S1E23
Skin of Evil
⚠ Spoiler alert This recap gives away what happens in this episode.
Episode Summary & Review
Summary
Deanna is held hostage by a black oil like alien creature capable of infinite sadism… and infinite power. To save her, one of the Enterprise crew will die.
Our Take
An awkward hour with one genuinely shocking moment. The oil-slick villain is a cheesy villain-of-the-week, all growling threats and torture games, and the death that gives the episode its reputation happens so abruptly it feels almost careless. The funeral scene afterward is the part that actually works, giving the loss some weight. Worth watching once for the history, not for the quality.