Tin Man—One of the Most Underrated Star Trek: TNG Episodes

Most people know that Data is my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation character. The episode Tin Man pairs him with my favorite guest character, Tam Elbrun. I think this is one of the most underrated TNG episodes.

It's okay to be different

Tam Elbrun is a Betazoid who was born with his empathic abilities switched on. Most Betazoids develop their empathic gifts later in life and have time to adjust to using them. But Tam was flooded with the emotions of others from an early age.

I get Tam. I am Tam.

I am an empath too. From a young age, I was able to sense what others were feeling. It was overwhelming.

As I have gotten older, my "gift" has grown. I wish I could shut it off sometimes because it causes me a lot of anxiety. I want to fix people and I can't. I learned that the hard way.

First contact

Tam is the mission specialist on a journey to make contact with an alien creature that is a "living starship" before the Romulans. What he doesn't tell anyone is that he is in telepathic contact with Tin Man from light-years away—incredible even for him, but not for Tin Man.

This episode has some heavy philosophy, similar to the scene in the above video. It does what Star Trek does best. It asks deep questions. Why do we exist? Is this all there is?

Tam transport over with Data and makes contact with Tin Man, whose name is Gomtuu. It is the last of its race and in a system with a star about to go supernova. Its crew died and it wants to die also because it is alone and with purpose.

"Is that the purpose of existence? To care for someone?"—Data

Data asks Tam if the purpose of existence is to care for someone and he replies that it is for him. Tam merges with Gomtuu telepathically and they give each other peace and purpose. Tam is finally free from all the emotional noise that he has struggled with his entire life.

Data realizes that the Enterprise is where he belongs and is his life purpose.

It is such a beautiful and deep episode!

A wish

As I said, I identify with Tam. I often wish that I could shut out all the voices.

I feel the emotional pain of others and I can't turn that off. It sounds weird to people who aren't empaths, but it is a real thing!

Sometimes the anxiety is unbearable. It really is like a tide that never ebbs. Even with all the techniques I've learned, I can't shut it off. I wish I could, but it is a part of who I am.

The emotional pain of watching my mother descend into dementia is killing me. Half the time she is angry at me for a reason that only exists in her mind. I hope that her suffering is short-lived for both of our sakes.

For now, all I can do is hold on and hope that I find my Gomtuu one day. When I do, all the other voices will finally be silent.