Object

Table Holding Masaka’s Mask in Data's Quarters

Central to Data's possession scene in Star Trek: TNG S7E17 ('Masks'); holds Masaka’s mask, a key prop in the episode's supernatural plot. Interacts with Data and his quarters, symbolizing the transition from passive host to active threat.

1 appearances

Purpose

Holds artifacts like Masaka’s mask for retrieval in private quarters

Significance

Serves as the launch point for Data’s full surrender to the alien entity, turning a static prop into the epicenter of possession and impending violence against the crew

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments

S7E17 · Masks

Data claims Masaka’s mask

Masaka’s mask, a richly colored artifact of Data’s earlier clay sculpture, serves as the physical vessel for the alien archive’s possession. Its presence on the table is a silent but ominous foreshadowing of Data’s transformation. When Data lifts it to his face, the mask becomes a tangible symbol of his surrender to the alien entities, marking the irreversible escalation of his possession. Its role is both functional (as a conduit for the archive’s influence) and narrative (as a visual representation of Data’s loss of autonomy).

Before: Resting on the table in Data’s quarters, untouched but symbolically charged with the potential for possession.

After: Pressed against Data’s face, now an extension of his possessed state, no longer a passive object but an active tool of the alien archive’s control.

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