"I find my thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking, how empty it will be without her presence."
Naturally, "Skin of Evil" was a pivotal episode, and a tearjerking one almost by default.
- For those seeing the episode again, watching the byplay between Worf and Tasha
are poignant, especially since Denise Crosby would have never left had the show been written as it was during that scene; it's worse knowing the music played at the end is a snippet of "Tasha's Goodbye". - Beverly's frantic attempts to revive Tasha. The worst part is when Picard can no longer stand to watch, and turns his back to the proceedings—until Bev says, defeated, "She's gone."
- This exchange:Deanna: Were you able to help Tasha?
Picard: (very long pause) ... no. - The saddest part, of course, is Tasha's holographic eulogy, with the special score for it, "Tasha's Goodbye":Picard: We are here together to honor our friend and comrade, Lieutenant Natasha Yar. Coming to terms with the loss of a colleague is perhaps the most difficult tasks we must face in the work we have chosen to pursue. We will all find time to grieve for her in the days that are ahead, but for now she has asked that we celebrate her life with this.Tasha's Hologram: Hello, my friends. You are here now watching this image of me because I have died. It probably happened while I was on duty, and quickly, which is what I expected. Never forget I died doing exactly what I chose to do. What I want you to know is how much I loved my life, and those of you who shared it with me. You are my family. You all know where I came from and what my life was like before. But Starfleet took that frightened, angry young girl and tempered her. I have been blessed with your friendship and your love. Will Riker, you are the best. You trusted me, you encouraged me, and most of all you made me laugh. Deanna, you are capable of so much love. You taught me without ever having to say a word. I realised I could be feminine without losing anything. Ah, Worf. We are so much alike, you and I. Both warriors, orphans who found ourselves this family. I hope I met death with my eyes wide open. Beverly. Your fierce devotion comes from within. It can't be diminished. From you, I have learned to strive for excellence, no matter what the personal cost. Wesley, I'm sorry I won't be able to see you grow into the exceptional man you'll become. But your kindness and innocence are ageless. Geordi, in those moments I felt the most despair, you took my hand and helped me to see things differently. You taught me to look beyond the moment. My friend Data. You see things with the wonder of a child, and that makes you more human than any of us. Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I wish I could say you've been like a father to me, but I've never had one, so I don't know what it feels like. But if there was someone in this universe I could choose to be like, someone who I would want to make proud of me, it's you. You who have the heart of an explorer and the soul of a poet. So, you'll understand when I say, death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others. Which is why it is not an end. No goodbyes. Just good memories. Hailing frequencies closed, sir.Picard: Au revoir, Natasha.
- The eulogy is topped with Data and Picard's exchange:Data: Sir, the purpose of this gathering confuses me.
Picard: Oh? How so?
Data: I find my thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking, how empty it will be without her presence. Did I miss the point?
Picard: No you didn't, Data. You got it. - While Armus was literally Made of Evil, and perhaps even because of that, it's not uncommon to feel a sliver of pity for him. His screams of pain and grief in the end do show his torment.
