Spoilers Raffi Musiker fans, where are you?

[Holly Gibney]

Aside from Rios Raffi became my favorite character.

Rios, Elnor, Jurati, Seven, Hugh and Brian Brophy have their own threads. Raffi deserves one, too.

What makes her so strong?

She's a person with strength and weaknesses and a loyal supporter of Jean-Luc Picard. Contrary to many else here I don't mind her calling him JL.
I hope she can solve the problems she has with her son and daughter-in-law and finally gets to see the baby.

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

I’m one! I liked her frankness from the very beginning. It would appear her “recovery” is well under way but never complete.

 

[Anduinel]

Perfect gif choice, thank you.

 

[Cyrus]

Raffaella is a good character played by a very good actress. Like her a lot.

 

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

I like that Picard has someone to sass him.

 

[NCC-73515]

She's ok, but Rios is better XD

 

[Holly Gibney]

She's ok, but Rios is better XD

I love the scenes both have together - more than the Rios/Jurati scenes.

 

[DarKush]

Just finished checking out Picard, thanks to the free month of CBS All Access. I can say she grew on me over the season. I had read the Picard comic, and I'm reading the prequel novel, Last Best Hope, and right off I wasn't a fan of the informality between her and Picard. The "JL" thing came out of nowhere to me, with it being in the comic first. The novel does provide some explanation for it, but it still didn't quite feel right that Picard would be okay with it, or more so the TNG Picard I grew up with. I see the Star Trek: Picard being a mix of the TNG, TNG movies, and Patrick Stewart more so than just the character we last saw in "All Good Things" and I would throw "Generations" in there as well, maybe.

I also wasn't the biggest fan of how just about every character had to give Picard a hard time when they see him in the series (also wasn't a fan of all the cursing), but as time went on, I was happy to see more development of Raffi's character, and I thought Michelle Hurd did very well in the scenes with her and Raffi's son, and how she became a surrogate mother figure, for Picard's surrogate father figure, for their ragtag crew.

I've seen Hurd in other stuff so I know she could bring it regarding acting, but wasn't sure what they were going to do with her character. I wasn't a fan of the drug addict angle (they did that to T'Pol as well), and while that got done away with seemingly for Raffi, I feel not exploring her rehab more does shortchange a serious problem that a lot of people go through. I wouldn't have went there in the first place, but now that the series did, I think they should explore it with some compassion and empathy. Reminds me of how Jack Bauer got over a heroin addiction in just 24 hours.

By the end I thought Hurd and Stewart did a good job selling me on their friendship and the care they had for each other.

I would've fine with them building a series around the Raffi character, in command of a starship, than going with this Picard story.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Perfect gif choice, thank you.

Which episode was that from?

 

[Lord Garth]

Contrary to many else here I don't mind her calling him JL.
I hope she can solve the problems she has with her son and daughter-in-law and finally gets to see the baby.

Agreed and agreed!

 

[Holly Gibney]

Which episode was that from?

I honestly don't remember. Who finds it out, gets the Brian Brophy Trophy of Greatness.....

I just thought that gif is cute

 

[Anduinel]

Which episode was that from?

Broken Pieces, iirc. Where she recruits all of Rios' holos to help her figure out what's up with him.

 

[Terok Nor]

I grew to love her as the season went on. She's sassy, funny, damaged and intelligent. I feel like we got to know her character the best next to Picard, Soji and Agnes. Actually I feel we know Raffi better than anyone with the exceptions of Picard and Seven. Hurd did a lot with her screentime and along with Rios felt the most realistic.

 

[NCC-73515]

I love the scenes both have together - more than the Rios/Jurati scenes.

Absolutely!

 

[Lt.Smokey]

I like her and I think they did a great job establishing she and Picard's relationship. I do think she is the best developed of the new characters.

 

[Mondragon]

Raffi Musiker fans, where are you?

Right here! I started a thread for her but the mods deleted it.

Loved her set-up and story arc.
Although they went a bit far mellow-drama with her.
By the end, she's one of my favorites.
You really get the sense the way her mind works can make you a brilliant inteligance officer, or if unchecked can spiral you into complete paranoia.
And that's a powerful or dangerous tool depending on how it's used or where it's focused
Obviously Picard knew how to keep her focused, and use her as an asset, and this is where she thrived.
Until their world fell apart, and hence, so did she.

Her intro where Picard seeks her out, and she's all about blaming him, he recognizes it, but dosn't want to wallow in it, cause he knows her better.
There 's a scene, when Picard "phones" back, and she's already deep into the research.
And Picard's like ...continue.
She resents him, but only cause they both know, this is exactly what she needs, the work and focus at what she's good at.
That's how she survives.

As the story builds, she is more and more vindicated , as her theories pan out true,
all the suspected pieces coming together for Raffi, really makes her sharper, brings her to focus and life, she's in her element , which is what she needed.
And it's absolute joy to watch her get there.
It's a great character arc, and Michelle Hurd wonderfully brought her to life.
Absolutely love her.

 

[JohnR]

I am a fan. Not crazy about the early Raffi bashing from the scripts, they piled it on a bit too heavy about poor Raffi the drug abuser, rejected by everybody, a total loser. That was overdone. I certainly did not need to see that kid scene, which was a massively overused trope. But the actress did well, the gradual improvement was believable. I like where the series ended with her.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

I think Raffi interacts well with Rios and Picard. I think the "JL" nick is a little silly, considering everyone else always called him Admiral or Captain or Picard. But I can overlook a single name.

I think Raffi's line about, "Not on Planet Raffi," was very funny. She does seem like a momma bear, at times. But she's a human and needs help too. When Rios gracefully placed a drunken Raffi in her bed that was pretty great.

With Raffi, we got to see some consequences of full-time service in Starfleet, of a person who didn't drag their family along in a civilian-carrying flagship that always fired phasers every week.... Unfortunately in Trek it seemed the whole nuclear family (which it and of itself is a little different from the eastern concept of family) struggled. I think Sisko and son, and the O'Briens were the only families on-screen that were mostly intact. Obviously, given the (non-)military nature of Starfleet, a lot of these folks just wouldn't have families. But a lot of them do. Raffi tried...

I think my consumption of storytelling has changed over the decades. Nowadays the backstories and untold, barely-referenced noodle incidents are the most-discussed elements! What happens on-screen is less interesting than all the stuff we don't get to see. Raffi's journeys with Picard and Rios have a lot of fleshing out that should be done.

 

[Holly Gibney]

I think Raffi interacts well with Rios and Picard. I think the "JL" nick is a little silly, considering everyone else always called him Admiral or Captain or Picard. But I can overlook a single name.

I think Raffi's line about, "Not on Planet Raffi," was very funny. She does seem like a momma bear, at times. But she's a human and needs help too. When Rios gracefully placed a drunken Raffi in her bed that was pretty great.

With Raffi, we got to see some consequences of full-time service in Starfleet, of a person who didn't drag their family along in a civilian-carrying flagship that always fired phasers every week.... Unfortunately in Trek it seemed the whole nuclear family (which it and of itself is a little different from the eastern concept of family) struggled. I think Sisko and son, and the O'Briens were the only families on-screen that were mostly intact. Obviously, given the (non-)military nature of Starfleet, a lot of these folks just wouldn't have families. But a lot of them do. Raffi tried...

I think my consumption of storytelling has changed over the decades. Nowadays the backstories and untold, barely-referenced noodle incidents are the most-discussed elements! What happens on-screen is less interesting than all the stuff we don't get to see. Raffi's journeys with Picard and Rios have a lot of fleshing out that should be done.

Hopefulle in season 2. Gladly in a book!

 

[F. King Daniel]

I found her annoying and self pitying at the start. But she grew on me. I like how she's emotionally either all in or not at all. There's no middle ground, you're either nothing or you're LOVED.