Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E21
· Peak Performance

Pulaski Forces Data to Confront His Crisis of Confidence

Pulaski barges into Data's quarters and refuses to indulge his withdrawn behavior, calling him out for sulking after the defeat. Data initially hides behind clinical language, then, under her blunt pressure, admits his real fear: that a malfunction in his judgment could lead him to give Captain Picard unsound advice. He bleakly labels himself "damaged" and retreats back into analysis. Pulaski's apology and alarm make this a turning-point reveal — a psychological setup that raises the stakes for upcoming tactical decisions and reframes Data's defeat as an existential crisis, not just a lost game.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

4

Data locks on the wall monitor until a chime slices in; he invites entry and Pulaski strides inside, primed to confront him.

focused isolation to interruption

Pulaski hammers him for sulking and calls out bruised pride; Data deflects behind a 'running diagnostic' claim as she presses that he simply got beat.

challenge to defensiveness

Data reframes the issue as fear of giving the captain unsound advice; Pulaski reads the sincerity and her attack melts into concern.

confrontation to empathy

Pulaski apologizes for pushing him into the game, but Data brands himself 'damaged' and buries back into analysis as she exits.

regret to grim resolve

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Katherine Pulaski
Doctor (Chief Medical Officer)
 primary

Begins irritated and impatient, then shifts to startled concern and remorse as she recognizes Data's deeper vulnerability.

Enters Data's quarters without ceremony, confronts him with sharp sarcasm to break his withdrawal, refuses his clinical dodge, reads his genuine distress, expresses remorse for having instigated the game, then exits after a final concerned look.

Goals in this moment
  • • Stop Data's self-isolation and force a candid acknowledgment of the problem
  • • Protect Data from continuing in a state that could impair duty
  • • Assume responsibility for her role in provoking the situation
  • • Restore normal functioning by making sure the problem is treated seriously
Active beliefs
  • • Avoidance and sulking will not solve the underlying issue
  • • Direct confrontation is the quickest way to force honest recognition
  • • Data's apparent problem is serious enough to warrant regret for having pushed him
  • • Human emotional clarity (or bluntness) can break through Data's clinical evasions
Character traits
confrontational pragmatic blunt empathetic (beneath sarcasm) responsible
Follow Katherine Pulaski's journey
Data
Second Officer
 primary

Surface composure and analytic focus mask confusion and anxiety; a brittle, existential dread about fallibility emerges when pressed.

Positioned at the wall monitor running diagnostics, Data responds in clipped, formal register, resists emotional framing, then admits a precise fear — that a judgment malfunction could compromise advice to his captain — before withdrawing into technical analysis.

Goals in this moment
  • • Identify and locate any malfunction in his systems through diagnostics
  • • Avoid giving Captain Picard any erroneous or unsound tactical advice
  • • Maintain professional integrity by framing the issue as technical rather than emotional
  • • Minimize disruption by returning to analysis and problem-solving
Active beliefs
  • • Any deviation from optimal judgment must have a technical cause that can be found and fixed
  • • His role is to provide reliable advice; failing to do so would have serious consequences
  • • Emotional explanations are inferior to diagnostic ones for explaining errors
  • • Acknowledging 'damage' is both factual and necessary to remediate the issue
Character traits
clinical earnest self-critical dutiful withdrawn
Follow Data's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Worf's Quarters Entry Chime

A recessed bulkhead chime sounds to announce entry; the brief crystalline tone breaks the quarters' quiet and cues the exchange. It functions narratively as the inciting audible signal that transitions Data from private diagnostics into a face-to-face confrontation with Pulaski.

Before: Silent and idle, recessed in the bulkhead outside …
After: Has emitted its two-note access tone and remains …
Before: Silent and idle, recessed in the bulkhead outside the quarters, awaiting an access event.
After: Has emitted its two-note access tone and remains installed in the bulkhead; no change in physical condition beyond having been used.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Data's Quarters

Data's private quarters serve as the intimate, clinical setting for the confrontation: a workspace where diagnostics and solitude enable vulnerability. The room's privacy allows Data to run checks but also isolates him, making Pulaski's intrusion both practical and emotionally disarming.

Atmosphere Quiet, clinical, and tense — sterile procedural hum punctured by an abrupt, intimate emotional charge.
Function Sanctuary for private analysis and the stage for a candid interpersonal confrontation that reveals internal …
Symbolism Represents Data's internal isolation and mechanized self-scrutiny; the room doubles as both workshop and confessional.
Access Typically private to the occupant but easily entered by trusted senior staff, as Pulaski does …
Wall monitor glowing with diagnostic readouts soft, steady hum of machinery and vents the sharp two-note entry chime Pulaski's footsteps and conversational proximity

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

No narrative connections mapped yet

This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Key Dialogue

"PULASKI: How long are you going to sit sulking like Achilles in his tent?"
"DATA: No, Doctor, this is not ego. I am concerned about giving the captain unsound advice."
"DATA: This has indicated that I am damaged in some fashion."