Star Trek loves it when people turn into aliens. This trope is so common that it literally describes the climax of the first Trek film, as well as, arguably, the entire ending of Deep Space Nine. Depending on which alien species were being talked about, this can either be a good or bad thing. But one of the more interesting things Trek has ever done with this trope is when one alien became a different kind of alien in the underrated Next Generation episode “Transfigurations.”
Because it aired in syndication during the week of June 4, 1990, the episode “Transfigurations” would later live in the shadow of the episode that aired the following week, “The Best of Both Worlds Part 1.” In fact, because of when it came out, it’s fair to say that “Transfigurations” is the most forgotten episode of the golden era of TNG, simply because it retroactively lived in the shadow of not just one of the most famous episodes of the entire series, but one of the most famous TV episodes of all time. But, 35 years later, “Transfigurations” is, if not a great Trek episode, certainly a decent one. And, looking back on it now, it certainly presents more questions than answers.
