History YMMV / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E22ShadesOfGray

* {{Padding}}: Dr. Pulaski being called down to the jungle planet just so she can give the transporters a manual override to beam Riker and Geordi up safely, along with an extended scene of Data and Geordi beaming back down to the planet to find the organism that stabbed Riker, were clearly written in to pad the runtime. Did they not have enough clips?

* BrokenBase: This turns out to be the last episode before Dr. Pulaski got PutOnABus. Pulaski proved to be a divisive character, since many viewers preferred Crusher, disliked her headstrong personality, or [[NeverLiveItDown never forgave her]] for butting heads with Data before her CharacterDevelopment. Other viewers liked her forceful attitude and interesting dynamic with the other characters.

* BrokenBase: This turns out to be the last episode with Dr. Pulaski, who got [[PutOnABus ejected from the show unceremoniously in between seasons]] when her character proved to be an [[ReplacementScrappy unpopular replacement]] for Dr. Crusher. Yet the very fact that Pulaski's farewell episode is this fracas rather than a dignified sendoff is saddening for some. Others are just glad to be rid of the walking cynic brigade. Still others think that Pulaski was working out pretty well with some interesting relationship dynamics going on with both Data and Worf as well as with Picard himself. (Either way, Diana Muldaur wasn't too sad about leaving, her experience returning to ''Trek'' being not at all what she hoped it would be.)

* SpecialEffectFailure: The script tried to at least provide ''something'' resembling an action scene, by specifying that when Data and Geordi remove a thorn from one of the vines, it causes the whole forest to come to life and attack them. Unfortunately, the budget restrictions meant they couldn't even do ''that'', and so they settled for having Creator/BrentSpiner just shake the vine around as he's holding it, resulting in an effect that makes the octopus attacks from ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' seem like the height of realism.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Poor Marina Sirtis is fighting a losing battle trying to put some emotional resonance into this.

* [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously Took The Bad Episode Seriously]]: Poor Marina Sirtis is fighting a losing battle trying to put some emotional resonance into this.
* ToughActToFollow: This is the last episode of Season 2, arguably an extra story wadded into a season that would've ended strong had it been left out, as the preceding two episodes were regarded as two of the strongest entries in an otherwise middling-to-weak season. Not since ''Series/DoctorWho'' followed up "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]" with "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E7TheTwinDilemma The Twin Dilemma]]" has a tack-on-at-the-season's-end episode backfired so spectacularly.

* SoBadItsGood: Again, another episode that tried to do too much with too little to work with, like "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E2TheNakedNow Naked Now]]". NoBudget, Riker-centric flashbacks only two seasons into the show and a paper-thin excuse for a plot that eventually devolves into a torture porn for Riker results in a lot of NarmCharm.

* SoBadItsGood: Again, another episode that tried to do too much with too little to work with, like "The Naked Now". NoBudget, Riker-centric flashbacks only two seasons into the show and a paper-thin excuse for a plot that eventually devolves into a torture porn for Riker results in a lot of NarmCharm.
* SpecialEffectFailure: The script tried to at least provide ''something'' resembling an action scene, by specifying that when Data and Geordi remove a thorn from one of the vines, it causes the whole forest to come to life and attack them. Unfortunately, the budget restrictions meant they couldn't even do ''that'', and so they settled for having Brent Spiner just shake the vine around as he's holding it, resulting in an effect that makes the octopus attacks from ''Film/BrideOfTheMonster'' seem like the height of realism.

* ToughActToFollow: This is the last episode of Season 2, arguably an extra story wadded into a season that would've ended strong had it been left out, as the preceding two episodes were regarded as two of the strongest entries in an otherwise middling-to-weak season. Not since ''Series/DoctorWho'' followed up "[[DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]" with "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E7TheTwinDilemma The Twin Dilemma]]" has a tack-on-at-the-season's-end episode backfired so spectacularly.

* BrokenBase: This turns out to be the last episode with Dr. Pulaski, who got [[PutOnABus ejected from the show unceremoniously in between seasons]] when her character proved to be an [[ReplacementScrappy unpopular replacement]] for Dr. Crusher. Yet the very fact that Pulaski's farewell episode is this fracas rather than a dignified sendoff is saddening for some. Others are just glad to be rid of the walking cynic brigade.
** Still others think that Pulaski was working out pretty well with some interesting relationship dynamics going on with both Data and Worf as well as with Picard himself.

* [[TookTheBadMovieSeriously Took The Bad Episode Seriously]]: Poor Marina Sirtis is fighting a losing battle trying to put some emotional resonance into this.

* TookTheBadEpisodeSeriously: Poor Marina Sirtis is fighting a losing battle trying to put some emotional resonance into this.

* BrokenBase: This turns out to be the last episode with Dr. Pulanski, who got [[PutOnABus ejected from the show unceremoniously in between seasons]] when her character proved to be an [[ReplacementScrappy unpopular replacement]] for Dr. Crusher. Yet the very fact that Pulanski's farewell episode is this fracas rather than a dignified sendoff is saddening for some. Others are just glad to be rid of the walking cynic brigade.
** This is also the last episode of Season 2, arguably an extra story wadded into a season that would've ended strong had it been left out. Not since ''Series/DoctorWho'' followed up "[[DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]" with "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E7TheTwinDilemma The Twin Dilemma]]" has a tack-on-at-the-season's-end episode backfired so spectacularly.

* SoBadItsGood: Again, another episode that tried to do too much with too little to work with, like "The Naked Now". Riker-centric flashbacks only two seasons into the show and a paper-thin excuse for a plot that eventually devolves into a torture porn for Riker results in a lot of NarmCharm.

** This is also the last episode of Season 2, arguably an extra story wadded into a season that would've ended strong had it been left out. Not since ''Series/DoctorWho'' followed up "[[DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani The Caves of Androzani]]" with "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E7TheTwinDilemmaThe Twin Dilemma]]" has a tack-on-at-the-end episode backfired so spectacularly.

* HilariousInHindsight: Yes, something funny happens in ''this'' episode! Riker gets in this clever line: "My great-grandfather was once bitten by a rattlesnake. After three days of intense pain, the snake died." A decade and a half later, that became a [[Website/ChuckNorrisFacts Chuck Norris Fact.]]