I'd like to hear some suggestions as to what people think are the episodes that helped the cast of characters develop the best & why. For example, Family is easily one of the best for developing Picard for obvious reasons What are some less obvious ones? One of my suggestions would be Worf in "Lower Decks" It was almost unheard of to see him as someone who's understanding & helpful to his subordinates. A lot of what made Worf so valuable to DS9 was developed in episodes like that
The first "less obvious" one that comes to mind is Samaritan Snare for Picard. It helped to break the barrier between captain and crew. Because before that, Picard was mostly very closed. He let Wesley in on his history as a cadet, and because of the medical crisis, the rest of the crew became aware too.
Although I personally didn't like the episode much, the Icarus Factor did give new insight into Riker, and his relationship with his father. An episode I liked much more was Lower Decks. Already mentioned on its insight into Worf, it also helped show what a younger Riker was like (in the character of LaVelle.) Even Deanna commented that they were similar.