prevent more suffering caused by the remnants of the war, thus providing Jeremy with the illusion of his mother still being alive. Picard and Troi point out that dealing with death is part of the human condition. Wesley explains to Jeremy how he dealt with his father's death. Jeremy expresses his hatred of Worf, but Troi points out they are both orphans, while Worf notes that he was aided by humans after he lost his parents. Jeremy decides to go with Worf. Realizing that Jeremy will be all right, the illusion of Marla disappears and the alien presence is no more. Some time later, Worf and Jeremy undertake the R'uustai ritual. Workprint VHS discovery In the early 2010s, a VHS cassette with workprint version of "The Bonding" was brought to the attention of CBS from a collector, but not in time for an extended version to be made. The workprint version had six minutes of additional scenes over the broadcast version. Releases This was released in Japan on LaserDisc on July 5, 1996, in the half season set Log. 5: Third Season Part.1 by CIC Video. This included episodes up to "A Matter of Perspective" on 12-inch double sided optical discs. The video was in NTSC format with both English and Japanese audio tracks. The episode was released with Star Trek: The Next Generation season three DVD box set, released in the United States on July 2, 2002. This had 26 episodes of Season 3 on seven discs, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. It was released in high-definition Blu-ray in the United States on April 30, 2013. See also Blood Oath (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) (DS9 S2E19, also explores Klingon customs) References Star Trek The Next Generation DVD set, volume 3, disc 2, selection 1 External links "The Bonding" rewatch by Keith R.A. DeCandido "The Bonding" rewatch by Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club 1989 American television episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 3) episodes Television episodes written by Ronald D. Moore