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| A mysterious young woman turns to Picard for help. |
Original Air Date: Jan. 23, 2020. Written by: Akiva Goldsman, James Duff. Directed by: Hanelle M. Culpepper.
THE PLOT:
It's been more than a decade since a group of rogue androids destroyed the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, igniting the atmosphere of Mars and leaving more than 90,000 dead. In the wake of the incident, synthetic life forms were banned throughout the Federation.
Jean-Luc Picard strongly disagreed with that choice and resigned his commission in protest. Now he lives on his family vineyard, filling his time lecturing and publishing books on history. He has no further involvement with Starfleet or with galactic politics.
Dahj (Isa Briones) is a young scientist who is celebrating with her boyfriend after being accepted at the Daystrom Institute, a celebration that is cut short when they are attacked by mysterious hooded figures. Her boyfriend is killed - but when the attackers grab her, she strikes back, dispatching them in a series of rapid movements that should be impossible. A compulsion she cannot explain leads her to seek safety from a man she's never met: Picard.
Picard grants the young woman shelter and a sympathetic ear. It isn't long before the hooded figures prepare another assault, however, leaving him to decide whether he will continue to shut himself away, or whether he will take action.
CHARACTERS:
Picard: The episode opens with him dreaming of being on the Enterprise with Data, an initially pleasant dream that transforms into a nightmare. Still, he tells his Romulan housekeeper (Orla Brady) that he doesn't mind the dreams - What he resents is waking up from them. "Waking up" could almost be the theme of this episode, as Picard seems to slowly stir back to life as the story goes on. After Dahj finds him, he recognizes that he hasn't been living, but rather "waiting to die," hiding away from a universe that he believes has moved in the wrong direction.
Data: Appears courtesy of two dream sequences, the first seeing him playing poker with Picard on the Enterprise and the second showing him working on a half-finished painting. He seems to represent Picard's own emotional state. The shipboard scene ends with Picard drawing out the end of the poker hand, complaining that he doesn't want the game to end... and then he sees Mars out the window, the attack that separated his former life from his present one. The painting dream, which occurs after Picard has met Dahj, ends with Data handing Picard his brush, asking him to finish the work - a sign that Picard's mind is already pushing him to action, and is already making some important connections.
Dahj: Isa Briones makes a positive first impression as the young woman at the center of events. Her first scene establishes a life that's going exactly as it should be, just before it gets turned completely inside out. She is confused and frightened by what is happening to her, but also intelligent enough to pick up on inconsistencies when she tries to contact someone for help and they know just a little too much. She is slightly in awe of Picard, calling him "the great man" - but after meeting this kind but frail old man, she worries that she's putting him in danger.
Dr. Jurati: Actress Alison Pill's second-name billing indicates that she'll be a regular. Without that billing, I would have assumed that she was just a guest character. A researcher in synthetic life, her role in this episode is largely to provide exposition... Well, that and a continuity nod to Star Trek: Nemesis, when she opens a drawer to reveal the disassembled B-4. She does get one wonderfully human moment, however: When Picard asks if someone could have created a sentient synthetic life-form, she laughs - then, when she realizes that he's serious, complains that she wishes he had come in on her day off.
THOUGHTS:
"Sitting here, all these years, nursing my offended dignity, writing books of history people prefer to forget. I never asked anything of myself at all... I haven't been living. I've been waiting to die."
Remembrance is an atypical Star Trek premiere. Save for the opening dream sequence, it is entirely earthbound. Picard is not an active member of Starfleet, but a retired old man who spends his days wishing he was still in a past that he found far preferable to his present. He engages in no particular heroics. The closest to a "heroic confrontation" that he receives is when he snaps at an aggressive reporter (Merrin Dungey) who has turned a supposedly friendly interview into an ambush. He's involved in a single action scene - one in which he's less than useless, finding himself out of breath after running just a few steps. And his beverage of choice has become "Tea, Earl Grey, decaf."
He retains his sharp mind, however. After he meets Dahj, it doesn't take long for him to start drawing connections. He berates himself for hiding away in isolation - but in truth, he's actively investigating the day after Dahj comes to him, and it takes him very little time to start drawing conclusions about her. Patrick Stewart is splendid throughout, carrying this exposition-heavy introduction with the natural authority he's always had, now infused with a bitter melancholy.
After reading many complaints about Picard being slow, I was surprised to find the opposite to be true of Remembrance. In the course of this episode, multiple threads are established, at least one mystery is answered, two quite good action sequences are delivered, and there's an effective ending visual flourish to provide a hook for the next episode. If anything, a few of these beats felt rushed, with some clunky exposition and rough transitions leaving me wishing it had been a 60 minute premiere instead of a 44 minute one.
On the other hand, nothing set up in this premiere is particularly original. There's not exactly much suspense as to whether Picard will help Dahj: (a) It's Picard; (b) There wouldn't be much of a show if he didn't help. Her secret doesn't even qualify as a mystery, as I can't imagine many viewers didn't guess it almost immediately. I am curious to find out more about the android uprising, and the connection of the hooded figures (whose race at least is revealed - but again, that reveal is anything but a surprise). Even these threads feel likely to be well-worn ground, however, with distinct echoes of Blade Runner and the newer Battlestar Galactica sitting alongside the obvious 9/11 parallel.
Still, Remembrance is a promising start. The story may not feel particularly original, at least not so far, but it is intriguing enough to hold my interest. The episode boasts strong production values, with a cinematic look that's deliberately accentuated by its widescreen presentation. I also like Jeff Russo's score, which mixes traditional Trek beats with more atmospheric tones to good effect.
Most of all, it feels good to catch up with Picard. He's older and it shows, his face heavy with lines and his voice crackling with age... all of which lends a depth to his declarations. When he berates the interviewer for being "a stranger to history," his voice doesn't echo with the Shakespearian timbres of the TNG Picard speeches - but I think the denunciation is all the more effective for the weary rasp in which it's delivered.
OVERALL:
Remembrance is perhaps overburdened with exposition, and I suspect an extra 10 - 15 minutes might have done wonders for its pacing. Still, the good outweighs the bad so far. Though there were no real surprises in this episode, I am interested to see wher the story goes. Most importantly, I'm enjoying seeing Picard twenty years later, and am eager to follow his journey.
Oh, and that closing visual? I don't think the episode could have asked for a better final image...
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Next Episode: Maps and Legends
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