This is an episode that really struck a nerve for me as a kid and it still does today. The idea of taking in an enemy so alien and hostile to everything they stand for and not only teaching him to be a person, but also learning to see the Borg as sentient creatures as well. Seeing Picard snap back into form as Locutus was pretty intense, it is a part of the episode I had forgotten. It is episodes like that that really make First Contact look bad. Not only is Picard a totally different person in FC, but the Borg queen character doesn't really make much sense.
The episode opens with the Enterprise encountering an unknown signal from an unoccupied moon that appears to be a distress signal of some sort. When they investigate they find a small Borg vessel that has been destroyed. All the Borg are dead except for one. Dr. Crusher begins treatment as Riker notifies the captain. Picard orders them back to the ship so they can flee before more Borg arrive but Beverley tells he she needs to treat her patient. After some negotiation Picard allows her to beam the borg up to a detention cell for treatment while they get the hell out of there. Geordi starts working on its mechanical parts and Picard orders him to work on a computer virus that will destroy the Borg collective when he is accepted back in. Only Crusher seems to think of him as a person.
Picard and Guinan meet for a fencing match and Guinan makes it perfectly clear that she thinks the borg should be destroyed no matter what and Picard doesn't seem to disagree. Meanwhile Geordi begins working on the borg who identifies itself as Third of Five and goes straight into the normal, "you will be assimilated," spiel. Geordi starts working to test the borg's intellectual powers and it is off the charts in spacial awareness. They also convince him to take on a new name and pick Hugh from something the borg says. Geordi talks to Guinan in Ten Forward and convinces her to go down for a chat. She is mad as hell about it, but does it anyway and after some extreme hostility on her part the borg seems to be understanding how terrible it is to be assimilated against ones will. He also tells her that he is lonely which shakes her to the core.
Now convinced that Hugh is more than just a thing to be destroyed Guinan manages to convince Picard to talk to Hugh and he is beamed to the captains ready room. Hugh recognizes Picard as Locutus but refuses to assist in the assimilation of the Enterprise and clearly states how much he cares about Geordi. He even refers to himself as I which shakes Picard. Now realizing they can't just send Hugh back as a living bomb to destroy his people they ask Hugh what he wants. After some agonizing he realizes he has to return to the Borg or they will never stop chasing the Enterprise. He and Geordi beam down and suddenly two more borg beam in and link with Hugh. They collect their dead and beam back to the cube, but just as they beam up Hugh looks Geordi straight in the eye.
Review: After establishing the Borg as the greatest threat ever faced by sentient life this episode turns all that on its head showing how the Borg don't see themselves as the villains. Picard and Guinan are both at their best in this episode as well.
9 out of 10
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