Q is considered to be one of the most interesting and entertaining recurring minor characters on The Next Generation. His reception was so good that he continued to appear in the Deep Space Nine and Voyager series. What makes Q such a beloved character? His first two appearances were definitely lacking in depth and meaning and the script is not drastically better during Q’s scenes (“Encounter at Farpoint“, “Hide and Q“). The answer lies in John de Lancie’s fabulous acting and an episode of unexpectedly good character development.

The episode “Deja Q” takes place in the third season of Next Gen, well out of the way of the notoriously bad season one. With the writers and actors settled into the show, the character Q is brought back for a comedic interlude right after the season’s hiatus. Previously, Star Trek had not been dedicating episodes to character development. Instead, sub-plots unrelated to the main conflict drove most of the character-revealing moments on the show (“Hide and Q”, “Heart of Glory”, “We’ll Always Have Paris”, “The Measure of a Man”). “Deja Q” provides a refreshingly meaningful way for the characters to interact with each other as well as showcase the skills of renowned actors John de Lancie as Q, Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, and Brent Spiner as Data.

The premise of the episode is that the prankster alien Q is stripped of his god-like powers of omniscience, teleportation, and unlimited conjuration. He materializes on the deck of the Enterprise D as a human and angrily explains his situation to the skeptical crew. Q’s indignant stance and dismissive tone when regarding any problems that aren’t directly related to him provide a compelling motive for his actions; Q, despite what he had tried to assert in his previous encounters with the Enterprise, is completely self-absorbed. His whining tone, frantic eye movements, and defensive posture reveals that he is scared and unsure of himself. This is a very different Q than has been seen before. All of his solemnity and sense of superiority is gone, replaced with uncertainty shrouded in an indignant demeanor. Splashes of humor make the scene all the more enjoyable.

As the story progresses, Q’s self-important attitudes becomes repetitive to the point of being annoying. His over exaggerated experiences of pain, hunger, and embarrassment are easy to predict. While the actual events appear mundane, the revelation Q comes to is quite spectacular. Humanity is selfless. There is some drive within humans, a pack bonding instinct perhaps, that causes people to risk themselves for the sake of others. Q realizes that because of his inability to think beyond his own desires he will never be a good human. In a rare act of shame and gratitude, Q tells Data that even an emotionless android is a better human than himself, and then uses himself as bait to draw an alien threat away from the Enterprise.

While this act of partial self-sacrificing, part suicide attempt restores Q’s powers, he remains humbled. John de Lancie’s playful voice inflections and facial expressions perfectly marries the lingering shame of Q’s disgrace as well as the pride inherent to the character. Likely, Q’s overwhelmingly favorable reception by Star Trek fans is due to the unique look at humanity he provides. For brief episodes, viewers can see humanity through the eyes of a god and even there find nobility in the communal instincts of ordinary people.