History Recap / StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E16QWho

** When Gomez returns to the ST universe in [[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E10FirstFirstContact Lower Decks]], she's become the Captain of her own ship, the ''Archimedes''; judging by the name, it's a science-focused vessel

*** The humans, for their part, seem interested in studying the Borg until the full implications of their race set in.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Q ultimately reveals that his warping the ''Enterprise'' into Borg space was this. He already knew that the ship, and even the entire Federation, wasn't ready for the Borg and their power--he was more interested to see whether or not Picard would be humble enough to admit he was wrong and explicitly ask for Q's help. Once the captain does so, Q instantly teleports the ''Enterprise'' to safety and commends Picard for his choice, saying that most men would have rather died holding onto their pride than own up to a mistake.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Picard questions if Q's lesson could have been learned without the death of 18 members of his crew. Q responds that the galaxy isn't a safe place, and if Picard can't accept that people will die from the dangers, then he should go back home.

* AbsenteeActor: Pulaski doesn't appear in this episode. Since Diana Muldaur [[FakeGuestStar declined to be credited as a main cast member]], this makes her a non-entity.

** This version of the Borg was conceived as a unique race that breed within their own species and are only interested in consuming outsiders' technology. For this reason, they threaten the ''Enterprise'' with "punishment" rather than assimilation, and the away team discovers a "nursery" of baby Borgs.[[labelnote:*]]This would be explained that the Borg may assimilate babies, then put them in "maturation chambers" to rapidly age them.[[\labelnote]] Later episodes would establish that they are more of a technological [[TheVirus virus]] that propagates itself by assimilating civilizations to add to its collective.

** This version of the Borg was conceived as a unique race that breed within their own species and are only interested in consuming outsiders' technology. For this reason, they threaten the ''Enterprise'' with "punishment" rather than assimilation, and the away team discovers a "nursery" of baby Borgs. Later episodes would establish that they are more of a technological [[TheVirus virus]] that propagates itself by assimilating civilizations to add to its collective.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Q describes Guinan in terms that are NotSoDifferent from himself. When he raises his hand to vanish her, she brings up her own hands in a defensive posture, implying that she is in some way capable of thwarting Q.

* MotorMouth: Sonya Gomez admits to this, especially when she's excited.

* WhamLine: After the Borg's first attack kills eighteen crew members, Riker chews Q out for his reckless actions and fully blames him for their deaths. Up until this point, Q was a prankster and fun, if rude, LargeHam, using his powers largely to mess with the ''Enterprise'' for amusement. But upon hearing Riker's condemnation, he [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness drops his cheerful persona]] with a single line: "Oh, ''please.''" Those two words reveal that Q ''doesn't care'' about what he's done ''or'' humanity as a whole: he's too far advanced for that. Q's remaining appearances would continue to straddle that line between TricksterMentor and [[DoNotTauntCthulhu genuinely terrifying foe.]]

* ShutUpKirk: When Riker chews Q out for exposing them to the Borg and costing the lives of 18 shipmates, Q shuts him up with ''"Oh, please! If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."

Picard decides that he AintTooProudToBeg and asks Q for help. Satisfied, Q snaps his fingers and whisks the ship back to where they started. Q congratulates Picard for his humility in learning Q's lesson, but Picard is still defiant about Q's methods and blames him for the 18 deaths in his crew. Later, Guinan warns Picard that the Borg have now become aware of the Federation and will soon be knocking on their door. Picard grimly states that Federation at least now know what they have to prepare for.

** Q's descriptions of the Borg. Unlike humanity, he seems to genuinely admire them;

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Q describes Guinan in terms that are NotSoDifferent from himself. when he raises his hand to vanish her, she brings up her own hands in a defensive posture, implying that she is in some way capable of thwarting Q.

* CuteClumsyGirl: Sonia Gomez [[EstablishingCharacterMoment establishes herself as this]] by running into Picard and spilling her hot chocolate on him. First impressions, indeed.

* DeadpanSnarker: Q, of course, is an endless stream of sarcastic comments and witty remarks as the ''Enterprise'' rebuffs his attempts to join them and then during the struggle with the Borg.

-->'''Q:''' Picard, you are about to move into areas of the galaxy containing wonders more incredible than you can possibly imagine--and terrors to freeze your soul. [...] You judge yourselves against the pitiful adversaries you've encountered so far. The Romulans, the Klingons; they're ''nothing'' compared to what's waiting.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Unsurprisingly, there's quite a bit concerning the Borg, given that they were still brand new in this episode, the writing team was sussing out how both to make them threatening and how exactly their "assimilation" worked.

** This version of the Borg was conceived as a unique race that breed within their own species and are only interested in consuming outsiders' technology. For this reason, they threaten the ''Enterprise'' with "punishment" rather than assimilation, and the away team discovers a "nursery" of baby Borgs. Later episodes would establish they are more of a technological [[TheVirus virus]] that propagates itself by assimilating civilizations to add to its collective.
** The Borg continue to "scoop up" technological elements from a planet and just leave them, suggesting they are entirely space-based as a civilization; while "Best of Both Worlds" would continue this conceit, later works (most prominently starting with ''First Contact'') would instead begin to suggest that the Borg do in fact perform surface assimilation and will assimilate and build up technology on planets.

* EvilGloating: Cited by Picard; if the Borg kill them, then Q won't be able to gloat about it afterwards. Q to his credit respects Picard for being able to swallow his pride and doesn't do much.

* IdiotBall: All there in his CaptainsLog--"Despite Guinan's warnings, I have decided to explore this sector of space a bit before heading back."

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Picard decides in the end to confirm Q's insistence they need him rather than be cut up like a pork chop by the Borg.

* MotorMouth: Sonia Gomez admits to this, especially when she's excited.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Guinan can feel that something bad is about to happen at the beginning of the episode, though she isn't sure what--however, when Q makes his appearance, she declarers "I ''knew'' it was you," suggesting that she actually more suspicious than she let on.

** Sonia Gomez's reaction to spilling hot chocolate on Picard.

* CharacterisationClickMoment: In the first season, Q was a wacky, over-the-top and slightly comical. The scene where he coldly dismisses the deaths of eighteen crewmembers added a whole new dimension to the character. And it was all down to Creator/JohnDeLancie changing what was in the script.

* MySignificantSenseIsTingling: Guinan can feel that something bad is about to happen at the beginning of the episode, though she isn't sure what--however, when Q makes his appearance, she declarers "I ''knew'' it was you," suggesting that she actually more suspicious than she let on.

* ColdHam: Q exchanges his LargeHam persona for most of the episode for this to a ''chilling'' effect.

-> "Con permiso, Capitan. The hall is rented, the orchestra engaged. It's now time to see if you can ''dance''."

Q and Picard teleport to Ten-Forward, where Q immediately reacts with shock that Guinan is aboard. The pair have a history, and they square off, but Picard talks them down as Picard and Worf arrive. Q admits that he's been kicked out of the Q collective. He's bored and wants to join the crew of the ''Enterprise''. Picard balks at the idea, but Q warns him that the Federation has no idea what lies in store for them. Picard confidently states that the Federation can handle any issues that may arise without Q.

** This version of the Borg was conceived as a unique race that breed within their own species and are only interested in consuming outsiders' technology. For this reason, they threaten the ''Enterprise'' with "punishment" rather than assimilation, and the away team discovers a "nursery" of aby Borgs. Later episodes would establish they are are more of a technological [[TheVirus virus]] that assimilates civilizations to add to its collective and propagate itself.