Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 2x04 - "Watcher"

[Romulan_spy]

This was my least favorite episode this season. It felt like treading water to get to the surprise ending.

Bad
The social commentary felt really forced and on the nose. I don't like that they recast Guinan and ignored Time's Arrow. This young Guinan was not like Guinan at all. It also feels like a waste. Whoopi is a liberal. She probably would have loved to deliver those social commentary lines and would have done a better job than the new actress. It seems they brought Whoopi in for a just little fan service cameo.

Good
The callback to TVH with the punk on the bus was fun.
The reveal of the Watcher was interesting
Q losing his powers was also interesting
The scenes with Jurati and the Borg Queen were good.

Speculation
Since it seems Laris is the Watcher and Guinan says the Watcher is like a guardian angel to protect someone who has a destiny, I think that strongly implies that Laris became Picard's assistant at Chateau Picard to protect him since he is the one with the destiny.

I think Q losing his powers is a symptom of a "Q disease" that Q has. It would fit with his strange behavior and my theory that Q is dying. In fact, everything Q is doing may be for selfish reasons to find a cure for his disease and teaching Picard a lesson is just a side bonus. Or maybe Q is dying and he just wants to help Picard one last time. It is also possible that the changes in the timeline are somehow affecting the Q Continuum. causing Q to lose his powers. Or maybe the entire Q Continuum is dying?

I suspect that woman Q was watching is tied to the Europa mission and her death is the change in the timeline. The clue is the newspaper that says "is 2024 the re-start of space exploration?" My guess is the Europa mission sparks humanity interest in space exploration again which leads to humanity to better itself and be interested in becoming the Federation we know after First Contact happens. I think the change is the Europa mission never happens, space exploration dies for good, Humanity turns inward and more violent as climate gets worse and eventually becomes the Confederation.

 

[eschaton]

Well, that was...okay. About the same as last week.

I guess we'll start with the elephant in the room - the recasting/portrayal of Guinan. I can understand why they chose not to de-age Whoopi, given it seems Guinan will have a bigger role than just in this episode, and such extensive de-aging is dodgy even when done by the likes of Marvel. The actress looks nothing like Whoopi (other than being a darker-skinned black woman with braids), sounds nothing like Whoopi, and acts nothing like Guinan - but you know, at least they remembered to shave off her eyebrows! It took me like 5 minutes of her being onscreen for suspension of disbelief to return.

As for Guinan not recognizing Picard, that flummoxed me originally, but it kinda makes sense when you think about causality. Guinan did meet Picard in the 19th century in Time's Arrow, but that was the Picard from the Federation's 24th century. Whatever Q did already overwrote the timeline, as can be seen by the main cast still being in the bodies of the Confederation alters (like Seven not having implants). The Confederation Picard never went back in time and met Guinan, hence she's never seen him before - and won't until they "restore" the timeline to what it should be. It's really odd though, because it seems to imply that the change in the TL affected not just everything after 2024, but things before it as well, but there's so much time travel within the Trekverse that was bound to happen anyway. It's a bit less forgivable that Picard doesn't initially try to connect with Guinan regarding their time in San Francisco together in the 19th century with Mark Twain though - I don't expect he would figure that all out in his head as a nonagenarian within the span of 5 seconds. Still in an episode which remembered the bus punk from TVH and friggin Jackson Roykirk, I can't believe that the writers just forgot about one of the most key Guinan stories.

Turning to the remainder of the episode...meh? Like last week, there was a ton of wheel spinning here, and not much in the way of action. Rios is in prison the entire episode. I liked his scenes, but honestly the whole ICE angle isn't telling us anything we don't know already regarding the U.S. immigration system, and it's doing it in a lot more of a shallow manner than a real contemporary drama would. Seven and Raffi try to hatch a plan to break him out, but don't complete it by the end of the episode. I was a bit let down they didn't go with an actual car chase with the police until like the last 30 seconds, but I suppose Seven being able to do real stunt driving would be implausible - too bad there's not someone around like Tom Paris who really knows how to drive cars well. The Jurati/Borg Queen stuff still kinda leaves me cold, because I feel the queen is being written way too much like the campy queen of Voyager. "Laris" being the Watcher is - I guess - predictable due to the main cast having to stay involved.

I have to give the episode some props because one of my big issues with Kurtzman Trek has been the total absence of themes or much of any political content other than "representation." This episode had politics in spades, from immigration to the plight of the homeless to the environment. It was very heavyhanded and kiddie-pool level depth, but...so was a lot of politics in earlier Trek. It's not Past Tense part 3, no matter how hard it tries, but baby steps I suppose.

I am coming to the conclusion that this season of Picard might be...schlock. And that's okay to be honest. One of the issues with live-action Trek in the modern era is it takes itself too goddamned seriously. I don't get that vibe at all from this season to date. It doesn't want to be prestige TV like Season 1, and it's not trying to be over-earnest in the way Discovery always is. The writers are clearly not afraid to have fun, even if it means there's a lot of corny/campy elements peppered through the show. This might be in part meant as a homage to TVH, I don't know. But I do want to note that even in cases like this week - where the episode itself underwhelmed me - it's still a well-paced show that leaves me eager to find out what happened the next week, which stands in contrast with the season of Discovery that just finished, where I was impatient instead.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

No she shouldn't have memories of "Time's Arrow" since the future in which that story took place no longer exists. The current past is the original timeline that "Time's Arrow" altered since that event never happen.

i.e. The alteration that changed the future had a tack-on effect of resetting the past to an earlier pre-"Time's Arrow" version.

That a very Star Trekian explanation at least. I agree with the idea Picard should have been more surprised Guinan didn't recognize him though.

 

[Commander Richard]

They have never done anything to show that she got her abilities from being in the Nexus. Well before Generations they referred to her people being known as "Listeners." It's really stretching things to say that the Nexus gave her the power to sense differences in the timeline.

I think there was a deleted scene from Generations where she said she got her abilities there. But if it wasn't in the movie, it's not canon. The idea stuck with me anyway. Just being a super listener works too.

If that was the case, why didn't it do anything to Picard?

It probably did. It could explain his heightened intuition in First Contact if you don't want to go with Borg PTSD.

 

[Kevman7987]

So the time spent in England turned the Picards permanently British?

They should replicate some duct tape to silence the Queen.

Loved when the Kirk Thatcher touched his neck and shut off his boombox when being asked to "shut off that damn noise." He remembers the 80's in San Francisco.

How does Guinan not remember Picard from the 19th century?

Are the watchers an introduction to a new continuum of omnipotent entities to rival the Q? Or are they some sort of Gary Seven type group?

 

[Tuskin38]

These writers have not seen the episode Times Arrow.

I remember back when Enterprise aired Braga called people who pointed this out Continuity Pornographers. I am not as hardware on continuity as other trek fans, but this is egregious.

The Picard producers seem pretty on point keeping the Star Trek continuity. I can’t believe they simply forgot to read the “Time’s Arrow” part of the Memory Alpha entry for Guinan. Something is amiss with the character.

and ignored Time's Arrow.

Are all of you people forgetting that the future was altered? Picard never came back in time to meet Guinan in the 18th century

 

[StarMan]

The following is my reaction to the Guinan reveal.

A black woman pops up from behind the bar.

Picard: "Guinan!"

Me: "Racist!"

...

As others have already stated, if the justification is 24th Century Picard never went back and met 19th Century Guinan, it would have gone a long way to have had Jean Luc offer a quizzical look and query her. Then, he could have provided the required exposition re: changes to the timeline must've prevented their initial encounter yadda yadda once he figured what had happened.

Whatever the case may be, the overhaul of her characterization was way too distracting.

I agree with @Jayson1; easily the worst entry since the finale - generic one dimensional dialogue throughout. Get it together guys. The premiere was a home run, but each episode has dipped below the previous, with this latest entry taking a pretty unwelcome nosedive.

I hope like hell we're not spending the remainder of the season in the past. I'm already over it.

Side note: Was initially so-so on the bus scene. But that's the original actor from STIV? Cool.

 

[Tuskin38]

How does Guinan not remember Picard from the 19th century?

Because it never happened. The future was altered remember?

 

[JLBTucker]

I cant believe they actually addressed that despite being French Picard act likes a British person. His fathers family at least lived in England for a very very long time follwing ww2 so they picked up a;ot of British customs

 

[eschaton]

The real issue isn't that Guinan doesn't know Picard, it's that Picard goes into the situation not attempting to say something like "Remember San Francisco, 1893?" only to get shot down.

 

[Kevman7987]

Because it never happened. The future was altered remember?

But until the timeline actually changes in 3 days it is still the original timeline. At this point the only way the timelines will diverge is if they fail.

 

[tomalak301]

Are all of you people forgetting that the future was altered? Picard never came back in time to meet Guinan in the 18th century

But the future isn't altered yet. That happens in 3 days, something this episode made clear over and over. That means that yes Picard would have met Guinan in the 18th century. Maybe I'm just confused by it all. It was still a major distraction if the episode for me.

 

[eschaton]

But until the timeline actually changes in 3 days it is still the original timeline. At this point the only way the timelines will diverge is if they fail.

No, this is clearly wrong. If it were the original timeline, Seven would still have her implants. They went back in time with their "Confederation bodies" so that is still the default future at this time. They're trying to fix the timeline back to the Federation TL.

Edit: They are trying to "fix" a change in time that Q has already made...made at the end of Episode 1 in fact.

 

[eschaton]

But the future isn't altered yet. That happens in 3 days, something this episode made clear over and over. That means that yes Picard would have met Guinan in the 18th century. Maybe I'm just confused by it all. It was still a major distraction if the episode for me.

The episode said if they don't fix the POD which is scheduled to happen in three days, then the Confederation TL will be inevitable. But it's still the "default future" at this time, considering they have a Confederation ship, a Confederation Borg Queen, Seven's body has no impants, etc.

Once they fix the TL, I would guess they'd instantly teleport back to their own time, considering the scenario which allowed them to travel back in time would no longer exist at all.

 

[Kelso]

If the punk on the bus remembers Kirk and Spock, Guinan should remember Picard.

 

[Tuskin38]

Guinan called the Watcher a Supervisor. Supervisor was also the title given to Gary Seven in TOS

But until the timeline actually changes in 3 days it is still the original timeline. At this point the only way the timelines will diverge is if they fail.

But the future isn't altered yet. That happens in 3 days, something this episode made clear over and over. That means that yes Picard would have met Guinan in the 18th century. Maybe I'm just confused by it all. It was still a major distraction if the episode for me.

You’re thinking two dimensionally. The future is in flux.

 

[eschaton]

If the punk on the bus remembers Kirk and Spock, Guinan should remember Picard.

Eh, nothing the bus punk said really indicates he remembered Kirk and Spock.

 

[jackoverfull]

I don't mind ignoring Time's Arrow. As some have argued above the future that created it hasn't happened since the team came from a future where there was no Federation. So I suppose, this Guinan is a result of slow disillusionment with humanity because she never met a Picard from the future where things worked out.

that works for guinan, but not for Picard.

On the other hand, if Guinan's Time's Arrow stuff didn't happen then the Punk Rocker's getting neck pinched by Spock shouldn't have happened since Kirk's time oughtn't have happened. Which if it didn't happen, why didn't that whale probe come and whack the Earth?

good point…But the confederation was pretty aggressive, perhaps they just blasted the probe as soon as they saw it.

 

[Guy Gardener]

No, this is clearly wrong. If it were the original timeline, Seven would still have her implants. They went back in time with their "Confederation bodies" so that is still the default future at this time. They're trying to fix the timeline back to the Federation TL.

Q put them all in the bodies of their counterparts from the ConFederation.

Seven and company died on the Stargazer.

It blew the fuck up.

Under their own power, without help from Q, in the bodies they were wearing, they went back in time to 2024.

Their original bodies did not exist in the present, or was being used by their past selves in the past, moving forward to the point that the Borg Queen killed them.

It's possible that rather than "fixing time" that they are going to create a third timeline, then generates a favourable future, since they weren't there the first or second times around.

 

[Kelso]

Eh, nothing the bus punk said really indicates he remembered Kirk and Spock.

Are you kidding?

That was his entire scene.