Star Trek: The Next Generation's Battle of Wolf 359 changed the Star Trek franchise in many ways. In the TNG two-part episode, "The Best of Both Worlds," Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D face off against one of Starfleet's greatest enemies, the Borg. In what is perhaps their most frightening appearance, the Borg capture and assimilate Picard, turning him into Locutus of Borg. Locutus then lead the Borg cube toward Earth while forty of Starfleet's best ships were sent to intercept it. Having been damaged in their initial engagement with the Borg Cube, the Enterprise could only listen from afar as they worked to repair their ship and go after the Borg Cube.
In a confrontation that would become known as the Battle of Wolf 359, one Borg cube, with Picard's Locutus at the helm, destroyed 39 Federation ships and killed over 11,000 Starfleet officers. This battle deeply affected the life and mind of every survivor and had far-reaching effects on the galaxy and the Star Trek franchise. The ramifications from the Battle of Wolf 359 stretch from The Next Generation to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, all the way to the modern Star Trek stories in Star Trek: Picard. A battle like that leaves deep scars that take a long time to fade and shockwaves that stretch across galaxies. Here are six ways The Battle of Wolf 359 continues to affect Star Trek stories over 30 years after it was first depicted in TNG's "The Best of Both Worlds."
6 Captain Picard Survived Borg Assimilation But at Great Personal Cost 
While “The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2” reveals that Picard did survive his encounter with the Borg, he did not come out unscathed. In the TNG episode following “The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2,” entitled “Family,” Picard returned to his home to work through some of the trauma he experienced. While Star Trek: The Next Generation stuck mostly to episodic stories and the occasional two-parter, "Family" marked one of the few times the show saw characters dealing with the fallout from the events of previous episodes. Before "Family," Picard had seemed almost fearless, able to face down even the most intimidating of foes with a brave face. Picard's breakdown in "Family" was heartbreaking for a number of reasons, but especially because it was one of the few times the stoic Picard gave into his trauma and fear.
