I love serialized storytelling. Self-contained stories are nice too, don't get me wrong, but getting multiple installments that provide something to look forward to is exciting and fuels speculation. Star Trek: The Next Generation finally started leaning into this kind of storytelling toward the end of its third season when it left us with an unreal cliffhanger in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I.”
And it pretty much changed Star Trek forever.
But first, let me inform you gentle readers that this is just the latest edition of my rewatch and review of the entire Star Trek franchise! If you're interested in reading my previous reviews of the show or of the original cast's forays into the final frontier, feel free to check out my “Complete Collection” page that I've set up. You can also follow me on Bluesky where I try to spend my days being pretty and witty, and on my website at jiggyflyjoe.com.
The third season finale, “The Best of Both Worlds, Part I,” ends after Captain Picard is kidnapped by the menacing Borg, who have transformed him into Locutus of Borg, a kind of spokesperson for the cybernetically-enhanced hive-minded race. Hailing the Enterprise, now under Commander Riker in Picard's absence, Locutus informs them that “resistance is futile.” The episode concludes with Riker ordering Worf to open fire on the Borg cube, just before it cuts to black and we see the words, “To be continued...”
It's worth mentioning again, as I did in last season's review, that this was an extraordinary move for Star Trek as a whole. This is the very first time they have ended a season with a cliffhanger. It just goes to show that, now that we're dealing with what is essentially a brand new-ish writing staff, it was at this point in history that Star Trek finally started leaning more into story arcs that could span across multiple episodes and seasons, rather than simply telling stories that were mostly self-contained into a single episode. It's definitely the kind of stories the Next Gen crew got used to telling, since the rest of the series will also feature season finale cliffhangers that lead into the following season's premiere. Personally, I love getting excited to see how something is going to get wrapped up later on and the kind of momentum and hype it can bring about within an audience or “fandom.” As the series was airing live, audiences spent an entire summer debating and trying to figure out if Patrick Stewart would even return for the fourth season.1 Michael Piller, who wrote the two episodes, wasn't even sure how to end the story himself.
“The Best of Both Worlds, Part II” opens with Worf firing the deflector dish at the Borg cube, but they sustain no damage. Locutus informs the crew that the Borg have used Picard's knowledge of Starfleet and the Enterprise crew to prepare for the entire conflict just before the cube warps off toward Earth. While the Enterprise is severely damaged, they make haste to follow after them, especially given word that a fleet of ships is preparing to intercept the Borg at the system Wolf 359. Upon their arrival, however, the fleet has already been obliterated, including a very mangled U.S.S. Melbourne, the command that Riker himself had just been offered. Despite Guinan's well-intentioned suggestion that Riker let go of the idea of rescuing Picard from the Borg, Riker decides to separate the Enterprise2 in a maneuver to both distract the Borg and disrupt their sensors long enough for Data and Worf to pilot a shuttlecraft past their shields, transport aboard the cube, and retrieve Locutus. Since they've already used his knowledge to gain the upper-hand at Wolf 359, the Borg consider Picard's retrieval as irrelevant and continue on toward Earth. Data is then able to use a neural link to access the Borg collective subroutines through Locutus, which allows him to command the Borg drones to return to sleep mode and deactivate their weapons and defensive systems, and the cube is eventually destroyed. Data and Dr. Crusher then work together to remove the Borg implants from Picard and effectively restore him to his former self.3
The following episode is titled “Family,” and for good reason. Not only do the crew of the Enterprise feel more like a family by this point, this episode and, to be quite frank, the rest of this season, deal quite a bit with the concept of family. In this episode, Picard goes to visit his family at their vineyard in France while the Enterprise is docked and undergoing repairs. While his sister-in-law, Marie, and his nephew, René, do their best to be very accommodating, his older brother Robert is more disgruntled by the visit from a recovering Jean-Luc. Robert eventually reveals that he's always been jealous of Jean-Luc's success in Starfleet and he's worried that he'll drive René to follow in his footsteps, while Jean-Luc admits that he is considering a job on Earth due to his guilt and feeling helpless from the things he was forced to do as Locutus. Fortunately, the two are able to resolve their differences, and Picard obviously decides to return to Starfleet. The B-stories for this episode also include Worf being visited by his adopted human parents, Sergey and Helena Rozhenko, and subsequently feeling humiliated. Beverly also receives an old message from her late husband Jack, which was intended for Wesley to see. Though she struggles with the idea of giving it to him so late, she eventually decides to and Wesley responds well to Jack's message of encouragement.
The theme continues on throughout the season. In the third episode, “Brothers,” Data is surprised to meet his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, who has summoned both Data and his identical brother Lore to his home. This is done under the guise of needing important maintenance done, but it also turns out that Dr. Soong is dying and that he wants to give Data a microchip that would allow him to feel emotions. Lore winds up stealing the chip and implanting it in himself before beaming off the planet. In the sixth episode, “Legacy,” the crew of the Enterprise encounter Tasha Yar's surviving sister, Ishara, who lives on a planet that is home to warring factions. Though the Enterprise is there on a rescue mission, Ishara also starts getting close to Data, who was also close friends with Tasha. She later turns on him, however, when she makes an attempt at disabling her opposing faction's defenses. He and Riker incapacitate her, refusing to involve the Federation in their planetary war. In “Reunion,” Worf must deal with the return of his former lover, K'Ehleyr, and the Klingon Chancellor K'mpec, paying a visit to the Enterprise. K'mpec reveals to Picard that he has been poisoned and is dying. He would like for Picard, and not a fellow Klingon, to serve as the Arbiter of Succession to identify who is responsible between two other Klingons, Duras and Gowron. K'Ehleyr also brings with her a very young half-Klingon boy named Alexander, revealing to Worf that he is their son. Though Alexander's disinterest in Klingon culture and the ways of the warrior seems to initially bother Worf, it turns out to be great timing, as Duras argues with and then murders K'Ehleyr just prior to being discovered as the party responsible for K'mpec and the reason for Worf's father's implication in a Romulan massacre.
This season sees the eventual departure of Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. Explained in-universe as Wesley going off to start his training at Starfleet Academy, Wheaton no longer appears regularly after the ninth episode of the season. In the process, however, the writers have greatly expanded the presence of Chief O'Brien.4 We learn a great deal more about him, including that his first name is Miles. In the episode “Data's Day,” he also gets married to a civilian botanist named Keiko. We also meet Data's cat, Spot, for the first time in this episode! Lieutenant Barclay also makes a return appearance in the episode “The Nth Degree,” which sees him briefly experience near-superhuman intelligence. And, of course, we wouldn't be able to make a season about family on Next Gen without a requisite visit from Deanna's mother, Lwaxana Troi, in the episode “Half a Life.” Her character makes a surprisingly emotional turn here, falling in love with a scientist visiting the Enterprise to test some theories about his world's dying star. She's devastated, however, when her new boo, Timicin, reveals that he is nearing his 60th birthday, and that his culture requires that he undergo a ritual suicide. This is part of the culture of his species. They do this to ultimately prevent the elderly from becoming too reliable on their younger counterparts.
The season comes to a close with “Redemption, Part I," another cliffhanger finale for the show.5 The first part of this episode introduces us to two Klingon women, Lursa and B'Etor, who were Duras' sisters and now lead the House of Duras. They intend to challenge Gowron's appointment as Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, as was established in the “Reunion” episode mentioned in an earlier paragraph, and potentially ignite a Klingon civil war with their brother's son, Toral, who may or may not claim the Chancellor's seat as an heir to Duras. Worf, who has requested some time away from the Enterprise to tend to these matters, visits his brother Kurn, in an attempt to back Gowron as the legitimate Chancellor. Meanwhile, Picard, who has been recalled to the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS as he had served as the Arbiter of Succession, ultimately makes the decision that Toral lacks the experience it would take for him to lead the Klingon Empire, securing Gowron's rule. This causes a rift among several high-ranking Klingons who, in turn, abandon any loyalty to Gowron. After a short conflict against two ships controlled by the Duras sisters, Picard completes the ritual required to officially install Gowron as Chancellor and restores honor to Worf's family.
This is far from over, however, as we learn Lursa and B'Etor are rallying a fleet of their own in order to incite a civil war. Picard, while sympathetic to Worf's cause, insists that the Federation cannot further involve themselves in Klingon matters. In response, Worf stuns the audience by resigning from Starfleet and leaving the Enterprise to fight for Gowron. The last thing we see on-screen is the Duras family disparaging Picard before a blonde-haired Romulan woman emerges from the shadows looking very similar to Tasha Yar6, warning them that they may not have seen the last of Picard yet. And again, we're left with, “To be continued...”
Familial relationships of all types are explored throughout this season. Picard and his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. Data with his own brother, their creator, and even his cat! Deanna and Lwaxana. Beverly and Wesley with the late Jack Crusher. Worf with a whole host of people in his life... Brother, romantic partner, son, adoptive parents, long-lost father. Even Miles and Keiko O'Brien. The “family” theme, in a lot of ways, also applies to the Enterprise crew and the relationships between them. In multiple instances, we see them looking out for one another and going back for members of the crew, even when Federation safety protocols and their adherence to doing their duty would prevent them otherwise. That theory, however, is definitely put into question when Picard accepts Worf's resignation and allows him to leave to assist the Klingon Empire. Will the Enterprise truly abandon him and the future of Qo'noS? And who is this mysterious Romulan lady wearing Tasha's face??? Unfortunately, we have to wait until next season to find out!
Season four was, overall, an excellent season of Next Gen. I particularly like the family theme, and perhaps more than anything, I'm really loving the writing staff's new willingness to tell multi-episode stories. However, I will admit that I feel this season features considerably more personal drama among the characters than we had seen previously, and I feel like it slows down the pacing of this season quite a bit. In fact, while Worf is one of Next Gen's strongest characters, I sadly don't find the plot pertaining to his involvement with the Klingon civil war in “Redemption” nearly as exciting as the events in “The Best of Both Worlds” a year prior. It does give us Lursa and B'Etor, however, which are among some of Star Trek's most fun villains. And while most fans overlook the episode for its silliness, the fifth episode of the season, “Remember Me,” features one of my favorite, most unintentionally comical lines of dialogue in all of television. The episode features Dr. Crusher experiencing the entire crew of the Enterprise, with the exception of herself, vanish without a trace. It's later revealed that she's somehow gotten trapped within a warp-field experiment Geordi was assisting Wesley with, but as Beverly works out the situation for herself, she exclaims, “If there's nothing wrong with me, maybe there's something wrong with the universe!”
Fortunately, with the fifth season on the horizon, we have more excellence in science fiction still in store. Let's just hope it'll be a bit quicker-paced, eh?