‘SILICON AVATAR’ (TNG)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This ‘Star Trek: TNG’ episode is decent and well-written. But it’s not what I call a great episode. It features some moral dilemmas and the outcome of this TV tale is shocking compared to what I expect.
This episode features the return of the Crystalline Entity. This was an alien that the Enterprise encountered in ‘Datalore’. The Crystalline Entity attacked the Omicron Theta colony Data came from.
In the episode, Commander Riker, Data and Dr. Crusher are visiting the Melona Four colony. There, Riker begins to form a romantic attachment to Susan Diol as Carmen Davila. Or…it could be sexual. 😀
Anyway, the Crystalline Entity comes to attack the Melona Four colony as it begins to tear up the planet surface. Riker, Data and Beverly get the colonists to evacuate to nearby caves and protect them.
Despite getting everyone to safety, two of the colonists, including Carmen Davila who tries to save an old man’s life get killed, during the onslaught. Thankfully the metal in the caves protects the colonists.
It does feel tense when the Crystalline Entity comes to attack out of the blue in the episode. The Enterprise crew have encountered this thing before and have no idea of its motives. Will that change?
Thankfully the Enterprise rescues Riker, Data, Beverly and the colonists from Melona Four. We have a scene where our heroes see the devastation caused by the Crystalline Entity and it looks ravaged indeed.
Afterwards, the Enterprise sets out to pursue the Entity. Not sure why they didn’t do that following ‘Datalore’, but whatever. The Enterprise soon gets some help from xenobiologist named Dr. Kila Marr.
Ellen Geer guest stars as Kila Marr. She has been studying the Crystalline Entity for most of her life. She once had a sixteen-year-old son who had lived on Omicron Theta and she does not trust Mr. Data.
Dr. Marr knows Data’s brother Lore assisted the Crystalline Entity in destroying the Omicron Theta colony. She believes that Data is working with the Entity which caused the destruction of Melona Four.
Captain Picard gets Dr. Marr to work closely with Data in solving the search for the Entity. Dr. Marr isn’t happy working with Data, but Picard is determined to see whether she’s capable of doing her job.
The scenes where Data tries to work with Dr. Marr and she outwardly accuses him for conspiring with the Entity is pretty mesmerizing to watch. At the end of the scene, Marr is determined to expose Data.
Now you’d think that’s what happens in the episode with Marr constantly accusing Data before finding out her mistake that he’s not conspiring with the Entity. But that isn’t what happens as I would like it.
Instead we have a plot where Marr begins to gradually befriend Data and slowly grow to trust him, especially when she finds out he possesses the memories of the colonists. This includes her own son’s.
Now I’m not saying this is bad plot to go with in the episode. But it makes Marr trusting Data too quickly. I think this TV episode would’ve benefited with more suspicion and accusation from Dr. Marr.
Eventually, Picard reveals his plan that he intends not to destroy the Entity but rather to communicate with it. Dr. Marr is outraged and sceptical of this approach as she believes that the Entity to be a killer.
Now this is something I admire in Picard. Normally you’d expect the Enterprise crew to go out and kill the Entity. I’m sure Captain Kirk would go with this approach. But Picard is a lot more diplomatic here.
Riker even questions Picard’s intentions to communicate with the Entity rather than kill it, considering what happened to Carmen Davilla. But Data and Marr manage to find a way in communicating with it.
And it works. This seems hopeful as the Enterprise may have found a peaceful solution to whole problem with the Entity. But sadly, Marr’s loss of her son overwhelms her and she destroys the Entity.
‘Silicon Avatar’ is a decent ‘TNG’ episode in the series. It’s not great and it could’ve been better. I like the connection formed between Data and Dr. Matt in the episode and how it finishes rather somberly.
‘Silicon Avatar’ (TNG) rating – 7/10
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