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Synopsis: The Enterprise encounters two colonies from twenty-second century Earth. In “Up the Long Ladder” the Enterprise first comes across the Bringloidi people, descendants from an Earth space exploration from the twenty-second century. The Bringloidi have assumed simple ways and have settled into caves on their planet, but they need to be rescued from there… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 18: “Up the Long Ladder”

Synopsis: Chief Engineer La Forge is taken hostage after the Enterprise responds to a distress signal from an alien vessel while Captain Picard and Ensign Crusher are on a shuttlecraft mission to Starbase 515. Early on in the episode “Samaritan Snare” Dr. Katherine Pulaski accuses Captain Jean-Luc Picard of having an ego, which of course… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 17: “Samaritan Snare”

Synopsis: Q returns to the Enterprise and sends the ship to a distant part of the galaxy where she encounters the Borg for the first time. In “Q Who” Captain Jean-Luc Picard tells Q “you’re next of kin to chaos” (Hurley & Bowman, 1989), which is something that the rational Logos-driven conscious ego abhors. It… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 16: “Q Who”

Synopsis: While resetting the Enterprise’s scanners, Lt. Commander Data receives a distress signal from a young female humanoid. In “Pen Pals” it is Lt. Commander Data, the completely Logos-driven android officer who requires the other crew members to live up to human Eros-driven emotions. Data here on the surface appears to be violating the Prime… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 15: “Pen Pals”

Synopsis: Commander Riker is confronted by an opportunity to captain his own vessel and a visit from his estranged father. In the mythologically named “The Icarus Factor,” when his long-lost father arrives to announce to his son that he has been given the opportunity to captain his own ship, Commander William Riker is forced to… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 14: “The Icarus Factor”

Synopsis: The crew of the Enterprise comes across one of its own shuttlecrafts from six hours in the future. In “Time Squared” the danger that the Enterprise and her crew face is that of a time vortex, can be seen as how an individual experiences the enantiodromia that occurs in the process of individuation. Individuation… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 13: “Time Squared”

Synopsis: The crew of the Enterprise investigates a report of a strange vessel in the atmosphere of a planet in a previously unmapped solar system. In “The Royale” viewers can see the physical manifestation of how the unconscious may try to speak to an individual through dreams and fantasy images. Dreams and fantasy images are… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 12: “The Royale”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is gripped by an advanced ancient computer program. “Contagion” is about the health of the Enterprise’s computer systems, and in that regard, the vessel of the Enterprise can be seen as analogous to the human psyche. This is especially true when it comes to the Enterprise’s engines, which utilize a blend of… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 11: “Contagion”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is tasked with providing transportation for a young female alien back to her homeworld in order to bring peace to it. In my last post, I mentioned the concept of anima or animus projection onto another individual as the way in which individuals fall in love. In “The Dauphin” this is manifested… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 10: “The Dauphin”

Synopsis: When Lt. Commander Data refuses to be disassembled for an experiment he feels is unadvisable, Captain Picard defends his choice in a legal hearing. The title of this episode “The Measure of a Man,” while it might be alluding to a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is an unfortunately… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9: “The Measure of a Man”