The Loss

This eposode grates. The only reason this gets up to a 5 for me is the half of the run time that doesn't feature Counsellor Troi is decent. My biggest problem is Troi resigns as soon as she is in trouble. Aren't Starfleet officers made of sterner stuff? The 'woe is me' narrative might be aiming for empathy, but fails miserably. Picard should have accepted Troi's resignation and dropped her at the nearest starbase.

As has already been noted my many, this episode is marred by Troi's self-absorbed whining, but I blame the writers and not Sirtis. We the audience get the irony of the counselor dealing with something that she would normally counsel others on, but we don't need to be beat over the head with it. If the writers had used even the slightest modicum of subtlety in the way they portrayed Troi handling her loss, the episode would have been so much more effective. It's a shame because it was a concept worth exploring, but it was ruined by ham-fisted writing.

Having said that, the episode was not without entertainment value. My son and I have been re-watching the series on Netflix and we literally laughed out loud at Troi's over-the-top petulance and complete lack of self-awareness. I think my favorite may have been the meeting in the observation lounge:

LAFORGE: It's a shame we can't tell if they're sentient.

TROI: What do you mean by that?! I'm doing the best that I can!! (Troi storms off in a huff)

But it is difficult to decide because sickbay was terrific as well:

CRUSHER: If our positions were reversed, what would you tell me?

TROI: If our positions were reversed, I wouldn't have been in here treating skinned elbows while you were lying passed out on your office floor. I'd have been there a lot sooner. Perhaps in time to prevent this from ever happening! (Deanna storms off to her own quarters and marches in, fists clenched.)

Priceless!

We would rate this episode a solid 8 for unintended comedy, but I can't give it more than a 4 on its own merit.

I have no problem with Deanna Troi going into severe depression when she loses her empathic Betazoid powers after some kind of energy surge. She suddenly realizes that the greatest gift she has has disappeared. I could have accepted her desperation had the plot evolved a bit and time had passed. It's almost as if they were thinking we need to have actual time end in a few hours. For heaven's sake, there are so many physical conditions that take a couple days to heal, like getting your sight back after a blinding flash, or temporary paralysis after a fall. Had she gone into this deep place a month afterward, it might have been more believable. As it is, she begins to attack her friends and whine to her patients. Even in the imaginary world of Star Trek, her responses are portrayed as childish at best. She is also the person who extends comfort to others. How can she be so short sighted. After some quite strong episodes and one clinker, it just doesn't work for me.

The Enterprise is caught in a strange and powerful gravitational pull that it is unable to escape from. At the same time, Counsellor Troi suddenly loses her empathic abilities and struggles to adapt.

As allegories go, this episode is quite heavy-handed as it obviously deals with the impact and mentality of those experiencing disability. Sirtis' performance is solid but the narrative makes her come across as extremely arrogant and even unlikeable. The show also doesn't do a great job of explaining the strange two-dimensional creatures effecting the Enterprise or why their appearance should affect Troi the way it does. It's well intended but could benefit from smarter writing.

Following an encounter with an unknown entity, Counsellor Troi loses her empathetic ability.

This is mediocre episode that has more good aspects than bad, mainly due to some decent performances.

The plot has two distinct threads. It follows Deanna coping with the loss of her powers, whilst it presents a sci-fi angle with the bridge crew dealing with a 2D life form. Neither are particularly memorable but I prefer the scenes involving Deanna.

We see her fall apart after the loss of her powers. It is a bit frustrating to see her character written this way, but other characters who try to help are written well, such as Riker and Guinan. In doing so we have an interesting perspective on the level of control that her ability provide when dealing with people. I also like the notion of her considering her human-half to be inferior.

Visually there is nothing particularly memorable on display, but all performances are strong. Marina Sirtis is very good considering how many temper tantrums she has to throw and how annoying her character is written. Jonathan Frakes, Caryn Johnson, Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner support well.