Ten Forward: Guinan tells a Yellow Shirt, aka our protagonist and fellow sufferer Barclay, to not make trouble this time as she hands him a drink. Barclay proceeds to 1) tell off La Forge and shove him across the room into a table, 2) slam a drink, manhandle Riker, and inform him he's nothing but a "pretty manikin in a uniform and full of hot air," and 3) hit on Troi. Successfully. I love this guy! (except for his adjectives. Pretty? Riker? He's a Bear.)
Damn, it was only a holographic fantasy. Barclay's been summoned to a meeting in Cargo Bay 5. La Forge whines to Riker that Barclay is never on time, then yells at Barclay when he does show. Barclay is obviously terrified of his commanding officers to the point of hiding behind some containers.
Barclay stammers and twitches as Riker pulls him aside and gives him A Stern Warning. The anti grav unit that La Forge, Barclay and some Yellow Shirt who vaguely resembles Ferris Bueller wobbles and collapses like a 1970's Sci Fi set. La Forge demonstrates zero patience for Barclay even though it's clear that Barclay is paralyzed by fear. He can't collect his thoughts quickly enough for La Forge, who along with Riker goes to tattle on him to Big Daddy Picard.
Picard is shocked at their request for Barclay's transfer, as his service record is clean. Riker checked him out though and found some damning evidence that he is unsuitable for duty. What was his heinous crime? At the academy, he was noted for his "seclusive tendencies." Bust out the pitchforks!!! Eject him out of the airlock at once!
Picard's all "...And???..." and tells the whingers, La Forge in particular, to make Barclay his new BFF. La Forge decides the most helpful strategy to do this is to invite Barclay, a man who is transparently afraid to speak in public, to a senior staff meeting. No pressure.
Barclay is less than two seconds late but he already knows he's screwed. La Forge asks Barclay to brief them on the anti grav failure (with no preparation) and Barclay can't get a word in without Wesley interrupting him.
Barclay has a fake therapy/make out session with Troi and indulges in a forest fantasy trip. It's weird, it's a bit creepy, to be sure, but it's not the worst thing he could be doing.
In Ten Forward, La Forge tells Wesley, Bueller, and Data that he's trying to "open up" Barclay. Ugh. At least Wesley has the good graces to be concerned. Data, through his innocent questioning, points out how maybe they shouldn't be calling Barclay "Broccoli" behind his back. Yeah that, and the fact that The Captain already ordered you to shut that shit down.
Bueller's glass melts in his hand, probably sick of being held by such a douche. Figuring out the anti grav problem is going to be a boring chore, so La Forge assigns it to Barclay, who already decided to run those diagnostics. Oh snap.
This diagnostic is going to take a while and as usual Barclay has trouble explaining this, now to Picard. Picard is kind and patient with him until he accidentally calls him "Mr. Broccoli." Riker is beyond amused because that's how adults treat each other when they hurt an innocent party's feelings.
Ten Forward: La Forge complains yet again about Barclay. This is so out of character for the optimistic and positive La Forge, who I normally love (except when he plays the friendzone victim.) Guinan tells La Forge that she just serves Barclay warm milk and that Barclay is imaginative. La Forge's response: "Maybe he's in the wrong line of work." Extreme leap anyone?
La Forge's additional evidence is that Barclay doesn't fit in, he's always late, and makes him nervous. "No one wants to be around him." Guinan shuts him down: "If I thought nobody wanted to be around me, I'd be late and nervous too." Finally someone on this ship is making sense. Why don't you put her in charge?
La Forge makes the logical jump to invade Barclay's privacy by interrupting him on the holodeck. La Forge learns that Dr. Crusher likes to swing, Picard, Data, and La Forge himself like to sword fight, and Wesley digs on pie.
It's an interesting choice of crew for Barclay to fence: Picard has been patient and seemingly understanding towards him and Data has only ever been Data. I suppose Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner have fencing on their CV's.
La Forge watches in a horror/amusement embarrassment cocktail until Barclay finally notices him. Barclay tries to resign but La Forge is cool about the whole thing, as he should be, given his own holo proclivities. Barclay reveals that he has trouble talking to people, that he writes down what to say before a party, and that when he gets there, he feels alone and uncomfortable. La Forge tells him he's just shy. Barclay and the entire audience groan.
La Forge orders him to see Counselor Troi. Is there no other therapist on board? How many people are on this ship? I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable seeing a male therapist to talk about some of these issues.
Barclay clearly feels uncomfortable around Troi. Isn't she supposed to sense emotions? Even so, you don't need to be an empath to pick up on his squirmy body language that screams Get Me Out Of Here. Her solution? Turn down the lights, sit too close to Barclay on the couch and get him to breath. The Fuck?
Barclay pretends he feels better and gets the hell out of the quack's office. Troi tattles to La Forge. HIPAA, anyone? Riker loses it. The man in charge of personnel has zero empathy for his subordinates that don't have a cocky swagger like him.
I don't want to hear how The Enterprise is a military vessel and rules of reasonable accommodation don't apply. Sure, they are all trained to fight, but this is first and foremost a ship of exploration, or so they keep telling us. There is no excuse not to provide competent counseling, mental health services, and general awareness.
Riker and Troi discover Barclay's holodeck fantasy, including a short Riker and a scantily clad Troi. Neither of them can handle their likeness being used, which is understandable, though they have a good time heckling each other. How about dealing with Barclay's underlying social anxiety that leads to his avoidance, thus creating a series holodiction? Anyone? Bueller?
This ship is all jacked up and they need Barclay's help. Of course Barclay figures it out seconds before the ship flies apart. Apparently Bueller was carrying some kind of hidden substance that he spread all over the ship. Barclay performs excellent work under extreme pressure but isn't really acknowledged. All in a day's work, I guess.
Barclay says goodbye to his holodeck creations and joins the real world. Too bad no one is addressing his underlying and very treatable issues.
C
What is astounding is how long Barclay must have suffering before anyone even tried to touch on his problems. I thought mental health services in the NHS were bad! And great point about Troi being the wrong choice of counsellor in this instance. Wtf were Starfleet's best and brightest thinking?
ReplyDeleteTroi wasn't the best therapist on a good day, but to completely misread Barclay is the equivalent of whatever passes for malpractice in the TNG universe. Maybe she was just possessed that day. *eyeroll*
DeleteThis puts Barclay in a whole new light for me. I never thought about him possibly having a treatable anxiety disorder and the "empathic" Counselor Troi being so clueless for so long! Looking forward to more recaps, especially the Barclay episodes.
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