At least that's what the captain says.
The episode seems to be an allegory for a psychologist unable to crack someone's personality to get them to stop doing whatever it is that's causing problems. Somem unknown intelligence is forming on the Enterprise and taking over. When brute force doesn't work Captain Picard suggests the crew respect it and interact with it.
The plot takes center stage here by letting the communication's and conflict motifs that is Star Trek The Next Generation take center stage. That is in spite of the faux science from a white dwarf, with the crew being very static and trying to negotiate with a dream like thought process on the holodeck.
I've knocked the show a few times, and I think rightfully so, and more specifically the powers that control the creativity of the shows that all audiences watch. And this one, in spite of a more plot oriented story with some story dynamics, is still very static.
The episode proposes that a new life form that seems to pose a danger might need to be interacted with on an intellectual level, again with a lot of excuses that the ship and whatever's infecting it won't shut down the holodeck.
Things work out in the end but with no real tangible explanation. There's no explanation as to what invaded the Enterprise-D though Captain Picard gives some possible explanations as to the wherefores of how and why the thing came into being, but no real explanation as to what its reasons were, and that's lacking.
It's lacking because otherwise, like much of this show, you get these moments in the story that cannot be addressed by the crew. And that's a motif for Star Trek The Next Generation as a preparatory measure for young net users interacting with other net users from other nations or areas around the world.
In short not every conflict can be resolved, you cannot discern the motivations of things or others who are foreign to you. Did it work? Did it serve the world or society as a whole? I don't know, but I don't think so. The theme may have had some tangential application or perhaps influenced some people, but by and large media with ideas of any form can only reinforce your own personal values, unless there some truly new ground breaking philosophy, which there isn't.
The best I can say is that this episode still follows the presentational format and personal interaction motif established in the first seasons. And again, the actual presentation is non-dynamic, very much in the field of manipulative psychology, and otherwise not really intriguing no matter how it was framed story wise nor presented visually.
But, the fans ate it up. So, take that for what it is.
