Star Trek: Picard (aka ST:P)

[RJDiogenes]

"Pro tip?"

Well, after a strong start, Picard has given us a second week of decline. Hopefully now that the three-part pilot is over (if this was true), we'll start to see some more interesting developments and course corrections. This initial quest for Freecloud seems a little intriguing, anyway.

But our two new supporting characters are a little painful. Somebody needs to remind the creators that they are writing in the Star Trek universe. How can somebody in the 24th century, a former Starfleet officer, end up living in a trailer, drinking and vaping and snarking Millennial slang? And complaining about Picard's nice house. Are we going to be subjected to Picard accused of being a one-percenter? Unless this turns out to be some form of extended self abuse-- it was implied that Starfleet discharged Raffi for being Picard's XO, but I'll bet she was offered the Enterprise and also resigned. At least that would salvage this scenario somewhat.

And then we have Han Solo Junior. Once again, in an allegedly moneyless society, we have someone who will do anything for the right paycheck. Perhaps a little more justifiable in his case, since he probably operates on the fringes of space society where you still need to pay your way, but seriously-- a cigar-smoking rogue? Can't Trek do better than that? I did get a kick out of his multiple emergency holograms, though. I wonder if his Emergency Intercourse Hologram also looks just like himself.

So, if we keep in mind that the cyberneticist also has a grudge against Starfleet or the Federation, this is apparently going to be the League of Disgruntled Employees. I didn't really want to see Starfleet and the Federation portrayed as the bad guys in this series, but I found that the scenario does really speak to me, since I've been watching the younger generations abandon the liberalism of my youth for at least the past quarter century, but I really hope that we get to see some Star Trek again real soon.

It certainly wasn't all painful and inappropriate cliches, though. I'm not sure if the contemporary trope of preluding the main story with a backstory-filling flashback is something I want in a Trek series, but my favorite part of the episode was definitely the glimpse back to Picard's last day in Starfleet. They did a nice job of suggesting, in just a couple of minutes screentime, that he and Raffi had an easy camaraderie and close relationship similar to he and Riker. Her use of the nickname "JL" also gave it a unique touch that made her different than his other close companions like Beverly and Riker (though I was disappointed not to hear him call her Number One). Those few moments were so sweet that I immediately wanted to see this current series replaced with one about Picard and Raffi on Enterprise with a new crew.

The uniforms were also notable. They were a nice evolution of the later uniforms from DS9 and Voyager and had a proper Trek feel to them. I do prefer the more colorful uniforms over the primarily black jumpsuits, but at least those horrible gray pleated things from the horribly gray movies were nowhere to be seen.

And I continue to love the Romulan caretakers. I envision one of two futures for them: Either they turn out to be moles of the Jack Flash or they will catch up with Picard out there in the universe just in time to save his ass.

But now I'm leaning more toward the cyberneticist being our token mole character, despite her being the most interesting of Picard's rag-tag, off-the-grid crew. I think she was speakng the truth when she said that she didn't tell Commodore Oh that she was going with Picard-- because I'm pretty sure that Commodore Oh ordered her to go with Picard. I'm not happy with the idea of high-ranking foreign agents in Starfleet, but, oddly enough, I do hope we see a lot more of Commodore Oh.

And it looks like Picard's new canine Number One won't be going with him on his latest space adventure. This is a shame, because I was hoping for a scene where, confronted with an enemy Romulan or something, Picard points and shouts, "Number One, engage!" and the formerly laid-back puppy goes for the throat.

Ah, well, on to Freecloud and Maddox. Hopefully they will do better.

Another good episode. I really like the supporting cast -- all the actors and characters are first-rate. I have to admit I got a few goosebumps when he said "engage" at the end.

That felt a bit tacked on to me. It needed more lead up in the dialogue.

Here's a write-up on the optimism of this series.

He's more optimistic than I am. At least he noticed the anachronisms.

[scottydog]

I was hoping for a scene where, confronted with an enemy Romulan or something, Picard points and shouts, "Number One, engage!" and the formerly laid-back puppy goes for the throat.

That would have worked for me!

[Lupine]

The cigar smoking is odd and out of place. It'd be like a contemporary character shooting up a 7% solution of cocaine (not impossible but kind of weird).

[RJDiogenes]

It was actually the vaping that seemed really odd to me. It's such a trendy thing that it really drew attention to itself, like Raffi saying, "Pro tip."

[scottydog]

I should be able to watch episode 4 tonight.

[RJDiogenes]

I say with relief that this episode did not give us another drop in quality, and in fact held a few interesting plot developments and possibly even some thematic developments.

We are treated to another flashback to the time of the Romulan Diaspora (and presumably this will a component of every chapter), this time set in a warrior nunnery on a refugee world where Picard has bonded with both the nuns and an orphan boy. It will turn out that after he left Starfleet, Picard never returned to these people, hurting them all, especially the boy, with his abandonment. It becomes clear now, if it wasn't before, that his departure from Starfleet broke Picard to the core and he has spent the last fifteen years in a morbid depression, retreating from the world. He abandoned Starfleet, abandoned the Romulans, abandoned Raffi, abandoned the nuns and Sword Boy, and very likely others. But these things are just really worldly manifestations of the true betrayal-- he abandoned his principles. So here we have a show where Starfleet and the Federation, like our real society, have traded in their liberal values for base meanness and Picard has similarly lost his principles to hopelessness. With his comment about the perfect being the enemy of the good, he is referencing the intolerance and fundamentalism of the contemporary world-- and when he tells Raffi that he may never pass this way again, he tells us that the clock is ticking to make things right.

The character work in this episode is definitely a step up. Rios, with his multiple holographic avatars, is much more a Trek character now than the cigar-chomping, central-casting ruffian of his debut. Raffi is also more appealing without her trappings of Millennialism and self pity. Agnes was written as almost a completely different character, but I suppose this is the first time we've really seen her off the clock-- the only other time she was seen outside her lab was having just had a near-death experience. Unfortunately the new addition to the crew, with his devotional life and ninja sword, seems more suited to AD&D than Trek, but perhaps he will develop as well.

Picard is a man awakening from a coma and coming to terms with regrets, but who has not quite yet learned anything. He berates himself for his abandonment of Raffi and Sword Boy, but has done nothing to make amends or shown any hint that he intends to. Instead he is focused on a quest for the children of his dead comrade. And with his newfound purpose comes a self-righteousness that is almost a parody of the old Picard. His tearing down of the Romulans Only sign was a rookie error from a man once known for his diplomacy, and especially hypocritical from someone who showed no moral objection to a gender-exclusive warrior guild. Another metaphor for the Millennial Age?

And then we have the return of an old favorite character, and this time it's not a dream. Apparently a member of the Fenris Rangers (an odd name-- I wonder if the wolf reference is supposed to be a link to Romulus and Remus, but it comes from a completely different mythology), Seven of Nine saves Picard's ass at the last nanosecond, at the cost of her own off-the-grid ship, and then collapses to the deck after a sassy beam in. Best cliffhanger yet.

[scottydog]

^^ Very good synopsis and analysis. I could understand Picard's tearing down of the Romulans Only sign. He despises tribalism in all its forms and he wants to get everyone's attention, if only to explain what happened, and to apologize. What he doesn't do is describe his plan to make things right -- an odd omission.

I suspect Sword Boy will benefit from Picard's mentorship and will eventually transform into an interesting, complex heroic character.

Overall, I'm really impressed with this series. Patrick Stewart still has a powerful screen presence, and TPTB have surrounded him with many multi-textured supporting characters.

[RJDiogenes]

I can understand his wanting to tear down the sign, but not his suicidal approach-- especially after being warned that he was in danger while on the surface. The young Picard would have attacked the reason for the sign's existence, and he would have done it with persuasive words.

[scottydog]

The young Picard would have attacked the reason for the sign's existence, and he would have done it with persuasive words.

Maybe Old Picard realizes he needs high ratings to survive and thus does the bold, dramatic thing rather than the dull, diplomatic thing.

His character has changed a bit. He's still wise and articulate. But he's clearly wounded, which could (along with his old age) explain why he doesn't think through his actions as much as he should.

[RJDiogenes]

Maybe Old Picard realizes he needs high ratings to survive and thus does the bold, dramatic thing rather than the dull, diplomatic thing.

"When I was a young man, I was in syndication and I could do no wrong. Now I'm old and streaming and I don't know what's right anymore."

His character has changed a bit. He's still wise and articulate. But he's clearly wounded, which could (along with his old age) explain why he doesn't think through his actions as much as he should.

He's definitely damaged. I hope he gets his mojo back before all this is over.

[scottydog]

He's definitely damaged. I hope he gets his mojo back before all this is over.

That would be a great way for the series to end. Picard deserves to die a happy, fulfilled man.

[RJDiogenes]

That's what I'm hoping for: A happy ending for Picard, unlike what they did to Spock, and a nice epilogue for Star Trek.

[Lupine]

Maybe Old Picard realizes he needs high ratings to survive and thus does the bold, dramatic thing rather than the dull, diplomatic thing.

"When I was a young man, I was in syndication and I could do no wrong. Now I'm old and streaming and I don't know what's right anymore."

He's definitely damaged. I hope he gets his mojo back before all this is over.

He might be on that path. In the pilot he lamented that he had basically been waiting to die while living at the winery.

[RJDiogenes]

Here's what we learned this week: Picard is getting his sense of humor back, Rios is not a hologram, Seven has become a latter-day Maquis equivalent, Agnes loved Maddox but was willing to kill him for some mysterious greater good, Elfwich is the naive innocent comedy relief of the team when he's not beheading people, and Raffi is a hypocrite.

The episode itself was not bad. It was, in a way, a callback to all those classic Treks where the landing party dressed up like the locals to fit in and botched it. I loved Picard's scenery-chewing as an over-the-top, eye-patched Frenchman, and the pimped-out Rios was pretty funny, too. Agnes's first triggering of the EMH with her panic attack was pretty funny-- the second time was pretty disturbing.

And Seven of Nine is now the Lone Ranger or Zorro of the unincorporated spaceways. Not exactly the future I would have preferred for her-- and where is Janeway during all this?-- but not everybody becomes an Admiral. Icheb's fate strikes me as the gratuitous death of a known character for no purpose, since it wasn't really necessary for Seven to become a champion of ex drones-- just necessary for her to wreak merciless vengeance on the villainess, which also seemed kind of a throwaway plot. Her conversation with Picard about helping people who have no one else to help them would have been enough to establish her hero cred. But, since she gave Picard her calling card, it seems likely she will return by season's end.

I got a kick out of Rios and Raffi chatting about Seven and Picard. "The ex-Borg drone from the Delta Quadrant who is now a Fenris Ranger. Oh, and I forgot Picard was a Borg."

And Raffi. She complained about Picard not being more sociable, but she abandoned her family even longer ago-- abandoned them to help Picard with the Romulan evacuation. Because she believes there was some conspiracy behind the Synth attack on Mars. Unfortunately, her son is even less forgiving than she is. I wonder if Picard knows about the family.

Poor Maddox. The Picard Brigade didn't quite reach him in time-- just enough time for him to drop a few clues, and say something that made his girlfriend let him die. Ouch. What did Commodore Oh do to Agnes, anyway? Mind meld with her? Lie to her. Or tell her an awful truth that made her betray her love and her morality? I'm really tired of conspiracy stories. And how does she think that she's going to cover up this murder? Deactivating the EMH will not wipe its memory.

But all in all not a bad episode, if not outstanding. A nice adventure in the lawless frontier, where Pike dreamed of lavish harems and characters like Harry Mudd make a living smuggling contraband. Plenty of strong characterization and humor, if a bit much blood. There were lots of nice nods to continuity from Voyager and Deep Space Nine, which will hopefully continue (along with more from TNG). And our gang now knows how to reach the next level of the game: The Artifact.

[scottydog]

I'll watch this episode soon and then read your analysis.
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