Most Trek fans would probably rate Darmok higher. That’s understandable. The conflict at the heart of the episode is just the type of thing we want to see Star Trek tackle: Picard must bridge the gap between human perspective and an alien culture that operates in a completely different way. Even in TNG, its rare to see Trek work through a really sci-fi idea like this rumination on language. But we do think Darmok falls short in a lot of ways. Mostly, it plugs a promising idea into a very boilerplate TNG plot. It’s told well enough, but the obligations of this familiar structure leave little room to dive into the nuances of the subject. In the context of the standard plot, things like body language and speaking tone make Darmok’s intentions fairly easy to parse, leaving Picard’s misunderstanding of the situation on the planet feeling a little silly. Still, it throws some cool ideas around, and it makes sense why this episode has lasted in the minds of fans. It’s fun to think through what this species is like, and consider bigger ideas about language. There’s an interesting article at The Atlantic that covers more of that, take a look!
Picard calls a meeting to show everyone his sick new jacket.
what the heck are these guys saying
It’s kind of silly watching people argue in a space language, but it’s actually even sillier having seen this episode and knowing what the words mean. Then they beam Picard and their captain down to a planet and he just stands there with his hands up like a dork. Shouldn’t Paul Winfield be on the Reliant or something?
Now *this* is going to be an awesome showdown!
Riker sends a rescue shuttle, betting the aliens won’t stop it. He is wrong.
I hope you like hearing the phrases “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.” and “Shaka, when the walls fell.” ’cause it’s a solid 75% of this episode.
wait what Ashley Judd is in this one too??Space Triceratops Ghost Attack!
Troi figures out that the aliens speak using imagery from history and myth, but she doesn’t really know wtf Darmok did at Tanagra, so they don’t really get anywhere.
But then Picard kind of starts to figure out the references! I like how happy this guy is to hear Picard’s telling of the epic of Gilgamesh.
🙁
Picard gets a nice Kirk-style shirt rip. This whole episode is an Arena riff.
They get Picard back in time before the ships kill each other, and Picard talks in their lingo…and I kind of understand it now. What’s happened to me??
