#5 All Good Things, season 7 finale
This is an example of a series finale done right. It draws from the history of the show to bring closure to the characters while imagining a future that is tainted with sadness, but with the reassurance that it isn't set in stone. It brought a touch of class to the first season and validated its part in the growth of the show. It also facilitates continuing plot lines in DS9 and the three TNG movies, building the strong foundation that enabled the Star Trek franchise to continue through the 1990's and early millennium. All three of the other series used characters from this series in different capacities; they couldn't have done it without this show. It's one of the most perfect episodes constructed for the series because there was a sadness that the series had to end, but it was an ending that was left opened to all the new possibilities.
As a long two-hour episode, the first part is a lot of dialogue without as much action. But it's meaningful conversation which helps set the table for the climax along with the slow and deliberate introduction of the other two timelines that will play a significant role. Like the pilot episode, Encounter At Farpoint, the story is a simple one so a lot of time can be devoted to the characters, in this case developing a possible future for them and bringing a sense of completion to this chapter of the franchise. It's slow, but it's also very busy with Picard's time shifting to shape the episode which is an example of how the writing had improved over the years.
It wasn't entirely perfect... I thought the word "paradox" was too generic; the animus between Worf and Riker was left undeveloped do to lack of time and it kind of short changed Deanna from the future; and there's actually a fairly big goof regarding the tachyon pulses at the end, but we also forgive things like this since it's fiction. Still, I have no real complaints. It's all of the little details displaying the evolution of the characters and how they've bonded that the episode is really about. The rest is just backdrop. I have only love and admiration for a brilliant episode that killed everyone off and gave everyone a happy ending at the same time. So much love for this episode.
I also have 10 honorable mentions to match my top ten favorites, so I'll throw one in every day that I post a top ten episode. These aren't ranked
Parallels, season 7
I love this episode. It's a different kind of Worf episode that's creative, technically good writing about a time anomaly since nobody around Worf remembers what went on in the end... not as good as Yesterday's Enterprise, but probably my second favorite time anomaly. And it was one of the best ways of teasing a Worf/Troi romance which I was completely in favor of at the time. But that's not what made it a great episode. It was fun with a serious problem that needed to be fixed and the solution foreshadowed the series finale. The pacing is wonderful, the situations are believable, and the twist at the end just adds to the story demonstrating that his first shift occurred when he entered the fissure and not again until Geordi was with him at the birthday party. I loved the shifting between parallel universes. It's a chance to mix up the characters, put them in different uniforms, and explore different plot twists like the possibility of the Borg taking over the quadrant or the Bajorans as the enemies. Poor Geordi has to be hypothetically sacrificed again, lol! He's always taking one for the team. It's a great example of how they could've better utilized Wesley even though he didn't have many lines. It was an all around great exercise in creative writing.
I can relate to Worf on a lot of levels and it was all the more special because they used him for it when, I think, they would've normally used Picard for an episode about jumping between alternate universes. Worf, who can't handle losing control over any aspect of his life, being forced into strange situations where he can't operate his control panel, where events are changing around him without his knowledge, where his family life is different, and there's nothing he can do about any of it. You can really feel his exasperation and helplessness and you can't help but admire him for handling it so gracefully in most situations. It's probably not relatable to everyone, so it didn't make the top ten cut, but it's one of my personal favorites and I love to watch it over and over.
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