Star Trek The Next Generation: Every Season Ranked
1. Season 4
If the third season was the Next Generation landing on its feet, then the fourth season was the show learning how to run. There are many excellent examples littered throughout the season of the best that the show had to offer.
From the very beginning, The Best of Both Worlds pt. II and Family offer a fine conclusion to the Borg cliffhanger. Brothers reintroduces Lore and Reunion brings back fan favourite K'Eylehr, along with introducing both Alexander and Gowron, both of whom would recur many times throughout the show.
While there are many stand out episodes on show, not least Redemption and The Drumhead, but it is the introduction of the Cardassians in The Wounded that stands above many of the rest. It is the first episode to feature Miles O'Brien in a prominent role and introduces many of the plot threads that would later be developed in Deep Space Nine. This was an exploration of the darker side of the future - O'Brien openly tells a Cardassian officer that he hates what he has become thanks to their race.
While it may not be racism, it most certainly is an exploration of the effects of war and the perception that conflict can force on us all. The season offers the strongest lessons that the Next Generation, in its library of lessons, had to give in all of its run. While Star Trek Picard has yet to reach anywhere near the dizzying heights of its predecessor, it has the helping hand of fantastic storytelling to build itself on and depict the bold new future with Picard in command.