Summary
- Marina Sirtis shined as Counselor Troi in TNG, often using her empathic abilities to save the day.
- Troi’s relationships with Riker and her mother were key storylines, showcasing her evolution as a character.
- Troi’s standout episodes like “Face of the Enemy” and “The Loss” underscored her growth and impact on the series.
Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) was the glue that held the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew together, and she had many memorable moments throughout the series. Half-Betazoid and half-human, Troi could sense the emotions of those around her. Not only did this prove useful for her job as ship’s counselor on the USS Enterprise-D, but it also helped her uncover duplicitous aliens. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) frequently relied on Troi both for her empathic abilities and her advice regarding alien cultures. The writers for TNG did not always know what to do with Troi as a character, but Marina Sirtis always brought her all to the role.
Counselor Troi had a few running storylines throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, including her relationship with Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), which went on to become one of Star Trek’s best romances. Troi’s relationship with her mother, Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), also progressed over the course of the series, as the two learned to reconcile their very different personalities. After the end of TNG, Troi went on to appear in the subsequent films, as well as three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and one of Star Trek: Enterprise. Troi returned in Star Trek: Picard, and helped save the galaxy from the Borg in Picard season 3. Here are Counselor Deanna Troi’s best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes.
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10 “Skin of Evil”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 23
Although not technically a Troi-centric Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Skin of Evil” has some great moments for the Enterprise counselor that get overshadowed by the tragic death of Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). When the Enterprise receives a distress signal from Troi’s shuttle, they send an away team to investigate the planet where the shuttle crashed. On the planet, they find a malevolent tar-like lifeform called Armus.
Armus attacks and kills Lt. Yar as the Enterprise security officer tries to approach Troi’s crashed shuttle. As the away team continues to try to get past Armus, Troi talks with the lifeform, using her abilities to read his emotions. In their conversation, Troi learns more about Armus, expertly manipulating his emotions, which eventually allows the Enterprise to beam her back to the ship.
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9 “Power Play”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 15
Troi may not be herself for most of “Power Play,” but the Star Trek: The Generation season 5 episode gives Marina Sirtis the chance to play a different kind of character. When Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meany), and Counselor Troi are taken over by alien entities, they take command of the Enterprise-D. Troi takes on the leadership role, the entity possessing her claiming to be Captain Bryce Shumar of the USS Essex.
The entity in Troi later reveals that she and her friends are actually prisoners attempting to escape from a penal colony. Although they believe their plan to be succeeding, they are ultimately thwarted by Captain Picard and his crew. While “Power Play” does not do anything revolutionary in terms of its story, it is an exciting, action-oriented TNG episode that allows the actors to have fun.
8 “Thine Own Self”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 16
The main storyline of “Thine Own Self” focuses on Data, but the B-story centers on Troi’s attempts to pass the Bridge Officer’s Test. As Data works to regain his lost memories on the planet Barkon IV, Commander Riker administers Troi’s exams. After passing most of the tests, Troi comes to the holodeck simulation portion of the exam, which she fails multiple times. Only after she figures out that she must order a crew member to their death to save the ship does she pass the exam.
Although Troi expresses doubt that she is cut out for command, Riker assures her that she made the right calls. During the simulation, Troi tried every possible solution to save the ship, before she realized that someone would have to die. From this episode on, Troi took on bridge command as part of her duty shifts and continued to wear a traditional Starfleet uniform.
Marina Siritis was reportedly thrilled when her character got to start wearing a standard Starfleet uniform.
7 “Loud as a Whisper”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 5
Star Trek: The Next Generation was still finding its footing in season 2, but there were some solid episodes that showed a marked improvement over TNG season 1. “Loud as a Whisper” centers on deaf ambassador Riva (Howie Seago), who struggles to lead peace talks after his chorus of translators are killed. Riva forms an immediate connection with Counselor Troi, intrigued by her telepathic abilities and obvious beauty.
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After Riva loses his chorus, Troi encourages him to continue the negotiations, working with him to find other ways to communicate. Not only does Troi get to be a great counselor here, but she also gets a potential love interest who has no ulterior motives. Although it’s never made clear whether Troi has any romantic interest in Riva, she seems to enjoy his company, and the two share some sweet moments throughout the episode.
6 “Night Terrors”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 17
When the USS Enterprise-D discovers the derelict USS Brattain, they find one lone survivor — a Betazoid science adviser named Andrus Hagan (John Vickery). Hagan remains in a catatonic state and Troi tries to communicate with him telepathically to no avail. From that night forward, Troi has trouble sleeping, experiencing nightmares in which she’s floating in an abyss and hearing a strange voice.
Before long, the entire crew begins acting strangely, and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) determines that no one aside from Troi has been achieving REM sleep. As he does not require sleep, Data takes over command of the Enterprise, which has been rendered dead in space. Data and Troi try to determine the cause of these problems, eventually escaping their predicament with help from a psychic race trapped on the other side of a rift.
5 “Timescape”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 25
In this fun Star Trek: The Next Generation time travel episode, Captain Picard, Data, Troi, and Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) return from a conference to find the Starship Enterprise frozen in time, seemingly locked in a battle with a Romulan warbird. As Picard, Troi, and Data investigate the Enterprise, they find Starfleet and Romulan crew members scattered throughout the ship, all frozen in time.
Picard, Troi, and Data later learn that a creature from trans-dimensional space inadvertently caused a power surge on the Romulan ship. Data figures out a way to reverse time by a few seconds so that he, Troi, and Picard can prevent the impending disasters. While Troi is not the main focus of the episode, she remains a major player throughout and plays an invaluable role in saving the Enterprise and the Romulan crew.
4 “The Loss”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 10
As the USS Enterprise-D investigates some odd sensor readings, Counselor Troi suddenly and inexplicably loses her empathic abilities. Troi feels a profound sense of loss and goes through the first few stages of grief, eventually deciding to step down from her role as counselor. The Enterprise has become trapped among a group of two-dimensional lifeforms, and Captain Picard suspects the ship’s predicament is connected to Troi’s loss.
Troi is able to use her knowledge of psychology to determine the motives of the creatures, which helps the Enterprise crew formulate a plan to escape. Once the Enterprise is free, Troi regains her powers along with a renewed sense of confidence in her own abilities as a counselor. Troi doesn’t always come across well in “The Loss,” lashing out after she loses her powers, but her reactions feel realistic and human.
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3 “Dark Page”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 7, Episode 7
In one of the saddest Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes for the Trois, Deanna learns a dark and devastating secret about her past. When Lwaxana arrives on the Enterprise in “Dark Page,” she is not her usual flamboyant self. Lwaxana has been tutoring a young alien girl named Hedril (Kirsten Dunst), and Dr. Crusher determines that the telepathy necessary for her lessons has been taxing for Lwaxana.
When Lwaxana falls into a coma, Deanna enters her mind telepathically to figure out what’s wrong. Deanna learns that she once had an older sister named Kestra (Andreana Weiner), who died in a tragic accident as a young girl. Lwaxana had repressed the memory long ago, but Hedril had reminded her of her lost daughter. The two Trois then share a moment of grief, as Deanna asks her mother to tell her about the sister she never knew she had.
2 “Disaster”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 5
When many of the USS Enterprise-D’s systems suddenly stop functioning, Counselor Troi finds herself in command of the ship. As the other commanding officers are trapped in various areas of the ship, Troi must work with Chief O’Brien and Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) to determine the best course of action. Troi eventually decides not to separate the saucer section as Ro suggested and diverts power to engineering, which ends up saving the ship.
With Captain Picard trapped in a turbo lift with a group of children and Commander Riker, Data, and Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) in Ten Forward, Troi admirably rises to the occasion of being in command. Although initially worried about making the right choice, Troi gains confidence as the episode progresses, even pulling rank when Ro questions her decisions.
1 “Face of the Enemy”
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 14
In her best Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, Deanna Troi goes undercover as Romulan intelligence officer Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar. A Romulan Sub-Commander named N’Vek (Scott MacDonald) reveals that he is part of Ambassador Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) underground movement, and that he is trying to create a way for Romulans to escape into Federation space.
Marina Sirtis knocks it out of the park here, as Troi is thrust into a complex situation with no preparation and must adapt quickly.
Troi’s empathic abilities prove invaluable as she works to determine which Romulans are her allies and which are her enemies. Troi succeeds in helping three high-level Romulans defect to the Federation and the Enterprise beams her off of the Romulan ship just in time. Not only is “Face of the Enemy” an excellent vehicle for Marina Sirtis and her character, but it’s also just a genuinely great episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.
- Release Date
- September 28, 1987
- Seasons
- 7
- Showrunner
- Rick Berman , Michael Piller , Jeri Taylor
