10 Star Trek Moments You Never Saw Coming

2. I Am Locutus Of Borg

Locutus of Borg
Paramount Pictures

Patrick Stewart was, with Levar Burton, potentially the most seasoned actor to appear in Star Trek: The Next Generation. At this point in the franchise, the idea of a captain not seeing out the duration of the show was unthinkable, as this was many years before Gabriel Lorca would command the USS Discovery. Thanks to the actions of Q, the Federation, and the audience knew about the existence and power of the Borg, so when they finally entered Federation space in The Best Of Both Worlds, sh*t officially got real.

What no one was expecting was how quickly they would overpower the Enterprise-D, board her, and kidnap the captain. Riker quickly assumes command, ordering a rescue mission to get the captain back. Bear in mind, no one knew anything about assimilation at this point, so they had every hope of finding Picard, whole and intact.

It is Worf who spots him, covered now in tubules and cybernetic parts. As he turned to face the camera, the audiences' eyes popped out of their heads. This, followed with the introduction, by name, of Locutus of Borg, made for one of the most shocking, out of nowhere twists that the franchise had ever pulled off.

Longest.

Summer.

Ever.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"