Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x03 - "The End is the Beginning"

[Spicy Thunder]

In general, I think that shows set in the future are always reflective of the things/language of the times. I heard some things said in TOS that people definitely wouldn't say now, but were used in the 60's. Or the hairstyles in TNG very much reflected the 80's/90's. It's impossible to predict what it will be like in the future, so I think they writers just go with what is modern so they can appeal to as many people as possible.

 

[Yistaan]

But decades before fax machines were a thing!

Pike was going through some paranoia after the Rigel mission. He insisted all info be printed, the digital version deleted, and then the physical copy shredded when done, not unlike how you would print emails and then delete them from your server from fear of hacking.

 

[BillJ]

8.

Pacing was crisp, and I’m liking the new characters.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

That's true, but it was in Enterprise ("The Forge") where T'Pol stated outright that she didn't need sunglasses because of her inner eyelids. I think she was just trying to show off.

She was jealous that she didn't have a pair of Oh-kleys.

 

[Yistaan]

Has it occurred to anyone that Oh actually is a Vulcan extremist who wiped out the Mars fleet to destroy the Romulan Empire? Doesn't explain why she's suddenly ordering Romulans around though.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I liked this episode a lot but I can’t help but feel there should have been a two hour premiere that ended up exactly where we are now instead of taking three episodes to get here.

A few scattered reactions.

So, the acid split was actually part of a suicide protocol that turns your body fluids all to acid?!

Why would a Romulan have a British accent? Is it translating an equivalent regional Romulan accent or are they all really speaking English and he learned that accent to hit on girls?

I like the makeup of the crew but I’m a bit confused because that scene where Picard talks to Riker looked like it happened before he left Earth.

I guess this answers the question of whether Doc was illegalized. Though it’s confusing why AI is only illegal if they have a physical body.

Soji’s knowledge makes me wonder if her programming comes from Borg technology and she actually has the knowledge of the collective. And if the reason for Romulan hate of AI comes from another “AI wins” future. (Maybe even the averted Control one).

 

[Yistaan]

Why would a Romulan have a British accent? Is it translating an equivalent regional Romulan accent or are they all really speaking English and he learned that accent to hit on girls?

How is that worse than having a Romulan with an American accent? Especially as the Romulan is in France and should be speaking French.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Has it occurred to anyone that Oh actually is a Vulcan extremist who wiped out the Mars fleet to destroy the Romulan Empire? Doesn't explain why she's suddenly ordering Romulans around though.

Data’s Day shows that it’s easy for Romulans to pose as Vulcans for one.

 

[Yistaan]

Data’s Day shows that it’s easy for Romulans to pose as Vulcans for one.

That's not the point, the point is a Romulan wouldn't wipe out a Romulan rescue fleet as is pointed out multiple times. A Vulcan would.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

How is that worse than having a Romulan with an American accent? Especially as the Romulan is in France and should be speaking French.

I was thinking of the one on the cube.

If all Romulan speech was consistently translated to the same accent it’d make sense. It’s different Romulans having different accents that doesn’t.

 

[Spicy Thunder]

I liked this episode a lot but I can’t help but feel there should have been a two hour premiere that ended up exactly where we are now instead of taking three episodes to get here.

A few scattered reactions.

So, the acid split was actually part of a suicide protocol that turns your body fluids all to acid?!

Why would a Romulan have a British accent? Is it translating an equivalent regional Romulan accent or are they all really speaking English and he learned that accent to hit on girls?

I like the makeup of the crew but I’m a bit confused because that scene where Picard talks to Riker looked like it happened before he left Earth.

I guess this answers the question of whether Doc was illegalized. Though it’s confusing why AI is only illegal if they have a physical body.

Soji’s knowledge makes me wonder if her programming comes from Borg technology and she actually has the knowledge of the collective. And if the reason for Romulan hate of AI comes from another “AI wins” future. (Maybe even the averted Control one).

As for Soji's knowledge, she may have some access to Data's memories, and he did have extensive knowledge about the Borg from Best of Both Worlds and First Contact.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

That's not the point, the point is a Romulan wouldn't wipe out a Romulan rescue fleet as is pointed out multiple times. A Vulcan would.

A super secret Romulan playing the long game to prevent a doomsday scenario might.

And the Romulans on the cube already suggested they were part of it and it was a “Miscalculation”.

 

[Yistaan]

So here's where I'm thinking.

Oh is a Vulcan extremist. She sabotaged the synths to destroy Romulus.

Next, she plays both sides. She approaches the Zhat Vash, tells them the synths are responsible for destroying Romulus, and orders them to wipe out Dahj and Soji who somehow have proof of her complicity.

This theory makes sense.

 

[Noname Given]

Trump says that too though. That's the problem with this as commentary. He explicitly says how much he loves immigration, that not everyone in any group is bad. So I am not sure what this is supposed to be saying, beyond the painfully obvious that no serious person disagrees with. As they have chosen to portray the Romulans here, the security concerns seem more than justified. So Trump policies are sensible, but saying everyone in group is bad is clearly wrong. But who is saying that?

Trump has said:

"All Mexicans are rapists..."

"We don't need anyone from those s**thole countries"

etc. The only time he says "oh, okay...maybe they aren't all bad..." is when a group really calls him on it, and he feels it's affecting his image outside his hardcore base - but as soon as he gets back in 'Rally' mode he goes back to and doubles down on the above rhetoric.

And given he's expanding his travel ban to blanketly include more countries - his actions say all you need to know about how he REALLY feels on the subject.

(And that's all I'll say as this ain't "The Neutral Zone area of the board...but please Trump has been ANYTHING BUT inclusive in the majority of his actions or comments.)

 

[The Overlord]

And if one of the points of this show was to use it as a way of commenting on the Age of Trump, Brexit, the nationalist surge, xenophobia, etc, this is the worst possible way to do it. Romulan terrorist fanatics, Romulan penetration of Starfleet makes the Trumpist view seem reasonable. Letting the Romulans in was a mistake. That travel bans and limits on refugees are sensible.

Except it looks like the Zhat Vash is responsible for the deaths of millions of Romulans, as well as 90,000 Federation citizens.

I do not think it's fair to blame all Romulans for what the Zhat Vash is doing, just like it be unfair to blame all Muslims for what ISIS has done.

It's not a question of all Romulans being good or bad, its a matter of some Romulans being good and others being bad. Clearly Picard's Romulan's caretakers are good people, I do not think anyone would say its fair to punish them for the Zhat Vash's sins.

The Zhat Vash's seeming willingness to kill millions of Romulans for their ideology makes them seem exceptionally cruel and clearly their own countrymen are not safe from that cruelty.

 

[Noname Given]

Why would a Romulan have a British accent? Is it translating an equivalent regional Romulan accent or are they all really speaking English and he learned that accent to hit on girls?

Um, the same reason a particular French Starship Captain (and now a retired Admiral for 14 years) would.

 

[DaveyNY]

Trump says that too though. That's the problem with this as commentary. He explicitly says how much he loves immigration, that not everyone in any group is bad. So I am not sure what this is supposed to be saying, beyond the painfully obvious that no serious person disagrees with. As they have chosen to portray the Romulans here, the security concerns seem more than justified. So Trump policies are sensible, but saying everyone in group is bad is clearly wrong. But who is saying that?

Our President says a lot of things that he obviously doesn't really mean.
His ACTIONS speak volumes, his words constantly fall flat.

 

[Yistaan]

We're told repeatedly of Dahj and Soji's ability to assess information. Dahj found Picard so easily. Soji knew info about the Borg and the Romulan lady she wasn't supposed to know.

These 2 would be a serious threat to whoever sabotaged the synths.

I say Oh isn't a deep cover Romulan agent. She's actually a Starfleet officer who's a Vulcan extremist (not unlike Valeris). She sabotaged the synths to destroy Romulus, the Vulcans' hated enemy.

Her mission was accomplished. However, somehow she found out about Dahj and Soji. With their abilities, they would easily find out she's responsible. So she has to kill them.

Oh approaches the Zhat Vash. She blames Romulus' destruction on the rogue synths, and tells them they have a shared goal in destroying Dahj and Soji. Thus the Romulan hater ends up ordering Romulans around.

Anyone find holes in this theory?

 

[Alan Roi]

8.

Pacing was crisp, and I’m liking the new characters.

Totally agree. Rios looks like he could be especially interesting because he appears to have externalized aspects of his personality into his onboard emergency holograms.

 

[Krandor]

I was thinking of the one on the cube.

If all Romulan speech was consistently translated to the same accent it’d make sense. It’s different Romulans having different accents that doesn’t.

dies to me. If a translater translates everything the same it will be harder to tell who is who.

as an example. I listen to audiobooks. Narrators who gives each character their own voice are easier to listen to then ones that don’t.

also remember. Every planet has a north.