Spoilers Picard Plot Threads and Questions (As of Ep 1)

[Search4]

I greatly enjoyed this episode and hope the series continues at the same high quality. Remarkable. But many ideas and threads were introduced and if - if - if this is plotted out well they will come together. Thought it helpful to list them here and see if we could build out the bigger picture.

• The Romulan star goes supernova - natural? does someone hate Romulans?
• The Federation evacuation fleet is attacked. Do the Synths hate Romulans? How do we know it was Synths, anyway? Did they get taken over / hijacked? If so, by who - same people who blew up the Romulan star?
• Synths are banned or otherwise restricted as a result of the attack - part of the plan? Accident?
• Someone (Maddox) is building human-type Synths... why? Where? In reaction to the ban? For what end?
• Those human-style synths don't know what they are and need to be activated - why?
• Someone, I believe Romulans, are going after the human-type Synths... why? And why were they not equipped to take on an 'activated' one?
• Dahj knows Picard's face but doesn't actually know who he is until she accidentally sees the interview. That's a terrible way of giving her a life line (how about a name or phone number?) So was the interview a deliberate effort to get Picard publicity so Dahj would have a chance? Did Picard's staff arrange that?
• The police/authorities don't trace Dahj after the first set of murders? Why / how does that fit in?
• The police/authorities don't question Picard after the roof incident? Why / how does that fit in?

And we're not even up to what the Romulans are doing on the Borg cube, yet. I can see several ways these plot threads weave together (there's an anti-Romulan force that blew up the sun, hijacked the Synths to prevent the rescue, and now there is Synth leadership (Maddox/The Doctor?) possibly fighting against the ban with skin jobs.) but that's just a guess.

Complexities. Nicely done. What do we think is going on?

 

[Crazyewok]

I bet Lore is going to pop up. He likely lead the synths to attack mars. Somehow likely via maddox trying to reverse engineer Lore he was reactivated.

My biggest question is what are the romulans doing with a borg cube and how did they capture it? Where the borg behind the romulan super nova?

Is there some connection to S31. Them using the synths to take out the romulan star empire but it back firing and ending up turning on the federation as aw ell?

 

[KennyB]

I bet Lore is going to pop up.

I doubt it because of the cost of the deaging.............unless they start putting Data/Lore/B4 into new organic bodies........

 

[Search4]

I have to add the question of whether Dahj is Data’s daughter (same brain tech no memories) or whether she actually has memories as well.

Plus is Lore behind this somehow.

 

[Crazyewok]

I doubt it because of the cost of the deaging.............unless they start putting Data/Lore/B4 into new organic bodies........

Well that the thing with synths. Lore could pop up in any body.

 

[KennyB]

Well that the thing with synths. Lore could pop up in any body.

Frakkin Skinjobs

 

[Longinus]

Well that the thing with synths. Lore could pop up in any body.

In theory, but not really. A big part of appeal of this show is beloved actors returning to their old roles, so if Lore appears, it must be Spiner. I guess he could have had a 'bio-upgrade' though, so he could just look like Spiner does now normally.

 

[DaveyNY]

Yeah, No Lore.

My opinion is that there's no way in Hell Data is going to let anybody use or experiment with Lore.

It may not have been specifically stated, but the last episode with him proved to Data that Lore should never be reactivated or even be seen again.

Data either destroyed Lore's head and/or body, or else he put it somewhere no one will ever find it.

 

[Dukhat]

What I’m confused about is why no one has mentioned Lore. You’d think that if he was responsible for the synth attack, they’d make that clear. I have a feeling Lore is either going to be ignored in this show or they’re going to say he was destroyed a long time ago.

 

[The Wormhole]

• The police/authorities don't trace Dahj after the first set of murders? Why / how does that fit in?

• The police/authorities don't question Picard after the roof incident? Why / how does that fit in?

Personally I think the Romulan strike team must be operating with Starfleet's consent, or dare I suggest it, Section 31's. After all, I can think of no other way they can successfully beam in and out of the area around a Starfleet facility in San Francisco unless someone on the inside were allowing it. With that in mind, it makes sense they were able to silence authorities after the attack in Dahj's apartment. Likewise, Picard is left to be found by civilian police and not Starfleet security. Or are we supposed to believe that Starfleet Security didn't investigate an explosion at one of their facilities in the same city as their HQ and didn't think to provide medical assistance to the living legend they found unconscious at the site. Actually, it seems odd that even the civilian police would just send him back to the vineyard and not to a hospital first.

 

[dinzy]

What I’m confused about is why no one has mentioned Lore. You’d think that if he was responsible for the synth attack, they’d make that clear. I have a feeling Lore is either going to be ignored in this show or they’re going to say he was destroyed a long time ago.

Or Lore is a surprise reveal that was teased by lack of acknowledging him at all. Lore could also serve as the donor to other sentient Daj-like Androids, so they could all be Lore's "offspring" and have a dissasembled Lore shown later as an explaination for the origin of the synths.

It was not made clear what happened to B4. Was he deactivated because of the synth attack or did he have a failure and die?

 

[Dukhat]

Personally I think Lore is overrated. He was just an “evillllll!” version of Data with no real reason why he was bad other than to be Data’s foil.

I would assume based on what I’ve seen, that the reason why the synths attacked Mars is because they have a beef with the Romulans (and the Federation to a smaller extent.) And also because:

Spoiler

Narek’s line about him having a dead twin seems to imply that he’s a synth too. So there’s definitely a Romulan connection.

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

Personally I think the Romulan strike team must be operating with Starfleet's consent, or dare I suggest it, Section 31's. After all, I can think of no other way they can successfully beam in and out of the area around a Starfleet facility in San Francisco unless someone on the inside were allowing it. With that in mind, it makes sense they were able to silence authorities after the attack in Dahj's apartment. Likewise, Picard is left to be found by civilian police and not Starfleet security. Or are we supposed to believe that Starfleet Security didn't investigate an explosion at one of their facilities in the same city as their HQ and didn't think to provide medical assistance to the living legend they found unconscious at the site. Actually, it seems odd that even the civilian police would just send him back to the vineyard and not to a hospital first.

That's why I'm open to the idea that it was really a Vulcan strike team. The Vulcans probably didn't take kindly to the attempted invasion of Vulcan by the Romulans in "Unification, part II," and some could've been opposed to helping the Romulans, in the same way that some Vulcans opposed peace with the Klingon empire in TUC or peace with the Cardassians in DS9.

And if the Romulans had knowledge of Soji, they wouldn't have been wasting their time asking Dahj, "Who are you? Where are you from?" when the strike team first attempted to apprehend Dahj. So maybe Vulcan extremists?

 

[Dukhat]

That's why I'm open to the idea that it was really a Vulcan strike team. The Vulcans probably didn't take kindly to the attempted invasion of Vulcan by the Romulans in "Unification, part II," and some could've been opposed to helping the Romulans, in the same way that some Vulcans opposed peace with the Klingon empire in TUC or peace with the Cardassians in DS9.

And if the Romulans had knowledge of Soji, they wouldn't have been wasting their time asking Dahj, "Who are you? Where are you from?" when the strike team first attempted to apprehend Dahj. So maybe Vulcan extremists?

Doubtful. Vulcan extremists were a DSC thing which went nowhere, not a PIC thing. The show isn’t about pissed off Vulcans. It’s about Picard trying to solve a mystery.

 

[The Wormhole]

Spoiler

Narek’s line about him having a dead twin seems to imply that he’s a synth too. So there’s definitely a Romulan connection.

Actually, Narek says he had a brother, then adds "not a twin."

That's why I'm open to the idea that it was really a Vulcan strike team. The Vulcans probably didn't take kindly to the attempted invasion of Vulcan by the Romulans in "Unification, part II," and some could've been opposed to helping the Romulans, in the same way that some Vulcans opposed peace with the Klingon empire in TUC or peace with the Cardassians in DS9.

And if the Romulans had knowledge of Soji, they wouldn't have been wasting their time asking Dahj, "Who are you? Where are you from?" when the strike team first attempted to apprehend Dahj. So maybe Vulcan extremists?

I thought the implication we're supposed to take from the ending is that Narek was the strike team's commander?

 

[thribs]

I just want to know more about the supernova and Spock’s involvement. They’ve seemed to have changed that story a bit in this new continuity. The state of the Borg as well but I expect we will get that answer.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

I thought the implication we're supposed to take from the ending is that Narek was the strike team's commander?

You know, I hadn't even considered that. Makes sense, as it felt like an odd way to end the episode introducing that character just for the conversion with Soji.

 

[ITDUDE]

Frakkin Skinjobs

There definitely a good nuBSG vibe happening.

 

[NCC-73515]

Speculation:

The Romulan star goes supernova - natural? does someone hate Romulans?

No. Yes.

The Federation evacuation fleet is attacked. Do the Synths hate Romulans? How do we know it was Synths, anyway? Did they get taken over / hijacked? If so, by who - same people who blew up the Romulan star?

No. Visual records or scans. Probably, perhaps by Lore, or by the Romulans to destroy what they thought was an invasion fleet.

Synths are banned or otherwise restricted as a result of the attack - part of the plan? Accident?

No. Irrelevant after they did what they were sent to do.

Someone (Maddox) is building human-type Synths... why? Where? In reaction to the ban? For what end?

Who does a painter paint? In his secret Borg cube lab. See 1st response.

Those human-style synths don't know what they are and need to be activated - why?

Sleepers who don't know themselves that they're agents until they're activated to kill someone, defend someone, spy, destroy...

Someone, I believe Romulans, are going after the human-type Synths... why? And why were they not equipped to take on an 'activated' one?

To reclaim those who escaped from the cube. Activated they're much more powerful.

Dahj knows Picard's face but doesn't actually know who he is until she accidentally sees the interview. That's a terrible way of giving her a life line (how about a name or phone number?) So was the interview a deliberate effort to get Picard publicity so Dahj would have a chance? Did Picard's staff arrange that?

No, coincidence.

The police/authorities don't trace Dahj after the first set of murders? Why / how does that fit in?
The police/authorities don't question Picard after the roof incident? Why / how does that fit in?

No one knows about the fight in her apartment. Picard was unconscious while he was treated and the scene was cleaned up by Starfleet, and they're covering it up.

 

[thribs]

Why did Picard not listen to Kirk? Surely he would known that would end badly.