a genuine shock. They are convincingly shocked that they lose her. Sure they lose a red uniform in TOS and a crew member most episodes, but the main cast rarely feel it the same way. I felt she hadn't even got far enough to be established and fly so the timing to me was just abrupt. I would have hung around a bit longer, but if she really wasn't getting more good stuff then going made sense. Ironically, saying that gave her a decent enough part for a sendoff, plus a return episode or two with more in it. It was hilarious seeing Frakes get in the goop. I liked how he gets dragged in, how well he does the job of convincing us he is in danger. The background of Armus and the Vagrans is a bit vague, as well as his powers. He essentially somehow is an evil essence that has been purged by an alien race and sentient, then left behind. Was he always just pure evil, or did being left behind change him to that? I think he is interesting for the main question - should such a purely evil thing be allowed to live? Is he absolutely irredeemable, and should he then be redeemed? I felt in the end the verdict was yes, he deserves to be abandoned - a pretty clear decision. Tasha Yar's holographic eulogy was pretty touching and she has said before that it was a rare melding of the character and the actor's words becoming one and the same. The music definitely helped make it sadder and more moving, but there was a lot of genuine feeling there. I suppose the link between her and the Armus arc is that her death, though senseless, ultimately is meaningful in the memories of her friends and fellow crew. Armus is bored by killing; for the crew it is a precious loss. You want her death to be more meaningful, but her character hadn't grown much - the best one could say was what she said in the eulogy, that considering her background she has come a long way and died as she thought she would, fast and while doing her duty. Still it meant less than it could have been. Still, death itself being final, though badly executed (pun) makes life costly and valuable, and so if there is a good thing, that is it. A decent episode, especially considering it gets a lot from a little, and Yar's death really shocked me. and the eulogy was genuinely heartfelt.

[@oakleysierney1918]

Why does Armus deserve to be abandoned? He didn't choose to be evil? His race made a conscious and deliberate decision to create and use him as some kind of outlet for their own evilness. So they are totally responsible for him and his predicament. And to leave someone in eternal anguish is beyond cruel.

[@DZMaven]

I just watched this and had the same idea about Armus; that it was somehow related to the changlings. Maybe it was once a changling in the distant past, but something corrupted it and gave it superpowers (like with Gary Mitchell in TOS) and they excised Armus from the Great Link and left it behind. Could explain why it desires to rejoin its creators so deeply (rejoining the Great Link). But it is a flimsy theory as you say and Armus's meager plot was created far before the Changlings of DS9 ever were concepted. Still, a neat thought.

[@frazerrhughess]

The enterprise went to warp and exploded. The end.

[@mapleicecream4819]

I also imagined this. When they went to warp I was all "Kaboom!" >__

[@mb2000]

I like the bit pointed out somewhere before; Shuttlecraft 13 crashes on a planet piloted by a redshirted black guy. And it’s the white female main character that dies! As for what would have happened if Tasha didn’t die... I think it could well have been Dorn that left the show. If he wasn’t promoted to security and remained as “guy who stands at the back of the bridge”, I can’t see him getting much to do, much as Crosby said about Tasha. The knock on effect of that on the rest of TNG, DS9 and the movies would be so massive I wouldn’t even want to try to work it out. At least I can imagine that any dealings with the Klingons would have gone a lot worse without Worf’s input had Dorn left completely.

[@ShamrockParticle]

I've read and heard things from many. But yours is the most thoughtful presentation and I enjoy this story's strengths more than any nitpicks as well. It's interesting that the baddies is given the name of the producer's surname. Is there an allegory to this story, especially if most of the cast liked Denise? I'd think that Crusher would use micro amps more than volts. And how often do the crew put together farewell videos? Thankfully the Enterprise doesn't have more turnover than a pastry shop. But the premise and execution are largely compelling, made better by the acting and music. It feels like a genuine threat and everyone is being no-nonsense. I do love this story and, yeah. Mote often than not a villain will kill than just stand there. In my next tng rewatch I'll count the number of times a baddie would have a chance to kill but they don't because of the script. It's the same way with the Daleks not zapping Doctor Who as well, though some story novelizations come up with creative ways to address that...

[@yatzi8370]

Some people might watch these videos without having watched the show immediately before. Even a couple weeks or a month or so prior to watching this, a lot of people wont have the acute memory to instantly remember all the things that you mention. I think adding a bit of post production with images of guest stars or alien race of the week faces, or shots of some significant or unique set locations, could help many people more instantly and efficiently recall the episode or analysis points in their mind. Sure we could do this ourselves, but it's more of a relaxing experience if you don't have to look these things up on the fly. Basically your memory and notes that you have are super obvious and clear to you as you discuss it, but a bit of post production here and there could help keep some of us with lesser memory (and IQ) to keep track of the points you are talking about. I do however understand that would potentially add a huge amount of effort for these videos which already you put a huge amount of time into. So maybe my point is kinda moot.

[@cr-nd8qh]

Yea I'm pretty stupid so that would help me

[@timothystrategos7222]

I agree on liking the idea of an MMA contest on a Starship. In Mass Effect 2, there's this wonderful (albeit depressingly brief) conversation with Garrus where he talks about the differences between Humans and Turians and how they cope with the downtime leading up to high stress missions, and he says the Turians take their mind off the upcoming missions by holding sparring matches, and he says it's a great way to settle grudges between crew members. It lends to the idea that we're not going to overcome the idea of sport as we advance technologically. Sport is just something people do, find an uncontacted tribe deep in the rainforest that has never even heard of technologically adept cultures, toss them a soccer ball, and they'll be kicking it between themselves within minutes, if not seconds. Sport is something that's gonna stay with us, and MMA is really one of the only sports you don't need equipment for, just well fitting clothes that are easy to move in. The idea of a starships doing martial arts as a sport in their down time is something that seems very real and sensible and human to me.

[@jamespepper8671]

I just saw this once and never returned to watch that episode again.

[@scottkrametbauer90]

I have avoided commenting on too many of your ruminations because I just found your channel a short time ago and I'm current catching up on TNG, DS9, and Voyager season 1s. I should finish them tonight. As for this episode I always suspected the people who created Armus ended up suffering a bad end. It sounds great to get rid of all your negative traits, but those same traits usually help keep you alive. Also Denice leaving help Michael Dorn stand out more and aided the character of Worf grow into the fan favorite he did. As much as I liked Tasha Yarr, loosing a cast member ended up helping the series overall

[@shootingreal5945]

Most STTNG fans tend to think this is one of the best TNG epis...the sense of danger is very real and it plays out by the early death of LT YAR, it truly had us wondering is everybody else safe...well played.

[@mapleicecream4819]

I have a couple of questions about this episode: (1) Why, after the matter/antimatter injectors are primed, is the ratio set to 25 to 1? I thought we learned in _Coming of Age_ that the only correct ratio was 1 to 1? (2) Who dropped their phaser when Riker was getting sucked into Armus?

[@mb2000]

1) maybe that’s a startup ratio, and the 1:1 is normal operating ratio? 2) Geordi dropped his phaser.

[@jdglass]

I had always hoped for another TNG movie that involved time travel and saving Tasha's life for some universe saving reason, but the TNG movie franchise stopped.

[@nickokona6849]

When I first watched this episode I thought that maybe Armus was a Q before they got to their omnipotent level. The energy wave he uses to kill Yar was similar effect to the Q flash. Nothing to support that, but it sort of made sense given the establishment of the Q thus far.

[@kardy12]

They may not have replaced Tasha’s character, but it’s hard to see how Worf’s character arc over seven seasons of TNG would have been the same if he hadn’t become chief of security after Tasha’s death.

[@videogenics86]

I have to say I like your idea. It's obvious that Armis is functionally immortal.

[@ameier5570]

ironically this episode made me interessetet in Tasha. I was rather young and watched TNG with my father and havent seen all of them so i had actually non of Tashas backstory as i saw that episode and so i didn't care much about her. But wenn i heard her backstory in the coda I was like "ok that sounds actually very interessing" and the second after that "wath a waist of potential". And for her meaningles dead, yea not a fan, you can make her dead meaningless, but used it for the other characters to actually reflect on such things. I mean there is a Enterprise episode of all things (i think it was "Broken") that takes the death of some redshirts and makes it a characterpiece for Archer.

[@AdamCollings]

The method of Yar's death is a really interesting topic. I'm sure I read somewhere that Gene specifically wanted a sudden "red-shirt style" death, to show the hazard of being a security officer. I see it as an attempt to subvert the red-shirt trope itself. Usually, it's the no-name character who gets snuffed out like this, but this time, shockingly, it was the character we know and love. And I think I'm ok with that. It didn't have to be a huge grand gesture. But I agree that the implementation could have been better. The medical scene crusher struggles to save Tasha was moving, but could have been even more impactful. And the funeral scene really choked me up with emotion when I re-watched this the other day. I also would have loved more acknowledgement of the emotional loss in subsequent episodes. That, I think, is the biggest issue of all.

[@oakleysierney1918]

I think for the reason you said that Yar's death does add meaning to the whole series from that point on, because from now on every time where there is a dangerous scene with the main crew there is actual suspense that we don't know for sure they will survive. For me dying this way had the biggest impact of all.

[@lucasvincent2875]

My head canon was always that Armus was cast off the Organians.

[@dancingbearandkoala9743]

As a viewer i couldnt help bit feel sorry for the villain of this episode i dont know why but i think its a lot to do with personal experience and what i mean by that is this episode hints that the feeling of abandonment and complete isolation is not a harsh punishment than it truly is...and what i mean vy that and again going from my own expereinces i wouldnt wish the feeling of being completely left alone on my worse enemy. I honestly believe that being left alone im the manner the charecter was is a fate worse than death.. It is my opinion based on my perspective alone that the charecters seemed a little off putting as they seemed more than content to leave a living being to this fate regardless of how vindictive that being may or may not be...again justy opinion.

[@Axz92Axz]

I like this episode, despite what he is I can't help but pity Armus, trapped and he can't even kill himself.

[@williamozier918]

Wow, first off your Rumination of this episode was excellent and you have made me re-think this episode. To address your point about Armus at 26:12, I have a different take on him now after ruminating on your rumination. I now see Armus kind of like, wait for it...Kylo Ren. That's right I said it. Kylo feels the pull of the light within him and so he keeps trying to do evil hoping that doing so will make him truly evil and extinguish the pain he feels inside. Armus believes himself to be a 'skin of evil', but inside he knows he's actually alone and scared. Much like Kylo Armus is trying to make himself be evil hoping that the power of evil fills his heart instead of the loniless and fear, but ultimately failing at it at every turn.

[@AlucardNoir]

If they took food from other studios then it's stealing, if they took it from other sets that belonged to the same studio then it's debatable.

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

Personally I would have had Tasha in the shuttle, coming home from some security thing, maybe a promotion to Lt. Commander, I dunno. And Armus gets her, and we get this episode of her being defiant in the face of his antagonism. “I’ve faced worse than you, and I’m more than I ever thought possible.” And the whole episode is her slowly coming to terms with how she’s changed and no longer is the scared girl she was on her home colony. They fight to get her out, and eventually Armus seems to give in and says she can leave the shuttle and see them. And then he kills her. And the crew almost go ballistic, which Armus was hoping for as a reaction of entertainment. But Picard has to pull them back and say no. They have no reason now to fight Armus. They have nothing left but revenge here, just like he would have if he left. So they have Tasha’s funeral on the ship, but instead of a torpedo carrying her down like Spock’s: the one they fire is what frees her body from Armus’ grasp, and denies him any more entertainment. Then have a longer epilogue of everyone grieving in their own way. Worf gives the bellow, Troi consoles everyone but then goes to Data or Crusher and has a “it should have been me” moment where she suggests that if she’d gone down: she could have made Armus focus on her instead, and so forth.

[@grumpyotter]

I have tried searching, but could only find statements about why Denise left the show--from Denise. No one else seems to have spoken publicly about it. If I am incorrect, i apologize. But here is my hunch--the writers possibly tried to give her better story lines, but she wasn't able to handle them. I have watched her in Star Trek many many times--I have also seen her in non-Trek things, and she is just not a very good actress. As specific examples, I point to "The Naked Now" when she is "seducing" Data. Granted, the lines are a little clunky, but her fake chuckling, "I got out of my uniform for you," "I was 15 before I escaped," and "You jewel!" are delivered in very odd ways that don't indicate drunkenness or influence of whatever disease had taken over them--they are just flatly and falsely stated, not in the tone they should be. She always seems to be just saying lines rather than feeling her character. A second example is from "Yesterday's Enterprise." Yes, it's a great episode, but it succeeds in spite of her, not because of her. Watch her conversation with Castillo in Ten Forward when she is explaining how they are on rations because the replicators are off so everything can be used for battle (I forget the exact phrasing). But whatever she says, it sounds clunky and fake. I think the writers were glad when she wanted to leave, and didn't try to persuade her to stay when she expressed dissatisfaction. I could be totally wrong--this is just a hunch based on observation and what little I know of why she left. Any other ideas?

[@moonbeans7042]

Perhaps a reworking of the episode to make Yars death more meaningful might have been at a stretch to swap circumstances and have that she is the one in the shuttle who needs rescueing and when the situation becomes untenable and she realises the crew can't leave her and Armus will keep manipulating and hurting them she deliberately taunts and provokes him to fuel his rage so that he eventually lashes out killing her and removing his only leverage. That would of course eliminate all the good troi moments but that's unavoidable I guess

[@godalmighty1188]

I think the titans who left were very quickly wiped out. They gave up their destructive tendencies. I believe that left them vulnerable to more aggressive species.

[@rexremedy1733]

We have an urgencymergency!

[@michaelpuglisi6767]

While Yar's death is a redshirt death, I appreciate the guts for killing off a character like this. In the original series, we saw countless nameless ensigns die and Kirk, Spock, and McCoy walk through with the help of a heavy heaping of plot armor, and that, over time, makes it seem as if our main heroes are never in any real danger. This death, though flippant, completely changes the game from the audience's perception. The plot armor has begun to crack under the blade of a simple death for the main character. The trope of uber-heroic deaths of main characters has also become such a cliche that it seems like no blockbuster movie will go without one of the principal cast dying, or at the very least a death fakeout. But Yar dies, not with her sacrifice saving the entire galaxy or some other overdramatic thing, but to a more ordinary danger. And though her death really isn't that meaningful in the episode, it is much more meaningful when you consider its implications outside the canon of the story.

[@setojurai]

@Peter Kottke HEAD CANON ACCEPTED SO FREAKING MUCH! Seriously, this not just makes sense, but is hilarious to think about. :D

[@alexrobinson8029]

My theory/head-cannon is that he was abandoned be the "Metrons" from the TOS episode: Arena. Since they present themselves as perfect god-like beings........with no flaws. (With the exception of them acting like they're judge jury and executioner.)

[@terminat1]

Canon.

[@williamozier918]

My head-cannon is that Armus was one of the 100 children sent out by the Changelings. Like Odo, Armus woke up one day with no memory of who or what he was. He was alone for who knows how long. The whole 'beautiful titans who left him behind' is just the story he has concocted over the years. As for the question of why he has super powers then...well, Laas was one of the 100 and he could turn into a freaking warp capable starship, so who knows.

[@williamozier918]

and yes I am 100% convinced that Martia from Undiscovered Country was definitely one of the 100.

[@terminat1]

Canon. Changelings don't have Armus' abilities, so no. You're wrong.

[@gm2407]

Warp 8, engine crystals put back in within seconds, no safety checks. Thats not happening I would call that plot armour because the Enterprise D didn't explode. Those crystals need to be allined, its not changing the battery in a TV remote control. Precision Engineering can not be done at a high degree of precsion at pace. Just turning on the engine with misaligned dilithium crystals could lead to a breach as it is a focusing procedure. Otherwise they would not need aligning so precicely.

[@thac0twenty377]

At the time what I had been told is that she was asked to leave due to a photo spread she did in playboy and that doing that didn't jive with the PR image that they wanted for Star Trek

[@kylecaffyn-parsons8163]

Younger than 30. Nice episode man :D

[@timriggins70]

Wonder why they didnt send a shuttle to meet the other shuttle?

[@elenarossi8398]

hhaving gone through the first season with ou I can certainly understand why tashas actress left...

[@TheAtomicLich]

Been waiting for you review of this one :)

[@williamozier918]

OK here's me re-write: Armus messes with Data, and it doesn't work. So in frustration Armus shoots at Data, and Yar jumps in front of him and takes the 'bullet' for him.

[@elenarossi8398]

I don´t know if worf had had that much screen time if tasha had stayed on I think he would have stayed a minor character compared to the others but idk maybe I am wrong.

[@djhutchison]

I don't have a problem w/ them writing Yar out of the show, but they way they went about it is what irks me. They didn't have to kill the character off. She could have easily been written out, as Crusher was, with a reassignment to another post. Then, when the time was right, you could reintroduce Yar to the series going forward. As I said before, they did it with Crusher. Hell, when George Takei left TOS to do a movie, they didn't even acknowledge his absence.

[@jakem7666]

What was Worf betting?

[@rorylunafreya6661]

I feel like her death, if done properly, could have been the catalyst for what made the TNG crew...the TNG crew that is largely so competent and awesome and close to each other in later seasons. Imagine if throughout the previous episodes there was just this quiet feeling of superiority, of being safe in space. Cause they're the Federation, on one of the most advanced ships in the fleet no less. Have Starfleet hubris be an undercurrent in the previous episodes. It could be an excuse for their lazy reactions or in their cheap diplomacy because after all, it'll all work out. A lot of season 1 works well if you think of it as how many in Starfleet are just arrogant and/or pushovers because of how early and pre- TNG era politics were largely so peaceful and always going their way. Having Tasha die in that circumstance, where everyone would naturally assume everything would be fine, would've been immensely more satisfying. It could drive Picard to grow a pair, for the crew to take their mission more seriously, and lastly, bring their crew more together. I've been watching your Star Trek movie ruminations again and what you comment on in Wrath of Khan rings true here, for me. That a main character's death works best when it is an extension of the themes of the work. As it is now, I lament the character of Tasha that we never got to see.

[@dreamwhisperer2340]

younger than that here. Thank you for your hard work. I was also uncomfortable about how they handled Yar's death. But I was even more uncomfortable about how lightly they took her character throughout the season: She was a FEMALE security officer. In the 80s, it was a huge step forward towards questioning the established patriarcal influence clearly demonstrated in the first star trek series, and they did nothing of it. It's disapointing in that it's like an unkept promise.

[@oakleysierney1918]

Making someone security just because they are female is sexist in itself. The best qualified person/alien should get the job. Glad she's gone from this point forward.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

to me, Yar's death was necessary in this episode because it broke the crews mold ingrained compassion... lets be honest, in the episode, the crew are being and vengeful cruel to Armus... and, if it was not Tasha Yar but an unknown red-shirt with no history that died, this would have been Character assassination for a few main characters.

[@CollinZaffke]

I believe the appeal of the story is the tragic character of Armus, they created him then just left him there. On the other hand even though you feel sorry for him you know he's a mortal danger. In the end you feel his pain and rage, but at the same time it felt really awesome listening to Picard just let him have it then leave. On another note, as far as the fans who whine about Yar's character jeez grow tf up. I followed the entire series since it started and I never felt anything special about her character because it was never developed. She was in a few episodes in the first season and that was it. You are a shallow person if you didn't focus on all of the wonderful nuances in this episode.

[@trombaritone86]

I know I'm late to the party here, but i only recently got into TNG. I enjoyed this episode, except for the handling of Yar. I thought her death was so pointless and quick it could have been any generic redshirt from TOS. She even got a "she's dead Jim" from Crusher. I get that the actress wanted out, but her death should have been given meaning. Maybe a self sacrifice, maybe to introduce a recurring villain. For me that threw off what was otherwise a great episode.

[@ChocolatierRob]

Ha, I joked during your Ni No Kuni livestream recently about how you keep coming out with "I don't know if you have ever experienced X but once X did happen to me" and that during this episode you would no doubt tell us about the time time you crashed a shuttle and got menaced by evil goo. I was only half wrong, you did manage to compare something you experienced while driving to this episode. This tickled me. Um, Lore. Worf can't beat the everliving crap out of Armus. That is _literally_ all of what Armus _is,_ an immortal waste product.

[@ameier5570]

oh worf would find a way, believe me xD

[@tbk2010]

Watching this again I also enjoyed it more than I thought. I have been re-watching along with the release sof these ruminations, but thought about skipping this one since it is really "just" the crew talking to a puddle of toner ink. However, while not executed well enough to make it a truly GOOD episode, it is still well above average for S1 TNG. With some more experience and freedom they could have turned this into a really suspenseful, scary, disturbing loftcrafian horror episode. The potential is there. Regarding Tasha, I remember crying really hard when I watched this first as a little kid. It doesn't really affect me today, mostly because I'm so annoyed at the wasted potential. I so wish she had waited a bit longer for her character to grow. Consider that Colm Meaney barely got a line of dialoge until well into the second (or third?) season, but went on to play one of the best characters on DS9 - for 7 years! And even worse, they find some convoluted way to bring "her" back later, but that is totally wasted as well. Oh what could have been...

[@AngelEpinoia]

I've been waiting for this one...

[@TheGameMasterMike]

The way I would have killed off Tasha in this episode would be to construct the story in a way such that it makes sense for Tashs to be provoking Armus at the end of the episode instead of Picard. The difference being that Picard walked away fron the encounter and in my version Tasha would not have. She would have been trying to provoke Armus and in so doing she saves Troi but before the Enterprise can beam Tasha back up, Armus kills her. She sacrificed herself to save Troi.

[@thexalon]

My summary of this episode: "Oh my god, they killed Tasha!" "You bastards!"

[@permeus2nd]

When I’m gaming I have two level of play #1is the relaxed easygoing able to talk (aka most of the time) #2 is BUSY!!! Because that’s normal the results of trying to talk to me, 2 only happens in PVP (hearthstone or something where I’m not just out damaging something) or epic boss fights so i alway found it funny when someone is panicking but describing everything their doing when most people would be nope nope nope or errrrrrrreereerrrgggggha. So out of all of TNG there are few episodes that stick in my head, this was one of them, the blueguill going to the admiral was another and best of both worlds is the other, this stuck in my head as it’s really uncommon for a main cast member to die this was my first big death. Ied have liked if every so often when they have there card games the was an empty seat at lest for a while.

[@jef_3006]

I was surprised they didn’t try to split up and go around opposite sides of Armus. Maybe they could’ve got one group around. Certainly I would’ve tried that before thinking of jumping. The episode actually is pretty good. It’s such a shame it ended a character with so much potential. The Tasha and Data romance would’ve been awesome. As villains go, the friendly neighborhood skin here is the perfect one for Troi. It’s a shame we’ll never see such again. Actually this whole episode is a list of, “That was fantastic, shame it’ll never go anywhere.” Still, that’s better than a lot of Season 1 TNG. And granted, Picard’s balls will remain

[@Threesixtyci]

I always figured he was part of the Q.... the solid waste of their power. Umm... Pretty sure when they do this to an actor.... they do it on purpose as punishment... as in oh you want off the show? Then bang your character is dead. Same as they did to Charlie Sheen with his show. I mean they went to the extreme with that kill off...

[@dornravlin]

Im 26 not looking forward to 31

[@mygaffer]

TNG season one isn't bad, it just isn't as good as seasons to come.

[@timriggins70]

Main characters do everything trope.

[@Infernal460]

"...90..."

[@orvilleredenpiller338]

Oh. And then Yar dies. 😆

[@MetroidHatchling]

Ive been watching through TNG again and watching these alongside because it makes it much more fun. With exception to the sick bay scene and the last scene, I really didn't like this episode. It felt (like a number of season 1 episodes have felt to me so far) like a pretty mediocre TOS episode. I guess my problem with it is I found Armus to be really uninteresting and he felt to me at least, a bit cartoonish, like an annoying cartoon villain. It felt hard to take it seriously and I found it to be kind of boring for the most part. Yet again another seemingly near omnipotent being that can defy physics and the enterprise is pretty much helpless against it. While killing off a main character there did serve to legitimize it's threat somewhat, it felt pretty cheap. I think a better way to make Yarr's death happen wouldve been for her to die at the hands of a long term adversary like the romulans or the ferengi, if they wanted to make them threatening then that's an option. It could serve as something in the background for further contact with those races. I think it's okay that her death wasnt a big episode centric event as it's still so early in the show but if it couldve been served for something longer lasting, even if it's just psychological for the viewer, rather than being slapped by a tar monster we never see again, i think that would've been a lot better. The funeral was really well done though. It felt properly emotional and i actually felt invested in the scene unlike the rest of the episode.

[@phillip.martin-cyber]

@Lorerunne, younger than 30.

[@redpillfreedom6692]

Gonna have to disagree on Armus on a technical level. I know they did their best with what they had available, but Armus still looks laughably fake even for 1988. He would have been passable for the Original Series.

[@petercarrick2678]

you all mental aged 4 adults

[@theendistheend123]

Yar's death WAS significant ....but not until "yesterdays enterprise." Yar went back in time BECAUSE her alternate death was meaningless. I actually loved how they killed her. It made it real. Its like a good war movie. I guy dies because ONE of those bullets wizzing by all the main characters suddenly clips them in the head, and thats it. dead. gone.

[@Dlytell]

Leaving Armus is a poor resolution. He was a sentient being and was created for others so they could enjoy their own perfection. Then abandoned forever. Shame Picard or Troi or even Data with his trillions of calculations per second could not have helped Ammus end his suffering. Oddly hopeless for Star Trek.Reminded me of Lazarus in TOS Alternative Factor which eas equally a poor resolution

[@oakleysierney1918]

I agree. Leaving someone to suffer FOREVER. We can't even begin to understand how cruel that is.

[@JV-xf9ry]

This episode is crucial to the success of TNG and future Trek projects. Crosby was a useless character because Crosby isn’t a very good actor. I was glad when they wrote her off. And it gave Worf (Dorn) a chance to expand his role and become a fan favorite for all time. Crosby was constantly over-acting her scenes to the point of being annoying. Even in her cameo appearances in future seasons she demonstrated how much behind the others in her acting progression. Every time she appeared as a guest on the show she was annoying and actually detracted from the shows she appeared in. If she could actually act with competency, how much better would Yesterday’s Enterprise or Unification have been? She made those episodes interesting, but she was obviously not as good as the cast around her. I know this will upset many die hard fans, but if you view her performances objectively you have to agree that she was not very good and showed no signs of improvement. The rest of the cast improved their performances dramatically. Not all of it is the fault of the writers.