Synopsis: Ensigns Mariner and Boimler are tasked with representing Starfleet in a recruitment booth at a job fair on Tulgana IV, while on Cerritos Ensign Rutherford is confronted by a younger version of his personality.
This episode can be seen as illustrations of how the conscious ego and unconscious operate differently in our psyches.
In “Reflections” Ensign Beckett Mariner and Ensign Bradward (Brad) Boimler are assigned to recruit potential Starfleet candidates at a job fair on Tulgana IV. Boimler, who normally follows commands exactly, is deeply affected by the taunts from the person in the adjacent Archeologist Guild booth, a former Starfleet officer, Petra Aberdeen, and blows up in anger. The job fair attendees, who earlier had responded to Aberdeen’s mocking, now respond to Boimler’s angry confidence, and start signing up to join Starfleet. Meanwhile, aboard Cerritos, after Ensign D’Vana Tendi tries to repair Ensign Samanthan (Sam) Rutherford’s implant, another younger version of Rutherford appears. Rutherford is knocked out, and after Rutherford loses consciousness, in his psyche the younger, more instinctual Rutherford and the older, more rational current Rutherford fight it out to determine which one will have control over his body. The current version of Rutherford wins, but in the process of confronting the younger version of himself he discovers a secret from his past.
In this episode there are at least two illustrations of how the conscious ego and the unconscious have different ways of operating in each of our psyches. The most obvious is when the more instinctual pre-implant Rutherford confronts the more rational post-implant Rutherford, which although uncomfortable, allows Rutherford to discover a truth about himself. Another example is when Boimler, who almost always tries to act in a rational way to increase his chances to advance in Starfleet, lets his emotions lose, and the individuals at the job fair respond as an emotional truth is revealed. In both these examples, we see how the conscious ego and the unconscious have different ways of perceiving information and reacting to it. We also see that the best results happen when both the ego and the unconscious work together. This can be analogized to how when the conscious ego acknowledges and integrates bits of unconscious material into itself, it becomes stronger and the psyche becomes more whole.
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