In "The Outcast" the Enterprise helps an androgynous race locate a missing shuttlecraft. While on the mission, Riker falls for one of these beings who wants to identify as female, something that would put her in grave danger on her home world. When the two form a relationship, her government steps in and puts her through "reprogramming" to "fix" her. Riker tries a daring rescue attempt.
At the time, this was obviously an allegory on homosexuality. Now that society has (mostly) accepted this and moved on, we now have another culture war on our hands: non-binary individuals. It's amazing how topical this episode still is viewed in that light. It feels ahead of its time in that respect.
I'm disheartened to find this episode rated so low. It's a really, really solid episode! People only complain about Star Trek being "too preachy" when it makes them feel uncomfortable in a certain way. The show has always tried to be ahead of the curve and sometimes that's going to alienate some people with more conservative values.
But here we have what I find to be a beautiful love story with a tragic ending. The reprogramming is still something that many people in the world still have to undergo today and it's absolutely sickening that this is still going on in 2020. Let people be what and who they want to identify as... That's what Star Trek would want.
Side note: I wish the androgynous race would have been males like Frakes originally wanted. That turns this into an instant 10 stars... But they pull their punch slightly and I downgraded them accordingly.
At the time, this was obviously an allegory on homosexuality. Now that society has (mostly) accepted this and moved on, we now have another culture war on our hands: non-binary individuals. It's amazing how topical this episode still is viewed in that light. It feels ahead of its time in that respect.
I'm disheartened to find this episode rated so low. It's a really, really solid episode! People only complain about Star Trek being "too preachy" when it makes them feel uncomfortable in a certain way. The show has always tried to be ahead of the curve and sometimes that's going to alienate some people with more conservative values.
But here we have what I find to be a beautiful love story with a tragic ending. The reprogramming is still something that many people in the world still have to undergo today and it's absolutely sickening that this is still going on in 2020. Let people be what and who they want to identify as... That's what Star Trek would want.
Side note: I wish the androgynous race would have been males like Frakes originally wanted. That turns this into an instant 10 stars... But they pull their punch slightly and I downgraded them accordingly.