History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E24TheNextPhase

** Geordi mentions rumors of the Romulans developing an interphasing cloaking device. In season 7's "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E11ThePegasus The Pegasus]]," we'll see these rumors were very real.

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: The revelation that various Alpha and Beta Quadrant races had been trying for decades to create a phasing cloak (usually with messy results) would go on to be far more consequential two seasons later in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E11ThePegasus The Pegasus]]".

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Geordi mentions rumors of the Romulans developing an interphasing cloaking device. In season 7's "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E11ThePegasus The Pegasus]]," we'll see these rumors were very real.

** Retropected in her recurring appearances no mention was made by her about the Bajoran Prophets as they were not concieved until the debut of Deep Space Nine where her race was the foundation of that show. A good thought that the TNG producers and writers never concieved it at the time.

* RecycledInSpace: This episode is ''Film/{{Ghost}}'' in space. Too bad Creator/WhoopiGoldberg [[CastingGag wasn't there that week...]]

Geordi tells Ro the good news, and they head to Ten Forward, where Data has begun their funeral arrangements, to try to materialize long enough for someone to see them. After much consideration, Data has decided to host a funeral that is a celebration of Geordi and Ro's lives. The "deceased" pair begin touching and shooting at objects to flood the room with chronitons, but the resulting aryon blast is still too weak. Picard gets a call that the ship's next mission awaits them, so he prepares to have the ship jump to warp speed. As a last-ditch effort, Ro sets her out-of-phase disruptor to explode, creating a massive dose of chronitons. The crew responds with a commensurate dose of aryons, which cause Geordi and Ro to materialize just long enough to catch the crew's attention.

Picard orders a sustained blast of aryons that finally brings Geordi and Ro back into phase. Geordi immediately orders the ship's engines offline, saving the ship from disaster. Afterwards, Geordi gorges himself on his own funeral's food, but Ro isn't hungry. She admits that her brush with the "afterlife" has made her appreciate her culture's religious beliefs more. Geordi jokes that they ought to try to create their own interphase device, since if it can teach Ro humility, then it can do anything. They both laugh.

* SpecialEffectsFailure:
** A minor one but when the "phased" Romulan stands up the chair he's supposed to be unable to interact with wobbles rather obviously.
** Riker's trombone playing does not match up with the soundtrack, revealing that the music is simply dubbed over.

* BigEater:
** Geordi in the end. Justified since he and Ro had been out of phase for nearly two days.
** InvertedTrope with Ro; as the FridgeLogic page points out, she grew up in concentration camps and as a refugee, so missing food for two days doesn't affect her as badly as it does Geordi.

* BottleEpisode: This was meant to be one, but like "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E15PowerPlay Power Play]]," the special effects necessary wound up making this one of the more expensive episodes of the season.
* CheerfulFuneral: Geordi and Ensign Ro are seemingly killed. (They've actually been shifted out of phase.) The Enterprise holds a memorial service which is surprisingly reminiscent of a jazz club. When it's discovered that Geordi and Ro are not actually dead, the celebration of their lives turns into a genuine celebration.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Ro wandering around her own funeral beam-spamming random objects (and Riker).
* GhostlyGoals: Lampshaded, as Ro thinks that they're dead and need to settle personal business before moving on to the afterlife.

* KarmaHoudini: Even though they nearly kill the folks who saved their lives, the Romulans get away scot-free. Well, except for that one guy flung into space...
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Ro thinks that she and Geordi have become ghosts, but Geordi doesn't buy into it as easily as her.

* PlotHole: One of the more cited examples on the show: "Why don't they fall through the floor?" This was actually going to be explained originally (it would actually take a bit of effort to phase through something, meaning you won't actually do it unless you actively tried to) but was presumably cut due to the effect work required meant the episode would go even more over budget then it already had. This would also have explained how the Romulan was thrown clear of the ship.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: A minor one but when the "phased" Romulan stands up the chair he's supposed to be unable to interact with wobbles rather obviously.

As the crew struggle to continue their duties while reacting to the apparent deaths of two crew members, Ro and Geordi wake on on different parts of the ship. No one can see them, and they pass through solid objects. Ro immediately decides that they're dead, and this is the afterlife, but Geordi isn't convinced. Ro begins saying her goodbyes to the crew, though they cannot hear her, but eventually follows Geordi to the Romulan vessel as he searches for answers.

Geordi peaks into a computer terminal on the Romulan vessel and recognizes it as molecular phase inverter. When combined with a cloaking device, the inverter could cause matter to go out of phase, rendering it much the same position Geordi and Ro find themselves. This proves that the pair are still alive, just out of phase. Before they return to the ship, they overhear two Romulan officers plotting to sabotage the ''Enterprise'''s engines to make it explode when they next jump to warp speed. Geordi and Ro now have to figure out a way to come back into phase [[TickingClock before that happens]]. Little to they know, however, that they themselves were overheard by a Romulan who is out of phase just like they are.

While that is happening, Ro gets attacked by the out-of-phase Romulan. They have a fist-fight throughout the ship, passing from room to room as various passengers go about their private lives oblivious to the action spectacular. Finally, Geordi arrives and helps throw the Romulan through the ship's hull, sending him careening through empty space.

Geordi tells Ro the good news, and they head to Ten Forward, where Data has begun their funeral arrangements, to try to materialize long enough for someone to see them. After much consideration, Data has decided to host a funeral that is a celebration of Geordi and Ro's lives. The "deceased" pair begin touching and shooting at objects to flood the room with chronitons, but the resulting aryon blast is still too weak. Picard gets a call that the ship's next mission awaits them, so he prepares to have the ship jump to warp speed. As a last-ditch effort, Ro sets her out-of-phase disruptor to explode, creating a massive dose of chronitons. The crew responds with a commensurate dose of aryons, which cause Geordo and Ro to materialize just long enough to catch the crew's attention.

Picard orders a sustained blast of aryons that finally bring Geordi and Ro back into phase. Geordi immediately orders the ship's engines to be put offline, saving the ship from disaster. Afterwards, Geordi gorges himself on his own funeral's food, but Ro isn't hungry. She admits that her brush with the "afterlife" has made her appreciate her culture's religious beliefs more. Geordi jokes that they ought to try to create their own interphase device, since if it can teach Ro humility, then it can do anything. They both laugh.

When a Romulan ship is stranded, Geordi and Ro are apparently lost in a transporter malfunction, and the rest of the crew assume they are dead. They awaken on the ''Enterprise'', able to pass through solid walls due to their molecules being 'phased'.