#tng 6x26

[evviejo]

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - S6E26 Descent, Part 1

[thatiswhy]

TNG 6x26 "Descent"

"emotionless robot feels for the first time" trope but instead of it being because of love or compassion its hatred.

[girlcored]

[sapphicdata]

[doctorbeverlycrusher]

TNG Guide: Picard/Crusher Edition

Someone did a guide like this for Elliot and Olivia from Law and Order and I’ve been thinking about these two lately so here we are.

This guide is obviously coloured by my personal opinion and some of the things are really subtle, but there’s also way less to get through here than something like SVU.

Of course, there are still many good episodes of TNG that don’t revolve around Picard and Crusher, but for the purposes of this guide, I tried to stick to the important ones or ones with some good interactions. Also, feel free to suggest things I may be missing.

SEASON 1

1x01/02 - Encounter at Farpoint

1x03 - The Naked Now

1x05 - The Last Outpost

1x07 - Lonely Among Us (This is on here for one scene really)

1x09 - The Battle (This one doesn’t really have moments between them as much but it’s got some good Picard backstory)

1x12 - The Big Goodbye

1x19 - Coming of Age (Again, mostly here for one scene where Beverly is being interviewed)

1x21 - The Arsenal of Freedom

1x24 - We’ll Always Have Paris

Due to a conflict between Gates McFadden and a writer on the show, Beverly doesn’t appear in season 2. It is said she took the position to head Starfleet Medical on Earth. However, due to a huge fan campaign led by Patrick Stewart himself, Gates came back in season 3 and stayed for the rest of the series.

I’d suggest watching 2x17 - Samaritan Snare as it gives some really good Picard backstory, but for P/C purposes, that’s the only one that’s necessary.

Season 3

3x01 - Evolution

3x05 - The Bonding (No moments here exactly, but the themes present are super important to their relationship)

3x12 - The High Ground

3x18 - Allegiance

3x23 - Sarek (This is here for the mind meld scene, which I think speaks to their relationship, but is also one of the best scenes in the entirety of Star Trek)

3x26 - The Best of Both Worlds Part I (This is mostly here for a specific brief scene, but the events of this episode really affect Picard so it’s important)

Season 4

4x01 - The Best of Both Worlds Part II (Here for continuity purposes)

4x02 - Family (No specific scenes but the storylines here are very much important)

4x05 - Remember Me

4x09 - Final Mission

4x20 - Qpid

4x21 - The Drumhead (This is here specifically because of the trial scene where Jonathan Frakes made some really interesting directorial choices)

4x23 - The Host

Season 5

5x12 - Violations (Massive warning for what is essentially mind rape in this episode)

5x18 - Cause and Effect

5x19 - The First Duty

5x21 - The Perfect Mate

5x25 - The Inner Light

Season 6

6x10/11 - Chain of Command, Part II & II (Massive warning for psychological and physical torture)

6x15 - Tapestry (Mostly here for Picard backstory purposes)

6x19 - Lessons

6x20 - The Chase (This is specifically here for the last scene where again Jonathan Frakes makes some interesting directorial decisions)

6x22 - Suspicions

6x25 - Timescape (This is here for a specific interaction between Deanna and Picard)

6x26 - Descent Part I

Season 7

7x01 - Descent Part II

7x08 - Attached (If you are only going to watch one episode about these two, this is the one to watch)

7x14 - Sub Rosa (This episode is atrociously bad but there’s still some good PC content here)

7x22 - Bloodlines

7x25/26 - All Good Things…

[doopcafe]

Note: I’m combining these two because it was a two-parter.

Star Trek Voyager: Unimatrix Zero (6x26)

Comments: Seven enters the dream world of the Borg, where the Borg can be individuals. This dream world, Unimatrix Zero, is a collective sanctuary where these aberrant Borg are targeted by the Borg Queen who doesn’t like them escaping reality into their dream-world fantasies.

The Queen/Janeway dynamic was fun but could have been better appreciated if I wasn’t still seeing them in TNG terms. Interesting premise, okay execution, yadda yadda...

The “dramatic” ending has Janeway, Torres, and Tuvok intentionally being assimilated and it’s made clear that was their goal all along. Voyager does not write cliffhangers very well. No, not very well at all...

My enjoyment: 3/5

Star Trek Voyager: Unimatrix Zero, Part II (7x01)

Comments: Well, this was a strong start for the final season, with some pretty badass Janeway sequences. Her line during the big twist (“I do not compromise... with Borg”) was amazing and great and I love this version of Janeway. The way she spits out the word “Borg” was just fantastic line delivery.

Along the same lines, the Klingon Borg that hijacks a Borg sphere, drops out of transwarp beside Voyager, and hails them to announce their desire to “join Voyager in battle” was pretty BA as well.

But, well, this is Voyager so... Seven’s B-plot about being “in love” (or whatever) was distracting and unearned since it was never established why (or to what degree) she was “in love” (or whatever) with... some guy. We’re just sorta told she is and then some cliché romance stuff happens to distract us from the great story happening in the A-plot.

I wanna say something about the Borg Queen’s attempt at blackmailing Janeway though. Okay, so the plot is that Janeway has made an alliance with the thousands of Borg drones who are able to escape to this dream world. The Borg Queen sees their existence as a threat to her Borg collective (of billions of drones) and wants them eliminated. The Queen is willing to make serious sacrifices to remove this perceived threat.

So the Queen holographically abducts Janeway and gives her an ultimatum: tell me how to find these rebels, or I’ll destroy the ships they’re on one by one. Janeway refuses so the Borg Queen orders the destruction of a Borg cube saying, “On this cube there’s 46,000 drones. Two have been infected” and then orders the vessel to self destruct (which it does), conveniently displayed on a nearby monitor for Janeway to witness.

But... uh... Holy shit Janeway those are really good odds. After this the Borg Queen is like, “ready to give me the location of these traitors now, or shall I order another Borg vessel to self destruct?” And Janeway just stares at her, so the Queen orders the self-destruction of another vessel, with equally favorable allies-to-Borg ratio.

Like, Janeway... you might be on to something here...

Anyways, in the end it’s heavily implied the Borg have a civil war on their hands. If it wasn’t the Borg on Voyager, I’d expect this to never come up again, but knowing this show it’ll be the topic of the very next episode.

My enjoyment: 4/5

[violetren]

I am watching TNG 6x26 and the borg prisoner is goading Data into joining him by playing head games with him about feeling emotions, and some dark shit is being said about Data feeling pleasure over killing, and being will to kill Geordi, and all the while there is still a crewman in the background monitoring the forcefield.

Can you imagine being that crewman?

The captain leave you to make sure one of the most dangerous creatures you've ever encountered in your career doesn't escape or do anything... Ya know. Dangerous.

His second, a star fleet lieutenant commander, your superior officer stays. Its common knowledge that he happens to be an android, and according to scuttlebutt also felt his first ever emotion yesterday.

Then the creepy borg starts talking. And it knows shit about your s.o like his name and his experience with emotion the day before.

Ofc creepy scary borg says something creepy and scary about your s.o finding killing pleasurable.

AND THEN YOUR S.O AGREES!

And it's not like you can say shit? Neither of them even seem to remember you are there. And it is your boss!

It was his first emotion, he might just be processing. Everyone knows it occurred under life or death circumstances. He doesn't have a frame or reference between feeling joy at taking someone's life, or feeling relief that he managed to survive, both of which could be called pleasurable.

You just gotta hold out. Keep your mouth shut, mind ya business, and maybe drop a line to the ship councilor later.

But then creepy scary bastard borg starts asking shit about what your boss would do to feel again.

And it's uncomfortable, but everyone knows the Lt. Commander is a rational fellow and this kinda talk will just go right over his head.

Except he isn't saying any of his classic top shelf conversation stopping lines. Which is... unsettling.

Then the creepy scary bastard dickhead borg asks if your boss would kill his best friend in order to feel anything again.

AND HE SAYS YES!

Next thing you know your chest hurts like a bitch, and the light burst of a phaser beam is dancing in front of your eyes even as your vision goes dark and you feel your body collapsing to the floor like you are experiencing it in slow motion from the outside.

When you wake up later in sickbay the ship is buzzing with the news that a lieutenant commander helped a fucking borg escape.

[startrekucast]

Lore's controlling Data and leading a rogue faction of Borg! What does this episode mean for Star Trek: Picard? We talk story, character arcs, favorite quotes, and trivia! Also featuring a new song from Matthew Carroll's band The Garage inspired by Descent!

Star Trek Universe Podcast #065: 'Picard' Primer - "Descent" (TNG 6x26 & 7x01) Review

[subbyfoxelf]

[tv review] tng 6x26 & 7x01 "descent" (1993)

6x26 "descent, part 1"

i think this two-parter was the only tng vhs i had besides “the best of both worlds,” so there’s a bit of a theme there obviously. though descent just isn’t remotely in best of both worlds’ league.

this is one of those two-parters where i very strongly prefer the first part to the second. which isn’t to say the first part is amazing or anything, but idk, the enterprise investigating strange new developments with the borg leading up to a season-ending cliffhanger is a lot more interesting to me than lore doing lore things. though this is for sure one of the better lore stories imo. i just don’t think that character ever really worked as well as they thought he did, unfortunately.

also, one thing that never really jumped out at me in all my previous viewings is that it’s frankly super disappointing that captain picard experiences uncertainty & guilt about his decision in “i, borg” to, y’know, not do a genocide. i’d really rather picard stick to his guns on that sort of thing when he already got it right. b-rank

7x01 “descent, part 2”

a bit of a step down from part 1, as previously mentioned. like, i do love how genuinely effective dr. crusher was in command of the enterprise. she was a strong & decisive leader in a very difficult situation, and it’s a pretty great moment for a character who doesn’t get very many of them! but the rest of the episode is kind of just our heroes shuffling back & forth between a cell and a torture chamber, and data eventually breaking free of lore’s control to help them escape. hugh also helps.

like, idk, it’s not a bad episode or anything, but it really doesn’t feel like it delivers on the promise of a newer, scarier borg threat whatsoever. a lot of people complain that voyager nerfed the borg, but tng clearly got there first. b-rank

[rainbowrites]

Season 6 Primer

my stupid fcking computer kept crashing while i was writing this,it was like it was protesting the idea that there are only TWO MORE SEASONS LEFT AAHHHHHHHHH

@wellntruly I can’t believe that I only have one more season primer to write and damn @memory-for-trifles I felt your pain in trying to figure out what to bold for MUST SEE on this list, I just wanted to do all of them!!! so instead I switched it up a little and just bolded the ones that were NECESSARY for plot development (...and then I cheated by italicizing the ones I just really liked)

6x01- 6x06 This is a SIX PARTER, because DS9 goes fucking HARD CORE sometimes. It's not even the longest multi-parter, just wait till next season. anyways, our darling crew are separated, some desperately trying to organize an internal resistance (again, for poor Kira under her second occupation) and some battling out amongst the stars. Things are very dark, but there is always hope, by which I mean hilarity - especially in the form of your favorite Le Carre character

6x01 everyone tries to figure out the new normal in life at war with the Dominion

6x02 lots of soldier vs officer feels (WARNING: there is a suicide)

6x03 all about the relationship between parents and children, starring Worf/Alexander and Dukat/Ziyal

6x04 female changeling appears to try to seduce Odo to the dark side (quark misses Deep Space Drink as much as we do)

6x05 both sides begin to try to take back DS9, from the inside and out, in the first part of a mini-two parter WITHIN the six-parter (jeez Deep Space Serialization)

6x06 THE FINAL BATTLE!!!

6x07 WEDDING EPISODE, WEDDING EPISODE, WEDDING EPISODE!!! featuring all your tropey favorites (terrible mother-in-law, bridezilla, bachelor party shenanigans etc) but with with SPACE TWISTS. I honestly love this episode SO MUCH, what a wonderful return to Deep Space Domesticity after so long at war

6x08 MIRROR VERSE! although it's a bit of a switcheroo because this is mostly Mirror verse characters coming into OUR world rather than the other way around. It's very relationship heavy, about Bareil and Kira, and is pretty skippable but also Mirror verse Kira is in it and I ADORE her

6x09 an episode based entirely around Bashir's enhancements, and the idea of 'what happened to the other kids who got enhancements, but weren't able to hide it like he did?' There's some interesting stuff here about disability, mental illness, and the way society treats the neurodiverse

6x10 a fun adventure episode in which the Ferengi go on a mission to be big damn heroes, and maybe make a little latinum in the process (fun story: Iggy Pop is in this episode!)

6x11 Sisko and Dukat get ship wrecked, Lost style (so the answer to your question 'is this lost' will FINALLY be yes) Dukat goes crazy just as fast as you'd expect in this AMAZING episode that manages to keep up tons of tension while basically just being two people talking for an hour

6x12 just like Morn manages to be a recurring character without ever actually saying a word this episode manages to be ALL ABOUT HIM while not having him in it pretty much at all. it's a fun little romp that explores how even background characters have their own lives going on while we're focusing on the main cast

6x13 I think this might be the most critically acclaimed star trek episode like... ever? it was definitely up for 3 emmys and is most of the casts's favorite episode. IT'S JUST REALLY THAT GOOD. It's sci-fi and Star Trek at it's best. It makes me cry every time, and is still painfully important today with it's struggle between desperation and hope regarding civil rights. Super notable for this episode basically saying that sometimes you just need to say FUCK METAPHORS and scream about how horrible racism is without pretending it’s about aliens. Also the only time in ST history an actor has directed an episode where he was the central character, since they wanted to have a black director and Avery wanted this episode

6x14 Honey I Shrunk The Runabout! it’s a fun little episode with plenty of Bashir/O’Brien banter

6x15 O'Brien goes UNDERCOVER and things GO SOUTH in this grungy gangster AU. there is one really funny scene back on DS9 that is literally just that the station is falling apart without O'Brien's magic touch in another case of B-plot being way better than A-plot - it's only one scene, so just watch that and get out

6x16 Dax and Worf are Adorable, shade is thrown at TNG, and hilarious zingers are thrown about as they tramp through a jungle before things abruptly get Very Very Serious. it's pretty much pure Relationship episode so I loved it

6x17 Kira gets to meet her mother when she time-travels back to the Occupation in another episode of the ongoing saga Kira Searches For Truth No Matter How Painful And Enraging in this incredible and incredibly intense episode

6x18 a switch up, in that BASHIR Must Suffer, as he's accused of being a Dominion spy, not just a James Bond spy. Really intense and spirals quickly into some very dark places

6x19 the road to hell is paved with good intentions in another one of DS9's most famous and intense episodes, revolving around Sisko and Garak as Sisko asks himself what he's willing to do to protect the Alpha Quadrant.

6x20 A space rom-com featuring cupid as a 1960's lounge singer who's perfectly aware he's a holoprogram pally. Who better than an AI to teach Odo how to stop being such a square and get down with the cool cats? you finally get an episode that’s just ALL ABOUT THIS STATION’S LARPING

6x21 holy shit, quite literally, as Bajor's gods decide it's time for THE END OF DAYS. The Reckoning is at hand on DS9!

6x22 a Nog-centric episode where he and Jake end up stranded in a war zone with a bunch of wild-eyed cadets

6x23 considered the worst episode of DS9, it features Quark getting a temporary sex change. there's some nuggets of good stuff, especially the feminist movement, and Shimmerman does his best with a terrible script, but on the whole this was definitely one long cringe of an episode

6x24 Molly gets accidentally transported to the age of dinosaurs, only a few hours pass for us but 10 years go by for her. the rest of the episode is the O'Briens trying to come to terms with their new feral daughter and reintegrate her into society in a really weird, dark Tarzan-ish episode. The B-plot is a lovely bit of Jadzia-Worf relationship as they babysit Kirayoshi, if you skip this episode then at least watch that part

6x25 this is basically DS9 therapy hour, and it’s GREAT (what do you mean I’m biased as a therapist-in-training and that this isn’t actually plot necessary? SH-SHUT UP, YOU’RE BIASED! IT’S MY PRIMER I DO WHAT I WANT!! IT’S NECESSARY TO MY HEART)

6x26 this seriously feels like the darkest, saddest DS9 season finale EVER, so like... BRING TISSUES. NO, MORE TISSUES THAN THAT. NO, MORE. 

M O R E

[evviejo]

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION // S6E26 Descent, Part 1 What if those are the only emotions I am capable of experiencing? Would that not make me a bad person?