Coming home can mean being welcomed by people who know you better than anyone else. It can also mean slipping back into arguments and family roles you thought you had outgrown.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s season 4 episode “Family” makes room for both experiences, which is why it belongs on a Thanksgiving watchlist.
Following his assimilation by the Borg, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) returns to his childhood home in France. Aboard the Enterprise-D, Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) receives a visit from his adoptive parents, Sergey (Theodore Bikel) and Helena Rozhenko (Georgia Brown), after telling them about his discommendation. Picard goes looking for a place to recover, while Worf would prefer to be left to handle his troubles alone.
1. Picard's homecoming brings his pain into the open
Early in the episode, Picard tells Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) that his nightmares have ended and emphasizes how much better he feels. Troi reminds him that recovering from his ordeal will take time. The trip to La Barre takes him away from the Enterprise and puts him in the company of an older brother who has never been impressed by his rank.
Robert (Jeremy Kemp) and Jean-Luc fall back into longstanding disagreements about ambition, responsibility, and the life Jean-Luc chose beyond the vineyard. Even dinner allows Robert to criticize his brother’s tastes and question his influence on Rene (David Birkin). To Robert, the captain of the Enterprise is still the younger brother who broke their father’s rules and received the applause.
Their argument eventually becomes a fight in the vineyard. The brothers end up laughing in the mud before Jean-Luc breaks down and describes being used by the Borg to kill and destroy. He still blames himself for failing to stop them.
Picard’s confession reveals the distance between being rescued and feeling free of what happened. Robert listens and tells his brother that he will have to live with the experience for a long time. After spending much of the visit dredging up old grievances, Robert finally gives Jean-Luc room to talk about what brought him home.
Add us as a preferred source on Google