If The Best of Both Worlds was a tough act to follow, its conclusion, Part II raised the stakes even higher. Fortunately the writers did a very smart thing and explored the repercussions of the Borg incident with an installment that is as exceptional as it is a departure for TNG. The result is Family, an episode that is deeply emotional and profound and takes the developments of the past two shows and deepens the transformations of character with three distinct storylines: Picard, Worf, and the Crushers.

Picard’s story is the main focus of the episode, and rightly so. After his ordeal with the Borg, he returns to his childhood home in the vineyards of La Barre, France. Here he resumes his shaky relationship with his brother, Robert. Their estrangement has been based on a difference of philosophy: Picard’s trust in technology and dreams of the stars; Robert’s disenfranchisement with technology and his value of a hard day’s work with the earth.

Along the way, Picard is tantalized by an offer from an old friend, Louis: to head up the Atlantis Project. It’s a deeply personal story in which Picard is forced to face the insidious violation he received at the hands of the Borg and ends with Robert telling his younger brother: “you have to learn to live with that. You have a simple choice now — living with it below the sea with Louis or above the clouds on your Enterprise.”

The secondary storyline revolves around Worf and his adoptive parents. Worf is uneasy at their visit, clearly expressing the shame he feels at the Discommendation he received in Sins of the Father. And, too, Worf’s parents are enthusiastic about seeing him again and so have a tendency to embarrass him. But Worf and his parents clearly share a love and understanding for one another. He truly appreciates their concern and they learn, from Guinan, that when he stares out the windows of Ten Forward “looking for home” he “doesn’t look toward the Klingon Empire. He’s looking toward you.” It’s a touching, personal moment that allows us to see far beyond Worf’s warrior exterior and to see the depths his character.

The last story focuses on Dr. Crusher and Wesley. It’s a minor story in this episode, and is only given a few scenes. But they are deeply emotional. Dr. Crusher has retrieved from storage a collection of items that once belonged to her deceased husband. Amongst the belongings is a message he made for Wesley, just after Wesley’s birth. The scene in which Wesley listens to his father is beautifully bittersweet.

Fittingly, the episode ends with Robert’s son, Rene, outside staring at the stars, dreaming of adventures. With a touching and loving understanding, his father sets aside his own values and says to his wife, who is mentions that it is getting late, “Yes… but let him dream.” And so we, like Rene, are allowed to dream of the wonder and grandeur of the stars.

Family is a fitting interpersonal, character-driven coda to the epic The Best of Both Worlds episodes. It is a very different approach than we are used to, but it works. And as such, it is simply one of the absolute best episodes of the series.

Filed under: TNG Reviews