Star Trek: Every Q Episode Ranked Worst To Best
Star Trek has never been short of great villains but the greatest of them all may be a hero too.
John de Lancie's Q is perhaps the most beloved antagonist-turned-friend in the Star Trek franchise. He is both mischievous and dangerous, while remaining both fun and aloof.
As he is effectively a God, he has no fear of retribution or consequence for the most part, enjoying living his eternal life doing whatever he sees fit from time to time. He is responsible for what is potentially the most impactful meeting that Jean Luc Picard has ever had in his career and even goes on to have a somewhat strained relationship with Katheryn Janeway as well. His time on Deep Space Nine though was blessedly brief.
While de Lancie has said that he feels a return to the role would be unlikely in Picard, this would be a shame of huge proportions. While he has never been the saviour that Starfleet might need him to be, Q is a watcher who is able to offer scathing commentary on the actions and judgements of the characters we have come to know so well.
Through him, we can see their portrayal in an unflattering light, no matter how much we love them all. With a surprisingly small number of appearances across the franchise, Q has had some of the deepest impacts of any guest star through the years, beginning all the way back with his first appearance in the Next Generation's pilot. However, while that was not his finest hour, it was by no means the lowest ranked appearance. That honour goes to...
12. Q-Less
Q-Less was the fifth episode of Deep Space Nine's first season, falling into place at a time when the show itself was still discovering itself. The story originated with Vash only and no Q. However, a rewrite was ordered and Robert Hewitt Wolfe began his career on the show by fleshing out this plot. The idea was to have Q appear on the station in a believable manner that wouldn't have it appear that the producers were simply moving the popular guest star from one series to another.
The results are quite mixed.
Armin Shimmerman was quoted as saying that John de Lancie behaved as though he was the series regular, while the rest of the actors were the guest stars, something de Lancie has commented on. He said that only way he knew how to approach the role was to be the Q he had been on the Enterprise. In continuity, that idea certainly makes a lot of sense.
However in practice, he seems quite out of place. His boxing match with Sisko, while fun, shows how wildly different the relationship he had with Picard was. With Picard, Q enjoyed a battle of words. With Sisko, he gets a punch in the face. The episode is unfortunately not the best example of Q as a character.
He appears too caught up with Vash, a character who is never seen again after this. If she was so important to him, why wasn't she the woman of his dreams rather than Captain Janeway?
A sadly poor entry on Q's Trek journey.