TNG S5E17 "The Outcast" Review By AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Since the word "androgynous" is literally the fifth word in this episode, I decided to look it up because I questioned if it was the correct word to describe the J'naii. The definition I got basically confirmed my suspicion. Androgyny usually has more to do with appearance than with actual gender, but in the special case of a person with both sets of genitalia it could be correctly applied. The definition suggests that someone described as androgynous would have both male and female traits. But since the J'naii have no males or females, this cannot be the case for them. I'm not sure why I'm hung up on this, but I just think that calling them a single-sex species would make more sense.



Anyway, the crew is helping the J'naii to retrieve some missing crew members that navigated a shuttle into null space. That's the tech portion of the show, and it really doesn't matter how it plays out, but if you're interested they get them back. The real story is that one of these androgynous or single-sex persons, Soren, is vulnerable and not too bad looking so naturally Riker moves in for the kill. Actually, Soren is the forward one, mostly due to a lack of understanding that sexual topics are uncomfortable. She actually blurts out to Riker, "Tell me about your sexual organs." Riker responds:

Soren finally confides in him that she identifies as a female. This makes her life very hard, but makes writing the rest of this review much easier, pronoun-wise. She says that she was born this way, and yet on her planet it is forbidden to identify as a gender. Anyone outed as male or female is sent to have their brain scrambled until they are singing the praises of non-genderism again.

Riker is drawn to Soren because she is brilliant and fun at the same time. He is impressed in her science knowledge (somehow it is her and him that come up with the solution to the null space problem, although his expertise doesn't fit this narrative in any way that I'm aware of), and her ability to pilot a shuttle. They don't bone, but they do express feelings and mutual attraction, and wonder out loud if they are sexually compatible.

Meanwhile the rest of the senior officers are enjoying a poker game, and Worf has stated that the J'naii bother him. He can't articulate why, they just do. These poker games are always a good view of the crew off the clock, but this one seemed particularly charming to me. They are quite comfortable with each other and are free to express exactly what they are thinking without judgment. The others don't agree with Worf, but they don't think any less of him for holding that opinion. They gently nudge him by questioning him until he realizes that he doesn't have a valid reason and changes the topic. I loved this exchange, and the rare opportunity to see the crew as just a regular group of friends.

The obvious parallel issue at the time that this episode aired was homosexuality. Though the metaphor isn't quite perfect, much of what we learn about J'naii culture lines up with the prejudices that homosexuals have faced on our own planet. Gendered J'naii are outed, and then face immediate consequences. Mainly, they get shock treatments, in the manner that homosexuals are often subjected to conversion therapy. Except...the treatments work on Soren. She comes out and is thankful that her mind is now right. So in essence, praying away the gay does work according to this episode. I don't think that was the intended message of the show, but it is what happens.

Though I'm doubtful that the writers had transgender or gender identity as we now view it on their minds at the time of this episode's conception, it's hard not to look at it through a modern lens and have that take. Riker joking about pronouns being difficult to navigate is now something that genuinely is an issue and is being addressed. Worf having a natural discomfort with the whole thing is representative of a part of the population as well. He's your grandma on Facebook sharing memes about public restrooms. But then there's Riker. He is remarkably open-minded here. He fell for Soren because of who she was inside, not just because of physical attraction and certainly not as a curiosity or kink. He fell for her so hard that he was willing to violate the Prime Directive and interfere with the proceedings of a sovereign people (and none other than Worf himself had his back here). He cared for her so much that he was willing to lie about their relationship to spare her the treatment. And in the end, he even confesses that he loves her. He uses that word. But it's too late. Even though she made a bold attempt to confront the issue head-on, proclaiming that she is female, but that's it's natural and not a sickness, she gets the shock treatment anyway. Once she's been brain scrambled, she doesn't want to go back to being female.

After making sure that Riker has attended to whatever he was doing in secret, Picard gives the order to leave the planet. This was a Good episode. It was, and remains today, a bold topic to tackle. It was especially a good choice to make Riker, the dominant alpha male type to be the love interest for Soren. An easier choice might have been the love-lorn and desperate Geordi, or perhaps even to have Data take up her cause in a non-romantic way. But the episode just wouldn't have had the same punch, and to their credit they took their most macho character and put him in the situation instead. One interesting takeaway was that the J'naii viewed losing their gender over time as an evolutionary advancement of the species. I wonder if we're heading that way? Sure, when we were living in caves it made sense for men to be strong and dominant, and women to strictly focus on child-rearing. But now? Is there a need for gender roles at all?

Published March 1, 2019