Object

Data's Cigar

A single, hand-sized cigar — a stout, dark-wrapped tobacco stick with no visible banding — that Data produces and holds in the laboratory. The cigar appears unlit and is handled with exact, hesitant motions: pinched between fingers and extended toward Picard as a tangible, human-scale object. Characters register the gesture physically; Data’s offer converts an abstract dispute into a brief, intimate exchange centered on this small, tangible prop.

2 appearances

Purpose

A tobacco implement intended to be smoked or offered as a social prop; here used practically as an offered token to accompany a personal conversation.

Significance

Acts as a humanizing token and emotional pivot: the cigar transforms institutional confrontation into a private moral moment, accentuating Data’s attempt at parental intimacy and provoking Picard’s uneasy, personal response.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S3E16 · The Offspring

Lal Revealed — Data's Creation and Picard's Question

Data picks up a box of cigars and offers one to Picard as a customarily social gesture intended to diffuse tension and enact human ritual; the cigar becomes a small prop that humanizes Data and punctuates the confrontation with a ceremonial exchange.

Before: In the laboratory on Data's workbench or nearby storage, accessible to Data.

After: Picard accepts a cigar and departs with it, placing the cigar in his possession as he exits toward the Ready Room.

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S3E16 · The Offspring

Authority Meets Parenthood

Data produces and holds a box of cigars and offers one to Picard. The cigar functions symbolically — an awkward social lubricant that reframes technical and procedural conflict as an intimate, human-scale exchange and underscores Data's attempt at social ritual and reconciliation.

Before: Contained in a box in the laboratory, in Data's possession or on a nearby bench.

After: Picard accepts a single cigar and exits the laboratory with Troi; the cigar passes into Picard's possession and the box is left behind or carried out by Data.

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