was the way in which he managed to find a means to defeat the Borg threat. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages) Piller also regarded the story as "a show in which Picard became more Human than ever before," involving "huge consequences" and rendering Picard as "a far more interesting character," especially following the scene in which a needle comes towards his eye and a single tear rolls down his cheek. (Mission Overview, TNG Season 4 DVD special feature)

Fellow Star Trek writing staffer Ira Steven Behr agreed, "What was genius was it took Picard, who, compared to Kirk, was an administrator more than an adventurer, and by cutting him off and turning him into a Borg, it kind of gave his humanity back to him." (William ShatnerPresents: Chaos on the Bridge)

In summation of his own feelings about working on this episode and its two-parter in general, Rick Berman remarked, "It was a lot of fun to be able to stretch the format and do something that was two hours as opposed to one." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

This episode's text commentary states that the episode premiered "to the delight of fans everywhere." The commentary also characterizes this episode's two-parter as a "wildly popular" duology that "proved to be a defining point," not only by setting "the pattern" for subsequent season-bridging cliffhangers but also by helping to define the character of Picard by giving him "an emotional edge, reminding us that even heroes have Human flaws."

This episode won two Emmy Awards. Only four