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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1-03. The End Is the Beginning.

Picard turns to old sort-of friend Raffi (Micelle Hurd) for help.

Original Air Date: Feb. 6, 2020. Written by: Michael Chabon, James Duff. Directed by: Hanelle M. Culpepper.


THE PLOT:

With Starfleet firmly rejecting his request for a ship, Picard turns to an old friend: Raffi (Michelle Hurd), once a lieutenant commander in Starfleet, now reduced to living in a self-described "hovel" in Vasquez Rocks. She resents Picard, blaming him for the end of her career, but she still agrees to find a pilot to take him off-world.  That pilot is Capt. Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera), another ex-Starfleet officer who now works as a freighter captain.

Meanwhile, Soji is granted an interview with Ramdha (Rebecca Wisocky), one of the few Romulans to have ever been assimilated by the Borg. The reclaimed Romulans have all been left mentally disturbed, and Ramdah is no exception. She listens to Soji while laying out Romulan cards, in a manner similar to a fortune teller overturning Tarot cards. After drawing a card that depicts twins, she seems to recognize Soji, asking: "Which sister are you?"

Then she becomes agitated, accusing Soji of being Seb-Cheneb - The Destroyer!


CHARACTERS:

Picard: Now that he's set on his mission, his manner has become much more like the Picard of old. After Raffi agrees to help, he calls her to send all the information he has on Bruce Maddox, the former head of Daystrom's Cybernetics Division and the most likely person to have created Dahj and Soji. When she replies (lying) that she has no interest, he ignores her, signing off with a very captain-like "Carry on." He also takes quick measure of Capt. Rios, noting that for all his open disdain for Starfleet, he runs his ship in a way that's "Starfleet to the core."

Soji: Her interest in Ramdah stems from the Romulan's pre-Borg background, as an expert in mythology. She believes that a "shared mythical framework" might help the ex-Borg in dealing with their trauma, aiding their emotional recovery. Ramdah's accusations seem to trigger something, however. She starts to interrogate the Romulan about the assimilation of her and her crewmates, demanding to know what happened to collapse the Borg cube's connection with the Collective - pressing her using details that she hadn't previously been conscious of even knowing.

Raffi: Though she was technically introduced in the previous episode, it's here that we actually start to learn about her. She worked closely with Picard on the planned Romulan evacuation, and was comfortable enough with him to refer to him as "J. L." She was not well-liked by Starfleet Command, however, and it's clear that Picard had protected her from her superiors. His resignation was followed almost immediately by her dismissal, and she blames him for the sharp downturn her life took after that. She readily admits to being paranoid, but Picard claims to value that very quality, an ability to make connections that others don't make - even if he himself doubts a few of her theories.

Capt. Rios: The episode's other major introduction, the beat-up captain of the beat-up La Sirena, the freighter that will carry him on his mission. He runs the ship with the assistance of emergency holograms, all of which are made to look exactly like him but with different accents. Though he shuts down Picard's attempts to "get into (his) head," he does allow Picard to give the order that takes them out, a sign of respect that cuts against his anti-Starfleet attitude.

Dr. Jurati: Officially joins Picard's crew, at her own insistence. She states that he will need her expertise as the leading expert on synthetic life. She claims that she desperately wants to meet the android "miracle" that she has spent her life dreaming of, and to be impressed by Picard's basic decency. All of which is reasonable in itself, and probably true as far as it goes. Still... She arrives at Picard's vineyard exactly in time to save him from a Zhat Vash attack, which I find remarkably convenient. Also, though we see her approached by Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita), the director of Starfleet Security, we don't actually witness their conversation. Put those two scenes together, and I strongly suspect that she'll be revealed to be the Commodore's eyes and ears on Picard's hired ship.

Hugh: Jonathan Del Arco reprises his TNG role as Hugh, the former Borg who is now the director of the Borg Reclamation Project. He has no illusions about the motives of the Romulans in charge of the project, observing to Soji that they see former Borg both as "property to be exploited (and) as a hazard to be warehoused." Even so, he clearly can't resist the chance to help other drones to reclaim their individuality. He is impressed by Soji's respect for the drones and grants her the interview, dubbing it "an experiment."


THOUGHTS:

The End Is the Beginning, as a title, seems to refer less to any specific events of this episode and more to its role within the season - specifically, as the end of the story's First Act and the beginning of Picard's mission. It seems to complete our introductions to major new characters, and ends with Picard having a ship, a crew, and a destination - all things he lacked at the start of the hour.  It's a largely transitional episode, and as such is critical to the season... but at the expense of being unmemorable on its own terms.

For the second episode in a row, we open on the attack on Utopia Planitia. The last episode depicted the start of the incident, and showed an AI apparently being hacked just before turning on the humans. This episode shows the reaction of Picard and Starfleet, giving us more details about his resignation. He had used it to try to force Starfleet into approving a backup plan for the Romulan evacuation; he had not expected his resignation to be accepted. Raffi believed the attack was the work of the Tal Shiar, but even Picard couldn't support that theory, finding it unthinkable that Romulan Intelligence would try to stop them from saving Romulan lives. Given the "conspiracy thriller" nature of the main story, I strongly suspect that Raffi will be proved right.

One thing this series has done well thus far is play on nostalgia while still telling its own story. The return of Jonathan Del Arco's Hugh is well-handled. His role works if you never saw I, Borg and Descent, because it makes absolute sense that a former Borg would be involved in the Reclamation Project. At the same time, old fans get a nice little bonus out of recognizing the character.

Then there's the final scene. As La Sirena departs, Rios holds to allow Picard to give the order. Picard lowers his arm, pointing out at the viewscreen, delivering a command he had thought lost to the past. A single word: "Engage." Raffi rolls her eyes, while Jurati grins like a fangirl - and I suspect most viewers, old or new, find themselves grinning right along with her.


OVERALL:

The End Is the Beginning moves us to the next phase of the story. We learn more about the characters and about past events. A couple promising new characters are introduced. By the end, we know what the next destination is and why. All of this is executed competently, and there are several good moments along the way.

Beyond that, however, reviewing this episode is like reviewing a single chapter in a novel. The episode has no individual identity; it's just a 42-minute Act change. It's indispensable within the season - but on its own terms, it's Picard's least interesting episode so far.


Overall Rating: 5/10.

Previous Episode: Maps and Legends
Next Episode: Absolute Candor

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