This was a nice, quiet episode that lacks some of the excitement and fanfare common to most episodes (for example, there are no real 'action scenes', such as the obligatory fight scene with Captain Kirk), but worked pretty well, at least for me.
This episode is mostly about the human need for contact and companionship. My favorite line is by the Companion, toward the end: "So this is loneliness. Oh, what a bitter thing. How could you stand it?" But fortunately Zefram Cochran learns to open his mind and accept the Companion for who she is, as well as to appreciate the depth of her sacrifice for him.
As a young kid, I found this episode somewhat maudlin, but I appreciate it much more now. Like "This Side of Paradise" (first season episode with Jill Ireland), a more apt term to describe this episode is "bittersweet". Both the Companion and Cochran gain, and lose, at the end: they gain the possibility for deeper companionship; but now both will age and die. Cochran, who has already lived a full life (before being healed and de-aged by the Companion), is willing to accept a quiet life instead of exploring the galaxy, to honor the Companion's sacrifice.
This episode is mostly about the human need for contact and companionship. My favorite line is by the Companion, toward the end: "So this is loneliness. Oh, what a bitter thing. How could you stand it?" But fortunately Zefram Cochran learns to open his mind and accept the Companion for who she is, as well as to appreciate the depth of her sacrifice for him.
As a young kid, I found this episode somewhat maudlin, but I appreciate it much more now. Like "This Side of Paradise" (first season episode with Jill Ireland), a more apt term to describe this episode is "bittersweet". Both the Companion and Cochran gain, and lose, at the end: they gain the possibility for deeper companionship; but now both will age and die. Cochran, who has already lived a full life (before being healed and de-aged by the Companion), is willing to accept a quiet life instead of exploring the galaxy, to honor the Companion's sacrifice.