What was your reaction to the Redemption Part 1 cliffhanger?

[Riley]

It was underwhelming. I found the Klingon political drama far more interesting.

Speaking of Klingons, Crosby should have returned as a Klingon character with no connection to Tasha Yar. I think she'd have been a hell of a Klingon.

 

[Dukhat]

I think what disappointed me the most about it was that they had the alt-universe Tasha killed offscreen. I would have liked to have seen mother confront daughter at some point, and that might have actually made me care a bit more about Sela, instead of having her come across as an entirely unrepentant antagonist.

This. Sela's origins were revealed and then quickly brushed aside, making her nothing more than a generic Romulan bad guy in Unification. Perhaps there might have been plans to bring her back and elaborate more on her backstory, but that never happened.

Ironically, a TNG porn parody actually did bring Tasha back, in suspended animation, only to find out that she was being controlled by Sela to take over the Enterprise. The storyline itself, minus the porn aspect (which you could actually choose to omit when watching the DVD), was actually very imaginative (for a porn film.) Unfortunately even in porn, Sela was depicted as just another generic baddie, even with her mother in the picture.

 

[Saul]

I don't recall much specifically. I watched it in its original run, but all I really recall is the "Best of Both Worlds" was the only cliffhanger that really produced that sense of excitement -- and frustration at having to wait three months for the conclusion. The other season finales were nowhere near as exciting. The next time I can remember having that mega-anticipation over what was to come was when DS9 did "Call to Arms" at the end of the fifth season and, for the first time in Trek history, we actually see a true fleet of starships.

The 2 parters got gradually less and less exciting as TNG went on.

After BoBW, was there ever really another time when we thought any of the regular characters might die?

Not really. I think we were all ahead of the game when it came to two parters after that anyway. We knew they were all coming back.

I think what disappointed me the most about it was that they had the alt-universe Tasha killed offscreen. I would have liked to have seen mother confront daughter at some point, and that might have actually made me care a bit more about Sela, instead of having her come across as an entirely unrepentant antagonist.

Perhaps there might have been plans to bring her back and elaborate more on her backstory, but that never happened.

Watching it again I do wonder why they didn't do more with her character and make her more of an antagonist after building up to her big reveal and all. The Romulans in general seem to lose their bite after season 5. Sela could have had some kind of redemptive arc. She could have also been lying about what happened to Tasha as Romulans tend to do. Just feels they gave up on the idea quickly.

 

[Mojochi]

I do remember that Worf getting an honored send off, down the ship's corridors, was really quite touching. We hadn't seen anything quite like that since Spock's funeral... and I secretly suspect the entire storyline was built around having that very cliffhanger moment end the season lol.

If that's you're writer's pitch launching point, it's a natural follow-up to ask "What would be the only reason Worf would resign?" And the answer is a Klingon conflict Starfleet can't be part of. From there, you draw in Kurn & the Duras, & continue your hefty Klingon arc. Add in Starfleet really does want to be involved, & it starts writing itself

Hell, the Sela thing barely matters at all, at that point. Could've just as easily been Tomalak, but I think they thought that Sela thing was going to be more impactful than it ultimately panned out to be, & piggybacked her in there as the new big bad.

It's good stuff, ultimately, & Sela doesn't wreck it like she does Unification.