Thoughts on Season Three.

Picard and the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation, back on the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

THOUGHTS ON SEASON THREE:

In its first two seasons, Star Trek: Picard carefully balanced TNG-era nostalgia against being a new show with an identity of its own. I had my issues with the series, specifically with Season Two, but this balance was something the writers handled extremely well.

In Season Three, Picard goes in a different direction. This season is less the conclusion to Picard and more Star Trek: The Next Generation - Epilogue. In theory, this should leave me feeling a bit disgruntled. I can always re-watch TNG, and I sometimes do rewatch the better episodes. In theory, I far prefer to see something new.

In practice, however, Season Three turns out to be by far the best season of what's been a rather uneven series.

Fears for his family make Geordi reluctant to help his old captain.

AN ENSEMBLE PIECE:

In my Season Two overview, one of my top wishlist items was a hope that the returning TNG characters would not be exactly as they were when that series wrapped up. Happily, I get my wish. The characters are recognizably the same people, but the passage of time and the lives they've led have changed them in ways that are believable and often interesting.

Geordi is a father, and his protectiveness toward his two daughters informs his actions. Riker is more confident in his own decision making; while he respects Picard, he no longer automatically defers to him. Worf has taken a philosophical turn; he's not quite a pacifist (he's literally introduced killing bad guys), but he's more thoughtful than in the past. Beverly Crusher has transformed the most, her twenty years of protecting Jack having made her fierce and assertive in a way that wasn't often true in TNG - and Gates McFadden seems to thoroughly enjoy playing this new side to her personality.

Inevitably, some characters get more focus than others, but everyone gets something significant to do. It helps that the season re-introduces the cast gradually. Beverly and Riker appear as early as the first episode, and Worf enters the action in Episode 2. It isn't until the second half of the season that Geordi and Data receive anything more than a name-check, though, and it isn't until the final three episodes that Deanna gets more than a cameo. This allows each returning regular to get a reasonable amount of focus when they appear without leaving them competing for attention. It also helps to keep the narrative fresh, with the overall dynamics changing with each reintroduction.

Finally, I have to applaud the story making a plot point out of Picard's synthetic body, with the corpse of his original body forming a major part of the changelings' plan. It's not quite what I wanted to see. I still think it was a missed opportunity to not explore Picard's feelings about being transferred to a synthetic body. His greatest fear and shame was his past assimilation by the Borg, and now he's ever-so-slightly not quite human; that remains something that both he and the other characters should have reacted to.

But at least this season uses that misjudged plot turn as a major part of its story. I continue to wish more had been done with it... but I fully expected Season Three to just repeat Season Two in making one or two references and nothing more, so I was glad to see something of substance done.

Vadic (Amanda Plummer) harbors hatred that can't be reasoned with.

THE KID, THE VILLAIN, AND THE DIP**** FROM CHICAGO - NEW CHARACTERS:

Season Three offers three significant new characters: Jack, Picard's son; Vadic, the changeling leader, and Liam Shaw, captain of the USS Titan. All three characters end up working, though not to the same extent.


JACK:

The well-worn "reunion movie" tropes of the old lead having a son/daughter ready to take the mantle is one that rarely works. It's never been what viewers want. They didn't tune into a revival of an old series to watch the son or daughter of the character they loved. It doesn't help that, in most cases, the kid characters are either insufferable or faded carbon copies of the old leads.

Jack largely sidesteps this trap. First, he's a genuinely well-written character. He's not a carbon copy of Picard, but neither is he self-consciously different. His swagger carries an echo of the young Picard who got into a near-fatal brawl with a Naussican. However, the surface cockiness is convincingly mixed with just the right amounts of both resentment and insecurity.

Also, Jack is an important part of the season, but he's firmly part of the supporting cast. His frank conversations with Picard develop him as a character, but the focus is kept on Picard and his reactions. Because of this, Jack's screen time never feels like it's coming at the expense of the old regulars. It helps that actor Ed Speleers does an excellent job of bringing the character to life.


VADIC:

Amanda Plummer's Vadic is the most prominent villain for the bulk of the season. When she's introduced, she is in a position of power, her ship clearly outmatching Picard and the Titan. She presents a genial front, speaking softly in an exaggeratedly sweet Southern drawl, even as it's clear that she revels the thought of violence. She seems to be having great fun pursuing the starship, and she plays with the humans like a cat with a mouse, letting the Titan run free just enough to enjoy the thrill of pouncing on it all over again.

This is all enjoyable villainy, and Amanda Plummer has a whale of time chomping on scenery, but there doesn't seem to be much depth beyond "villain." Episode 7, Dominion, changes that, with a well-scripted and wonderfully acted confrontation between Vadic on one side and Picard and Beverly on the other. In this scene, Vadic reveals all the hatred she's fostered for humanity - and as we glimpse her backstory, that hate becomes understandable. At that point, we comprehend why she is so sadistic and angry.

None of which makes her less villainous, it should be noted. In fact, once Picard knows what drives her, he gives up on trying to negotiate. Vadic's hatred runs so deep that reason is impossible.

Capt. Shaw (Todd Stashwick) takes great pleasure in pointing out
a few less-than-shining moments of Picard's and Riker's careers.

CAPT. SHAW:

I hated Shaw on sight. With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that the writers wanted me to have that reaction. Shaw was meant to come off as a typical "pompous bureaucrat," with later revelations changing that perception. Even in hindsight, though, I think his early scenes are overwritten. The Shaw of the season premiere is pointlessly antagonistic and punchably smug. Rudeness and smugness are present in the rest of the season, but never again to that same extent.

Starting with Episode Two, he emerges as a three-dimensional character. He's still adversarial to Picard, but his points have validity. Once Picard reveals that Jack is his son, Shaw stops arguing, resigning himself to the battle to come. Episode Four is both the season's and the series' best installment - and its single best scene belongs to Shaw, as he recalls his brush with "Locutus of Borg" during the Battle of Wolf 359. The scene explains his initial disdain for Picard, and it also shows the survivor's guilt that's left him entirely willing to be seen as the jerk by his own crew.

By the second half of the season, he has become a full ally to Picard. He continues to argue with the regulars, but it's mostly to point out inconvenient truths, from the unintended consequences of some of Picard's and Riker's past heroics to the potential need for Seven of Nine to sacrifice people for the greater good: "You are a Starfleet officer. You don't have the luxury to only make choices that feel hunky-dory."

Actor Todd Stashwick leans fully into the character's abrasive nature, but (Episode One aside) he also shows the character's intelligence and the emotional turmoil from his past. A layered performance combines with good writing, making Shaw into the most memorable of all of Star Trek: Picard's original characters. I'd happily watch a full series about the self-described "dip**** from Chicago."

Picard is reunited with Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes).

ARCS WITHIN A BIGGER STORY - SEASON STRUCTURE:

One reason why Season Three works better than the previous two seasons is its structure. Instead of pulling a single story across ten episodes, the story is divided into smaller arcs. This keeps the story from feeling overstretched, a common problem with seasons of streaming shows, by allowing the overall focus to change regularly.

The first four installments form a Star Trek action thriller, with the Titan evading Vadic inside a nebula. I worried that this setup couldn't sustain a full season. Then Episode Four did something I hadn't expected: It resolved the situation, ending that arc in an entirely satisfying manner while still leaving loose ends for future episodes.

This continues through the rest of the season. The middle episodes shift to a conspiracy story, with the changeling presence within Starfleet leaving the crew with no allies. Episodes Seven and Eight form a two-parter that's dominated by a hostage crisis. Episodes Nine and Ten end the story with another two-parter, this one pitting Picard and his crew against the Borg (again).

The structure works well. Each smaller arc feeds the overall story, so it always feels as if the season is building. At the same time, each arc receives some form of resolution, so that it rarely feels as if the show is just wheel-spinning.

Which isn't to say that every element works perfectly...

The Enterprise targets the heart of the Borg Cube.

A BAIT AND SWITCH THAT DOESN'T ENTIRELY SATISFY:

The season does an excellent job of establishing the changelings as a threat. The tension between Picard and Ro is partially because of their past, but each is also testing the other, wondering if they are who they claim to be. This is echoed later in the season, in the outstanding Seven/Tuvok scene, with Seven uncertain if her old Vulcan friend can be trusted.

The season consistently shows that the changelings' infiltration of Starfleet is significant. The result is that Picard and his crew have almost nobody they can actually trust, leaving them on the run and with no allies as the culmination of the enemy plan draws near.

...And then the final two episodes drop the changelings almost entirely in favor of Borg Invasion Attempt #360. Once the Borg are reintroduced, the changelings cease to be relevant to the story at all. Yes, Vadic is defeated - but by this point, we've already seen that changelings have enough control in enough places to be formidable without her. Where did all of those changelings go, and why don't they do anything after the Borg attack fails?

I don't actually mind the show bringing the Borg back. Overused though they are (the Borg are invoked in three out of three Picard seasons), they're still the TNG villain with the greatest personal connection to Picard, and their connection to Jack is nicely set up and revealed. But the show needed to keep the changelings active in the final two parts. Alternatively, they could have just made this a Borg story from the start... something that could have been entirely doable by replacing the changeling infiltration with Borg assimilation. Season Two already showed Jurati being assimilated pyschologically, with no immediate physical signs; that could have used as a template for an "invisible" Borg infiltration in Season Three.

As it stands, the changelings are built up as a threat, and then they're transformed into little more than an afterthought - something I can't help but feel disappointed by.

Picard and his old crew enjoy a final game of poker.

IN CONCLUSION:

My frustration with the dropped changeling arc notwithstanding, this season is an excellent ending, both as the final season of Star Trek: Picard and as a postscript to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The season makes good use of its cast, including finding strong roles for characters who weren't well used by TNG, and it features fine performances all around. It also benefits from solid structure, with the mini arcs maintaining freshness and energy throughout - something that I was extremely happy to see after the structural/pacing mess that was Picard's second season.

I doubt we'll see these characters again beyond a potential cameo or two, and I would be very surprised if we saw them all together again. So, most of all, I'm happy that Picard's third season gives a satisfying close to the TNG crew members' respective stories.


Previous Season: Season Two

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3-10. The Last Generation.

Picard and the Enterprise save the Earth one last time.

Original Air Date: Apr. 20, 2023. Written by: Terry Matalas. Directed by: Terry Matalas.


THE PLOT:

The Borg have taken control of Starfleet!

With Jack in the Borg Queen (Alice Krige)'s clutches and acting as a transmitter, the Borg have remotely assimilated every Starfleet officer under age 25, granting them total control over all the starships assembled for Frontier Day. Earth's Spacedock is managing to hold off the assault, but Riker grimly observes that their defenses won't last long.

Seven and Raffi retake the Titan, using the ship's cloaking device to evade the Borg signal. Seven launches a series of sudden, short attacks on the assimilated starships to buy additional time. Meanwhile, Picard and his team take the reconstructed Enterprise D to the Borg Cube to confront the Queen directly. For Picard, it's a last chance to face his greatest enemy - and to rescue his son.


CHARACTERS:

Picard: It's clear that he doesn't expect to come back. The first half of the episode sees him making a series of farewells - to his old crew, to Riker specifically, and to Beverly. He not only forgives Beverly for keeping Jack's existence a secret, he acknowledges her choice in prioritizing the protection of their son: "You thought of Jack from the beginning, shielding him from danger. You did everything right." He faces his greatest fear - reassimilation by the Borg - in order to connect with his son. But first he directly gives Riker command of the mission: "I can no longer be your captain. I now have to be a father."

Riker: He is instantly nervous when they beam to the Borg Cube and discover no drones waiting for them. He observes that in all his years, he never had a "too quiet" moment that turned out well. As a father himself, he understands Picard's priorities completely. When the Enterprise tells him that time is growing short and that the ship will have to take action, Riker refuses to beam out without Picard, even knowing that this decision might mean his death.

Worf: "There was a moment today where I was worried we might actually survive." Worf has been awesome all season, and that carries through to the finale. He doesn't hesitate to join Picard and Riker in beaming to the Cube, even though he seems fatalistically resigned to their likely fate. He also acknowledges his friendship with Raffi with a particularly well-judged gift.

Data: Admits that he is having some trouble adjusting to having full emotions. Not, thankfully, in the manner of Star Trek: Generations' annoying "emotion chip" subplot, but rather in the way ordinary people sometimes struggle with strong emotions: an image that evokes nostalgia, such as a crew member petting a cat, or a strong feeling of hatred for the Borg over the misery they cause. This is generally well written, getting just enough attention to convince as part of Data's journey without being allowed to distract from the main plot.

Seven of Nine: The script wisely focuses on the TNG crew, splitting Seven and Raffi off in their own subplot on the Titan. Seven improvises like mad to disrupt the Borg plan as much as she can with the limited resources available. She is left with a very small crew that includes a nervous cook with some past piloting experience. She deals well with this, encouraging the man without coddling him. The implications of a modification she and Raffi make to their phasers is something that I'd love to see future Trek projects address, by the way.

Jack Crusher: It's made clear why his capture was so essential to the villains, as the Borg need him to transmit their assimilation signal. This does mostly make him more a plot device than a character in this episode: the mechanism of the Borg plan and the object of Picard's attempted rescue. Still, he gets a decent character moment within the Collective, where he finds the sense of belonging that's always eluded him - which is what Picard has to argue and urge against when he connects with him near the end.

Others: This season has a large ensemble, and it's inevitable that some characters will be moved to the background. To writer Terry Matalas's credit, every regular gets at least one moment. Geordi is left in command of the Enterprise, and he trusts Data with a near-impossible task. Dr. Crusher shows remarkable competence at tactical, surprising the others; as she explains, she hasn't exactly been idle over the last twenty years, which have involved a lot of running from various adversaries. Deanna's strong connection to Riker plays a critical role at the end. Meanwhile, on the Titan, Raffi provides unwavering support to Seven - though her best character scene comes opposite Worf. None of them are the focus of the episode, but they all get a moment or two to shine.


THOUGHTS:

Season Three of Picard has revolved, in large part, around themes of family and connection. The Last Generation does an excellent job of folding these into both the story and its resolution. Picard and Jack have awkwardly attempted to connect as father and son all season. By contrast, Jack's assimilation by the Borg sees him feeling an instant and effortless connection, one that Picard attempts to persuade him is illusory.

The Borg Queen describes the Cube as Picard's "true family." Picard reaches Jack through sacrifice: surrendering his command to "be a father" and facing his greatest fear in order to reach him. Deanna's link to Riker (her family) plays a major role in the climax. Even the epilogue carries the theme through, from Raffi's reconciliation with her son to the final scene of the old TNG crew sitting down for a hand of poker as the credits roll.

While I find myself somewhat missing the standalone storytelling of older Trek series, a well-paced season arc offers a big advantage: If previous episodes have done their jobs properly, the finale can hit the ground running. Previous episodes of this season established the overall relationships, as well as the situation and the stakes. That leaves this episode free to zip right into the action. The threads are quickly established: Seven on the Titan, trying to delay the Borg attack; Picard, Riker, and Worf on the Borg Cube; and the Enterprise crew. The episode moves quickly, with plenty of action and incident, but it never feels rushed or overstuffed. As a result, in addition to thematic unity, The Last Generation benefits from being extremely enjoyable to watch.

Complaints are relatively minor. The Seven/Raffi strand feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the episode; it would not be difficult to rewrite this script to remove them entirely. The worry I expressed in the previous review, that the Borg would render the previous changeling threat into an afterthought, ends up being fully realized. Exposition tells us that the changelings were important to the Borg plan. Still, after previous episodes made the changeling infiltration all encompassing, leaving Picard and his crew with nowhere to turn for help, in this episode the changelings are suddenly unmentioned and irrelevant. I could charitably posit that, after the failure of the plan, the infiltrators decided to pull out and wait for another opportunity... but it does feel as if the changelings went from practically omnipotent in previous episodes to borderline irrelevant at the end.


OVERALL:

Despite my gripe about the treatment of the changelings, this was an overall excellent finale. It uses themes established throughout the season in a way that connects both to the overall threat and to the characters. It finds important things for every character to do. It also moves fast and is highly enjoayble to watch.

I'll put more thoughts together about the season as a whole for my season overview. Ultimately, though, Picard's best season ends on a strong note. It's not quite the season's best episode - but it's a good episode, and a worthy finale.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Võx

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3-09. Võx.

An old enemy lies behind the mysterious red door in Jack's subconscious...

Original Air Date: Apr. 13, 2023. Written by: Sean Tretta, Kiley Rossetter. Directed by: Terry Matalas.


THE PLOT:

With the Frontier Day celebration about to begin, and still with little idea what the changelings are planning or why they are pursuing Jack, Deanna uses her abilities to try to guide the young man into opening the red door that lies in his subconscious. She is able to prod Jack into opening the door - and is shocked to discover the Borg waiting on the other side!

When the Borg assimilated Picard and turned him into Locutus, they also rewrote his DNA. This is the source of Jack's abilities. He is a Borg "transmitter," able to seize control of assimilated or partially assimilated Borg. Jack responds to the news by fleeing, stealing a shuttle and taking off for an unknown area of space.

Picard does not have the luxury of following. If Jack's abilities were Borg, then how was he able to take control of members of the Titan crew? The answer lies in the theft of Picard's original remains from Daystrom - and in the transporters the changelings have been using throughout Starfleet.

Picard and his crew rush back toward Earth. It may already be too late to stop a disaster, however. Thanks to the changeling infiltrators, the Borg assimilation of Starfleet has already begun - without anyone even noticing it...


CHARACTERS:

Picard: "It's my responsibility. I'm the cause. It's my fault." Picard already felt guilt at Jack inheriting his Irumodic Syndrome, which is only worsened when he discovers that what Jack inherited was actually a link to the Borg Collective. The scars of his own assimilation affect his attempt to talk to Jack. His usual compassion is blunted by his memories of being forced to do the Borg's bidding. He prioritizes the need for precautions over clear explanations, which only pushes Jack to flee that much faster than he otherwise might have.

Deanna: The instant she sees the Borg in Jack's mind, she leaves, locking him in sickbay as she runs to tell the others what she's found. This is the right thing to do; for all she knows, telling Jack might activate some dormant program. However, it also makes a lie out of her promise that whatever's behind that red door, he won't be left to face it alone - adding an extra dollop of betrayal onto the young man's fear.

Jack Crusher: It's hardly surprising Jack is thrown into turmoil. Within a short time frame, he's had his existence turned upside down: he's been hunted, he's been told that he has Irumodic Syndrome, he's discovered that he has impossible abilities, he's had Vadic dangle the prospect of answers in front of him, and now he learns that he's a product of the Borg's assimilation of his father. There's basically been no rest for him to come to terms with anything. The action that he settles on is rash and ill-advised... but given his week, I'd have been surprised if he had been in a fit state to stop, think, and listen at this point.

Capt. Shaw: After realizing the Borg connection, Picard orders the ship to Earth. This prompts Shaw, in his role as the Designated Realist, to point out that everyone who is hunting them will be there. But when Picard tells him that this is their only option, he no longer argues. Instead, he lets out a resigned sigh - "Of course it is." - and gives the order. Over the course of the season, he's gone from an adversary to a proper member of Picard's crew, albeit one who doesn't hesitate to point out uncomfortable realities. He also is once again paired with Seven, finally showing her the respect of calling her the name she identifies with.


FAN SERVICE, IN THE BEST WAY:

One area in which I've generally been impressed by Star Trek: Picard is in its careful balance of fan service against being its own show. From the beginning, Picard has done a fine job of using nostalgia just enough to enhance without allowing it to overwhelm the story. There have certainly been occasions that I've found the stories themselves a bit lacking (Season Two), but the use of past elements has largely shown restraint and careful judgment.

I think that might be one reason why the final ten minutes of this episode works so well. For the first time, in the closing Act of its penultimate episode, Picard leans fully into fanservice. I watched Encounter at Farpoint back in 1987. I was one of the kids in the schoolyard dismissing TNG as "fake Star Trek" and "diet Star Trek," and I watched as it slowly transformed into a cultural touchstone in its own right. I have a hard time believing that too many fans of my generation weren't at least somewhat moved by this episode's closing minutes.

Yes, it's blatant fanservice. But as a fan, I felt well-served - and I think it lands just right because the series has been cautious in its reliance on fanservice elements up to this point. In short, by the time Picard finally goes full fanservice, it's earned the privilege.


OTHER MUSINGS:

"So how much of me is me?"
-Jack Crusher asks the season's key question. As of yet, it goes unanswered.

Questions of identity and inheritance have pervaded the season. Picard, Jack, and Beverly have all grappled with what traits Jack inherited. Picard keeps defaulting to seeing his worst traits in Jack: his stubbornness, his willfulness, more than a hint of his youthful arrogance. But Jack has also displayed courage, quick thinking, and even selflessness on multiple occasions - which is to say, some of Picard's best characteristics.

Throughout the season, the characters have talked about Jack almost as an extension of Picard, though. Riker marvels at the similarities he sees between them. Picard worries about the traits he's left the young man. Jack has worried about the same, from the Irumodic Syndrome to this episode's revelation of inherited Borg influence. At every turn, the characters seem to ignore what Geordi and Sidney acknowledged about each other back in The Bounty - that whatever was passed on, Jack, like Sidney, is also his own person.

Jack ends this episode by coming face to face with the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), who also sees him not as himself but rather as an extension of her will. I am hoping that the finale will actually come back to the thread of Jack's own identity, however, to answer the question quoted above: Beyond what he inherited from Picard, from Dr. Crusher, from the Borg, who is he? Given how much of the season has circled around that question, I'll feel a bit churlish if Jack as himself isn't important.

Beyond that, Võx is a solid episode. This is another installment that's mostly there to put the characters in place for the finale, so I suspect more detailed thoughts will wait until the finale. I will say that the nature of the Borg assimilation is rather clever. The mechanism is unique, but it also makes sense given the way the Borg have previously been shown to work.


OVERALL:

I have a few worries about the Borg revelation. Picard has spent the entire season building up the threat of a changeling infiltration. The bait and switch with the Borg has the potential to be interesting... but it also runs the risk of making the changelings, up until now the season's villains, into irrelevance.

I will hope that the finale manages to pull all the threads together.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Surrender
Next Episode: The Last Generation

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2-09. Hide and Seek.

The Borg-possessed Jurati and her drones come for La Sirena!

Original Air Date: Apr. 28, 2022. Written by: Matt Okumura, Chris Derrick. Directed by: Michael Weaver.


THE PLOT:

Time has run out. The Borg Queen-possessed Jurati has taken control of La Sirena's transporters and has beamed herself and her Borg-possessed soldiers to the ship. Her intent is to take the ship, destroy the Europa from orbit to prevent the Federation from forming, and then get a 400-year head start on forming a Borg Empire capable of either wiping out or assimilating the fascist Confederation and anyone else who tries to get in her way.

Rios, Teresa, and Teresa's young son barely manage to escape the ship, even as Picard and the rest of his crew beam to the abandoned Chateau Picard. The primitive Borg drones, under the command of Adam Soong, have no intention of allowing Picard anywhere near the ship.

Rios is injured, so he is beamed to Tallinn's apartment with Teresa and her son. Seven and Raffi attempt to approach La Sirena from the side, hoping to avoid the bulk of the drones. It falls to Picard and Tallinn to draw Soong and his forces into the Chateau, where Picard uses the tunnels underneath to play a particularly deadly game of hide and seek...


CHARACTERS:

Picard: "I refuse to accept an outcome that has not yet occurred." Picard draws on his childhood memories of the tunnels under the Chateau to evade Soong's forces. He tries to persuade Soong that the future the Borg Queen has promised him is a horrible one, but he isn't at all surprised when the other man is unmoved.

Jurati: Even if she did a horrible job of guarding the Borg Queen, she at least had the presence of mind to take precautions against the Queen's desire to take the ship. She locked out systems with a security code that she took care not to memorize, transforming La Sirena into "the world's biggest paperweight." She challenges the Borg Queen about her own loneliness and points out that in every timeline, the Borg end up failing.

Seven: A few snatches of her post-Voyager life get filled in. She attempted to enter Starfleet after the ship returned to Earth, only to be rejected for being Borg. Janeway threatened to resign in protest, but Seven chose to withdraw her application and join the Rangers instead. It's unspoken, but she wasn't willing to see Janeway throw away her career on her account. She refuses to allow any illusions about their situation. The enemy soldiers are no longer human; they are Borg. When Raffi starts talking about what they will do after this crisis, she flatly states, "We're not getting out of this."

Capt. Rios: He's been sidelined for pretty much the whole season... and it happens again after he gets injured during the initial attack. Picard beams him to Tallinn's apartment, then locks him out of the transporter so that he can't come back. Rios spends the bulk of the episode trying to break into the system to get back to help. Both Picard and Teresa are right, of course; if he beamed back right at that moment, he would only succeed in getting himself killed. But his stubbornness does pay off at the end.

Elnor: One of Jurati's safeguards was to program an emergency security hologram with the likeness of Elnor. The hologram also seems to have both his personality and memories. He grins when picking up Elnor's old sword to fight the Borg drones, then does his best to console Raffi about Elnor's feelings for her.

Tallinn: Remember the tough, wary Watcher who trained a gun on Picard and told him that she didn't like time travelers? Or the uneasy ally who needled him about Laris? Well, now she's his unapologetic sidekick, tagging along after him like a lost puppy. Or possibly his roaming therapist, given how much time she devotes to trying to get him to reconcile with his childhood... while men with guns are chasing them. Even Troi would have more common sense. (Or, recalling some of Troi's TNG lowlights, possibly not). All told, it's a rather sad decline for an initially fun and interesting character.

Teresa: Is awed at Rios having what amounts to a full emergency room inside his pocket, and confronts him with the effect this has on her: "You have no idea what this is like for me, do you? ...Surrounded by miracles, knowing win or lose, I'll have to let them go?" This does not stop her from bluntly pointing out that the injured Rios is currently not in shape to help anyone. The Rios/Teresa scenes work much better in this episode than last time. I think the writers should have saved their first kiss for here, where the situation makes it feel more natural and less shoehorned-in.

Adam Soong: He was introduced proclaiming, "Imagine, if you will, I am a god." Here, he declares himself to be a captain of industry. He's neither. He's gone from being Q's lackey to being the Borg Queen's; from having the love of a daughter to being alone; and he's so self-absorbed that he's incapable of seeing that his obsession with legacy has all but guaranteed that he won't have one. Brent Spiner is very good, as he has been all season. It's notable that the same actor who made Data so beloved can create a villain so despicable and ultimately pathetic.


THE PICARD SLEDGEHAMMERS:

It might be more accurate to label this one the Jurati and Tallinn sledgehammers. Picard gets a speech, of course, talking about moments in time we wish we could return to - but it's actually fairly effective on its own. Too bad it's flanked by two that are much worse.

Jurati lectures the Borg Queen about embracing uniqueness and even apparent weakness; Tallinn earnestly talks to Picard about how love can be a source of grief, but it's always "a gift." Both of these feel ridiculously heavy handed, and coming so rapidly one after another, the speechifying destroys the momentum in the final Act.

I think this was entirely fixable. Tallinn's should have been dropped entirely, as Patrick Stewart and Orla Brady are more than capable of conveying Picard's acceptance of his past nonverbally. I also think Jurati's attempts to alternately needle and persuade the Borg Queen would have played more convincingly in small interactions spread across the full episode, rather than being compressed into a single monologue.

As it stands, though, the succession of speeches kills the momentum of the final Act - which is a shame, as the episode is generally gripping up to that point.


OF MONSTERS, MEN, AND FLASHBACKS:

Most of the flashbacks of this episode simply re-tell the "young Picard" story that had been told in Monsters, only minus the fairy tale nonsense. Hide and Seek tells it better, not least because this time the flashbacks are actually motivated by the present-day story, as Picard goes through the same tunnels he once went through with his mother.

Nearly all the information given in Monsters is repeated here, only with additional context and an ending. If you missed Monsters entirely, nothing in the flashback plot here would seem at all confusing. This episode, in itself, gives you all the information you need to follow along.

Meaning that, yes, one of the season's weakest episodes was also pure water treading.


OTHER MUSINGS:

For the most part, I quite enjoyed Hide and Seek. Director Michael Weaver does a fine job at keeping the pace moving and the action easily understandable. The script finds time for good character moments for multiple members of the cast - not only Picard, but also Seven, Raffi, and even Rios. The Elnor hologram even allows him to receive some decent material, six full episodes after his death.

As was true of Mercy, this episode builds some honest-to-goodness momentum, and it manages to maintain it even during the flashbacks. Yes, when Tallinn and Picard pause in the tunnels to have a chat, I can't help but snap: "Is this really the best time?" - but it doesn't lose the tension, particularly with Soong finding the secret passage soon after.

The episode ends with a strong final note. It's not quite a cliffhanger. "The Siege of Chateau Picard" is fully resolved here, and the characters aren't in any immediate jeopardy at the end. Instead, we end on the heroes fully resolved in their next course of action, which I think is a lot more effective than, say, having someone pop up and train a gun on them.


OVERALL:

Hide and Seek has its faults. Tallinn has been completely flattened as a character by this point, and scenes with her and Picard talking about his childhood while actively being pursued just... annoy. Worse, a series of speeches badly disrupts the final stretch.

I'd still rate it as a good episode, however. For the bulk of its run, it builds tension and momentum. It offers strong moments to several characters. And it does an excellent job of giving every character something to do, even the ones who have often been sidelined this season.

Had the speeches been reduced or at least better spread out, this might have been one of the season's best. Even as it stands, I'd rate it as solidly above average.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Mercy
Next Episode: Farewell

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2-08. Mercy.

Jurati, possessed by the Borg Queen, attacks Raffi.

Original Air Date: Apr. 21, 2022. Written by: Cindy Appel, Kirsten Beyer. Directed by: Joe Menendez.


THE PLOT:

Picard and Guinan are in the custody of FBI Agent Martin Wells (Jay Karnes). It's not an official arrest. Wells has taken them to a basement in an FBI field office. He has nursed a lifelong obsession with the existence of extraterrestrials, and now he has evidence: surveillance video of Picard beaming onto the street outside Guinan's bar, photos of Picard and his crew infiltrating the gala, Picard's communications badge, and the scornfully true statement that Rios provided to ICE. It's enough, as Wells said, to bring agents who will make Picard and Guinan disappear forever!

Meanwhile, Seven and Raffi continue to track Jurati, who has been taken over by the Borg Queen. The Queen has a plan. She will build off Q's disruption of the Europa mission, enlisting the help - willing or not - of Dr. Adam Soong. Only her end game is not to create a future of mere human fascism. She will use the disrupted timeline to create the foundations for a galactic Borg Empire!


CHARACTERS:

Picard: There's a moment in this episode that showcases exactly what Patrick Stewart brings to this franchise. Picard has to persuade a man who has devoted his entire life to proving that aliens exist. All he has at his disposal are words. Give this same scene, with no changes, to a lesser actor, and it would fall ridiculously flat. Stewart, however, brings the right amounts of authority, empathy, and conviction to the moment that I actually believe it when it happens. 

Jurati: The Borg Queen is in full control... almost. When Raffi and Seven find her, she bats Seven away like a fly and is ready to kill Raffi - only to abruptly let her go before fleeing. As Seven observes: "Mercy is not a Borg quality." Jurati is still fighting the Queen on some level, and she manages in that moment to stop Raffi from being killed. I have no doubt her influence will come into play later.

Raffi: A flashback reveals the reason for her guilt over Elnor's death. He was considering delaying Starfleet Academy for a year to return home. Raffi was already losing Seven and couldn't stand the thought of being completely alone, so she passive/aggressively persuaded him to stay. In its way, her guilt is a kind of arrogance, an assumption that she had more control over Elnor's actions than he did. After all, within the same flashback, he observes how transparent her manipulations really are. Still, this makes sense for who Raffi is.

Seven: She's finally getting a taste of feeling truly human for the first time in her adult life. Her first scene sees her continuing to enjoy the sensation of people just naturally trusting her. Then circumstances force her to think like a Borh again. When Raffi is impressed at her ability to analyze the Queen's actions, Seven responds with bitterness: "You could be just a little less happy that I'm defective." These scenes allow Jeri Ryan, who has been pushed far too much to the background during the midseason, to remind us that she can actually act.

Capt. Rios: His relationship with Teresa doesn't so much move as get shoved forward in a forced scene midway through. Meanwhile, in Picard's strand, we learn that Rios is apparently much stupider than he's generally seemed. He didn't merely troll the ICE agent by telling him he was from the future - he gave details about the Borg Queen. This is like Jurati leaving the Queen unguarded - a generally competent regular suddenly losing their brain in order to advance the plot.

Adam Soong: Remember what I said about him being more sympathetic than other Dr. Soongs? Yeah, forget about that. In the space of this one episode, he makes himself the worst Soong - and given that his competition includes a guy who collaborated in an Augment revolution and another who was happy enough to see all organic life in the galaxy wiped out, that's saying something. The Borg Queen doesn't have to do much to get Soong to agree to help her. She teases him with a future that's better for him but dreadful for the rest of humanity, and he jumps at it. What matters to him is that he's remembered as a hero, with the actual welfare of humanity an absolute irrelevance.

Guinan: Ito Aghayere keeps getting better with each appearance. She quickly takes in the basement that's being used for her and Picard's interrogation and the unplugged camera and realizes that this is not a legitimate arrest. Her reaction to Wells's accusation of being an extra-terrestrial? "This guy is buckets of crazy." As much fun as she is with Picard and Wells, her best scene (and the episode's) comes when she meets Q. She matches John de Lancie's energy beat for beat, making for a memorable encounter.

Q: "We're all trapped in the past." In his scene with Guinan, Q finally reveals at least some of what's driving him. There is some terrific acting from de Lancie as Q moves between his accustomed scorn and sarcasm, a hint of anger, and even reflection and regret. The humor is also still there, such as when he snaps his fingers ineffectually while telling Guinan that he is sincerely trying to vaporize her right now - a bit that's all the funnier because I don't doubt for a second that he's telling the truth.


THOUGHTS:

"I know a haunted man when I see one. The things we hold onto, the pieces of emotional shrapnel that drive us all our lives."
-Picard gets into the head of his captor, FBI Agent Wells.

After a lackluster midseason, Picard finally delivers a good episode again! Mercy offers strong roles for all the regulars. It balances emotional material with plot movement, and it even finds time for a moment of danger when the Borg-possessed Jurati has Raffi literally by the throat.

In my last review, I complained that too many of the season's episodes seemed to be just setting characters up to do things later. Well, they finally start doing things here. Mercy fairly zips along. We get payoffs to Kore Soong (Isa Briones)'s discoveries about her father and Raffi's guilt about Elnor, we learn much more about the Borg Queen's plans and Q's changed situation, and we even get to see how Adam Soong fits in. There's very little dead space, with only the Rios/Teresa scene slowing things down.

I'll admit that I was not happy when Monsters ended with Picard being arrested, which just felt like a rerun of the Episode Three cliffhanger. This pays off much better, though, because it forces Picard to remain still. That leaves him in the right state of mind to process Guinan's revelation about Q, which equally applies to Wells: that people tend to get stuck in the past, wherever they were broken, until their minds find a way to resolve the problem. Picard the character is consistently at his best when he uses his intellect and empathy to solve problems, as is particularly shown by the scene in which he resolves the conflict with Wells simply by being open and honest.

This also creates some thematic unity in what might have been a fractured episode. "We're all trapped in the past." In addition to Wells and to Q, this applies across the various strands: Raffi, guilty over Elnor; Seven, haunted by her past Borg assimilation; Adam Soong, unable to move on from his research; his daughter, whose discoveries are forcing her to reevaluate her entire life; and Jurati, the most isolated of the crew, striving for connection only to have found the worst one possible. In a handful of lines, the script takes all these threads and makes them feel all of a piece.

It all ends with one of the season's most effective cliffhangers, leaving me very ready to see what happens next.


OVERALL:

Mercy is a legitimately good episode, arguably the first such one since Assimilation. It moves quickly, everyone gets something to do, and it all feels of a piece. Even better, there's a sense of the various threads coming together.

I wouldn't say it makes up for the weaknesses of the midseason. Still, this installment finally puts Picard's second season in place to be back on track. The season opened well, after all; and if the remaining two episodes follow through on the successes of this one, then there's a solid chance that the season can close as well as it started.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Monsters
Next Episode: Hide and Seek

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Thoughts on Season One.

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (retired) uncovers a conspiracy...

Star Trek: Picard was a highly awaited show. Boasting the return of Patrick Stewart to an iconic role, and with award winning writer Michael Chabon in charge of the story, the series promised much. Pre-release promotion indicated that the series would offer storytelling that was intelligent and adult, while still providing plenty of fast-paced action for genre fans.  Basically, Picard would satisfy old-school fans and new ones alike.

That was probably always going to be a tough promise to live up to, so it's little surprise that the results were a bit... mixed.


"NO LONGER STARFLEET":

Though the series' premiere suffers from uneven pacing, there is much promise in the initial episodes. Science fiction generally is written as a reflection of modern society.  That's very much the case here; released in a divided time in which many feel pessimistic about the future, Picard presents a decaying Federation that is moving in the wrong direction.

The series opens with a sense of disillusionment. Picard has renounced Starfleet, condemning them for turning their back on their own ideals. "They were no longer Starfleet," he angrily proclaims during an interview. When he later goes to a Starfleet admiral for help, she throws that interview back in his face and tells him that Starfleet "is no longer your house," all but dismissing his concerns as the fantasies of a senile old man.

The first half of the series follows up on this. Absolute Candor shows us the Romulan refugees left to fend for themselves after Starfleet decided not to continue lending aid to their one-time enemies. The contrast between the hopeful refugees shown in an opening flashback and the bitter, angry ones seen in the present brings home the consequences of this. Even Stardust City Rag - the season's most standalone episode - reintroduces a Seven of Nine who has joined a vigilante outfit to try to keep some semblance of order in territories that Starfleet abandoned.

Romulan refugee Ellnor resents Picard for abandoning him.

A DROPPED THREAD:

This is an interesting thread, even just as a background to the main action. Unfortunately, it's all but completely dropped midway through the season.

The second half of the season barely references the changes in Starfleet since the TNG era. Only Broken Pieces remembers it, and then only long enough to tie up some plot issues. Other than that, this might as well be the Starfleet of the 1990s series. In that same episode, the previously dismissive Admiral Clancy promises Picard her support, and neither Picard nor his crew ever seem in any doubt of it. The finale then sees Starfleet represented by the friendly face of William Riker... which oddly echoes Star Trek: Insurrection, in which Riker also secured a reversal of a prior Starfleet decision entirely off screen.

I would have preferred the series to have kept alive the idea of a Starfleet that Picard couldn't necessarily count on. As much fun as Riker's cameo in the finale was, it might have been more interesting if Starfleet had arrived at the android planet with the same goal as the Romulan fleet: to try to curtail a threat. Then Picard could have been left trying to negotiate with three potentially hostile parties: the androids, the Romulans, and Starfleet. That might not have left much time for climactic action scenes... but it would have been more of a piece with the start of the season.

Picard visits old colleagues Will and Deanna Riker.

AN EFFECTIVE BALANCE OF STORYTELLING AND NOSTALGIA:

The greatest strength of Star Trek: Picard's first season is in how well it manages to feed nostalgia for the TNG era while still retaining its own identity as a very different series.

The series' opening scene features Picard playing poker with Data on the Enterprise - spiritually picking up exactly where the final scene of TNG's finale left off. It quickly becomes apparent that this is a dream sequence, and Picard is left waking up to his current life and situation, which is very different than his days as a starship captain.

The next several episodes focus on furthering the season's story and on introducing the new characters. These characters work well for the most part. Santiago Cabrera's Capt. Rios emerges as the standout; but all of the new regulars are well-played, and every character gets at least a few good moments throughout the season.

Even as Picard develops its new cast, it continues to drip-feed nostalgia from 1990s Trek. Episode Two references Picard's former crew members and explains why he won't just turn to them for help. Episode Four ends with the return of Seven of Nine, arguably the most popular character from 1990s Trek series Voyager. Episode Seven, Nepenthe, plays the most directly to TNG nostalgia, with Picard visiting old colleagues Riker and Troi and spending an entire episode as their houseguest.

This last should be a complete momentum killer, an episode-long wallow in nostalgia. However, the script makes it work. Not so much in the cutaways to Rios and the other crew members, whose scenes mostly feel like an intrusion - but in the primary material, with Picard, Soji, and the Rikers. Though these scenes have a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere, the focus remains on Picard's efforts to gain the trust of the traumatized android Soji. By putting story and much character emphasis on Soji's trauma and her wariness of Picard, the episode manages to balance the demands of being the fan-pleasing "Riker/Troi episode" against those of being a part of this series.

Picard has a conversation with Data that sums up the season's themes...
just in time for the rest of the episode to undermine it.

THE ENDING (YES, SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT):

While Picard's finale was far from perfect (Example: Seven's plotline ends with her having a catfight against a character she never previously met, in order to avenge a character with whom she never shared a second of screen time), it was satisfying overall, particularly with regard to Picard's character journey. The man who had started the season as a bitter shell of his former self ends it making an impassioned plea about the responsibilities of being alive. He does this fully expecting it to be his last act, and it is a fine ending to his season journey. Had this been Picard's end, it would have been a substantially more fitting than the one Kirk received.

Then the last 10 - 15 minutes wrecks it by transferring Picard's brain into an android body.

It's not that there isn't dramatic potential in this. Earlier in the season, we see again the scars of Picard's assimilation by the Borg. He almost collapses when he beams onto The Artifact, the dormant Borg Cube claimed by the Romulans. He admits to Seven that he's never felt 100% human again after his experience of being Locutus of Borg.

In short, this should be Picard's greatest horror come to life: He is now something not quite human. Entirely without his consent, he has been "assimilated" by Dr. Soong. And there might be potential in that, except... the ending downplays this entirely. It's spelled out in painful detail that Picard is entirely unchanged. He's exactly as he would have been, with exactly the remaining life span he would have had, minus the terminal disease that's been hanging over him all season. And Picard is entirely OK with it, voicing not even a single reservation.

The whole thing feels like a cheat. Not only does it cheapen the sacrifice Picard was willing to make; it undermines the sentiments Data made just one scene earlier, in which he notes that the value of life is that it ends and that "a butterfly that lives forever is really not a butterfly at all." The entire structure of the season was that this was Picard's last adventure, and he explicitly states that he's giving his life to Soji and her people. By reversing that sacrifice so clumsily, it undermines much of what went before.

Narek manipulates Soji in the season's best episode.

THE CURSE OF A TEN-PART MOVIE:

To an extent, many of my issues with the season have to do with the structue of most modern series, particularly those made for streaming. Star Trek: Picard is less a television series than it is an elongated movie. Like a movie, most of its efforts go to furthering its central plot - one main plot that covers the entire season.

There are a couple breaks from this. Absolute Candor focuses on the displaced Romulans. Stardust City Rag comes close to being a standalone, centered around a sting against a dangerous criminal. But those are the only two exceptions. The rest of the season is centered around Picard's efforts to save Soji (and later, her people) from the Romulans.

I recognize that this kind of long-form storytelling is one of the advantages television has over movies. Stories can cover more ground, involve more characters, and deal with more complexity than can be fit into a 2-hour movie. At times, Star Trek: Picard makes this work. The Impossible Box, in which the various threads finally come together, is an excellent episode, easily the season's best, and its success comes in large part from it being able to pay off what was set up by previous installments.

However, I worry that the focus on long-form storytelling has led to neglect of television's other advantage: Its ability to pause and tell stories that are intimate, personal, and even small. This is far from a fault unique to Picard - but when everything is focused on showing some large-scale epic, then there isn't time for people sitting in a room talking, working through a conflict or a moral quandary in a quiet, contemplative manner.

I enjoyed (most of) Picard. But I didn't award a single "10," and I can't help but wonder if part of the reason is that everything had to fuel the plot. I think back on some of my favorite past Star Trek episodes, and so many of them are unimaginable in the framework Picard has employed. I can't imagine this series ever having room for episodes such as: Tapestry, The Inner Light, Duet, The Visitor, It's Only a Paper Moon, or Mortal Coil.

Again, that's more a comment on the trend of shows in general - but if there's no longer room for small, quiet storytelling gems, then I'd argue that more has been lost than has been gained.

Picard, back in command.

SEASON TWO WISHLIST:

Given that Q was in every promo for Season Two, I'm not going to feign total ignorance of what's to come. I know that Q will return, and I know that the next season will deal with some alternate universe shenanigans. I've managed to remain unspoiled beyond that.

My biggest hope is that they take what I felt was a disastrous ending and turn it into an asset.  I do not want to see it overwritten - Please no "Q handwaves it away" solution.  Instead, make use of it.  I still feel that Picard should be greatly troubled by what was done to him.  Take as a starting point that Picard, who has stated that the Borg left him feeling less than fully human, now actually is other than 100% human.  I don't like that it was done; but since that route was taken, I hope they follow it and make something interesting out of it.

I also hope that they continue to make good use of the regulars they have established. I actually quite like Picard's cast. Even the underused characters have potential, and all of the actors are at least competent. I'd love to see more of Picard's ex-Tal'Shiar housekeeper from the first three episodes; the actress was terrific, and I was actively disappointed when she didn't return later in the season.

I would also love for the series to revisit the idea of a Federation that has gone slightly wrong. That was one of the strongest elements of the season's first half, and I feel it was a major missed opportunity to drop that thread for the second half. If they could pick that thread back up and do something with it, I think it could be potentially interesting.


IN CONCLUSION:

"Potential" is a word that comes to my mind a lot when thinking about Picard's first season. There was a lot of potential here for a fine show. Unlike some, I found this to be an enjoyable season; I'd rank it above at least three seasons of TNG (and I think Trek fandom sometimes forgets how uneven much of TNG really was).

That said, this season only occasionally realized its potential. The ideas were present for Season One of Picard to be a remarkable piece of television, and there are glimpses of that in Maps and Legends, The Impossible Box, and Broken Pieces. The rest of the time, however, the series contented itself with being merely serviceable.

It was still better than three of the four TNG movies, mind you... But I'd like to see that bar set just a bit higher than that.


Next Season: Season Two

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1-06. The Impossible Box.

Narek guides Soji through a forbidden ritual.

Original Air Date: Feb. 27, 2020. Written by: Nick Zayas. Directed by: Maja Vrvilo.


THE PLOT:

Bruce Maddox is dead... but not before telling Picard that Soji is on the Artifact, working for the Borg Reclamation Project. That means a new course: into Romulan territory, in violation of the treaty between the Romulans and the Federation. This doesn't worry Picard, who has a plan to sidestep that. But voluntarily going to a Borg Cube brings back the worst memories of his life.

On the cube, Soji is having nightmares. A few questions from Narek lead her to question her own past and memories. Narek offers a solution in the form of the Zhal Makh, a Romulan meditation ritual that is forbidden to outsiders. Soji feels just desperate and vulnerable enough to agree, not realizing that she could be walking into a trap.


CHARACTERS:

Picard: Even the prospect of returning to a Borg cube puts him on edge, and when he beams over, he all but collapses at the memories of being transformed into Locutus of Borg. He is impressed by the work the Reclamation Project is doing under Hugh's direction, amazed to see the Borg assimilation reversed on such a scale. When Hugh protests that the results are far from ideal, Picard dismisses that: "What you're doing is good, Hugh. There's no need for it to be perfect."

Soji: Narek's questions already have planted doubts, which may well be what prompted her nightmares in the first place. When Narek tells her that the logs of her calls to her mother all last a mere 70 seconds, she investigates on her own, scanning her old photos and childhood mementos. She is understandably shocked when every item reads as "37 months old." All of this leaves her vulnerable to Narek's suggestions, even though she still doesn't truly trust him.

Dr. Jurati: "I have a superpower: I can sense mistakes while I'm making them." Jurati has been left shaken by Maddox's death. She seeks comfort by initiating an affair with Capt. Rios, even though she pauses to label this a mistake before going forward with it. She continues to be refreshingly eager to avoid danger: She hates space travel, in part because space "wants to kill you," and she is openly relieved when Picard is the only one allowed to beam over to the cube.

Narek: The episode's title refers in part to Narek's prized possession: a puzzle box that his sister dismisses as a "toy." Narek clarifies that it's a tool that helps him focus, as solving the box requires patience. He compares the box to Soji: "The information is all in there... The key to opening (the box) is taking the time to understand what's keeping it closed." Despite his cold words, it's obvious that he's emotionally attached to Soji. When his trap for her finally snaps shut, his face is the very picture of anguish.

Elnor: The sheltered Romulan is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. Some comedy is wrung from his blunt assessments of both Picard and Jurati, with him worrying that he was "in-butting" after seeing their reactions. He is highly observant and is the first to notice that Jurati is feeling haunted. His pledge to Picard makes him resist staying on the ship, and Picard has to firmly order him to stay behind before he will agree.

Raffi: Her son's rejection sees her returning to her worst habits. She's drinking almost constantly, and she apparently picked up some of her favorite recreational drug while on Freecloud, leaving her in a bad state. Rios acts as a friend, making sure to be there for her without trying to push her or lecture her. To her credit, she pulls herself together long enough to prod a Starfleet contact into getting Picard authorized for a visit to the Artifact - but even this moment of usefulness comes at a price, as the old friend she calls tells her to never call again, leaving her shaken as she staggers off the bridge.

Hugh: He makes sure to greet Picard on beam-in, recognizing how traumatic this visit will be for the former Starfleet officer. Though he appreciates Picard's praise for his work, he isn't entirely happy with the way the Romulans are running the project. His team may be able to deprogram the Borg drones, but the Romulans won't allow the ex-Borg to leave, leading him to complain that they have exchanged slavery to the Borg for slavery to the Romulans. It's unspoken but obvious that he accepted the post to make sure no actual abuses take place. He is unsurprised when Picard asks about Soji, not least because he has observed Narek's interest in her and has already realized that she is in trouble.


THOUGHTS:

I have been waiting for this.

So far I've been enjoying Picard. Episode by episode, it's been consistently decent, consistently enjoyably, consistently fine. Just fine. I've found something to enjoy in every episode; but of the first five installments, only Map and Legends left me genuinely gripped.  The rest have left me generally entertained, but not much more than that.

The Impossible Box finally delivers. Part of the reason, I think, is that it runs 54 minutes - about ten minutes longer than most episodes - giving the story time to breathe. Though it's a major arc episode, Nick Zayas's script focuses heavily on the characters. Every one of the regulars receives at least one good scene, and the characters feel like complete, flawed, messy human beings.

There are a number of strong moments. The scene in which Raffi gains Picard's authorization is an old-fashioned bit designed to make you laugh and smile at the victory... until Raffi gets a verbal slap as an old friend tells her never to call again. I found the scene of Picard's traumatic arrival on the Borg to be over-the-top, but it's thankfully a brief moment; and the tone instantly corrects when Hugh arrives. This single misjudged scene is then followed by a quite good one, as Hugh takes time to show off the work that is being done to reclaim the ex-Borg. This allows Picard to recognize that his former tormenters are themselves victims, and the work Hugh is doing to try to save them seems to bring Picard a measure of peace.

The best scene is the major set piece, as Narek takes Soji through the Zhal Makh. This is staged as Soji taking a physical journey to match her emotional one. Her path is marked out by candles, with her slowly moving along this path as she mentally relives her nightmare. When her internal defenses kick in to try to make her stop, Narek is ready. He is soft and affectionate in his manner, but his every breath is spent urging her to search for the answers that he needs as much as she does, even though doing this causes him genuine emotional pain. In short, the scene is an encapsulation of their entire relationship.

It ends with an effective action sequence, with its final fade-out clearly a direct lead-in to the next episode. As we go to black in mid-confrontation, a final line is spoken, followed by the sounds of combat. Given the last time we heard that line, there's not much doubt about what happens next... but the execution is perfectly judged, as much for the gap between dialogue and sound effects as for the actual writing.

As the end credits started to roll, I had to restrain myself from moving onto the next episode - marking only the second time that an episode has left me with that reaction.


OVERALL:

The Impossible Box is easily the best episode of Picard up to this point. An extra ten minutes of running time gives it space to breathe. Every one of the regulars receives at least one good moment, and the script doesn't so much balance character and plot advancement as intertwine them, with the big story scenes also being big character scenes.

I'm not quite awarding full marks; I didn't care for the overdone moment when Picard arrived on the Cube, which led me to wonder how he was even able to function during other post-Best of Both Worlds encounters with the Borg. Still, this was an otherwise terrific episode, and I'm hoping it marks a turning point in a series that, while perfectly entertaining, has until this point mostly fallen short of its potential.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Stardust City Rag
Next Episode: Nepenthe

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