Why did Data want to... (spoilers)

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Spoilers for the season finale!!!

Why did Data want to die? Why was it OK for Data to die, because humans are finite, but then Picard gets resurrected as an android? Why couldn't Data get the same treatment? No spare android bodies lying around for Data?

Picard was born in 2305, died in 2399 at the age of 94, and woke up as an android clone, I guess?

Data was found and activated by Starfleet in 2338. He died in 2379. In terms of memory and life experience, this would make Data only 41 years old. Wouldn't a 41-year-old jump at a second chance for life, even if he knew he were the clone of someone who died?

 

[Makarov]

A deleted scene shows Mark Twain from Time's Arrow was stuck in the simulation with him and he couldnt take it anymore

 

[fireproof78]

He found out they were all out of cake. So, the only other option was "...or death "

 

[Makarov]

Picard only saw one room but the rest of the simulation was the casino from The Royale

 

[Tosk]

Wouldn't a 41-year-old jump at a second chance for life, even if he knew he were the clone of someone who died?

Maybe. But don't forget that the way we measure the passage of time is not the same for Data. Jokingly or not, Data once referred to 0.68 seconds as "nearly an eternity".

 

[Tim Thomason]

Maybe. But don't forget that the way we measure the passage of time is not the same for Data. Jokingly or not, Data once referred to 0.68 seconds as "nearly an eternity".

Data doesn't do jokes. Not since that tragic episode where he looked to Joe Piscopo for guidance.

 

[Go-Captain]

There's no good reason for him to not have a body of his own.

I think the main reason Data wanted to die was that he saw himself as a copy of Data, or just a simulation, lacking some sort of innate quality which could not be copied through the two processes used to revive him (B4 memory copy, and neuron neural matrix copy). Further, this matches up nicely with "Measure of a Man" where he is concerned Maddox would effectively kill him if allowed to study his neural net even if memories all remained intact.

Data Copy doesn't think of himself as Data, lacks a body, and runs in some sort of completely isolated state within a simulation meaning he has no autonomy. Death as apposed to another option tells me there is no other option. My guess is the simulated Data couldn't be copied because the simulation of his neural net somehow could not translate to a physical neural net. Why? No idea.

 

[C.E. Evans]

In the end, Data finally understood what being Human was all about more than most Humans, IMO. It wasn't about longevity of life, but the quality of life. And Data probably realized that he did have a good life and that it really did end when he sacrificed himself so that Picard and everyone else on the Enterprise could live. I don't think it was about coming back, but letting go--for his sake as well as Picard's.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I like the idea of Data putting emphasis on thay he has already died, that Picard needs to let go of Data's echo. I feel like that would have serviced the episode with more emotional punch.

20 years after Data died, Picard is unexpectedly reunited with his dear friend only to say goodbye and asked to pull the plug. This ending gave the audience that emotional punch Nemesis lacked.

 

[Tosk]

To quote another android, "A thing isn't beautiful because it lasts."

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

A deleted scene shows Mark Twain from Time's Arrow was stuck in the simulation with him and he couldnt take it anymore

Twain and Moriarty eternally playing chess and they were both cheating.

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

Because Data knew, no matter what, his new body just wouldn't get his original hair-do quite right.

 

[Lord Garth]

Because Data knew, no matter what, his new body just wouldn't get his original hair-do quite right.

I wonder how hard it would've been to just borrow a generic 1982 male wig from a mannequin in cold storage somewhere?

 

[Tenacity]

Twain and Moriarty eternally playing chess and they were both cheating.

Kirk: "Not chess Mister Spock ... poker."

 

[NCC-73515]

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[F. King Daniel]

Why did Data want to die? Why was it OK for Data to die, because humans are finite, but then Picard gets resurrected as an android? Why couldn't Data get the same treatment? No spare android bodies lying around for Data?

No there was literally the one golem.

He was a copy from a backup living in a single room for 20 years. I'd probably have had enough too.

 

[Tim Thomason]

They should've put Data in the Golem after basing its appearance off of Alton Soong. And they could still keep all the weird details about the golem aging like normal and whatnot.

It would've been a true ending to Data's Pinocchio-inspired story.

 

[Makarov]

In TNG they gave Moriarty the entire simulated universe to play around in, I think having even more advanced tech by this point they could simulate the entire current universe for Data and feed in real events

He has no memory of his death, but they could have easily played the events out for him and let him pick up where he left off. If Soong wanted to they probably could have altered the events and have Data continue living from that point without knowing it was a simulation

I mean a simple holodeck can do that, I would think Soong + Bruce would give Data the most advanced life possible.

The only way it makes sense to me is maybe they tried and Data still got bored and choose to hang out in that one room

 

[Go-Captain]

They should've put Data in the Golem after basing its appearance off of Alton Soong. And they could still keep all the weird details about the golem aging like normal and whatnot.

It would've been a true ending to Data's Pinocchio-inspired story.

They should have just had Spiner play Data resurrected in the new style body (human looking, no gold skin, perhaps very mild emotions like TNG season 1 Data) and not bother with Alton Soong. It would have given a chance for Spiner to play a part while making more sense than introducing a secret sibling. They could have had a throw away line about the artificial biology aging like a Vulcan; slow but not immortal. It would have also completed the promise of the neural clone description in episode one by actually having Data resurrected as Dr. Jurrati describes.

No need to re-kill him either.

 

[fireproof78]

They should have just had Spiner play Data resurrected in the new style body (human looking, no gold skin, perhaps very mild emotions like TNG season 1 Data) and not bother with Alton Soong. It would have given a chance for Spiner to play a part while making more sense than introducing a secret sibling. They could have had a throw away line about the artificial biology aging like a Vulcan; slow but not immortal. It would have also completed the promise of the neural clone description in episode one by actually having Data resurrected as Dr. Jurrati describes.

No need to re-kill him either.

Except, Spiner didn't want to play Data beyond what he did.