Assimilation (Star Trek: Picard, S2 E3) was recommended by Hauke he/him, who said: While it’s very hard to pull out individual episodes of Picard (especially the first two seasons) on my current rewatch this one stood out to me.

Having narrowly escaped the horrible Confederation of the alternate 2400, the crew travels back to 2024 to correct the timeline. “Let’s see what has been lost in the wake of your fear” Q whispers to Picard again as they jump to the past.

Assimilation sets up the character arcs for the rest of the season.

Raffi is racked with guilt and anger for Elnor’s death early in the episode.

Seven, gets to experience not being met with fear since the timeline hop means she was never assimilated.

Rios immediately gets into some good trouble meeting the charming doctor Teresa.

And Jurati, still racked with guilt over killing Maddox in season one is doing something difficult and dangerous: impressing the Borg Queen (played in this iteration by the magnetic Anne Wershing who sadly passed away in early 2023).

Fear, Hope, guilt, forgiveness. Picard season two is about all these things, deeply personal to both Picard and Stewart, and it doesn’t get enough credit.

“ Move backward to go forward. Shatter to mend. The past is now.”

Assimilation first aired on March 17, 2022, written by Kiley Rossetter & Christopher Monfette, and directed by Lea Thompson

Seven distracts the Magistrate long enough for the group to overpower and kill him and his officers. The ship comes under attack, and the Queen takes advantage of the situation to directly connect herself to the ship's computers. She destroys their pursuers and slingshots the ship around the sun, creating a wormhole to 2024. She tells Picard that they must find "The Watcher" in Los Angeles who knows what Q changed to cause the new timeline. The ship crashes near Chateau Picard in France, and the Queen diverts all power to sustain herself. Elnor dies of his wounds, and Raffi angrily blames Picard before departing with Seven and Rios to start searching for the Watcher. Rios's transporter malfunctions and he is knocked out, waking up in a clinic that secretly treats undocumented immigrants. Before he can leave, immigration officers raid the clinic and arrest both Rios and his physician, Teresa. Rios's communicator is left behind. Despite Picard's warnings, Agnes connects her mind to the Queen and learns the exact location of the Watcher before she can be assimilated, impressing the Queen.

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The Ascent (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S5 E9) was recommended by Matt Kennedy he/him, who said:

Hi guys! This is my first recommendation - I've been listening for a while now and I adore the show, and it's taken me a long time to decide which episode I want to recommend.

And it's got to be The Ascent. This is a wonderful showcase for the "enemies with benefits" Quark and Odo. And the reason I love this episode is because, as someone who is firmly on Team Space Goblin, this is one of the few times where Odo gets called out for his bulls*** - I always scream and cheer when Quark calls him a fascist to his face. But this is classic Trek, because as much as they hate each other they have to learn to work together in order to survive. The B plot parralels this, with Jake and Nog learning to live together as roomates, while Sisko finds an unexpected ally in Rom. This episode is about being open to each other's differences and for that to lead to acceptance.

The Ascent first aired on November 25, 1996, written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and directed by Allan Kroeker

Forced to crash-land on a desolate planet, Odo and Quark must climb a mountain to transmit a distress signal. Jake and Nog (temporarily back at DS9) find sharing quarters isn't as enjoyable as they thought it would be.

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Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus (Star Trek: Lower Decks, S3 E8) was recommended by Alex Russet, he/him , who said:

This is one of my favorite episodes of this series alongside the finale for that season (Shax's finest hour was amazing.) The central conflict of Boimler trying to find meaning to life was fascinating to watch. Fun action scenes, a couple pokes at us fanfic writers not understanding story flow or proper exposition (I like to think I improved in that department... I hope...) and of course, Captain Sulu cameos is always a plus. Overall, a fun episode with a thoughtful central conflict. Hoping we see more of Will Boimler. As of me writing this Halloween 2024, there's still time.

Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus first aired on October 13, 2022, written by Ben Rodgers, and directed by Michael Mullen

Boimler's holodeck movie sequel tries to live up to the original.

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Tapestry (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S6 E15) was recommended by Bill Ricardi - he/him, who said: Tapestry is all about regrets, and the mistakes that become part of who we are, for better or for worse. As an older fan, I often look back on my own life and curse the moments when I handled something badly or missed an apparent opportunity. But this episode reminds all of us that the wisdom of age is sometimes just hindsight seen through rainbow tinted lenses. Tapestry teaches us that we are who we are partly BECAUSE of our flaws. And that's okay.

Tapestry first aired on February 15, 1993, written by Ronald D. Moore, and directed by Les Landau

An accident kills Picard. He finds an afterlife with Q analyzing his past choices.

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Latent Image (Star Trek: Voyager, S5 E11) was recommended by Tana he/they, who said: I always love when Trek does a moral dilemma episode. Sometimes they pull it off, sometimes not so great. This one is probably a mix of both to be honest.

The Doctor is sentient and sapient, but he’s still a program in many ways and sometimes a program when pushed so far beyond its limits breaks, but is he alive and free willed enough to push beyond that?

Latent Image first aired on January 20, 1999, written by story by Eileen Connors, Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, teleplay by Joe Menosky, and directed by Mike Vejar

The Doctor finds out that some of his memories have been blocked.

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The Naked Time (Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), S1 E6) was recommended by Kaleb, he/him, who said: While it definitely isn't an unloved episode, after you did the TNG version it only seemed right to recommend it. It's also the episode that made me fall in love with both Star Trek more broadly and Spock in particular; I even find Riley’s incessant singing to be deeply charming. Everyone's acting is great, from comedic to serious to tragic.

It's such a smart way to introduce these characters within the first few episodes, by exposing the conflicts and fantasies beneath the surface. Even if it means showing a severe lack of safety protocol to get there!

The Naked Time first aired on September 29, 1966, written by John D. F. Black, and directed by Marc Daniels

A strange, intoxicating infection, which lowers the crew's emotional inhibitions, spreads throughout the Enterprise. As the madness spreads, the entire ship is endangered.[2]

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Carbon Creek (Star Trek: Enterprise, S2 E2) was recommended by Bryan Love(Blackrain), who said: Being your resident LDS(Mormon) listener, family history or knowing about one's ancestors, their stories is something that is important to me. T'Pol tells a story of her grandmother to Archer and Trip. How it was her grandmother who crash landed on earth, that was the real first contact between humans and Vulcans in 1957.

Re-watching this episode years later from its original airing from back in 2002. I now understand how the stories or history of one's family can be very important, even if their only important to you. Hearing about how my one grandfather chased down all the boys in his high school that made fun of his short height, and one by one lifted each of them over his head into a garbage car. Grandpa might of been small, but he was strong from working on the farm his whole life. Little family stories to give you pride about your family.

Carbon Creek first aired on September 14, 1993, written by S : Rick Berman & Brannon Braga & Dan O'Shannon, T : Chris Black, and directed by James A. Contner

Sub-Commander T'Pol relates the tale of a Vulcan crew stranded on Earth in the 1950s.

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Spock Amok (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1 E5) was recommended by Lauren Rivers she/her, who said: Two words. Enterprise Bingo. I seriously hope that the writer of this episode got a bonus for that. Casually mentioned in an earlier episode, now we finally find out about this little game played by the junior officers, fully demonstrated by Una and La'an, the ships resident 'fun killers'.

I love when Star Trek has fun with itself, and this episode does such a great job with it in every aspect. From giving Dr. M'Benga a hard time for his awesome hat to the awesome subplot with the Rongovians, this not only makes me laugh but gives every single member of the cast the chance to shine.

I also love this episode for giving us 'The Scorch', a hull panel on the outside of the ship signed by the crew. It's a great episode all around and seeing Pike finally figure out what the Rongovians are after is supremely satisfying.

While I love every episode of Strange New Worlds, this one just fills me with unbridled joy every time.

Spock Amok first aired on June 2, 2022, written by Henry Alonso Myers & Robin Wasserman, and directed by Rachel Leiterman

A personal visit causes a comedy of errors during Spock & Pike's crucial negotiations with an unusual alien species.

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