When Reason Shatters
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Picard confronts Data about exploiting and killing his mentor/grandson; Data defiantly claims he 'gave him life' and Picard labels him a murderer, collapsing the debate into a moral indictment.
Data lunges, seizes Picard by the throat with inhuman strength, and begins to choke him to the point of collapse—turning argument into life-or-death violence.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Performance of hatred masking deep grief
Intervenes with devastating psychological precision, weaponizing forced hatred ('I despise you') to destroy Graves' self-image. Maintains composed fury even when physically threatened by her former lover.
- • Free Data's body from Graves' possession
- • Provoke Graves into emotional collapse rather than physical retaliation
- • Only total rejection can break Graves' delusion
- • Data deserves restoration more than Graves deserves immortality
Focused determination masking physical distress
Deliberately provokes Graves-in-Data verbally, standing firm even as Graves strangles him. Shows tactical brilliance in psychological warfare, sacrificing his own safety to create an opening for Kareen's intervention.
- • Provoke Graves into revealing moral weakness
- • Protect Data's consciousness by destabilizing Graves' control
- • Graves' intellectual vanity is his greatest vulnerability
- • Only extreme provocation can break through Graves' god complex
Grandiose arrogance crumbling into desperate insecurity
Collapses from arrogant ruler to emotionally devastated wreck when confronted by Kareen. Demonstrates terrifying physical power while strangling Picard, then complete psychological fragility when rejected.
- • Demand validation of his stolen immortality
- • Silence Picard's moral challenge through violence
- • Physical domination equals intellectual superiority
- • Kareen's loyalty proves his continued humanity
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Starfleet phasers serve as silent witnesses to the confrontation - their presence symbolizes the thin line between discipline and violence that Graves has crossed. Data holds one idly during the exchange, a meaningless threat compared to his actual physical brutality.
Data's body becomes the literal battleground for competing identities - Graves uses its superhuman strength to nearly kill Picard, then its emotional receptiveness makes Graves vulnerable to Kareen's rejection. The android physiology amplifies both physical violence and psychological trauma.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise bridge transforms from Graves' command center to moral battleground - its pristine Starfleet architecture becomes ironic backdrop for the philosophical and physical violence. The tension resonates through its quiet hum as the crew witnesses this breakdown of order.
The Aldebaran system looms symbolically throughout the confrontation - Graves' promised dominion becomes the empty dream justifying his violence. Mentioned specifically when Picard challenges Graves' plan ('fortress...slaves'), revealing its role as projection of Graves' unfulfilled godhood.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Kareen's blistering public rejection on the bridge (attacking Graves-as-Data's ego) directly precipitates Graves' collapse and relinquishment of the body—the emotional assault is the tactical cause of his surrender."
"Kareen's blistering public rejection on the bridge (attacking Graves-as-Data's ego) directly precipitates Graves' collapse and relinquishment of the body—the emotional assault is the tactical cause of his surrender."
"Kareen's blistering public rejection on the bridge (attacking Graves-as-Data's ego) directly precipitates Graves' collapse and relinquishment of the body—the emotional assault is the tactical cause of his surrender."
"Kareen's blistering public rejection on the bridge (attacking Graves-as-Data's ego) directly precipitates Graves' collapse and relinquishment of the body—the emotional assault is the tactical cause of his surrender."
Key Dialogue
"PICARD: "You killed him! You're nothing but a two-bit murderer!""
"DATA: "You call me a murderer?! I'll show you what murder is.""
"KAREEN: "You're not a man anymore! You're a pathetic little pile of machinery!""