Star Trek TNG S02E16-18 Q Who?, Samaritan Snare, Up the Long Ladder – “Nobody Asked Your Opinion” | First Time Reaction – To Baldly Go Podcast (Ep. 046)

First-time watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation continues as we cover Season 2, Episodes 16–18.

This week, we get:

• A new big bad
• Federation road trip
• “I think I’m a clone now”

We covered:

• Q, Who?
• Samaritan Snare
• Up the Long Ladder

Episode highlights:

Q, Who? – First encounter with the Borg. A massive shift in tone as the Enterprise faces an enemy unlike anything before—and survives only through Q’s intervention.

Samaritan Snare – Picard opens up about his past while Geordi and Wesley deal with the deceptively dangerous Pakleds.

Up the Long Ladder – Two human colonies, two extremes: one rejects technology, the other depends on cloning. Classic Trek morality play—with mixed execution.

Key discussion points:

• Experiencing the Borg reveal for the first time
• Q’s role and relationship with Picard
• Patrick Stewart putting on a masterclass
• The Pakleds: dumb… or not?
• Clones, autonomy, and ethics
• That very “Original Series” feel

Final thoughts:

• A major new threat enters the picture
• Picard had a wild past
• Anti-technology protests… on a spaceship

Next time: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

As always — Never give up! Never surrender!