this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Come on'n get your jamaharon on! There are no real rules—just don't break the weather control network.
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I don't particularly care for this plot.
Q is omniscient, so he already knew that our history is rife with examples of good people and bad people, brilliant and ignorant... and he comes to judge a fairly utopian future society of a unified, post-capitalism, post-religion Earth? My dude, they're doing fine.
This assumes Q was there to actually judge humanity and not begin a dialogue with Picard and the Federation. In his own omnipotent way. It's not a judgement, it's more of a test or like a training.
This is definitely how I always saw it.
Q isn't arguing in good faith because he wants to see humans "rise above it" as it were. It isn't fair, but it is a quick way to reveal if their most base impulses will take over when under pressure.
Q sees human society in TNG as on the path to becoming better than they already are, but thinks they need some prodding to make it there.
It's almost Nietzchian in a way. He wants humanity to leave the worst aspects of our culture which are holding humanity behind, and that takes effort and self-reflection and consideration. Q is trying to kickstart that self-reflection, consideration, and effort. He knows Picard is a good man and can do it. He definitely has a "thing" for Picard and I think it is close to love. It is why he chooses him.
He wants Picard to no longer simply be a real mensch, but a real ubermensch.
Sisko doesn't realize its a test to make humanity better, and just sees a Nazi arguing in bad faith.
So he punched Q.
It's a question of how these humans justify their image of their own race. I enjoyed it, as all Q episodes it was fun.
It's easy to be a saint in paradise.
Unless the United Federation of Planets is the Warhammer 40K "Dark Age of Technology" and Q saw the rise of the Emperor, chaos and neverending war.
After all TNG took place in the 2370s? The Hours Heresy is in the 30,000s. Plenty of time for humanity to fuck everything up.
He's just poking at us, to make sure it holds under pressure.