3x26 The Best of Both Worlds (1)

[8.8/10] It’s funny what sticks out in your memory. When I think back to watching “The Best of Both Worlds” as a kid, I remember Picard being kidnapped and the scary reveal of Locutus. I remember the Borg attacking and Riker calmly but firmly declaring “fire.” And I remember the three most tantalizing words in the syndicated television lexecon: “to be continued.”

But what I didn’t remember is that this is less of a Picard episode, and even less of a Borg episode, than it is a Riker episode. While both the captain of the Enterprise and of Starfleet’s most memorable enemies both have strong roles to play in this episode, it is first and foremost a character story about the ship’s first officer. The loss of the captain, the emergence of a seemingly unstoppable threat, exist to create choices and conflicts for Riker, not the other way around.

Those choices matter because “The Best of Both Worlds” puts Riker at a crossroads. We learn that Admiral Hanson has offered Riker his own command and that it’s apparently the third time he’s had the chance to captain his own ship. He’s inclined to turn it down once more, but faces pressure from above and below. Picard all but tells him it’s time to move on and strike out on his own, and the overzealous but confident Commander Shelby outright tells Riker that she wants his job.

But while “The Best of Both Worlds” definitely makes hay out of the office politics of this decision point, it’s as much, if not more, interested in what this means for Riker psychologically, what it says about his view of himself, and where his future lies. Writer and showrunner Michael Piller has made plain in interviews that he wrote himself into the show here, struggling with his own decision of whether to continue on The Next Generation in the shadow of all that Gene Roddenbury and so many others had accomplished, or to move on a strike out for something all his own.

That personal touch gives Riker’s choice a real human dimension. It’s motivated by the threat of a Borg invasion, a professional opportunity in the offing, and a hotshot young go-getter poised to take his spot, but “The Best of Both Worlds” is a meditation on whether Riker has grown too comfortable and complacent in his current role, or whether he still has the mettle to make the tough decisions when they arise.

Normally those decisions are made by Jean Luc Picard, a character who takes something of a backseat here. Patrick Stewart still gets some of the episode’s big moments though. His conversation with Guinan before the battle is telling, full of the pieces of history and vulnerability and self-reflection that made TNG more than just a sci-fi blast-fest. It primes the audience both for the existential stakes of this battle, but also for the possibility that even if it’s won, Picard might not return from it.

“The Best of Both Worlds” can already coast on the fearsomeness of the enemy du jour from their introduction in season 2’s “Q Who?” But it also ups the game here. Cmdr. Shelby’s adjustments to Starfleet defense strategies not only establish her a smart and strategic thinker, but they make the Borg seem all that more imposing when her fixes only temporarily save the Enterprise and its crew. And, naturally, the kidnapping and assimilation of the show’s captain and main character ups the tension immediately.

It’s arguably the boldest choice in the episode, albeit one at least partially motivated by contract negotiations less than courageous storytelling. The Borg pose a legitimate threat, one heightened by the air of a season finale, but also through the fact that they withstand our heroes’ best shot and walk away with their leader for good measure. The production and costume design teams go all out, showing the drones themselves and their ship as frightening technocratic monstrosities. And the shock of seeing Picard himself done up in their steampunk finery, demanding the Enterprise’s surrender, lingers with at least this viewer even thirty years later.

What didn’t strike me as much at that tender age was the fraught depiction of Cmdr. Shelby. At the time, I think I viewed her as a usurper, out to unseat our beloved William Riker. But in hindsight, that gives the show and the character too little credit. On the one hand, “The Best of Both Worlds” does depict Shelby as overstepping her bounds, going behind Riker’s back and taking charge where she should arguably be deferring.

But on the other hand, there’s a whiff of sexism to that depiction. Yes, Shelby is assertive, and I think viewers would have skepticism of anyone trying to take Riker’s job. Still, she is also shown to be more than competent and capable, and seems to understand that a bit of calling your own shot is necessary to succeed in this world. (The fact that Admiral Hanson seems to be nursing a minor crush on her doesn't help either.) And yet, the show not only softens the blow of that by having basically everyone in a position of authority, including Riker himself, recognizes Shelby’s talent and potential, but overtly frames her as very much like a younger Riker herself.

That leads Riker to wonder if he’s lost the fire that once made him a young hotshot officer destined for his own command. He too has heart to hearts with those close to him, and questions whether he’s become too “seasoned,” too “safe,” to be in command with so long under Picard. The personal clashes between Riker and Shelby, the clash of civilizations between The Borg and the Federation, and the clash of technological might between the adaptation and assimilation on one side and the strategy and smarts on the other, all build to the question of whether Riker is ready for this moment.

That question comes to a head in the episode’s climax. Piller and company do a great job at giving RIker no good options by the end of the episode. They’re running out of fuel to be able to keep up with the Borg ship headed to Earth. They have one shot with the untested deflector dish attack to possible stymie their foes before they conquer Earth. But Captain Picard is on that ship, and there’s no time for a rescue or further delay.

After so much concern about his position, his self-worth and self-definition, Riker is faced with the toughest of tough decisions. Does he try to save his crew and his people, or does he try to save the man who is his mentor, who gave him a place on the ship he loves so much and molded him into the officer he is today? Faced with that choice, Riker rises to the occasion; he doesn't waver; he firmly but grimly tells his crew to fire.

“The Best of Both Worlds” may be the storytelling peak for The Next Generation. Who knows what show we might have gotten if Piller had left, if Stewart hadn’t renewed his contract, if season 4 had started a new era of the show featuring Captain Riker with Cmdr. Shelby as his “number one.” But no matter what happens or might have happened next, at this turning point for commander, a showrunner, and the series itself, TNG opts for boldness, and tells one hell of a character story in the process.