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Ah, the infamous ghost sex of “Sub Rosa”! When Dr. Crusher attends the funeral of her grandmother, she becomes involved in a Gothic romance with a sexy space ghost. Clay joins me to discuss one of the most reviled episodes in Star Trek history, and we both come away asking… was it that bad? Join us as we talk about Scottish caricatures, the fog that rolls in, and why we dinnae light tha’ cahndle!
The Wikipedia plot summary for “Sub Rosa”:
The Enterprise visits Caldos IV to enable Dr. Beverly Crusher to attend the funeral of her grandmother, Felisa Howard. During the burial, Crusher sees a man she does not know who is obviously very interested in the events. Later, Crusher enters her grandmother’s house and collects several mementos, which she takes onto the Enterprise. Reading some diaries, she discovers that despite being 100 years old, her grandmother was involved with a 34-year-old man named Ronin.
Back on the planet, a groundskeeper of her grandmother’s tells her that there is a ghost in her grandmother’s house and that she should leave immediately. He also tells her that she should never light the candle her grandmother always carried, since this candle will wake up the ghost. Beverly hears a voice that tells her he is a ghost and loved her grandmother and now also loves Beverly. Finally he becomes visible, and Beverly sees a man of about 30 years.
Meanwhile, the colony is suffering from a major storm system, which the weather modification satellite is unable to correct. Data and Geordi attempt to fix the problem but are shocked to find Ned, the Howard groundskeeper, trying to stop them, before he is killed in an explosion.
The ghost called Ronin manipulates Beverly’s mind so that she falls in love with him. Ronin tells her to light the candle, which is on the Enterprise. Beverly beams up and lights the candle, and Ronin appears. Beverly tells Captain Picard that she wants to leave the Enterprise and live on the planet. Reluctantly, Picard agrees. Picard goes to Counselor Deanna Troi, with whom Crusher spoke about Ronin before she left.
Troi tells Picard that Ronin is a very strange man, but they have to accept Beverly’s decision. Then Picard beams down onto the planet and visits Beverly in her house. He wants to get to know Ronin, and finally Ronin appears. Picard asks questions which Ronin does not want to answer, and Ronin attacks Picard. Despite Ronin’s objections, Beverly helps Picard.
At the cemetery, Geordi and Data have found an energy source in Beverly’s grandmother’s grave. They open the grave, and the grandmother rises and attacks them. Beverly arrives and orders Ronin to get out of her grandmother’s body. Ronin does so and tells Beverly to give him the candle. She has by now discovered that he is an anaphasic alien who can only survive because the plasma-based candle is his energy receptacle. Beverly destroys the candle with a phaser and vaporizes Ronin when he attempts to possess her body.
Geordi and Data are treated and recover. As Picard’s log states, “Doctor Crusher’s recovery will be of a more personal nature.” Troi and Crusher discuss the events in Ten Forward, where Crusher says that a part of her is a little sad. She says that her grandmother’s journals reveal that “whatever else he might have done, he made her very happy.”
You can find “Sub Rosa”, and every other episode of the show, at ThePenskyPodcast.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @ThatPenskyFile!