Data's brother, Lore, arrived in the Star Trek franchise as one of the most nefarious villains in The Next Generation, but which of his episodes were best? Debuting during Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, Lore was Data's spitting image, but his aims were much more treacherous. Lore was also played by Brent Spiner, and the part allowed the seasoned character actor to stretch his range beyond the robotic nature of Data and truly play a complicated rogue. Though he only appeared in a handful of episodes across the show's seven seasons, Lore never failed to leave an impression, and he often gave the Enterprise crew their biggest challenges.
Lore's first appearance came in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 13, "Datalore," and it didn't take long for Dr. Soong's bad seed to return to vex his brother. Like every Soong character Brent Spiner played, his take on Lore imbued the android with his own personality, and he transcended merely being a stock-standard enemy of the week. Lore mattered to TNGbecause he was a dark mirror for Data, and he represented a moral lesson about the dangers of creating life. Over his four appearances, Lore had a story arc all of his own, and his presence on the show made Data an even more fascinating character.
