Picard: 15 ESSENTIAL Star Trek Episodes To Watch First (And Why)

8. “I, Borg” (TNG - Season 5, Episode 23)

Since Jonathan Del Arco's Hugh is returning for what appears to be a key role in Picard - no matter whether it's a short-lived thing or not - his debut in The Next Generation makes a lot of sense as a reminder before it all kicks off.

In "I, Borg",the Enterprise find Hugh (then referred to as Third Of Five, confusing the name convention that would later give Seven Of Nine her name, but whatever) as a lone survivor and ponder the ethics of implanting him with an unsolvable equation as a means to destroy the Borg. As he shows signs of individualism, they respect his rights as an individual - a rare moment of awareness for Picard concerning the Borg and return him instead hoping that his individualism may rub off.

Hugh is obviously important, but so is his fight for individual rights of Borg and this episode also explores the idea of "curing" assimilation too and the ethics of it, which is clearly important in Picard.