‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Pen Pals’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Deep down, we all know that we would do anything for our family and our closest friends. Because those are the people that mean the world to us and have been with us through thick and thin and letting them down or leaving them to their own devices in a time of crisis, is something that would likely haunt us for the rest of our days. But one thing that we rarely ponder upon in life, is how far we would go to help a complete and utter stranger. After all, this is a world where people often believe that others will feign injury or crisis in order to harm others and sadly… that fear motivates so many to stay on the sidelines and wait for someone else to step up. 

But if taking action was one hundred percent safe, or there was minimal risk in stepping in, would we then play the hero and risk it all to save the life of someone we don’t know in the slightest? Well it’s a question that few us might ever face, which is why fiction is happy to dive into such matters for us and weigh the pros and the cons of such an act and it just so happens, that this is precisely what the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation takes the time to focus upon. For ‘Pen Pals’ sees the crew of the Enterprise enter a rough patch of space where it seems as though the universe is more or less feasting on itself since planet after planet is becoming barren from an unknown force. And while the crew looks for answers on this matter, Data receives a distress call from a nearby planet.

Which prompts him to answer of course, and that sets in motion the exploration in question. Because Data doesn’t know the young girl on this foreign world in the slightest. He only knows that she and her kind are in danger because of this strange phenomenon and well, if he and Starfleet don’t intervene and potentially break the Prime Directive in the process, everyone on her world will die. Which brings about quite the debate aboard the ship, one that focuses heavily on General Order One and one that ends with a simple decision, in that… the right thing to do is to help. After all, the Federation has the means at their disposal to save lives on a whim and well, willingly allowing for extinction to occur when there is a chance they can make a difference is simply unacceptable, and with Wesley’s help (more on that in a moment), they are able to save her and end the strange cataclysm that is caused by dilithium in this part of the galaxy.

If anything, this episode answers the question posed earlier in an epic manner, by pointing out to the audience that we should in fact, show kindness at all times and do what we can for those in need. Because while there is a risk, the reward of saving a life or helping someone in need far outweighs said risk, and it was nice to see the show hammer that home and as an added bonus, this episode also allowed for Wesley Crusher to outright shine. Because he was put in a leadership role in this tale as part of his training and it was quite cool to see him head up a survey team and learn the difficult nuances of command. Which is something he manages to master quickly, and it is a good thing that he does, since his tough decisions are what led to the cure in question and well, you simply cannot go wrong with a secondary storyline like this. Since it did a phenomenal job of breaking up the heavy debate surrounding the Prime Directive in this particular tale. 

In the end however, this really was just a solid, run of the mill TNG episode. Because despite the debates, the crew and Data really didn’t violate the Prime Directive after all. Thanks to a convenient memory wipe and they really were heroes in the end. For without their help and their expertise, everyone on that planet would have perished horribly and it is always uplifting to see this crew put morality and sheer good over anything else. Plus, this episode also serves as a learning opportunity for Data as well, since he will likely consult Captain Picard going forward when he discovers an alien being calling out into the void for help. But what matters most, is that plopping a standard tale here actually works to the audience’s advantage. Because we don’t have to think too hard about the plot or its meaning and that’s wonderful when one considers that the next episode is going to take us on one incredible ride. One full of foreshadowing and horror when the crew encounters a collective nightmare, and that is where we will pick up, next time. Until then.

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