“Eye of the Beholder” is episode eighteen of season seven of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Enterprise is losing containment in the starboard nacelle tube and Geordi reports that control of the plasma injectors has been locked out. Plasma starts venting from the nacelle. Worf and Riker have almost reached the nacelle tub and the captain orders the exterior hull plating released in case they have to jettison the core. Once there, Riker and Worf are told by one officer that the other locked out the controls and stepped onto the walkway. She’s afraid if she tries to get closer, he will jump through the forcefield. Not a great forcefield by the sound of it. Riker speaks to the officer by name, Dan. Dan says he didn’t want to do it but he saw them and they laughed at him. Riker is trying to talk him down and Worf has unlocked the controls, but it will still take time for the plasma to vent and Ben jumps in and is vaporised.
Worf, Riker and Troi and with Captain Picard in his ready room. Worf tells Riker it wasn’t his fault. Riker says it was like Ben Kwan didn’t recognise him. Riker saw him the other day and he seemed fine. Troi saw him during the crew evaluations and he was looking forward to being posted to the starboard nacelle tube.
Over the years, the captain has had to notify many parents about the loss of loved ones, but never before a suicide. He wants an investigation to at least offer Kwan’s parents an explanation. Worf suggests he may have left a message. The captain orders Worf and Troi to piece together Kwan’s last few days.
Geordi contacts the captain with a damage assessment; they will be under way within the hour. The captain tells him that the medical situation has worsened and they’ve been given permission by Starfleet to exceed the warp speed limitations from “Force of Nature”. In engineering. Data talks to Geordi about why someone would deliberately terminate their existence. Geordi’s explanation results in Data – who for some reason is mirroring Geordi – explaining that during his early life he had issues with forming new connections and thought it would be safer and easier to shut down and start again. Effectively, death. But he decided the problems were challenges to overcome, not obstacles to be avoided.
Worf and Troi head to Kwan’s quarters. They find a photo of Ensign Calloway, a medtech, and Kwan’s last personal log, in which he talks about spending some time with Mandy. No message, no hint he’d be about to kill himself.
Troi speaks to Mandy Calloway. The only issue that she can think of is that Dan’s superior, Lt. Nara, seemed threatened by him. He didn’t have mood swings and was very sensitive to other people’s emotions. Troi says Kwan was half Napean, and Napeans are partially empathic. He may have inherited some of his mother’s abilities.
Lt. Nara is the other crewmember that Worf and Riker encountered in the nacelle tube. She speaks to Troi and she didn’t notice anything wrong. And it seems her and Kwan’s working relationship became fine; he had a lot of ideas to start with, not all of them good. Kwan helped build the ship. Troi heads to the forcefield where Kwan died and is suddenly overcome by something. Nara asks if she’s alright. Troi doesn’t know.
In sickbay, Troi explains she was overcome by emotions, fear, rage, panic, that didn’t come from anyone. She was alone. Dr Crusher wonders if the fact that Kwan was partially empathic had anything to do with it. The emotions are consistent with suicide; maybe he left an empathic echo. Troi has elevated levels of a neurotransmitter involved in empathy. The doctor recommends she waits 3-4 hours before trying again. Riker wants someone to accompany Troi. Worf volunteers.
Worf arrives at Troi’s quarters; she hasn’t found anything in Kwan’s logs. Worf asks if her empathic abilities always involve a physical response. The ones she’s sure of, yes. Troi explains her Betazed grandfather used to tell her stories telepathically as they sat by the fire. Now, when she sits by that fire, she feels the same. Worf agrees that there are things that don’t understand that exist nonetheless.
Worf head to Ten Forward where he speaks to Riker. It sounds that Worf is considering Troi romantically – in “Parallels” he did discover they were married in some universes – but seems incapable of getting to the point. Meanwhile, Troi definitely senses something, and something not good. And it seems it’s affecting her like it did Kwan.