‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘The Bonding’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

What’s truly fascinating about re-watching classic episodes from the Star Trek Universe, is how they have a vastly different impact upon us at different stages in our lives. Because sometimes, we come to realize that that the episodes that wowed us with special effects when we were kids, have nothing else to offer outside of explosions and big moments when we sit through them again as adults. And on the flip side of that, the stories that seemed boring back in the day; turn out to be supremely powerful and moving when we revisit them years later and for proof, well then look no further than the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For ‘The Bonding’ is a story, that was likely viewed in a different light when fans of this series originally watched it.

Because a great deal of us were kids or teenagers when this story hit the airwaves back in 1989. So, all that we took away from this tale, originally, was that it was nothing more than an alien of the week story. One where a poor kid became an orphan after his mom died during an away mission, and subsequently was viewed as prey by a powerful alien that could transform thoughts into reality. But upon a second viewing, this story truly does take on a whole new life, simply because it actually deals with some heavy, heavy concepts. Most of which revolve around the nature of death and how it impacts us and that was quite surprising to find this time around, since it is a topic that the Star Trek Universe is rarely willing to tackle, outside of when a major cast member departs and even then, that’s pretty rare.

But here, the gravity and power of death are put on full display, complete with discussions from the crew in regard to how it impacts us differently when we lose someone close to us as opposed to someone we casually know. A point that quite frankly, has some serious relevance since we really do treat death differently in that particular manner, and that interesting point serves as the gateway to a deeper exploration. Because it isn’t long before this episode digs into the emotions that we experience when faced with loss. Since Lieutenant Worf feels a measure of anger and guilt over having a crew member die on his watch and seeing him try to make sense of it and try to make peace over the fact that it wasn’t his fault makes for some fascinating television for certain. 

Yet while that alone could have carried this particular tale for the entire hour, this episode still had more to say about the power of loss, specifically… how we come back from it. Something that the story explores in its finale by pointing out that Worf's approach to loss is the incorrect one, and that we should instead embrace our feelings and let them out and be honest about how much it hurts that someone we love dearly is gone. All so that we can eventually come to the point where we accept what has happened and celebrate the life that has departed this earth, before figuring out how to move forward without them, and this segment truly makes for some poignant and progressive storytelling for certain. Because even in 2020, showing emotion while we grieve, is still considered taboo, unfortunately.

For we believe that strength and resolve somehow matter above all else. When in fact, TNG offers up the right advice and well, in the end, that makes this story stunningly powerful and moving for certain. Simply because it dives deep into something that makes all of us uncomfortable in some capacity and it deserves a round of applause for handling this exploration of death in such a classy and refined manner. If anything, this particular tale serves as a hint of things to come from writer Ronald D. Moore, who penned this episode. Because he would become a legend within this franchise and science fiction in general, thanks to his innate ability to blend the human condition with the genre so well and in the end, this episode once again reinforces the wonder of season three, and it definitely leaves this reviewer curious as to what other storytelling surprises await us down the line. Until next time.

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