Synopsis: Admiral Picard enlists the aid of Captain Riker after receiving a message from Dr. Crusher.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of James Hillman’s acorn theory—that just as an acorn has everything inside it to become an oak tree, we have inner daimons with all the information we need to become who we are.
In “The Next Generation” in a desperate plea for assistance, Dr. Beverly Crusher sends an encoded message to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. Picard in turn asks for help from his old friend, Captain William T. Riker. Together they are able to decode the message, and devise a plan to travel to Crusher’s location in the Ryton System aboard Riker’s former command the U.S.S. Titan. When they arrive aboard the ship, they are greeted by Seven of Nine, or as her commanding officer, Captain Liam Shaw, prefers her to identify herself as, Commander Annika Hansen. Shaw refuses to aid Picard and Riker, however, once Shaw has gone to his quarters, Seven of Nine orders the ship to the Ryton System, where Picard and Riker take a shuttle to seek out Crusher’s vessel.
In this episode there are several examples of individuals who are listening to their inner daimons to decide what actions to take. Crusher knows that she can trust Picard, and Picard knows that he can trust Riker. But perhaps the most meaningful illustration of the acorn theory here can be seen through the actions of Seven of Nine. After being separated from the Borg Collective and returning from the Delta Quadrant with the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, she joined the Ferris Rangers to try to bring justice to a lawless area in space. Then she worked with Picard and became a Starfleet officer. Yet, when Shaw flatly refuses to help Picard and Riker, she becomes angry and tells Picard that she misses being able to trust her instincts, In the end, Seven of Nine does what she feels is the right thing to do, even though she knows that she is risking her commission for disobeying an order. This being true to one’s instincts can be compared to listening to one’s inner daimon, which has all the information we need to become who we are meant to be, if we only listen to it.
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