• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x04 - "Absolute Candor"

Rate the episode...


  • Total voters
    283
If AO3 is any indication, that 'ship is already in full swing. I don't see it, but whatevs.
Don´t get me wrong..I like the nod per se...but it´s WAY to overdone. Data´s movement is a subtle turn to one side with a very slight tilt....Soji looks like her head will come off any sec...
Some people will complain about anything, amirite?
 
Last edited:
I rewatched the episode and the Absolute Candor thing made a little more sense. I'm not sure if it will be addressed again but I'm really liking how we are delving more into Romulan culture than any time else in the Trek universe. The only other time we met non-military Romulans was unification II so seeing this back, and the return of "Jolan Tru" was pretty cool.

I still like the levity of the crew in this series. There were some fun moments and just the banter at the beginning was great. I keep reading about this series not having a plot yet, but we are seeing the plot. Picard is haunted by the past, not being able to fulfill his promise to the Romulans during the rescue, and people all around him are blaming him for his actions, whether it was abandoning the Romulans or criticizing the Federation, and then getting called on it for trying to crawl back to them asking for favors. I'm really liking how each week we are filling in the backstory and I really like the use of the Flashbacks to tell more of the tale of what happened 14 years ago. I think this week's Flashback will be what we saw in the trailer with Seven holding onto someone crying. That will serve as the basis for the episode ahead, and considering Seven is back, I hope she is featured quite a bit.

Well he is there for favors with everyone. He is kinda sorta sorry, but still needs their help. But he cant ask Worf, Geordi, Riker, etc because they would do anything for him. Which is NOT a reason to not ask them. It is a great reason to ask them. Instead Zhaban says something that no one would EVER say unless the script told them to say it. Well, you need someone who hates you. No...he doesnt. LOL. That is an amazingly dumb suggestion.

He doesnt mind asking Raffi to risk her life, but not Geordi? Why would La Forge risking his life be bad, but not Raffi? Or the orphan Romulan kid? "Sure, I dont mind asking a Romulan orphan to die, but not Worf!". Ummm, what? How the F does that make sense to anyone? That makes Picard seem like an asshole.
 
Well he is there for favors with everyone. He is kinda sorta sorry, but still needs their help. But he cant ask Worf, Geordi, Riker, etc because they would do anything for him. Which is NOT a reason to not ask them. It is a great reason to ask them. Instead Zhaban says something that no one would EVER say unless the script told them to say it. Well, you need someone who hates you. No...he doesnt. LOL. That is an amazingly dumb suggestion.

He doesnt mind asking Raffi to risk her life, but not Geordi? Why would La Forge risking his life be bad, but not Raffi? Or the orphan Romulan kid? "Sure, I dont mind asking a Romulan orphan to die, but not Worf!". Ummm, what? How the F does that make sense to anyone? That makes Picard seem like an asshole.

He probably doesn't want to wreck any more careers than he already has. Plus, he didn't ask Raffi to come along, and her career is already wrecked, and she claims she isn't coming along on his mission anyways. He didn't actually want to ask the kid, the nun told him too, and, turns out, the kid wanted a hopeless mission anyways. Also didn't ask Agnes, she invited herself along. And then there's 7, who's only there because she got her ship blown up saving his ass, which he did not ask her to do. The only person he has asked is the guy he's paying to risk his life and ship, so no actual specific assholery there. Everyone else on board are volunteers.

On the other hand, Picard has always been kind of an asshole, so nothing new on that front. But his only actual assholery this ep was with regards to the Romulan cafe, and yeah, the dead guy there is on him, but to be fair, Jean Luc's done worse.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, this is bizarre. Instead of refusing the help of Elf Elrond...ummm Romulan Elnor, he asks for it. He cant ask Worf to pledge his bat'leth to his cause, but he can ask this guy, whom he never came back to see in 14 years to do it. Wow. That's what I would call "a dick move".
 
He doesnt mind asking Raffi to risk her life, but not Geordi? Why would La Forge risking his life be bad, but not Raffi?
I thought the point was that he thought Raffi wouldn't risk her life for him. He went to her for help (and the help he asked for was information and the name of a pilot, let us recall, not to come with him) because he was confident she wouldn't drop everything and risk her life for his sake. He wanted a pilot with no personal loyalty to him, again, so that pilot wouldn't risk his life for the sake of Picard's personal quest (and a non-Starfleet pilot means no career to endanger). He went to the Qowat Milat for a champion, to be sure, but didn't expect to be assigned one he had a personal relationship with. He doesn't want anyone risking their life for his sake at all, and that is why he hasn't turned for help to anyone he thinks would do that. He isn't being an asshole asking this person to risk themselves for him instead of that one. He is trying to protect the people around him by surrounding himself with people who aren't personally loyal to him, in hopes that therefore they won't take unnecessary chances just for him.

Of course, it isn't working out that way, but that was the intent.
 
Yeah, this is bizarre. Instead of refusing the help of Elf Elrond...ummm Romulan Elnor, he asks for it. He cant ask Worf to pledge his bat'leth to his cause, but he can ask this guy, whom he never came back to see in 14 years to do it. Wow. That's what I would call "a dick move".

Asking someone to do what they've trained their life to do is a dick move? In what bizarro world? It is to ask it as a personal favor, but really, asking Elnor was not Picard's idea.
 
But not Worf, or Geordi or Riker? In what bizzaro world do you not ask them, but you are willing to ask Raffi or Elrond the Elf?

He didn't ask Raffi, not sure how many times that needs to be said. And its Elron's job, and again, it was the nun's idea. Also, he figures he's going to maybe get people killed, and he doesn't want those people to be those he considers his dearest friends if it comes to that, not to mention those who might unreasonably risk their lives because that is what they might do.
 
I thought the point was that he thought Raffi wouldn't risk her life for him. He went to her for help (and the help he asked for was information and the name of a pilot, let us recall, not to come with him) because he was confident she wouldn't drop everything and risk her life for his sake. He wanted a pilot with no personal loyalty to him, again, so that pilot wouldn't risk his life for the sake of Picard's personal quest (and a non-Starfleet pilot means no career to endanger). He went to the Qowat Milat for a champion, to be sure, but didn't expect to be assigned one he had a personal relationship with. He doesn't want anyone risking their life for his sake at all, and that is why he hasn't turned for help to anyone he thinks would do that. He isn't being an asshole asking this person to risk themselves for him instead of that one. He is trying to protect the people around him by surrounding himself with people who aren't personally loyal to him, in hopes that therefore they won't take unnecessary chances just for him.

Of course, it isn't working out that way, but that was the intent.

He was willing to ask Starfleet for a ship. He was willing to ask this young man, even knowing who he was. But you will not ask the people you know will do it and have tremendous ability. Who did he think Clancy would have given him if she had said yes? Other women and men who would be risking themselves? It's a douche move.
 
He didn't ask Raffi, not sure how many times that needs to be said. And its Elron's job. Also, he figures he's going to maybe get people killed, and he doesn't want those people to be those he considers his dearest friends if it comes to that.

So he doesnt mind asking this kid to die? Is he not dear enough? It is his job? What job did Worf, Riker or Geordi sign up for that involves risking their lives? Starfleet officer?
 
He was willing to ask Starfleet for a ship. He was willing to ask this young man, even knowing who he was. But you will not ask the people you know will do it and have tremendous ability. Who did he think Clancy would have given him if she had said yes? Other women and men who would be risking themselves? It's a douche move.

it's a douche move in your bizarro world. Of that I agree.
 
it's a douche move in your bizarro world. Of that I agree.
It's a douche move in ANY world. No, Zhaban, you dont ask the people who hate you when you are the most in need, and lives are on the line. You ask those who know you best, are the most capable and the most willing.
 
So he doesnt mind asking this kid to die? Is he not dear enough? It is his job? What job did Worf, Riker or Geordi sign up for that involves risking their lives? Starfleet officer?

He's been told that the kid is the best assassin the nun's have ever trained. Sounds like tremendous ability to me. He's not on a mission for starfleet, in case you still haven't noticed.
 
So he doesnt mind asking this kid to die? Is he not dear enough? It is his job? What job did Worf, Riker or Geordi sign up for that involves risking their lives? Starfleet officer?
He didn't ask for the kid. He thought the kid wouldn't even be there. He isn't a kid anymore, he's a trained warrior of their order. He made the choice to join Picard since they decide whether the cause is worthy.

You'd have a better conversation and experience if you engaged what was actually happening in the show.
 
He was willing to ask Starfleet for a ship. He was willing to ask this young man, even knowing who he was. But you will not ask the people you know will do it and have tremendous ability. Who did he think Clancy would have given him if she had said yes? Other women and men who would be risking themselves? It's a douche move.
An official Starfleet ship on an officially sanctioned Starfleet mission would have been a different kettle of fish entirely, properly equipped with resources and authority to fall back on. The risk would have been much less - and the crew would not have had personal loyalty to him, which is the crux here. He is afraid that any of his old cronies from the Enterprise might feel moved to do what Data did - sacrifice their lives (or careers) for his sake. That's what he is trying to avoid by recruiting people with no personal loyalty to him. And the only people he has actually asked to join him are Rios, whose ship he needs and who was hired strictly as transport, and a Qowat Milat warrior as his muscle, expecting to be assigned a random nun. He argued against taking Elnor, and only agreed when the nun insisted it was in fact the kid's best prospect. Plus, it probably helps that Elnor is pissed off at him, makes him seem less likely to take unnecessary chances.
 
Well he is there for favors with everyone. He is kinda sorta sorry, but still needs their help. But he cant ask Worf, Geordi, Riker, etc because they would do anything for him. Which is NOT a reason to not ask them. It is a great reason to ask them. Instead Zhaban says something that no one would EVER say unless the script told them to say it. Well, you need someone who hates you. No...he doesnt. LOL. That is an amazingly dumb suggestion.

He doesnt mind asking Raffi to risk her life, but not Geordi? Why would La Forge risking his life be bad, but not Raffi? Or the orphan Romulan kid? "Sure, I dont mind asking a Romulan orphan to die, but not Worf!". Ummm, what? How the F does that make sense to anyone? That makes Picard seem like an asshole.
Why are we even so sure that "you need someone who hates you" refers to an actual criterion for Picard choosing his team members and not Zhaban referencing Raffi personally? Tell Picard about "Somebody who hates you" *wink*, and then let him realize that the person who hates him is actually a Romulan expert and knows people who can fly off the books. Unlike Riker, Geordi, Worf, etc. who'd presumably leave a gigantic paper trail behind them and have been probably placed under surveillance the moment Clancy informed Oh about Picard preparing to do something stupid.
 
He didn't ask for the kid. He thought the kid wouldn't even be there. He isn't a kid anymore, he's a trained warrior of their order. He made the choice to join Picard since they decide whether the cause is worthy.

You'd have a better conversation and experience if you engaged what was actually happening in the show.

Watching the show is apparently something you do not do. Asking Worf, Riker and Geordi was ALSO a "Suggestion". But he refused THAT suggestion. But he WILL accept the suggestion of this kid? Maybe watch these episodes a little more closely next time.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top