The episode was clearly concocted to resolve the storylines involving Data and Lore, while creating a possible new ally for the Federation; this was the bridge to the series' final season, which continued themes of family and relationships explored in 'Descent'. Themes concerning morality and ethics are presented by the amoral Lore, who seeks to dominate and ultimately subvert the moral and ethical Data as part of a sibling power-play; the issue of whether or not morality and ethics may be 'programmed' in individuals is a time-honored theme of science-fiction, and works well with sentient androids, whose programmability may itself be a moral or ethical issue. The sixth season contains no less than four 2-parters, which includes 'Birthright', an exploration of Worf's relationship with his father, as well as Data's relationship to his Creator. Worf is told his father is alive, a captive of the Romulans, only he's not, but Worf, because of his tormented family history, believes it to be true, and goes on a secret mission into Romulan space to find out. Data has a near-death experience resulting in a dream about his Creator, after which he repeats the experience. Worf doesn't get to meet his father, but Data does. Sorta.
I am not a fan of the 2-parter in this series. I find them all equally tedious. But ending a season with a Data story, a 2-parter no less, seems logical, given the season begins with a 2-parter about Data's 19th-century head ('Time's Arrow'). The series producers wanted 2-parters that could be compared to the Original Series' 'The Menagerie', often cited as one of television's most memorable. 'Best Of Both Worlds' established the end-of-season cliffhanger, which was also well-received by Trek audiences. After watching this I understand fully why this episode exists as a cliffhanger. And there are far lazier episodes in the series run than this, most involving malevolent aliens who hate the Federation.
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