Pivotal, pivotal, pivotal episode! This is the one that changed everything for the series. One of the top 10 must see episodes, one of my all time favorite episodes, and very nearly Q's best episode.
It begins with more of Q's morbid fascination with humans, Picard in particular. From this point on he's more focused in on Picard in particular and it's one of the most irresistible relationships in the series. He wants to join the crew of the Enterprise and it starts out very funny as it always is with Q. He abducts Picard and toys with him a little. He brings him back and states his intentions - to allow them access to his vast knowledge and powers as one of their crew members.
Not much is ever said about Guinan's race or past, but here we get a hint that her race had been one of the many terrorized by Q. They started making Guinan's role a little more significant when she'd turn up on a show for the most part now. Still it's all fun and games. And while Picard was making valid objections, I think Riker actually was being a bit smug in turning Q's offer to help guide them through the galaxy. I'm sure that's how they intended it though, as things turn out.
They probably could've done very well with Q as a primary adversary for an
indefinite period of time. Although he was comical like the Ferengi, he
was also chaotic and very capable of being a serious threat. And he ends up being
the catalyst of this show's primary adversary. When he doesn't get his way he forces them light years out of their way into their first, premature encounter with the Borg.
I think we can all take another moment to be grateful that the Borg did not end up becoming the insect like race they'd first imagined that was infiltrating Starfleet from within as laid out in the episode "Conspiracy." Writer's strikes and budget issues forced the idea of the Borg onto the back burner. As it was, this episode was still well over budget, but it paid out like a slot machine. The Borg are terrifying as they were originally written (without a queen; that came later since they had trouble making Borg's central computer work without a tangible presence in First Contact.) Who could fail to be intrigued by a cyborg similar to a Terminator coming aboard the Enterprise, not to attack, but to start downloading all of their data banks as reconnaissance... in your face reconnaissance that required no sneaking or guile. They take Q's advice to kill it and then another one shows up... not to take revenge, but to continue the job stopping only to take the retrieve the memory from the fallen shipmate. Their emotionless behavior is mesmerizing. This is the fear they wanted to strike into people's hearts from the beginning with the Ferengi, but they were still thinking along the line of TOS... aggressive war-like races. I'm not sure which writer(s) hit on a cold, machine intelligence as the best way to go, but he, she, or they nailed it. It actually fit in perfectly with the dawning of the computer age here in real life.
To further the eerie tone of the episode, an away team can move among them on their own ship unnoticed. They're not considered a threat. Once again they use Riker's character to seem a little insulted by this. And then they find the nursery where you see that they start out as humans, or humanoids before they receive their implants. This is scarier than the monsters of "Conspiracy." It didn't have to be gross like a B grade horror movie to inspire the necessary awe and wonder of this collectivist mindset enemy. It's already ingrained in peoples minds when they think back to Nazi's or the Chinese.
All of this with relatively little action. Once the action starts, it's nearly over for the Enterprise. It slices out a section of the ship and, having learned how to take over from the information they gathered with the first two scouts, they prepare to assimilate the Enterprise.
Out-gunned, they run. And they can't outrun for long either. One of the most intense scenes ever is when they zoom in on the Borg Cube repairing it's damage while it's quickly catching up to them. I think this is another influence of Star Trek II. This is a no-win situation and there really is no doubt about it. The Enterprise is obviously outmatched and would most certainly be toast quickly and mercilessly. I think this influence is part of what makes this such a great episode. The hopelessness is palpable.
The one part I never liked about this episode is the part where Picard is made to beg. I mean, Q makes a valid point in his concession to Picard as well about not being able to handle the hard parts of space exploration - not only valid but prophetic since the hardest decisions and situations were yet to come throughout TNG and DS9 - so there's not much to actually complain about, but I still see inherent need of the writers to put humans in their place by Q praising Picard for having the humility to ask for help. I think it was trying to tie in with the opening scene with Ensign Gomez who idolizes the Enterprise as the very best of the best of the best in the Federation... then you see that they're not as great as she thinks they are in this failure with the Borg. Incidently, I liked Gomez. She got another episode before they dropped her, but I thought she could've been developed into a pretty good reoccurring character. Anyway, I just don't understand the need to keep harping on how arrogant humans are except of course that I'm pretty sure that it's a projection of arrogance on America in general. It's a theme that would continue throughout all of Star Trek, but here in these first two seasons it was just poorly hidden and too eagerly applied and I'll never be comfortable with it. I loved the episode, but I can only go as high as four and a half because of these matters. But, it's nearly a perfect five star episode.
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