History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E5TheBonding

--> '''Picard:''' Do you honestly believe he would be happy in this total fiction which you wish to create? What reason would he have to live? What you're offering him is a memory, something to cherish, not to live in. It is part of our life cycle that we accept the death of those we love. Jeremy must come to terms with his grief. He must not cover it or hide away from it. You see, we are mortal. Our time in this universe is finite. That is one of the truths that all human must learn.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The planet on the viewer looks suspiciously like Mars' Mariner Valley.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Jeremy refers to his pet calico cat, Patches, as "him." Because the calico effect is caused by two mismatched fur color genes, and fur color for cats is carried on the X chromosome, calicos are AlwaysFemale... ''unless'' the cat in question has Klinefelter Syndrome (also known as XXY) or if they are a chimera (where 2 embryos merge in the womb). Whether or not this was intentional is debatable.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The alien thinks that making Jeremy happy is the most important thing, and doesn't understand the idea of accepting and moving past grief instead of erasing it.

* NotSoDifferent: Worf can relate to Jeremy because his parents were also killed when he was a child, and Wesley can empathize with Jeremy because he also lost a parent on a mission and blamed someone else for it.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Even though the bonding ceremony makes Jeremy an adopted member of Worf's family, the kid is never seen or mentioned again after this episode. Presumably he went to Earth to live with his aunt and uncle, but we'll never know for sure. According to the commentary track included on the Blu-ray release, the idea of bringing the character was discussed from time-to-time. However, it just wasn't in the show's nature to follow up stuff like that at that point in its run, and by the time it reached that point, Worf's storyline had moved on.

** It's revealed Wesley thought this of Picard after his father was killed and Picard wasn't, although he's over it. Jeremy feels the same about Worf, but Troi helps him get over it, and the two participate in a Klingon bonding ritual.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Jeremy refers to his pet calico cat, Patches, as "him". Because the calico effect is caused by two mismatched fur color genes, and fur color for cats is carried on the X chromosome, calicos are AlwaysFemale... ''unless'' the cat in question has Klinefelter Syndrome (also known as XXY) or if they are a chimera (where 2 embryos merge in the womb). Whether or not this was intentional is debatable.

This story is especially notable for having started Creator/RonMoore's career in TV-writing and later producing.
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The ''Enterprise'' is investigating a planet whose civilization killed itself off in a brutal war a long time ago. An away team led by Worf investigates some ruins, but the mission turns deadly when a hidden bomb goes off, wounding Worf and killing Lt. Marla Aster. Marla leaves behind a twelve-year-old son, Jeremy, whose father, another Starfleet officer, had also died in the line of duty some time ago.

Several of the crew have different reactions to Lt. Aster's death. Wesley can empathize with how Jeremy must be feeling, due to the loss of his own father; Data, meanwhile, is confused by the crew's reaction to Marla's death and asks Riker for guidance. Worf, himself an orphan, expresses to Troi his desire to perform a Klingon bonding ritual with Jeremy. Troi is hesitant to approve of the idea, however, as she feels Jeremy still needs time to grieve.

Troi attempts to comfort Jeremy, but "Marla" soon reappears, turning their quarters into a replica of the house they lived in on Earth. The entity posing as Marla doesn't understand why the crew resists letting Jeremy go to the planet, as all "she" wants to do is make him happy. Meanwhile, La Forge has reported that the remaining bombs were found having been uprooted and deactivated. When the crew come to realize they can't keep "Marla" off the ship for long, they shut down the transporters, so that Jeremy can't be beamed down.

Picard confronts the entity, and "she" reveals that there were once two races of beings on the planet below; the physical beings wiped themselves out, and the energy beings left behind vowed never to let that conflict hurt another person. As a result, they feel responsible for Marla's death, having overlooked the bombs left behind, and they were responsible for deactivating the rest. To make up for Jeremy's loss, they want to take him down to the planet to raise him.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: "Marla" honestly believes that ending Jeremy's grief by recreating his life on Earth is the right thing to do, and can't understand the human philosophy of experiencing grief to come to terms with it.

* StepfordSmiler: Jeremy doesn't grieve or express any anger until the ending. Wesley reveals that as a child, he also bottled up his grief and anger after his father died because he thought he was expected not to be upset.
* TheStoic: Jeremy handles Marla's death like this - in fact, he has this look on his face before Picard even gives him the bad news, as if he knew exactly where this was going. As Troi points out to Picard, this isn't exactly the most healthy way to handle your ''mom dying.'' Jeremy becomes NotSoStoic toward the end, once he lets out his bottled-up feelings.

* ContinuityNod: When Data asks if familiarity has bearing on death, Riker references the senior staff's mourning of Tasha.

This story is notable for having started Creator/RonMoore's career in TV-writing and later producing.