Star Trek 182: The Best of Both Worlds, Part II

182. The Best of Both Worlds, Part II

FORMULA: Q Who + The Tholian Web + The Motion Picture

WHY WE LIKE IT: Riker's strategy to get Picard back. Wolf 359. A cooler battle bridge.

WHY WE DON'T: Now Shelby's wishy-washy.

REVIEW: Last season's cliffhanger is cheaply resolved by having the weapon not work and Riker thus not destroying Picard, but since it solves none of our heroes' problems, that's quickly forgiven. Tension remains, and a sense of helplessness seldom seen in Star Trek. Guinan is once more well used, this time demanding the captain's ear and advising Riker to "throw out the book". Great stuff, well played by both actors. And Riker does, showing what I've always loved about him: His consistent originality when it comes to tactics. His ploy is interesting, sending Worf and Data on a "ninja mission" all their own, and again keeping all the characters busy. Oh, and they revamped the battle bridge a little. Nice.

It gets a little less exciting once Locutus is aboard, turning the action into a lot of talking, but we do learn a great deal about the Borg here, and Picard shows his true strength of will (as belated as he might think it is). Still, there are some cool moments, including the last second save, the destruction of the Borg cube, and oh yeah, the ship graveyard at Wolf 359, which is a real shocker.

Shelby is less annoying here, but as Riker shows more leadership, she shows less and less, suddenly becoming the "safe" one. She's still debating her orders, but the other way. And of course, in true television fashion, she's Riker's best friend and now leaving without a second thought for her prized position on the Enterprise. The Borg threat is just as easily dispelled with an auto-destruct sequence being fortuitously initiated. Yeah, it all ends a bit pat, but there's at least that final moment in Picard's ready room when he thinks about what he's done, what they did to him... and where he can still hear the Collective's voice? It's ambiguous enough that we can read that into it, and I do wish they'd have given us a longer moment.

LESSON: How to use car model kits to build spaceships.

REWATCHABILITY - High: Not quite on Part I's level, but still very solid work. And you can't really watch that Part I without watching Part II afterwards, can you?