Darmok ( episode ) Picard is captured , then trapped on a planet with an alien captain who speaks a metaphorical language incompatible with the universal translator . They must learn to communicate with each other before a deadly planetary beast overwhelms them . Summary . Teaser . The is on a mission to attempt to establish communications between the Federation and the Tamarian s after several previous attempts by the Federation over the last century had failed . The " Enterprise " and the Tamarian vessel make a rendezvous in orbit of El - Adrel IV . The two parties try to communicate but , like the occasions before , neither party can comprehend what the other party is saying . Captain Dathon disarms his first officer of a knife - like weapon and repeats , “ and Jalad at . ” Suddenly both he and Captain Picard are transported off of their ships to the surface of El - Adrel IV . Data finds that the Tamarian vessel projected a scattering field in the ionosphere of the planet , preventing both the " Enterprise " and themselves from using their transporter s . On the planet , Picard watches the Tamarian captain approach . He suddenly holds up two knives . Act One . Data also finds that the scattering field is blocking communications . However , sensor s can still penetrate the scattering field , allowing either party to monitor Picard ' s and Dathon ' s locations . Lieutenant Worf suggests it might be a contest between champions . Seeing that they are in good health , Riker attempts to communicate with the Tamarian first officer , with no success . He has Worf prepare a shuttlecraft to get the captain , betting the Tamarian ship won ' t fire on it . On the surface of El - Adrel IV , Picard and Dathon once again try to communicate , as Dathon passes one of the two knives to Picard , repeating “ Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra . ” Picard assumes that Dathon wants to engage in combat and refuses to take his knife . Frustrated , Dathon says " Shaka , when the walls fell " but Picard cannot understand the terms that Dathon is using and both men become frustrated with their failure . As nightfall approaches , Picard is still stuck on the planet ' s surface . He tries to make a fire , but cannot . Dathon then does something akin to prayer and goes to sleep , taking one of his knives for protection . However , he cannot sleep knowing that Picard will go through the night cold . Dathon takes a branch from his fire and throws it to Picard . He says " Temba , his arms wide . " While Picard does not understand what or who Temba is , he understands that Dathon is trying to help him , and thanks him for the fire . Act Two . Worf takes the shuttle " Magellan " with Ensign Kellogg to the surface of El - Adrel IV to rescue Captain Picard . As they begin to descend , the Tamarian vessel fires upon the shuttle and disables the starboard nacelle , destroying the shuttle ' s thrusters and forcing it to return to the " Enterprise " . It was a very precise shot . In the observation lounge , Riker has Lieutenant commander Data and Counselor Troi analyze the log of the communication between themselves and the Tamarians and consult the ship ' s computer with the words and names mentioned and find several commonalities . Data and Troi deduce that the Tamarian language is entirely based on metaphors derived from their own experience and mythology , making their language extremely difficult for a non - Tamarian to understand because without knowing the people or things in the metaphor , the metaphor is impossible to comprehend . Lieutenant Commander La Forge and Ensign Lefler then attempt to modify the transporters to transport Captain Picard through the dampening field . The following morning , on the planet ' s surface , Picard and Dathon are still no better off in their attempts to communicate with one another . Picard wakes up to find Dathon missing . He examines his things , finding what looks like a captain ' s log , then he returns . Picard notices that Dathon repeatedly uses the phrase " Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra " , but he does not understand who or what they were . Dathon is still insistent in giving Picard one of the knives , but again Picard refuses . They hear a loud roar in the distance and rocks fall from the cliffs behind the two men , and Picard realizes that Dathon and he are not alone on the planet ' s surface . Act Three . As the creature approaches Picard and Dathon , Picard realizes that Dathon is not offering him the knife to fight him , but to arm him against the creature , and accepts the weapon . When Dathon speaks again , referring to what sounds like a battle plan , Picard understands that the Tamarians communicate by metaphor . Dathon utters a phrase that sounds like he was relieved that Picard finally understands why the knife was offered . Meanwhile , Worf detects a highly localized EM disturbance in fairly close proximity to Picard and Dathon , and it is approaching them . La Forge , Lefler and Chief O ' Brien are almost ready to attempt to beam Captain Picard back aboard the " Enterprise " . Riker orders them to try early , but La Forge isn ' t hopeful . They make preparations for transporter room one where O ' Brien is ready . The creature attacks Dathon and Picard wounds it , but the creature strikes Picard . Dathon makes a return attack and draws the creature . Just then , O ' Brien makes the attempt to transport Picard while the creature is striking Dathon . Picard is furious with being transported as it leaves him unable to help his fellow captain just as the two are beginning to understand each other . The transport fails and Picard is left on the planet as the creature moves away from Dathon . Picard holds him as they say " Shaka , when the walls fell . " Act Four . The Tamarians lower the scattering field to a deeper level of the planet ' s ionosphere , making transport impossible and forcing the crew to devise a new way to bring the captain back to the " Enterprise " . Riker has La Forge work on a way to disable the field generator on the Tamarian ship . The " Enterprise " s sensors show that Dathon ' s life sign s are fluctuating and they know that the Tamarians know this also , but , surprisingly , no action is taken by the Tamarians to save their captain . Troi and Data explain the difficulty with their language , that it is based on narrative imagery . One must know the context as well as the words of the language . Back on El - Adrel IV , Picard sits down next to a dying Dathon near the fire and asks him about Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra . It seems that Darmok and Jalad were two legendary travelers , strangers who faced and defeated a common enemy on the island of Tanagra . Picard realizes that Dathon knew of the creature on El - Adrel IV and brought them both here so that they could re - enact the events between Darmok , Jalad and " the Beast " at Tanagra . Dathon ' s hope was that by facing a common enemy , the two sides could learn to understand one another and bring the two species closer together . Now that Picard understands how the Tamarians communicate , Dathon wants to hear one of his stories . Picard recites an old story from Earth , very similar to that of Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra , about Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk , how two enemies became friends through hardship . Dathon appears impressed and amused by Picard ' s story . Dathon dies during the night , but not in vain , as he has become the first Tamarian to successfully establish communications between his people and the Federation . Act Five . Back on the " Enterprise " , La Forge and his staff have developed a way to disable the Tamarians ' scattering field – by firing a highly focused single phaser beam aimed at the generator on the Tamarian vessel . Commander Riker gives the order to fire on the Tamarian vessel . The shot disables the generator , allowing Chief O ' Brien to beam Captain Picard aboard just as the creature is about to attack him again . The Tamarians return fire , severely damaging the " Enterprise " and crippling the ship ' s warp drive . As Picard returns to the bridge , he orders hailing frequencies to be opened with the Tamarian vessel . The Tamarians reply angrily but they quickly calm down when Picard addresses them in metaphor . He explains that although the mission was a success as far as establishing communications between the two peoples is concerned , Dathon gave his life to accomplish it . This successful contact will henceforth be known as the story of " Picard and Dathon at El - Adrel " . Picard offers the knife to the Tamarian officer , but the Tamarian insists that Picard keep it . Picard later reads the " Homeric Hymns " in his ready room , explaining to Riker that maybe more familiarity with their own mythology may help them relate to the Tamarians . Picard notes to Riker that Dathon sacrificed his life in hope of communication , and wonders if he would have been willing to do the same . Riker leaves the ready room , and Picard picks up the knife and looks out of the ready room window into space while repeating the possibly religious gestures he saw Dathon engage in , paying silent tribute to his fallen comrade . Memorable quotes . " " Darmok and Jalad . . . at Tanagra . " " " " Picard and Dathon . . . at El - Adrel . " " " " In my experience , communication is a matter of patience , imagination . I would like to believe that these are qualities that we have in sufficient measure . " " " " Shaka , when the walls fell . " " " " I have encountered 1 , 754 non - Human races during my tenure in Starfleet . " " " " Temba , his arms wide ! " " " " That ' s how you communicate , isn ' t it ? By citing example . . . by metaphor ! Uzani ' s army . . . with fists open . . . " " " " Sokath , his eyes uncovered ! " " ( meant as a metaphor to comprehension ) " " Imagery is " everything " to the Tamarians . It embodies their emotional states , their very thought processes . It ' s how they communicate and it ' s how they think . " " " " Our situation is analogous to knowing the grammar of a language , but none of the vocabulary . " " " " Darmok , and Jalad . . . on the ocean . " " " " Darmok and Jalad . . . they left " together " . " " " " Temba , his arms wide . " " " " I ' ll go along with that . " " " " Gilgamesh , a king . Gilgamesh , a king . At Uruk . He tormented his subjects . He made them angry . They cried out aloud , " Send us a companion for our king ! Spare us from his madness ! " Enkidu , a wild man . . . from the forest , entered the city . They fought in the temple . They fought in the streets . Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu . They became great friends . Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk . " " " " At Uruk … " " " " The . . . the new friends went out into the desert together , where the Great Bull of Heaven was killing men by the hundreds . Enkidu caught the Bull by the tail . Gilgamesh struck him with his sword . " " " " ( laughing ) Gilgamesh . . . " " " " They were . . . victorious . But . . . Enkidu fell to the ground , struck down by the gods . And Gilgamesh . . . wept bitter tears , saying , " He who was my companion , through adventure and hardship , is gone forever . " " " " Temarc ! The river Temarc in winter ! " " " " Darmok . . . ? " " " " . . . and Jalad at Tanagra . Darmok and Jalad . . . on the ocean . " " " " Sokath , his eyes open ! " " " " The beast at Tanagra . Uzani , his army . Shaka , when the walls fell . " " " " Temba , his arms open . " " " " Temba , at rest . " " " " New friends , captain ? " " " " I can ' t say , Number One . . . but at least they ' re not new enemies . " " " " Now the door is open between our peoples . That commitment meant more to him than his own life . " " " " Picard of the Federation . Of the Starship " Enterprise " . Of the planet Earth ! " " Links and references . References . 47 ; annular confinement beam ; balcony ; bioscan ; bluff ; bull ; Children of Tama ( Tamarians ) ; communications channel ; dagger ; Darmok ; ( colony ) ; ( emperor ) ; ( food ) ; ( hunter ) ; Earth ; El - Adrel IV ; El - Adrel system ; Enkidu ; evasive maneuvers ; Federation ; Gallos II ; Gilgamesh ; grammar ; Great Bull of Heaven ; Greek language ; " Homeric Hymns " ; ionosphere ; Jalad ; Kanda IV ; Lerishi IV ; linguistic database ; " Magellan " ; Malindi VII ; mythology ; NDT ; nonaggression pact ; Number one ; particle scattering field ; particle sustaining beam ; plasma reactor ; polarity coil generator ; noun ; Razna V ; red alert ; " Romeo and Juliet " ; Seventh Dynasty ; Shantil III ; ; Sigma Tama IV ; ; Tamarian deep space cruiser ; Tamarian language ; ( beverage ) ; ( island ) ; Tanagra family ; time index ; universal translator ; Uruk ; vocabulary Children of Tama language references . Anzo ; Bahar ; Bakor ; Bashi ; Callimas ; Chenza ; Jiri ; Kadir ; Kailash ; Kanza ; Kiazi ; ; Kiteo ; Kituay ; Lashmir ; Lowani ; Lungha ; Mirab ; Mo Moteh ; Rai ; Shaka ; Sokath ; Temarc ; Temba ; Ubaya ; Uzani ; Zima ; Zinda