UNCUT - The Best of Both Worlds Part 2 (TNG S4E1) | Star Trek Journey 182

I love the ending with Picard gazing out of the window, he's obviously thinking about what happened to him but also all the lives lost because he was used to kill his own people.

I feel different about TNG in general, because I was a kid and compared to everything else, that was on TV back then, TNG was pure gold. - Of course, compared to GoT this episode would be even an C-Tier or D-Tier. And it's rational to compare stuff to the best known stuff, but my love will never be broken.

Although in this episode Picard/Locutus is back on the ship quite quickly, in the minds of the audience he's been there for 4 months already.

I just started watching, and you already won me over with the Like a Prayer and the surprise liquor reveal. I'm in for a good one.

My favorite Wesley moment is when he hesitates and looks back at Riker after he's ordered to set a collision course. The expression on his face was basically "are you fucking serious?" And then he realizes that he's just been ordered to kill everyone on the ship including himself.

Something to consider, now the Borg know that Data isn’t so primitive…

remember not only 40 ship, all the crews of the 40 ships too, he killed on a mass level

The rescue scene using three vehicles is awesome. Then after locating Locutus, I really love when Warf calls Data for assistance.

I feel like Picard was exhausted and he was already partially woken up by the third connection which allowed him to say "sleep." At this point he's exhausted and for Picard, thats a more natural thing to say when hes feeling all the complex things he's feeling- there's more then just relief there. It works fine for me. I disagree with a lot of this, I saw this as a kid and i feel like the two episodes do work together, yes the riker stuff is the backsetting in the first episode but i saw this as building to what was to come with the borg threat and to me it didnt feel like the threat was ever gone, especially with 40 ships beaten and the cube on its way straight to earth.

picards look was supposed to indicate how deeply traumatized he was by the experience even though he played it off when he was initially disconnected

there tech is advanced enough to be able to remove the implants

Picard was a fast assimilation, and a unique one otherwise he would be more of a danger but he lacks borg nanites so hes not a threat and the borg don't see the lost of him as a big deal

the saucer section is the saucer. On the battle bridge, they were pointing out the saucer section was an easy target byt the borg choose to ignore it because they saw it as unimportant. They had gotten what they wanted from Picard, after assimilating his knowledge the individual drone Locutus was not of importance and they figured this was an attempt by Riker to stall them from heading to Earth.

They each had different phasers that each had 3 or so shots before the borg adapted.

I get the gripe about the resolution to the cliffhanger. I suppose you could say it sort of undermines Riker's decision to fire by having his action rendered completely ineffective. I do think the second Borg ship idea doesn't work though. I feel like that kind of surprise reveal would need to have been set up in part one. Otherwise it would just come off as another convenience. Maybe a better idea (in hindsight) would be for part one to either end before knowing if Riker would fire, or better yet end after the weapon fails and the Borg have already resumed their coarse to Earth.

That wasn't full body make-up. Patrick Stewart is English. They are naturally that pale.

Fireball timeeeee!!!!!!

The Fireball reveal at the beginning was one of your PEAK moments, Target Audience. I literally did not expect that!

Y'all seem to have forgotten about the first season episode "Arsenal of Freedom" which features both saucer separation and Beverly talking about living on a small colony with her grandmother as a child

While I can understand the criticisms that put this episode a bit below part 1; that Picard's rescue was rather rushed, that the borg were defeated by a hacking MacGuffin, and the anticlimactic conclusion to "Mr. Worf, fire", I still think BOBW is an excellent episode. Obviously, they couldn't just destroy the cube and win from the start, and it was needed to drive home that Picard's knowledge and experience has been turned against them, which of course also laid the groundwork for that excellent scene with Guinan. As truncated as the rescue of Picard may have been, I do think it was very well thought out from a writing perspective. My only little gripe is after the rescue the borg ship is just sitting there. You may think they're not firing on the Enterprise because they don't want to kill Locutus, but they DID try to destroy the shuttle with Locutus on it, so that doesn't work. Originally, they were going to give Locutus a prosthetic hand with fully mechanical fingers, and Data was going to basically rip most of the arm off. Picard would then have had an artificial arm for the rest of the series with a lighter skin tone, I guess somewhat similar to Data's skin. I guess it was ultimately cheaper to use one of the existing borg arm prosthetics, the same as the first borg we saw in Q Who I believe. Also I doubt Patrick wanted the hassle of extra makeup every day. I get the criticism that it seems a little nonchalant for Picard to go from saying he remembers "everything" to giving Riker a pat on the shoulder for his command skills. But I think that's why the last scene works so well. I'm no expert on PTSD, but as I understand it doesn't always necessarily hit you right away. I can see how in the moment, Picard is more relieved to have his individuality and his life back and that the cube is destroyed and Earth is safe. But in that last scene when things have quieted down and the reports have been filed and he's had the implants removed, it finally hits how close the Federation came to complete destruction. Complete destruction at his hands. Perhaps he also realizes, horrifyingly, that the Borg are still out there, and they may have to do this all over again.

Did you guys notice that in neither episode does Shelby ever get another name? They don't even give any context that indicates if it's her first, last, or only name (like Oprah or The Rock).

Josh and Alex get something wrong about starships and everybody LOSES THEIR MINDS, chapter 47.

"He went through a very traumatic experience." Yes he did. And they will address this not only next episode, but in the future as well. I love the fact that by the ST:TNG era continuity has become an actual thing, and that character growth happens not only across a series, but across MULTIPLE series and movies. Anyway, great reaction guys!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_359

I always wondered if they grabbed Picard so early to show how ineffective the Borg are as individuals? It is a bit more comedic than I would like but without that hive mind and all the tech... It's just a person and kind of falls apart without the hive mind. Even at 12 I thought it was a bit unbelievable that Picard was himself so quicky, I am with you there for sure. Hindsight is 20/20 I liked all the alternative ideas you had about the beginning of this episode.

From Doug Drexler's Facebook about Picard's tear "I'm one of the few people who can claim to have made the captain of the Enterprise cry. That's right! I'm the guy! Here's the scene; Supine on his Borg assembly table, Picard is in the process of becoming Locutus. Cybernetic implants are being drilled into his skull. His individuality is being submerged into the Collective. The camera pushes to his eye... a single tear wells and migrates down his cheek. Except there were no tears to migrate. Patrick was dry as the Mojave Desert. He could not generate that pivotal and pitiful wet trail of a tear. Today, you'd fix it in post, but back then, said tear needed to happen on stage, and on command. The call goes out! Drexler! Drexler! Drexler! Somehow, it's my job to make the captain cry. But I know what to do! In my makeup kit I have a mentholated Vicks nasal inhaler. In a flash, I drill a hole in the back of the tube, lean over Patrick, and blow thru it directly into his eye. Predictably the menthol caused a burning sensation, his eye welled with tears, and I was a hero! Take that, you big captain! Go cry to mama!"

The Klingon Empire will never yield!

As someone who got a bit into the ships and technical stuff from sources like that Technical Manual, it's funny to watch people who are into the show itself and ignore that stuff. It's fine to not be into that because it's just extra details that aren't part of the story, But seems funny to think you haven't realized after 3 seasons the bridge is the top of the ship. Note basically the viewscreen is at the front of that bridge-dome, while the conference room wraps around the back of the dome. Those figures you can see in the rear window at the end of the opening credits are in the conference room. Also, Ten Forward is at the very front edge of the saucer. In case you wondered. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_359

S, when they ask Picard what he remembered…………… the way he said “everything” You could feel it .

When Picard looks out the window at the end, looking at Earth, I always took it to be him realizing he's home.... and he almost destroyed Earth, of all places. Everything that is human.

I think there's a wee bit of overlap between composure and picard's..experience of what happened. I've seen someone struggling with PTSD and they had that same kind of 'vacant stare' at times. Best season opener (so far?) though! :)

Oh boy it's happening. Now, what i consider "core TNG", starts. I love season 3 as much as anyone, and it has some of the most iconic episodes, but as for me, i have the most love and nostalgia for seasons 4-6. Can't wait ^-^

It's noteworthy when the Borg attack they aren't leaving bodies behind. Maybe Riker got it wrong. Maybe those babies weren't bred from Borg, but we're snatched from planets?

I love the lore around Wolf 359. There are tons of videos that go into detail regarding the specific ships lost and tactics used, but unfortunately digging too deep might mean spoiling other Star Trek shows. Still, it’s probably my favorite piece of Star Trek lore/history.

The fleet gathered by Hansen was 40 ships, none were left spaceworthy and no-one responded to the Enterprise when it arrived. I don't think you really grasped the scale of this event. There's more detail on it in Beta canon (expanded media and lore) but I'm not sure if that counts as a spoiler.

On you tube is a fully updated version of the battle of wolf 359

I Appreciate you all getting us this a bit earlier than expected.

Yeah Starfleet lost like 40 ships and thousands of people at Wolf 359. (Which is a real star that about 8 light years from Earth)

I love having the tier list ranking right after the episode, and written down first so as to not influence each other prematurely.

57:54 There were over 40 starships at Wolf 359. Much more than eleven.

57:42 You might want to watch the Borg sequences from "Q Who" again. The dialogue in this episode here is spot on: Data: “But as you may recall on several occasions, we have witnessed the Borg removing key circuits from injured comrades, no doubt separating them from the group consciousness.”

The ending of this one never felt ambiguous to me. PTSD is a thing.

29:15 They are on the Battle Bridge. The Battle Bridge is in the secondary hull (the Drive Section). The Main Bridge is on the very-obviously-shaped Saucer section.

24:35 Nope, Geordi separated the ship when he was in command in "Arsenal of Freedom."

Whole family was huddled in front of the TV. Loved it. The Wolf 359 incident became canon for other venues. I remember the computer game Star Trek Borg, which is set on a ship that was there. It was hailed at the time as an Interactive game, with live actors on a set and you have to deal with the Borg. And Q is your guide. Loved that game.

Brilliant ending guys 😂

So without spoiling any details, this episode ends up being the 9/11 of Star Trek. As in, what came before was widely regarded as a golden age for the Federation, but after this things would never be the same. This is not apparent immediately, but, well, you'll see. Also in a meta sense this event is an explanation for why early TNG has so many arrogant types and why even our mains felt so... condescending and preachy for those early seasons. Though this was a battle won, it had shown that the Federation was not as invincible and high and mighty as they thought they were. In other words... It did EXACTLY what Q intended when he introduced them to the Borg back in Season 2.

I recently read Patrick Stewart's Autobiography and he mentioned that between Seasons 3 and 4 was when he and the cast were starting to be recognized by people watching the show, and he and his family were surprised when a random person driving past them yelled out at him (paraphrasing here) "You ruined our summer, Picard!"

Where did you guys get that the Borg only blew up 11 ships? They gathered 40 ships to fight the cube. Assume each ship has an average crew of 500 (Enterprise has 1018) and that means they used Picard to kill a lot of people, including his friend Admiral Hansen. That’s what that final shot is all about. He remembers everything.

This is the first time I have say, I have to defend the episode for being from WHEN it is and how it was made. Budget will not allow it to do anything more than blow up the borg cube once lol. LIMITED budget y’all.

Did you notice that all the background extras were wearing updated uniforms? We’ve finally seen the last of the S1-S2 costumes! The regular bridge is on top of the saucer. The battle bridge is on the star-drive section - and is a redress of the movie-era bridge set. One of the turbolifts on the main bridge is supposed to be an emergency express to the battle bridge. Love the single continuous shot of Worf & Data in the shuttlecraft as you see them out the window clear the shuttle bay and fly towards the Borg cube.

Imagine if TNG had been serialized and not episodic. This two-parter would have been stretched to a whole season, with awful filler episodes, bizarrely slow progress, milking the concept beyond dry. The episodic constraint to wrap up and move on keeps things tight. Being left wanting more is perhaps the better problem to have.

I have to admit, I was getting a bit scared there for a while. It's nice to see you have not decided to go sober, and the cinnamon juice is back. We missed you. :)

I would say an "in story" reason for not really showing their grief or them adjusting is that THEY didn't have the time. They have to focus and deal with saving the Federation working as fast as they can. They just HAVE to focus on their tasks with no time to spare.

I say, too, that I didn't mind that quick cliffhanger resolution because it makes perfect sense in the story. They didn't cheat or anything it didn't work because Picard already knows. And it also serves to show he has not just been turned into a drone, they're using Picard's experiences. Maybe they wouldn't have destroyed all those ships without that.

Here's my idea, Data and Worf beam in during the distraction, then the Cube immediately warps off again toward Earth. Riker concludes they're lost. The Enterprise follows, an hour later the cube is in Earth orbit annihilating the defense satellites or whatever, Data and Worf suddenly surprise Locutus while all covered in Borg grease blood, they grab him and from there it's five minutes to hook Data up and implant the sleep code

Watching it when it first aired, I would have given it a C because I thought it was such a let down from part 1. Now, I can move it up to a low B. Also we have seen the saucer separate another time. When Geordi was in charge of the ship at the planet welling weapon systems, he left and separated the saucer before coming back to fight

If Part 1 was Empire (S) then Part 2 is Jedi (A).

Interesting take on the opening of the episode. For me, it has never felt like the cliffhanger didn't matter - the resolution to the cliffhanger was learning that the Borg have assimilated *all of Picard's knowledge* - they foresaw the plan and pre-adapted to it. That revelation, that they are now up against all of Picard's wisdom and experience, really drives the rest of the episode, including most of the best scenes - the admiral's speech about Picard, Guinan's message, etc. All of that flows from "Holy shit, that didn't work because Picard was ahead of us." Riker isn't successful until he does some Crazy Shit that Picard would never have done - which, then, Picard comments on once the Borg are destroyed. So yeah, there's my take. The cliffhanger resolution works for me because the reason it fails to blow up the Borg ship then sets the terms for the entire episode. If the weapon surprises the Borg, none of the rest of the episode works or makes sense. I *do* really wish this was a 3-parter and we got more time to sit with the crew and their grief. Ironically, there are a lot of similarities between BoBW and the BSG S1-S2 transition storyline, and Ronald Moore clearly learns some lessons from BoBW that he applies there.

I really like the format changes. I must admit I prefer the discussion be in the same video as the reaction. Maybe you'll still split them for YT but if this continued on Patreon at least that'd be great. Also like the Tier ranking pre-discussion. It'll be handy to have and look back on at the end of season and see if anything changed your perspectives along the way. Finally, I like the idea of cordoning off praises and gripes into sections. I'll watch it all but it's always nice having sections to jump to depending on what you're after. Great episode with great dialogue. I love Data and Locutus arm wrestling at that one part. I don't disagree with your gripes. The "it didn't work so moving on" continuation is a bit anticlimactic.. and yes Locutus is brought back to the Enterprise somewhat early and easily. I guess they wanted as much of him in the episode as they could get and there's just not much interaction you can get from him while he's still on the Cube.

I think the “fire” thing not being effective at the beginning works for me because it validates the kidnapping of Picard for being more then “he’s the voice of The Borg”. His abduction is strategic for tactical purposes against The Federation. If it had damaged the cube then the kidnapping would have just been more of a story gimmick IMO.

Kirk's Enterprise (NCC-1701) was Constitution Class. From the Motion Picture refit on through to the NCC-1701-A, it was known as a Constitution-Refit. There was actually wreckage of a destroyed Constitution-Refit visible in this episode at Wolf 359. The Enterprise B was an Excelsior Class. The Enterprise C was Ambassador Class. The Enterprise D was Galaxy Class...a really gigantic ship compared to the rest.

The teaser was shot three months later. If you compare the end of 1 and start of 2, you can see minor differences with hair. Part 1 was shot April 1990. Part 2 was shot July 1990.

Josh, I guarantee you Picard's tear was not SFX. That was all Patrick Stewart acting his ass off. And I'd imagine the full body makeup didn't put him off as much as you may think. I have seen some of his theater work and not only is he comfortable with FBM but he is pretty damn ripped for an older dude. (As you will see clearly in one of the upcoming movies). Alex, I had a feeling you would rate Part 2 as lesser than the Part 1. I figured you for A- or B+. For the most part I would have to agree. I remember when it first aired I loved the episode but also felt a bit let down by it. I mean, Part 1 was jacked to 11. Upon reflection, there is no way they could have maintained that momentum, especially after that long a hiatus. Josh, I knew you would like the episode quite a bit. It has all the stuff you love and you focused on the best stuff. Guinan and Riker. Riker's conference room speech, etc. The next episode is the unofficial third part to that two part story. It is, IMHO, better than BoBW Part 2, but could not exist without it. Get ready for some top-tier acting chops and some stellar dialog and character development. No interstellar disaster. No earth-shattering crisis. No stakes at all. Except for the highest stakes...family.

This episode could have definitely been extended to two hours. I get why it wasn’t for budget reasons but it would have solved most of the issues. This seemed rushed watching it live but on rewatch with a modern lens it has lost some of the power it had originally but I would still give it an A.

Well no change on the bumpin' board. The current and start of the new season sex scoreboard: Riker 6 Troi 3 Data 1 Picard 1 Worf 1 Jordy 1 + 1 I Broccoli 2 i Now we could give the Borg a +1 for what they did to the Feds at Wolf 359. But we won't.

Yes, "how can he go back". Like being first officer on the Federation flagship is a failure. The man is not afraid to leave, he is where he should be, and he knows it.

Love the ending. I think Phil Donahue would have approved.

I guess you know what Wolf 359 is now

Crack out the fireball boys and girls. It's time!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I can agree that it was an A episode, and I had a feeling you weren't going to like it as much as, hopefully, the next episode, but...well...I can't help that. I'll comment more Sunday. Overall, I'm glad you didn't HATE it, at least.

If they loved this two-parter, they're gonna love the seven-parter in season 9.

lol i have never seen that intro before!!! Locutus looking like Hollywood Hogan has arrived! 49:20 mark

Part 3 next. And if at least one of you doesn't get a little bit weepy I think you will hear it from some of us. Not me, but others.

Wow, let's goooooooo!!

@25ish Worf punching Locutus back into a Picard was a close second solution in the initial drafts 🤣

Aw, shitson! I guess I need to wake up and watch this. *Blows the dust off himself* Here we go, bitches.

we last saw a saucer separation in season 1 The Arsenal of Freedom

Alex and Josh…The ending….Picard has been through a very traumatic ordeal, but seems ok now. Everything seems back to normal. But he is about to drink his tea and stops. No one is around. He is not okay.

39 Ships total...

I personally saw that ending as Picard looking at Earth in a "what have I done/what was I about to do?" kind of way. But it's certainly ambiguous enough that you can make it be whatever you want.

The TOS Enterprise was a Constitution class ship. The Enterprise D is a Galaxy class.

Pray

A nice surprise to come home from a hospital visit and find this reaction a day early.

The bridge is the dome at the top of the saucer section, so when you see the battle bridge that is on the drive section.

To answer your question about filming, they did not film anything from this episode prior to this season. Michael Pillar wrote the characters into a hole at the end of Part 1 that he did not know how they would get out of it, and partly didn't care because he wasn't sure if he would be coming back.

That place where the beam fires is the main deflector dish that Wesley mentions in the briefing.

Notice the Melbourne was the ship Riker was about to take command of.

From an episode guidebook I read, they didn’t have a script for part two. The summer was spent trying to figure out how to become unstuck from the climax.

Amen 🙏

WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I have been so patiently waiting for this so that I can continue my TNG rewatch with you gents!

AAANNNNND we’re back! 😁 Buckle up boys. This isn’t an S-Tier season but it IS an A-Tier season. I think you will be pleased by the end.

Finally!!! Only took 25 days for you to get back to watching, felt like a lifetime!!!

A day early again?! Let's F'king go!

10/10 parody at the beginning 🤣

DAMMIT JIM. I’m in China right now and can’t log in to my Paramount! 🥲 I’ll have to save this for when I get back next week.

SWEET! Gonna watch this right now!