‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Realm of Fear’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It has often been said that it is imperative that we face our fears, and it makes sense as to why that saying is such an important part of our vernacular. Because time and time again, people on planet Earth have come to learn that our fears eventually control us and sometimes paralyze us if we do not face them and deal with them. But despite knowing that standing tall in front of what scares us is a necessary evil, that doesn’t make the actual act easy in the slightest. Because what we fear is there, in the raw and overcoming it will indeed take guts and resolve that we aren’t sure we have in that moment and really, the struggle that comes about when we face our fears is top of mind today, simply because it serves as the focal theme of the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

A feat that ‘Realm of Fear’ accomplishes by way of a critical retrieval mission. For shortly after the U.S.S. Enterprise arrives to check in upon the U.S.S. Yosemite, they come to realize that tragedy has befallen the crew and all hands appear to be lost and therein lies the retrieval part of this tale. Wherein an away team will beam over to gather data and clues as to what happened to report back to Starfleet and well, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay is selected to be part of that away team and that terrifies him to no end. Because it turns out, he cannot stand the transporter, and this mission requires that he use it and that outright puts him into a panicked state. One that is so strong that Counselor Troi has to calm him down and pump him up to do the mission.

Which he manages to do, much to the delight of Riker and Geordi. But it doesn’t take long for Reg’s fears to take on a whole new life in this tale. Because on the return trip to the 1701-D, Barclay sees a worm-like being with a wide mouth that is eager to snack upon him in the matter stream, and well… that makes him believe that his worst fears have come true. In that, the transporter has scrambled his mind and his psyche and now he is going to fall to pieces mentally in the days to come, unless of course… he can prove otherwise. Which in turn motivates him to begin to really inspect the transporter in an up close and somewhat unhealthy manner, to see if by chance there was something else with him in the matter stream and wouldn’t you know it? His efforts to understand that which he fears, actually makes him a hero in the end.

Simply because, there is quite a lot in the matter stream. Such as beings that are alive and eager to thrive and thanks to his bravery and desire to stand in the transporter and let his friends and shipmates clean him of microscopic organisms… he receives the inspiration to closer examine those worm lookin’ things as well and in doing so… rescues some of the crew of the Yosemite. For they too decided to use the transporter to clean themselves of the microorganisms that thrive in this part of space and once their patterns degraded too low, they became something unrecognizable and likely would have perished without the help the crew. But what matters more here is that Barclay faced his fears and didn’t let them overwhelm him, even when it seemed as though they would, and that makes this a genuinely inspiring and inclusive tale when all is said and done.

However, it is the inclusive stuff that is really of note here, simply because it was quite amazing to see the crew not call Barclay ‘crazy’ or make fun of him for being afraid. Instead, they were accepting of his fears and did everything to help him, overcome them, and that’s some pretty bold stuff to find in a story that was filmed in 1992, since those kinds of attitudes toward mental health were unheard of then and are still unheard of now to a certain extent. Which makes this story quite progressive and quite powerful for certain and the show deserves a round of applause for addressing mental health issues in such a wonderful manner and well, now that this mission has come to a close, it does leave one wondering what other positive tales await us in season six and really… the only way to find out, is to continue the journey post haste. Until next time.

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