compassion | "darmok", Star Trek: TNG

Why This Matters

This is my absolute favorite Star Trek episode, and I find it poignant and important on many different levels:

Character Development: Picard

We see Picard a bit out of his element as a leader, struggling to make peaceful contact while having absolutely no basis of translation from which to work. For all the Federation's technology, all their universal translators, this is one linguistic problem he has to dig his way through just as we do in real life--piece by piece, learning from each encounter, wanting to communicate so badly and not being able to make much headway at first.

He also learns in this episode that even though he was not completely successful in bridging the gap between the Federation and the Children of Tama, his honest, compassionate attempt was honorable in itself. The Tamarians will likely carry home the story of "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel" and incorporate it into their society, an example of two people coming together and doing their best, making great strides forward even at great personal risk.

Importance of Non-Verbal Communication

This episode shows the importance of non-verbal communication in order to understand intent. It's lucky that the Tamarians see smiles as friendly, for instance, when they could easily see them as aggressive. We often perform and understand body language, gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions without much conscious thought, and so these things underpin our words and assist with social interactions. Because Picard and Dathon can both read each other in non-verbal ways, their communication is made much smoother, because they both quickly learn they can trust each other.

Not only does this show how the characters in the story rely on non-verbal communication, it also illustrates the craft of acting most beautifully. Each of the actors playing Tamarians, plus Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, have to act with non-verbal communication alone--I mean, how do you create your character and deliver dialogue well when your words seem like nonsense? While I am not an actor and can't answer that question, I see how their skill helps to produce this beautiful episode, in which communication without actual words is key.

Teaching Language (and Culture) Through Story

The story takes a little time to deconstruct how language is made--we see Troi and Data working through mythology and history to piece together the strange references being made. As I watched, I also began to examine how so many of my language choices come from the same kinds of references; I basically talk in historical and mythological memes. (Many like-minded people on the Internet have commented on this phenomenon--see the links just below this section!)

This demonstrates the creation and evolution of linguistics/culture in a more approachable way, and it becomes something like a puzzle to solve rather than an esoteric concept only reserved for textbooks. (I am also fascinated by the rich culture and mythology we see in the brief flashes of Tamarian dialogue, and would love to see this expounded upon!)

Well-Written Character Responses

I appreciate how each of the Enterprise characters has a matching response to the unique crisis, showing a deep understanding of each character and their background.

For instance, Worf moves right into battle mode and assumes the Tamarians wish to make war, which, given his life experience and culture, makes perfect sense. Data, however, approaches the language issue as a problem to be solved, as is logical for an android with more neutral thinking patterns. The unusual work pairing of Counselor Troi and Data in a few scenes is a particularly brilliant writing decision--Troi's expertise with the human condition, emotions, psychology, and stories complements Data's expertise with patterns, reasoning, logic, and systems of information, and together they begin to crack the Tamarian code.

We also see that Riker reacts similarly to Worf, but with more restraint; he's concerned with Picard's safety and the ship's safety above all, but he also doesn't want to start a war if he can help it. His character experiences a little growth here as well as he finds his own footing as temporary leader of the crew. And Picard meets this most personal of crises with the investigator's mind and diplomatic skill that helps him throughout the series, while also learning that the emotional sensibilities necessary for leading people also helps him uncover meaning when communicating with the Tamarian captain. All of the characters react as naturally and three-dimensionally as we would expect, given their strengths, cultures, and personalities, and I find that helps the story itself feel more realistic as a result.

Beauty and Triumph of Learning

I love the Tamarian's exclamation of "Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" because there are so many of these moments in teaching--when someone finally understands, there's exhilaration and joy, a bond that forms there almost instantly, and more learning can take place after that first burst of understanding.

In many ways, this is a teaching experience between two compassionate leaders, both willing to do anything to build this bridge between their peoples, and for once, Picard is the one who is learning instead of teaching as he so often does in the series. I've been drawn to these sorts of moments since I was a child--excerpts from The Miracle Worker were some of my favorite reading as a child, especially the moment when Anne Sullivan finally helps the blind and deaf Helen Keller understand the word "water" through demonstration and finger-spelling. (The scene depicted in the linked video clip is a joyful "Sokath" moment, indeed!) Even though the path to learning may be difficult and non-linear, it is rewarding, as this episode teaches us.

Communication as Connection

This episode's emotional arc is about connection--about that most basic social need of all humans--and it shows that without patience, compassion, trial and error, and forgiveness (for both self and others), connection just won't happen. It takes a person continuing to reach out time and again, realizing the other person is probably struggling just as much, and being okay with failing a lot (and maybe never really succeeding).

In our current global culture made possible by the Internet, we need this kind of thoughtful communication more than ever, but it's also harder than ever; this episode of Star Trek: TNG illustrates the skills of connection so beautifully and simply that it's inspirational. Even though Picard and Dathon do not solve the communication difficulty between their two species in one encounter, the groundwork is still laid for further development, so it cannot be called a failure. So many things in life begin this way--as not quite a success but not a failure--and normalizing this is important to mental health AND our continued connections with one another.

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