Star Trek: The Next Generation--"The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

I purposefully skipped any mention of “The Best of Both World, Part II” in my review of Part I. The reason is I go against the general consensus on the resolution of the Brog story. It is really a let down. The main reason is a problem that is going to plague Trek often in the future, particularly VOY. It is the dreaded reset button.

Both Michael Piller and Patrick Stewart decided to return for the fourth season. For Piller, this meant coming up with a proper resolution to the cliffhanger, which is something he never had to give much thought to when he set it up. Stewart’s return did not throw things off for him. In fact, virtually all of Picard’s most shining moments occur in the remainder of the series. The big deal is how to get him back in the captain’s chair again. I have a hard time accepting the aftermath as it played out.

First, the Borg traditionally destroy their dead so their technology cannot be studied. Why would they allow Locutus to be kidnapped back to the Enterprise? Surely they realize a captured, live Borg would pose a bigger risk to them than a corpse to dissect. Yet they do not fear, nor try to sever their link to Locutus, until it is far too late for them to stop him from entering a command to the entire Borg Collective. If they knew Picard as well as they supposedly did before kidnapping him, they should have known that could happen.

Second, Crusher’s theory that cutting off a drone from the Borg Collective would be like cutting off one of our limbs is every bit as absurd as the fact she got a new uniform and hairdo between the time Riker said, “Mr. Worf, fire!’ and the weapon not working. We have seen drones die and we will see them cut off the Borg Collective in the future with no problem. I do not see how cutting off Locutus would be a problem even if the Borg were overconfident he could not be the catalyst for their destruction.

Third, and I know this is blasphemy, but Picard should never have returned as captain. This is the first time Starfleet has ever had someone assimilated. He should be whisked away by Starfleet intelligence to be studied in every method save for dissection. If he had been taken by Section 31, that probably would not be off limits, either. He know holds every secret the Borg have 9except the existence of the queen, I suppose) yet he is not even debriefed!

The point is, he was completely brainwashed, which lead to the deaths of 11,000 people--and no one really cares. It has already been established a captain can be removed by a chief medical officer for acting irrationally before he hurts anyone. But leading the charge to destroy the Federation merits nothing more than suspicion? Bonus idiocy: the next time he encounters a Borg in ‘I, Borg,” he lets it go in whatan outside observer could reasonably suspect is the act ofasleeperagent.

Yes, Picard’s emotional struggle over being assimilated makes forsome compelling moments over the next few years, but it is hard to swallow Starfleet let him retrn to such a lofty position in the first place, no matter how much the top brass respects him.

Finally, Riker. his character is severely diminished here. I noted in the review for Part I he came across as weak and complacent right up until the moment he had to step up and attempt to destroy the Borg cube. He went right back to being weak andcomplacent at the end of this episode. I do not buy the argument seeing the ship he was offered to command in ruins after the Battle of Wolf 359 gave him perspective, either. Yes, had he been in command of the Melbourne at the time, he probably would have died, but is that any reason to stay put instead of taking the risk of commanding a ship in the future?

Bear in mind what Riker did. he was given a field promotion to captain. Hewasawrded the Enterprise. he was wearing four pips on his collar, so it was official. He introduced himself to Locutus as captain. But when it was all over, he accepted a demotion back to commander and stayed on the Enterprise. He didso at a time when so many personnel had been killed, probably could have had his choice of commanding ships that were left, but no. He refused. Bonus idiocy: a throwaway line in a sixth season episode of DS9 says Shelby is the captain of a ship battling the Dominion, so she became captain before the hero who saved theFederation from the Borg did. Any reasonably military wouldhavedrummed him out to make room for officers willing to be promoted.

I know it sounds like I am really down on Part II. I honestly doubt anything could have fulfilled my expectations from Part I. As it is, Part II props up part Ii by default. Itcompletes thestory, while not very satisfactorily, but still has to be considered topnotch because of its lead in. Hence, I am going to give it four stars because I cannot disregard an enjoyable novel because it sputtered out on the last few pages.

This is thepremiereepisode of the fourth season. the series really starts to shine in its fourth year. There is an overall theme of family which is surprisingly not as touchy feely as it sounds. We also see serialized stories for the first time. The arc deals with Klingon-Romulan intrigue and is a personal favorite of mine. Denise Crosby has a couple brief appearances as the Romulan Sela, a character who should have been utilized much more than she was.

Good times ahead, folks.

Rating: **** (out of 5)