History YMMV / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E4SiliconAvatar

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Marr seems completely put together when she first arrives on the ship. Did she become unhinged because she was always a broken person deep down, or was Data's conjuration of her late son so unhealthy for her that it pushed her into madness that would not have otherwise occurred?

* HarsherInHindsight: In the last scene, Dr. Marr says that so long as Data's alive, her son will be as well. Considering what later happens in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', there's a very real chance that her son ended up predeceasing her all over agaon.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity -- or if the Crystalline Entity in this episode was established to be a different one to that which appeared in "Datalore" -- as that would have allowed it to focus in the intended main storyline of Dr. Marr's grief and vengeful attitude, instead of getting bogged down in a debate that should really have been settled by what we saw in its previous appearance.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity.

* JerkassWoobie: Dr. Marr spends the first portion of the episode making Dr. Pulaski look downright angelic. Yet, as she slowly warms up to Data and opens up more, it becomes quickly apparent that her psyche is just a grief-stricken mess.

* BrokenBase:
** Whether Picard was right to pursue attempt to communicate with the Crystalline Entity or whether he should have destroyed it at the first opportunity is one of the more contentious issues in ''Star Trek'' fandom. What really complicates the issue is the Entity's first appearance in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E12Datalore Datalore]]"--were this a stand-alone story then Picard would clearly be in the right, but that episode has Lore seemingly communicating with the Entity without major difficulty and even describing humans in ways that should clue the Entity in that humans are actual sentient beings. And that's ''before'' you get to the comparisons to how Kirk handled similarly destructive aliens in the TOS episodes "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E13Obsession Obsession]]" and "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E18TheImmunitySyndrome The Immunity Syndrome]]", and the TAS episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeriesS1E3OneOfOurPlanetsIsMissing One of Our Planets is Missing]]".
** Showing how deep the divide goes, no representation of the Crystalline Entity in the Expanded Universe has agreed with Picard's interpretation that the Entity could be communicated with like a sentient creature. The novels portray it as being of animal intelligence (roughly comparable to a starving wolf), and that the best that could be done without destroying it is possibly "herding" it away from populated planets. ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' continues to portray it as a marauding force of nature roughly on par with the Borg for being able to bring together disparate factions to fight against it.
* DesignatedHero: While Picard's desire to avoid potentially killing a creature that doesn't know it's doing anything wrong might be admirable in theory, in practise he seems completely unwilling to even consider the possibility that they might actually have to kill the creature, and is very dismissive towards Riker and Dr. Marr when they suggest said possibility. He tries to justify his stance by saying that the ''Enterprise'' crew aren't hunting or out to seek revenge -- except in real life the authorities ''do'' take steps to hunt down and kill dangerous animals that have killed people and pose a serious risk of doing so again (which might be intended to hint that 24th century humanity is more enlightened in this regard, but it isn't explained very well).
** At the same time, there is a huge false dilemma built into the either/or argument that they must destroy it OR communicate with it. By definition, they need to ''catch'' the entity first and (just as they did in fact in the episode) there is every chance they would be able to do so in a controlled situation where they would be able to take the calculated risk of trying to communicate over flying in all guns blazing. And if it proved impossible or the entity in the end, unable to be controlled, they would still retain the option of destroying it! Picard when presented with the Photon Torpedo calculations on the precise yields and settings to destroy it immediately ordered Worf to upload the data showing he was fully prepared to use lethal force if necessary ... but also stated that he hoped they would not have to use it. And was very clear when Dr Marr protested to him that they already knew their shields would protect them from the entity. And thus he was willing to take the chance, but ''was'' ready to destroy it if necessary. Picard never disputes that it might be necessary, but IMO its a bit much to call him the 'designated hero' when he was doing his job as a Starfleet captain to try and make a peaceful first contact, ''if possible'', before opening fire.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Yes, Dr. Marr is motivated in large part by revenge, but she rightly points out that this entity has slaughtered millions of people as well animals and plants, making it very dangerous. Riker shares her concern, fearing they will lose their chance to stop it if the peaceful option fails.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity. On top of that, a common complaint is that the episode is completely one-sidedly in favor of Picard's argument, and that Dr. Marr's and Riker's arguments are only there to be dismissed as the result of irrational anger toward the Entity.

** Whether Picard was right to pursue attempt to communicate with the Crystalline Entity or whether he should have destroyed it at the first opportunity is one of the more contentious issues in ''Star Trek'' fandom. What really complicates the issue is the Entity's first appearance in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E12Datalore Datalore]]"--were this a stand-alone story then Picard would clearly be in the right, but that episode has Lore seemingly communicating with the Entity without major difficulty and even describing humans in ways that should clue the Entity in that humans are actual sentient beings. And that's ''before'' you get to the comparisons to how Kirk handled similarly destructive aliens in the TOS episodes "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E13Obsession Obsession]]" and "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E18TheImmunitySyndrome The Immunity Syndrome]]."

** Whether Picard was right to pursue attempt to communicate with the Crystalline Entity or whether he should have destroyed it at the first opportunity is one of the more contentious issues in ''Star Trek'' fandom. What really complicates the issue is the Entity's first appearance in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E12Datalore Datalore]]"--were this a stand-alone story then Picard would clearly be in the right, but that episode has Lore seemingly communicating with the Entity without major difficulty and even describing humans in ways that should clue the Entity in that humans are actual sentient beings. And that's ''before'' you get to the comparisons to how Kirk handled similarly destructive aliens in the TOS episodes "[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekS2E13Obsession Obsession]]" and "[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekS2E18TheImmunitySyndrome The Immunity Syndrome]]."

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity. On top of that, a common complaint is that the episode is completely one-sidedly in favor of Picard's argument, and that Dr. Marr's and Riker's arguments are only there to be dismissed as the result of irrational anger toward the Entity.

* BrokenBase: Whether Picard was right to pursue attempt to communicate with the Crystalline Entity or whether he should have destroyed it at the first opportunity is one of the more contentious issues in ''Star Trek'' fandom. What really complicates the issue is the Entity's first appearance in "Datalore" -- were this a stand-alone story then Picard would clearly be in the right, but that episode has Lore seemingly communicating with the Entity without major difficulty and even describing humans in ways that should clue the Entity in that humans are actual sentient beings. And that's ''before'' you get to the comparisons to how Kirk handled similarly destructive aliens in the TOS episodes "Obsession" and "The Immunity Syndrome."
** Showing how deep the divide goes, no representation of the Crystalline Entity in the Expanded Universe has agreed with Picard's interpretation that the Entity could be communicated with like a sentient creature. The novels portray it as being of animal intelligence (roughly comparable to a starving wolf), and that the best that could be done without destroying them is possibly "herding" them away from populated planets. ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' continues to portray it as a marauding force of nature roughly on par with the Borg for being able to bring together disparate factions to fight against it.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity. On top of that, a common complaint is that the episode is completely one-sidedly in favor of Picard's argument, and that Dr. Marr's and Riker's arguments are only there to be dismissed as the result of irrational anger toward the Entity.
* WhatAnIdiot: Riker and Data use their phasers to close off the entrance to the cave the colonists are hiding in to prevent the Crystalline Entity from reaching in with its disintegration beam, then because they "need some light" as well as of course air they proceed to carve a hole in the cave ceiling directly above their heads.

* WhatAnIdiot: Riker and Data use their phasers to close off the entrance to the cave the colonists are hiding in to prevent the Crystalline Entity from reaching in the cave with its disintegration beam, then because they "need some light" as well as of course air they proceed to carve a hole in the cave ceiling directly above their heads.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Most fans will agree that the episode's basic concept is a sound one, but would perhaps have worked better with a threat other than the Crystalline Entity. On top of that, a common complaint is that the episode is completely one-sidedly in favor of Picard's argument, and that Dr. Marr's and Riker's arguments are only there to be dismissed as the result of irrational anger toward the Entity.

** Showing how deep the divide goes, no representation of the Crystalline Entity in the Expanded Universe has agreed with Picard's interpretation that the Entity could be communicated with like a sentient creature. The novels portray it as being of animal intelligence (roughly comparable to a starving wolf), and that the best that could be done without destroying them is possibly "herding" them away from populated planets. ''StarTrekOnline'' continues to portray it as a marauding force of nature roughly on par with the Borg for being able to bring together disparate factions to fight against it.

** Showing how deep the divide goes, no representation of the Crystalline Entity in the Expanded Universe has agreed with Picard's interpretation that the Entity could be communicated with like a sentient creature. The novels portray it as being of animal intelligence (roughly comparable to a starving wolf), and that the best that could be done without destroying them is possibly "herding" them away from populated planets. ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' continues to portray it as a marauding force of nature roughly on par with the Borg for being able to bring together disparate factions to fight against it.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Yes, Dr. Marr is motivated in large part by revenge, but she rightly points out that this entity has slaughtered millions of people as well animals and plants, making it very dangerous. Riker shares her concern, fearing they will lose their chance to stop it if the peaceful option fails.