Beyond My Power
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Nuria recounts the deaths of six Mintakans in a flood, including four children, and asks Picard if he can bring them back to life.
Picard responds firmly that resurrecting the dead is beyond his power.
Nuria questions why Picard restored Liko's life but cannot do the same for the flood victims, suggesting she may have offended him.
Picard realizes he has failed to fully communicate his limitations to Nuria, acknowledging the depth of her misunderstanding.
Nuria pleads with Picard, her expression conveying her desperation for his help, while Picard can only look back helplessly.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Desperate and pleading on the surface, mingled with righteous entitlement and protective grief for her community; oscillates between gratitude and accusatory urgency.
Nuria kneels at Picard's authority in the ready room, alternating gratitude with urgent pleading; she invokes past miracles (Liko) and offers desperate bargains, even suggesting Troi's death as rhetorical leverage to compel Picard's reversal.
- • Secure resurrection of the six deceased to restore social and emotional stability for her people
- • Leverage Picard's perceived power to obtain a tangible benefit for the Mintakans
- • Protect her status and legitimacy by producing results for her community
- • The healing of Liko proves that Picard/Starfleet can reverse death
- • Reciprocity or obligation exists between a benefactor (Picard) and those who received aid
- • Restoring the dead will heal collective trauma and preserve social order
Somber, regretful, and conflicted—externally composed but privately burdened by guilt and helplessness over the unintended consequences of earlier actions.
Picard receives Nuria's plea with growing gravity; he answers the direct request with a plain, moral refusal and then inwardly acknowledges his communicative failure, looking helpless as he recognizes the deification and misinterpretation his presence has induced.
- • Refuse a morally and practically impossible demand without escalating harm
- • Preserve the ethical limit between healing assistance and playing god
- • Clarify the difference between medical aid and miraculous resurrection
- • Resurrection of the dead is beyond Starfleet capability and his authority
- • Allowing the Mintakans to believe in his omnipotence will cause cultural contamination and harm
- • He must accept responsibility for failing to communicate limits earlier
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Troi's capture and the Mintakans' fear lead to Nuria's eventual plea to Picard for the resurrection of the dead."
"Troi's capture and the Mintakans' fear lead to Nuria's eventual plea to Picard for the resurrection of the dead."
"Nuria's plea for resurrection and Picard's realization of her misunderstanding show the culmination of her belief and his struggle to communicate their humanity."
"Nuria's plea for resurrection and Picard's realization of her misunderstanding show the culmination of her belief and his struggle to communicate their humanity."
"Picard's inability to resurrect the dead parallels Liko's eventual realization of Picard's limitations, reinforcing the theme of mortality and the rejection of divinity."
Key Dialogue
"NURIA: "Picard... you have shown me wonders I could never have imagined... and I am grateful beyond words... but might I request something for my people?""
"NURIA: "Would you bring them back to life?""
"PICARD: "That is beyond my power.""
"PICARD: "I've failed to get through to you, haven't I? Despite all my efforts...""