Return of the Ferengi

Episode Title: The Battle
First Aired: November 16th, 1987

This episode contains much ado about a headache, and very little ado about the woman who treats it. Let's take a closer look!




Summary
The Ferengi return, this time with a strange proposition for Captain Picard--his old ship the Stargazer, for free, to "honor" his victory at the Battle of Maxima. In that battle, which was not even important enough to give a name to in Picard's mind, an unidentified ship (which the Ferengi reveal was theirs) fired upon the Stargazer, giving Picard no choice but to return fire. They destroyed the ship after some close calls and a maneuver which was later named after Picard. However, with how much damage the ship had sustained, he and the crew were forced to abandon it. Meanwhile, Picard has a headache, something unheard of for that time.

Gentle Crusher 

One thing that stood out to me in this episode was the difference in dynamic between Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard and Bones and Kirk. I can hardly imagine Bones practically tucking Kirk in, even though he did have his gentler moments with his captain. Yet exactly that happens in this episode--Dr. Crusher administers a sleep aid to Picard and puts a blanket over him.

I am somewhat conflicted over her character. While I do like her very much on a surface level, it often feels like she plays mother to everyone on the ship. I know that she is, of course, a mother, but only to her son, who often doesn't even need her help. Her job is to ensure the health and well-being of the crew and treat any ailments that befall them. While it is nice that she is gentle with her patients and cares about them as people, I fault the writing for pigeonholing her into such a stereotypical role.

Once Lieutenant Yar dies, we are left with two main female characters: Counselor Troi, who is an empath, and gentle Doctor Crusher. Again, neither of these characters is particularly poorly written, and in other context would be perfectly fine. However, in context and especially once they are the only two major female characters, this creates a worrying situation in which women serve exclusively as nurturers.