I, Borg

ST episode
name = I, Borg


"I, Borg".
series = TNG
ep_num = 123
prod_num = 223
date= 11th May 1992
writer = René Echevarria
director = Robert Lederman
guest = Whoopi Goldberg
Jonathan del Arco
stardate = 45854.2
year = 2368
prev = Imaginary Friend
next = The Next Phase"I, Borg" is the twenty third episode of the fifth season of the television show "". The episode has an average rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of November 9th, 2007). [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68552.html]

Plot

Overview: A member of the dangerous cybernetic race known as the Borg is captured by the "Enterprise" crew and examined. During the course of the interactions which follow, they begin to rethink their attitude towards the Borg.

The "Enterprise" discovers a wrecked Borg scout ship with a single survivor amongst the wreckage: a young Borg drone. Dr. Crusher insists on treating the surviving Borg, and Captain Picard reluctantly agrees to transport him aboard the "Enterprise".

Given that the Federation is technically at war with the Borg (despite an absence of official declaration on their part), the crew are initially wary of the rescued Borg, which eventually is given the name Hugh. The idea of using the drone as a weapon of mass destruction is one of the central themes of the episode, with Picard and the crew considering sending back Hugh to destroy and/or cripple the Borg. This idea is refined throughout the show, eventually culminating in the planned use of a paradoxical mathematical construct which would be inserted into the Borg drone's memory banks and would be passed to the central collective due to the drone's inability to process it, causing chaos at the heart of the borg collective. The morality of such an action is called into question by Dr. Crusher who maintains that genocide should not be a consideration. Picard counters by saying that with any other race the idea would be out of the question, but the nature of the Borg calls for extreme measures. The Borg drone (played by Jonathan del Arco), calling himself "Third of Five" (per his position aboard the five-crew scout ship), was dubbed "Hugh" by Geordi La Forge following a conversation of self and Human "designations." Hugh explains that the Borg only wish to learn about other cultures and cannot understand why Geordi does not want to be assimilated. The engineer begins to explain individuality, and leads onto friendship. In the course of working with Hugh, Geordi begins to question the action of genocide as Dr. Crusher does. These questions are compounded when Hugh begins to display traits of individuality. This demonstrated independence raises another question of morality for the crew: Is it right to sacrifice one individual to protect the majority?

Geordi voices his concerns to Picard who dismisses them with little thought, suggesting that the engineer "un-attach" himself from the drone. Geordi then speaks to Guinan whose homeworld was destroyed by the Borg. Despite initial skepticism and displayed repugnance at the idea of giving a drone a name, Guinan goes to meet Hugh. Her skepticism is called into question when she does not find the expected mindless drone, but a confused young individual who concedes that "resistance is not futile," at clear odds with the mentality of his people. Now with her own doubts, Guinan speaks to Picard and urges him to meet with the Borg. He does so under duress, pretending at first to be Locutus of Borg in front of Hugh, and ordering him to assimilate the crew of the "Enterprise", including Geordi. Hugh resists the idea, claiming that Geordi is his friend. When Picard pushes him further, he states "I will not assist you," shocking Picard with his use of the first person singular, and prompting the captain to reconsider his plans.

Picard concludes that it would be immoral to use Hugh as a weapon to destroy his people, and offers the drone asylum within the Federation. Hugh is tempted but realises that the Borg, having lost a drone, would continue to look for him, placing the "Enterprise" and her crew in jeopardy. He decides to go back to the crash site and be re-assimilated by the Collective— plan which Picard theorises may cause disruption of its own, with Hugh's individualism spreading throughout the Collective.

As the "Enterprise" masks itself from the recovery ship's sensors, Geordi accompanies Hugh to the crash site and witnesses him being "rescued" and reassimilated. Just before Hugh is transported aboard the Borg vessel, however, he gives a small parting glance to Geordi.

The effects of Hugh

In "Descent, Part II," it is revealed to the "Enterprise" crew that Hugh's individuality did spread throughout part of the Collective, resulting in the "infected" ship being cut off from the hive mind. These drones wandered aimlessly until they were found by Lore, who convinced them to follow him by falsely claiming he could help them. Hugh was one of these drones, though he did not agree with Lore's teachings, and began an underground movement of Borg close to Lore's base of operations. He initially held the "Enterprise" crew responsible for the chaos that had occurred, but later helped them defeat Lore.

Reception

*In a 2002 "TV Guide" magazine commemorating the 35th anniversary of the "Star Trek" television series, "I, Borg" ranked 5th among the greatest episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

Trivia

*This episode is commonly referred to and listed in episode guides as "I, Borg", although the title card from the episode reads "I Borg" (without the comma).

External links

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