Synopsis: Starfleet Command falls for a Cardassian ploy that allows Captain Picard to be captured by them.
In this episode viewers witness an illustration of the dangers of being motivated only by the Logos-driven rational ego, without taking into consideration any other potentialities. Depth psychology teaches us that what makes the psyche most unwell is one-sidedness, and one-sidedness is at the core of Starfleet Command’s decisions here.
In “Chain of Command, Part I” Vice-Admiral Alynna Nechayev arrives on the Enterprise to relieve Captain Jean-Luc Picard of command of the vessel and to order him to lead a dangerous secret mission on the planet Celtris III, which is in Cardassian space. Picard is given no option, nor is the crew of the Enterprise given any consideration or time to adjust to her new Captain, Edward Jellico. Jellico and Starfleet are only listening to that part of themselves that is Logos-driven, the heroic ego part of the psyche that must act to defend the galaxy, no matter what the cost.
There is some resistance to the new orders from the crew. At various times in the episode Counselor Deanna Troi approaches Jellico, trying to make him understand that he needs to expand his awareness of the situation, but each time she is ignored and Jellico continues in his militaristic and one-sided manner.
When Picard is captured at the end of the episode, it is revealed that this entire operation had been a carefully devised lure, in order for Picard to be brought to them. How easily Starfleet Command was fooled into believing that it had to act heroically, when in fact it would have been wiser to have considered other options.
Original post created 4 November 2021
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