Imaginary Friend

TNG Season 5 Episode 22
Air Date: May 4th, 1992

Ensign Daniel Sutter is transferred to the Enterprise and enlists Counselor Troi's help in dealing with his daughter Clara's imaginary friend. Troi tells him it is healthy, especially since he has had so many transfers lately and she is just using the imaginary friend as an anchor, a friend that never goes away.

When the Enterprise enters a nebula to chart it which is inhabited by an energy based life form. This life form explores the ship and eventually takes on the role of Clara's imaginary friend Isabella. She then learns what human's are like from the eyes of a child. And what she learns is that human's are mean to Clara since they don't let her do what she wants.

Isabella's friends show up and start attacking the ship, but once they discover that Isabella is not imaginary, Captain Picard confronts her and explain that kids are the most important thing and that they have rules not to be mean but to keep them safe. Isabella understands and they stop attacking the Enterprise.

When the Enterprise is under attack, we can see what the nebula really looks like and it almost seemed like the Enterprise was trapped in a spider's web. I don't know if it looked like as cool originally or if it is just the updated effects.

Quotes

"If the other grown-ups don't understand, how come you do?" - Clara
"Well, maybe because when I was your age, I had one." - Guinan
"You did?" - Clara
"Mmm." - Guinan
"What was she like?" - Clara
"It wasn't a she." - Guinan
"What was he like?" - Clara
"It wasn't a he." - Guinan
"It?" - Clara
"It was a Tarcassian razor beast. It had dark brown fur and gold eyes and huge spiny wings, and it would fly past so fast nobody could see it but me." - Guinan
"Sounds scary." - Clara
"Oh, it was. Especially when he smiled." - Guinan

"I was going to protect you, Clara. I liked you. But now I don't care. Now, when the others come, you can die along with everyone else." - Isabella

"You are seeing this ship, all of us, from a unique perspective, from a child's point of view. It must seem terribly unfair and restrictive to you. As adults, we don't always stop to consider how everything we say and do shapes the impressions of young people, but if you're judging us, as a people, by the way we treat our children, and I think there can be no better criterion. Then you must understand how deeply we care for them. When our children are young, they don't understand what might be dangerous. Our rules are to keep them from harm, real or imagined, and that's part of the continuity of our Human species. When Clara grows up, she will make rules for her children, to protect them as we protect her." - Captain Picard