You can easily say this is crucial turning point in first season of TNG, where we have death of one of the main characters of the series. I know many people will refer to this episode as the "one where Tasha left" and the subplot won't matter that much. Though many will argue this episode is here just to justify Denise Crosby leaving the series, somehow I found that without it, the "Skin of Evil" wouldn't have the impact it carries now.
First and foremost - this is a great portrait of evil in it's core, a result of what happens when all of the sadness, rage, anger, disappointment have been suppressed long enough to kill all the goodness inside. Armus is the essence of a "scorned castaway" who turns to pure evil after being eaten away by desire for revenge in probably eons that he was left behind. And even though he is nothing but evil entity that toys with Enterprise crew just as he was toyed with by those who left him behind, and even though he kills a someone of the crew that became so dear to us, we cannot but feel sorry for what he's gone through and what has made him what he is now. By the time Enterprise leaves you wish they somehow found the way to kill him just to release him from this dreadful state. This is exactly the dramatical and emotional climax this episode delivers.
The end sequence in holodeck of memorial for Tasha, with almost heavenly feel in image of green grassy slope and clear blue skies with fluffy clouds is simply breathtaking. That image was stuck in my head ever since I watched this episode as kid, and reflecting on it now - I'm sorry they didn't make more emotional highpoints in the series as this. Yes, Tasha may have died, but you feel she didn't die in vain, and all the time they spent together won't be forgotten.
First and foremost - this is a great portrait of evil in it's core, a result of what happens when all of the sadness, rage, anger, disappointment have been suppressed long enough to kill all the goodness inside. Armus is the essence of a "scorned castaway" who turns to pure evil after being eaten away by desire for revenge in probably eons that he was left behind. And even though he is nothing but evil entity that toys with Enterprise crew just as he was toyed with by those who left him behind, and even though he kills a someone of the crew that became so dear to us, we cannot but feel sorry for what he's gone through and what has made him what he is now. By the time Enterprise leaves you wish they somehow found the way to kill him just to release him from this dreadful state. This is exactly the dramatical and emotional climax this episode delivers.
The end sequence in holodeck of memorial for Tasha, with almost heavenly feel in image of green grassy slope and clear blue skies with fluffy clouds is simply breathtaking. That image was stuck in my head ever since I watched this episode as kid, and reflecting on it now - I'm sorry they didn't make more emotional highpoints in the series as this. Yes, Tasha may have died, but you feel she didn't die in vain, and all the time they spent together won't be forgotten.