The least disliked episode of TNG - Season Two

Contagion is a good episode, but not a landmark episode (unless you count all the times the Iconians popped up in spin-off media). The other two are landmark episodes. So, I have to do the right thing and leave the final two as...

The Measure of a Man
Q Who?

 

Perhaps a controversial call, but I'm gonna give it to Q Who, which I prefer ever-so-slightly. Measure Of A Man is amazing and obviously a classic, but Q Who introduces us to one of the most iconic villains in all of sci-fi. I had a moment recently of realizing how influential the Borg have been even outside of Trek, and it all starts here, with this profoundly, existentially terrifying first encounter. This is an episode where if I stumble on it in reruns, I can't not watch the whole thing. It's still as griping to me now as it was the day I first saw it.

Besides the awesome central Picard arc, this ep also offers one of the best showcases of Guinan in the entire series, and it saves Q as a recurring nemesis, a tough rehab job after "Hide & Q." I even still have favorable memories of Ensign Sonya Gomez, and most attempts by Trek at this type of cutesy, quirky character were nails-on-a-chalkboard disasters.

 

Ensign Sonia Gomez almost totally ruined what is otherwise a good episode for me. She didn't know when to shut up and she had the most annoying, grating voice. I kept waiting for Geordi to shove her out an airlock.

 

Good call. I actually think Q Who holds up better years later than Measure of a Man, which tends to fall apart under years of scrutiny by nutty fans like me lol.

As for Gomez, while I do find her rather annoying, I do also think the dopey light-hearted quirkiness she brings to the episode, is the perfect foil to the stark terror of the rest of that teleplay. It's just the setup you need. In fact, When Q is trumpeting humanity's naivety & unpreparedness for the grim realities of undiscovered space, it is HER he's talking about (Not personally) She is the example by which to judge Humanity's readiness for the future that awaits them. That's why she's in that episode, & it's a necessary component imho, especially so early into the show's run, before much is established

 

I love Measure of a Man but admit that the climax is very flimsy. "These questions are best left to philosophers and saints, I'm neither competent nor qualified to judge." What? Then WHY are you in this position at all? Probably grounds for an appeal from Maddox's point of view. And how about Picard flailing about with his "well he's met two of the three criteria, so what if he meets the third? What is he then? I don't know. Do you? Do you? DO YOU?" It's enough reason to prefer Q Who for me.

 

I'm glad people like Q Who as a winner! I had actually written a post eliminated Contagion but saying I'd never been more tempted to vote tactically in the hopes that Q Who would get it, and then @BigDaveX 's post popped up just as I was about to post myself.

That is a great analysis. I had never thought of it that way before. Now I need to rewatch "Q Who?" again

 

When you do, consider this. The last comment we ever hear from Ensign Sonya Gomez is about not being able to get over 18 of her comrades being dead. We see one final glimpse of her, when they begin their final run from the Borg, & then that's it. Maybe she never did get over it, & decided she was done with Starfleet

The only other possible explanation I can think of, for why she's not around anymore, is that maybe Geordi took her out on a date. That tends to run off the women on board too lol

 

She was also on Samaritan Snare, much more calmed down and less annoying.