Every Star Trek TNG Borg episode in order. Ever since their introduction early on in TNG, Star Trek has loved the Borg nearly as much as Riker loves Risa. If you’ve seen the final season of Picard, you’ll know that obsession is alive and well.
The Borg are perhaps the most infamous villains in Star Trek history, and along with Q are Jean-Luc Picard’s personal nemeses. They were introduced in TNG as the Federation’s strongest adversaries, while they would go on to be explored in other Star Trek series (mainly Voyager) and Star Trek movies. However, the Borg are best known for their time on TNG, which brings us to the recent Star Trek Picard season 3.
After being the villains in Picard season 1 and 2, the Borg were back once again to ruin Jean-Luc’s life, to the surprise of no one. This time it was more personal because the Borg Queen was directly attempting to assimilate his son, Jack Crusher. After all that, it looks like the Borg will be taking a back seat for the time being. But, if you want to see where it all began, look no further: here’s every Star Trek TNG Borg episode in order.
Star Trek TNG Borg episodes in order
- The Neutral Zone (season 1, episode 26)
- Q Who (season 2, episode 16)
- The Best of Both Worlds (season 3, episode 26; season 4, episode 1)
- I, Borg (season 5, episode 23)
- Descent (season 6, episode 26; season 7
episode 1)
The Neutral Zone (season 1, episode 26)
The Borg are never actually seen in The Neutral Zone, but their cybernetic fingerprints are all over the episode. The Enterprise-D is dispatched to look into attacks on the edge of Federation space, presumed to be by Romulans.
However, the Romulans have been experiencing the same attacks, and we later learn that it was the Borg who were ripping the outposts out of the ground with immense power. A small glimpse of things to come, right in the finale of the first season.
Q Who (season 2, episode 16)
Q Who is, without exaggeration, one of the best TNG episodes of all time. After Jean-Luc enrages Q with his arrogance, Q flings the Enterprise-D into early contact with the Borg.
This is the first time audiences saw the Borg and their fearsome cubes, and the villains have never been quite as terrifying since. After realizing that the Enterprise-D was completely outmatched by the Borg, Picard finally begs Q for help, as he comes to terms with the knowledge that Starfleet is not quite as powerful as he previously believed.
What’s most interesting about Q Who, on a rewatch, is how the Borg were clearly conceived as an entirely different kind of villain. They didn’t have any catch phrases (there’s a distinct lack of ‘Resistance is futile,’ etc.) and it’s clear that the writers initially imagined that they could reproduce, hence the maturation chamber. That all changed, soon enough.
The Best of Both Worlds (season 3, episode 26; season 4, episode 1)
Often believed to be the very pinnacle of TNG (as well as the first de facto TNG movie) The Best of Both Worlds is perhaps the single most influential Star Trek episode of all time.
The battle of Wolf 359, DS9, Voyager, Star Trek Picard, and First Contact each want to emulate it in their own ways, to varying degrees of success. It sees the introduction of Shelby as Earth is attacked by unimaginably powerful Borg forces, while Picard is abducted and assimilated in Locutus of Borg.
Q Who might be the Borg at their most eerie, but The Best of Both Worlds shows the collective at its most threatening. It’s masterful in every conceivable way.
I, Borg (season 5, episode 23)
While this is a Borg episode in theory, it isn’t really a Borg episode in practice. I, Borg is hailed as one of the classic ‘ethical dilemma’ TNG episodes, where the Enterprise-D crew (led by Geordi and Crusher) save an abandoned Borg drone and begin to socialize it, calling it Hugh.
Jean-Luc Picard has to decide whether to respect Hugh’s growing individuality, or use the drone to infect and destroy the Borg collective.
Q Who, to The Best of Both Worlds, to I, Borg, can be watched almost independently as a wonderful trilogy of Borg episodes. In fact, viewed as a trilogy, this is probably as good as the Borg get.
Descent (season 6, episode 26; season 7
episode 1)
The final outing of the Borg in TNG is in the two-parter Descent. A rogue faction of the Borg are being led by Lore, threatening the security of the Enterprise-D crew.
The Borg are there to inject some menace, but really this one’s about Data and Lore – another plot point picked up in the new season of Star Trek Picard.
Descent marks the end of the Borg on the small screen in TNG and it’s probably their worst episode. As a two-parter Descent isn’t bad, per se, but it doesn’t reach the heights of other episodes.
Bonus – Star Trek First Contact
Yes, this isn’t a TNG episode. I know. But, it’s a TNG Borg movie and that counts too, kind of. In First Contact, the Borg time-travel back to Earth in order to get in some early-bird assimilation. The crew of the Enterprise-D crew has to stop them.
It’s unarguably the best TNG Star Trek movie (not the highest bar, to be fair) with a neat plot and some very memorable scenes. Star Trek First Contact even took inspiration from Patrick Stewart’s personal favorite TNG episode.
What happens to the Borg after TNG?
The story of the Borg continues primarily in Star Trek Voyager and Star Trek Picard.
In Voyager, Janeway discovers the Borg in the Delta Quadrant and has to deal with them throughout her voyage. Through the events of Endgame she eventually lands a crippling blow on them, which almost destroys the entire Borg collective.
In Star Trek Picard season 1, the Borg are being researched in a joint project (which doesn’t really go anywhere, let’s be honest) and in season 2 a new splinter group is established by Agnes Jurati. In season 3, the Borg attempts one last big assault on Earth through the use of Jean-Luc’s son, but Picard and the TNG cast save the day, and snuff out the final spark of Borg threat.
That’s it on the Star Trek TNG Borg episodes. To keep up to date with the rest of Star Trek, take a look at our guide to the cursed development of Star Trek 4, and check out our hopes for a Star Trek Legacy release date.
You can also see our ranking of the Star Trek movies, our favorite Star Trek characters, and our pick for which Star Trek captain would win a zombie apocalypse.