Kareen's Devastating Intervention
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Kareen screams 'Stop it!', forcing Data to release Picard; she strides forward and accuses him—calling him a monster and a liar—transforming physical threat into moral and emotional confrontation.
Kareen unleashes a blistering verbal barrage—calling Data a 'pathetic little pile of machinery'—and her contempt digs into his insecurities; Data's rage collapses into shame, he trembles, bows his head, and briefly considers violence before breaking down.
Kareen orders him to 'Leave that body'; Data gives a faint, ambiguous smile and hurries to the turbolift, relinquishing control; Picard hugs Kareen as she mourns, and the Enterprise banks and resumes course—threat ended but emotional wounds exposed.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Surface fury masking profound grief and betrayal
Kareen executes a precise emotional assault on Graves-in-Data, wielding their personal history as a weapon. Her verbal demolition ('pathetic pile of machinery') destroys his last semblance of control, forcing him to relinquish Data's body.
- • Liberate Data's body from Graves' possession
- • Force Graves to confront his monstrous actions
- • Graves still cares enough about her opinion to be vulnerable to her rejection
- • Shame will be more effective than physical force against Graves
Calculatedly defiant during confrontation; relieved but deeply shaken after survival
Picard confronts Graves-in-Data with calm authority, provoking him into a violent outburst that nearly kills him. After Kareen's intervention, he recovers silently, offering her a comforting hug that acknowledges her emotional sacrifice.
- • Provoke Graves into exposing his emotional instability
- • Protect Kareen from Graves' potential retaliation
- • Graves' intellectual vanity makes him vulnerable to psychological attack
- • Kareen holds unique power to reach the remaining humanity in Graves
Furious godhood crumbling into abject human neediness
As Graves-in-Data, he oscillates between violent domination (nearly killing Picard) and desperate vulnerability when confronted by Kareen. His collapse under her verbal assault reveals the fragile human psyche beneath his android superiority.
- • Maintain control over the Enterprise and Data's body
- • Secure Kareen's admiration despite his monstrous actions
- • Physical superiority guarantees dominance
- • Kareen's approval validates his humanity
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The viewscreen displays navigation data showing the Enterprise's course toward the Aldebaran system, representing Graves' intended dominion. Its presence underscores the stakes of Kareen's intervention - the ship's continued hijacking versus its return to Starfleet control.
The turbolift provides Kareen's dramatic entrance point onto the bridge and later serves as Graves' exit route after his defeat. Its functional efficiency contrasts with the emotional chaos of the confrontation it bookends.
Data's body serves as both weapon and battleground - Graves uses its strength to nearly kill Picard, but Kareen's words turn it into a prison Graves can no longer bear to inhabit. The body's physical dominance contrasts sharply with its emotional vulnerability.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Enterprise bridge transforms from a site of violent confrontation (Picard's near-strangulation) to an arena for psychological warfare (Kareen's verbal assault) and finally a space of exhausted resolution. Its Starfleet technology frames the conflict between human emotion and artificial control.
Though physically distant, the Aldebaran system's gravitational complexity looms as Graves' intended dominion - a goal rendered moot by Kareen's intervention. The navigation display keeps this unrealized ambition visually present throughout the confrontation.
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."
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"KAREEN: 'You've become a monster.'"
"DATA: 'Kareen... don't...'"
"KAREEN: 'I'd rather live alone! I'd rather make love to a computer!'"