When something is described as a 'mind fuck' this is the first thing i think of. Is Riker losing his mind? Is he trapped in a mental construct of the play he is preparing for? Is he in an alien hospital? I always thought this episode could have allowed for a followup story where Troi counsels Will through the psychological trauma he has endured over his career, with the events of this episode as the center.
4. Tapestry
Everyone has those moments of self reflection, wondering what life would be like if you turned left instead of right. What if i had asked this girl out? After getting hit with an energy beam and dying Picard gets to live an important moment of this youth over. He makes different decisions. Stays out of a fight that would see him stabbed in the back, and has sex with someone he always had feelings for but originally never acted on. And we see the result... Picard's new life is completely unrewarding. He is a nobody. Someone who plays it safe.
When Picard first told the story of how he got his artificial heart to Wesley i could visualize what he was saying. We get to see it several times in this episode, the final sequence played by Patrick Stewart himself.
3. Chain of Command
Not sure what i can say about this episode that hasn't been said before. Picard is captured by the Cardassians and tortured. The Enterprise gets a new Captain and his method of command is vastly different from Picard. David Warner is great as Gul Madred. But the, David Warner is great in general. Doesn't matter if he is playing a cigarette smoking Federation Ambassador or a Klingon Chancellor. His game of cat and mouse with Picard is great to watch and at times uncomfortable. He is more than a mustache twirling villain of the week. He has layers. He talks about his family with such warmth but is capable of such cruelty.
Also this is the episode that finally put Troi in a uniform and not a catsuit.
2. The Measure of a Man
My favorite moment in this episode is Riker deactivating Data. He sits down and through his body language and facial expression you understand everything going on in his mind. He dealt Data's case a devastating blow. He may have just condemned his friend. This episode was fascinating to me as a kid. I remember thinking, why don't they just make more Datas. Guinan tells us how wrong this line of thinking is. What it would lead to.
1. All Good Things
My favorite aspect of this episode is returning to the very first episode of Next Generation. Seeing not only Chief O'Brien again but Tasha. And that skirt that Troi only wore in the pilot. I remember watching this episode when it originally aired. When the future Enterprise D decloaked i got goosebumps. I was that into it.
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