Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 2x06 - "Two of One"

[ThreeEdgedSword]

The identity of the masked BQ will surprise us all. She'll rip her mask off and it'll be Jeanne-Rosa Crusher, his daughter. Which ofc he never knew he had. She'll be the spitting image of Renée, of course.
Cliffhanger on his shocked face.

 

[Anduinel]

Heh. It wasn't her fault, though. Also, not every cast member - just everyone not being Janeway, the EMH or Seven of Nine!

As for Elnor... it's not a fridge, just temporary cryo stasis! (Even if they kill off one or more of our characters, I doubt it will be him.)

Based on where we are right now, my guesses for the cast are:
Picard, Seven, Raffi - back full time for S3.
Agnes - Borgified. New Queen goes off to teach the Collective about cats, empathy, and good booze.
Soji - New Synth ambassador role stays. No major role in S3.
Rios: Decides being a starship captain isn't his best destiny and starts doing humanitarian work with Teresa in one century or the other.
Elnor: Makes it into S3, but has to sit out most of the adventure at the Academy while his moms go off with the TNG cast.

 

[Yistaan]

Agnes - Borgified.

Rios: Decides being a starship captain isn't his best destiny and starts doing humanitarian work with Teresa in one century or the other.

I think I'll just leave these 2 points there and fans can imagine the rest themselves.

I find it very hard to believe now that even the novels' shadow "Eugenics Wars" happened in this timeline. I could buy before that Kore was Soong's biological daughter, and she has a disease that even Khan's magic blood can't cure (as it's DNA based). Even access to augment DNA isn't going to magically save Kore unless you somehow alter every DNA in every cell in her body.

The fact that we now know he's creating her from scratch though--wouldn't someone like him have access to Augment DNA to ensure Kore is not only healthy but in fact enhanced? And if he doesn't have or can't access Augment DNA, wouldn't it at least be mentioned?

 

[DarKush]

With the anvil of Rios loving 21st century intensitiy (after having been detained and manhandled most of the time, but also Teresa), I almost believe he could stay behind. It's also possible he'll take her and her kid along to the future. In both cases, we already have dropped most pretenses of "don't change the timeline!"


Great, now I fear they're going to kill off some of them... And I don't think Seven is safe just because she is a Voyager icon. Spock and Data were iconic.

I was wondering about Rios taking the doctor to the future (forgot she had a kid) myself, but the idea of him staying behind makes more sense after this episode. I can't see the doctor wanting to uproot her son, even if she wanted to go herself, and this episode established how much Rios likes 21st century Earth (though we got a hint of that before with how much he really liked peanut butter cookies). While this season has nodded to Star Trek IV, I could see them doing a reverse here. If the series is ending after season three there might be no plans to do anything with the PIC characters afterward (with the exception of Seven of Nine who I could see being in another Trek project).

I do think Seven is safe because she's connected to more than PIC and she's still a fan favorite. Of course, it would be nothing for them to "kill" her off and resurrect her in some fashion like they've already done with Jean-Luc, and I suspect will happen with Evagora's character. If there's going to be lasting deaths, Evagora's character, Raffi, Rios, and Jurati are the ones I see most on the chopping block. All those are homegrown PIC characters and while they do have their fans, I don't know if they have fan bases yet on the level of legacy Trek characters that would make killing them off more difficult. Simply because Briones has played several characters already, I could see a version of one of those characters making it. I'm doubtful that they would kill off Picard for good since they already did that in the first season, but you never know.

Spock and Data are iconic, but it's notable that the next movie after Wrath of Khan brought Spock back, and they made sure to even hint at a resurrection in Star Trek 3's subtitle. And though Data did die, they've used different ways to bring him back or keep his legacy alive so in a way he's not really gone. Even DISCO found a way to bring Spock's legacy and importance into the far-flung future. Before that they had introduced Peck's Spock and now, he'll be on Strange New Worlds, so Spock isn't really gone either. I would be surprised to see that kind of effort put into keeping even the memories of the PIC-only characters going outside of novels or the occasional comic. Even considering the Starship Stargazer, we didn't see enough of Rios on that ship for the name to not just make the casual Trek fan think of Picard's Stargazer.

 

[Reanok]

I really liked this show it was really good . I liked the scenes with Jean luc and Renee talking about convincing her to continue to be part of the Europamission were well done. And who knew Alison Pill can sing like that wow! Those with Agnes and the borg reminds me of Baltar and Six the cylon from Battlestar Galactica. Alot of great character moments in this episode. I also liked the scene with Picard and Adam Soong. And poor Kore I feel sorry for her after finding what kind of person Adam Soong really is and all Eugenic experiments he's done for many years.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I liked it more than last week. My only thing was……you kill the power, but the spotlights still work for the band?

Battery Powered Spotlights? I've seen modern Lights completely run on Lithium Ion batteries, even for professional lighting.

Shouldn't Picard's android body be more durable in the first place and shouldn't the doctor-who has suspicions-have known right off that he was artificial?

Weren't the Synths near indistinguishable to regular biological people they were trying to immitate, even to modern Tricorders? You have to know exactly what to look for to be able to tell them apart from the normal biological people they're immitating.

Dahj & Soji spent a large chunk of their lives as normal people without 24th century scanners being able to tell them apart as a Android/Synth.

 

[Yistaan]

I'm sorry but evil Picard would not have built his synth body to be so vulnerable, I don't care what the writers say here. Looking the same age, maybe having a mortal lifespan, etc. but synth Picard should have just shrugged over that car collision. And if the Confed didn't want anyone too powerful etc. honestly they wouldn't have saved evil Picard by putting him in a synth body to begin with.

 

[ThreeEdgedSword]

I think I'll just leave these 2 points there and fans can imagine the rest themselves.

I don't get it.

I was wondering about Rios taking the doctor to the future (forgot she had a kid) myself, but the idea of him staying behind makes more sense after this episode. I can't see the doctor wanting to uproot her son, even if she wanted to go herself, and this episode established how much Rios likes 21st century Earth (though we got a hint of that before with how much he really liked peanut butter cookies). While this season has nodded to Star Trek IV, I could see them doing a reverse here.

All good points. I was considering the future partly because tere was a butterfly on crates aboard the Stargazer. But that could mean nothing but some form of easter egg, or their "branding" survived into the far future, plus it was the Confederate timeline anyway.

If there's going to be lasting deaths, Evagora's character, Raffi, Rios, and Jurati are the ones I see most on the chopping block. All those are homegrown PIC characters and while they do have their fans, I don't know if they have fan bases yet on the level of legacy Trek characters that would make killing them off more difficult.

Agreed.

Simply because Briones has played several characters already, I could see a version of one of those characters making it. I'm doubtful that they would kill off Picard for good since they already did that in the first season, but you never know..

Agree about Briones and Picard. I certainly hope they won't kill him ff, no matter how much of a "conclusion" it woud be. As for Briones, while they might kill off Kore, I don't really see how they would kill off Soji, too.Unless timey wimey stuff in the end would mean she never got created in the first place, but I highly doubt it. (It would also mean our characters never met and went on the quest to save her ... Although, that would be a swift way to get rid of all of them!)

As for the rest of them, I think Elnor is safe even though they really have done very little with him in both seasons, simply because he's the only young dude on the show. (Until Jean-Baptiste Crusher turns up at least.)
And Jurati may survive in form of a Agnes/ BQ hybrid. Soji might continue on her goodwill mission for androids offscreen. I don't see Elnor off the show if he's on the same ship as Raffi. Unless she's off the show herself, grief-stricken or making up with her biological son or dead or whatever.

 

[Yistaan]

I don't get it.

The joke is that Borg Queen Agnes will go on a vengeful rampage against Rios, her ex boyfriend, and Teresa for getting together.

 

[eschaton]

I'm sorry but evil Picard would not have built his synth body to be so vulnerable, I don't care what the writers say here. Looking the same age, maybe having a mortal lifespan, etc. but synth Picard should have just shrugged over that car collision. And if the Confed didn't want anyone too powerful etc. honestly they wouldn't have saved evil Picard by putting him in a synth body to begin with.

Eh, I dunno. The Confederation is xenophobic, keeps synths as slaves, and believes humanity is the pinnacle of achievement. I could see simple prejudice stopping him from having anything which would make him different from a baseline human.

 

[Yistaan]

Picard: Tallinn is that you?
Laris: Praetor Shinzon?

 

[Anduinel]

All good points. I was considering the future partly because tere was a butterfly on crates aboard the Stargazer. But that could mean nothing but some form of easter egg, or their "branding" survived into the far future, plus it was the Confederate timeline anyway.

Agreed.

Agree about Briones and Picard. I certainly hope they won't kill him ff, no matter how much of a "conclusion" it woud be. As for Briones, while they might kill off Kore, I don't really see how they would kill off Soji, too.Unless timey wimey stuff in the end would mean she never got created in the first place, but I highly doubt it. (It would also mean our characters never met and went on the quest to save her ... Although, that would be a swift way to get rid of all of them!)

As for the rest of them, I think Elnor is safe even though they really have done very little with him in both seasons, simply because he's the only young dude on the show. (Until Jean-Baptiste Crusher turns up at least.)
And Jurati may survive in form of a Agnes/ BQ hybrid. Soji might continue on her goodwill mission for androids offscreen. I don't see Elnor off the show if he's on the same ship as Raffi. Unless she's off the show herself, grief-stricken or making up with her biological son or whatever.

I lean toward various exits rather than deaths because 1) one of the major complaints about last season was how grimdark the show was, what with the eyeball gouging, casual civvie murder, and pen knives in arteries, and I'm thinking they might steer away from permadeaths for a bit after that and 2) death requires a lot of emotional heavy lifting to undo as opposed to just putting toys back on the shelf for folks to use later. Agnes as the Borg Queen or Rios as an unexpected friendly face out in the wild spaceways may not be right for the plot in S3, but that's not necessarily good enough reason to kill them off when you've got a revived franchise that needs warm bodies down the road.

 

[Yistaan]

I lean toward various exits rather than deaths because 1) one of the major complaints about last season was how grimdark the show was, what with the eyeball gouging, casual civvie murder, and pen knives in arteries, and I'm thinking they might steer away from permadeaths for a bit after that and 2) death requires a lot of emotional heavy lifting to undo as opposed to just putting toys back on the shelf for folks to use later. Agnes as the Borg Queen or Rios as an unexpected friendly face out in the wild spaceways may not be right for the plot in S3, but that's not necessarily good enough reason to kill them off when you've got a revived franchise that needs warm bodies down the road.

I assume S3 is TNG cast and Patrick's last hurrah. If they kill off all the new characters, they have nothing to build on to move Trek forward as far as the 25th century unless it's all Prodigy/LD.

 

[Llywela]

this episode established how much Rios likes 21st century Earth (though we got a hint of that before with how much he really liked peanut butter cookies).

I will just point out that he was exaggerating his reaction to the cookies to entice the kid into swapping them for the comm badge. But he does seem to enjoy real food as opposed to replicator. And his reaction to the real cigar suggests that the cigars he usually smokes are as (probably harmlessly) synthetic as we all surmised.

I don't think any of the new characters should be killed or left behind in the 21st century. It honestly surprises me that the show isn't building them up more as the legacy characters of the future, to take forward into the 25th century. I know the show is designed as a farewell tour for Picard, but you'd think the producers would want to build more in the way of future-proofing into the foundations of it, especially if they are serious about wanting to bulk out the franchise to have some new Star Trek or other airing all the time. They have the basis of a solid team of characters to take forward into future spin-offs and it would seem short-sighted for the show to permanently remove any of them from the table as options for the future. So having said that, it probably will do that now, since it already hasn't bothered to really do much in the way of building them up as the new new generation of characters for fans to take into their hearts.

Lots of really nice character interactions in this episode, solid stuff.

 

[Noname Given]

38 minutes 51 seconds? Come on, Paramount, are you on probation for something and being forced to watch your run times?

To be fair - most syndicated stuff still on cable/over the air broadcast is about 42 minutes (sans commercials) - so if anything is was actually a pretty close runtime to that - but, yeah, for a premium steaming Star trek series where we HAVE had 50 minute episodes, you'd think they could pad it out with some more character moments/something interesting that's still related to their story wthout advancing it farther overall than they want to...

And this one gets a 7 from me. Some interesting stuff to be sure; but honestly a lot of plot 'wheel spinning' IMO. Also, yes, I get Agnes Pill can sing; but an impromptu performance (that even the hired band somehow caught and got into perfectly... I mean if this IS a very high security Government affair, given the current state of said government - NO ONE in Security is batting an eye at this? (again ).

Also, they got Picard himself rerouted to the small clinic pretty easily (again given the supposed security one would think they'd be all over it, the police involved as it WAS a hit and run, etc.) I mean they make a big story point of making sure they do nothing to 'get noticed' by the locals in this time period; yet EVERYTIME that they do, honestly the writers of the episode essentially hand wave it away?

My point: if you set up a important plot point, you need to follow through - not mention it, then handwave it off when it becomes inconvenient to your story.

And IDK - IF you're going to give a character a singing number on screen - wouldn't one of the Broadway cast from 'Hamilton' (IE Isa Briones) be your go to for something like that? (hell...arrange a duet).

Again, not horrible and it did some plot advancement - but it seems to be padding out the season to 10 episodes more than anything else.

 

[DarKush]

I will just point out that he was exaggerating his reaction to the cookies to entice the kid into swapping them for the comm badge. But he does seem to enjoy real food as opposed to replicator. And his reaction to the real cigar suggests that the cigars he usually smokes are as (probably harmlessly) synthetic as we all surmised.

I don't think any of the new characters should be killed or left behind in the 21st century. It honestly surprises me that the show isn't building them up more as the legacy characters of the future, to take forward into the 25th century. I know the show is designed as a farewell tour for Picard, but you'd think the producers would want to build more in the way of future-proofing into the foundations of it, especially if they are serious about wanting to bulk out the franchise to have some new Star Trek or other airing all the time. They have the basis of a solid team of characters to take forward into future spin-offs and it would seem short-sighted for the show to permanently remove any of them from the table as options for the future. So having said that, it probably will do that now, since it already hasn't bothered to really do much in the way of building them up as the new new generation of characters for fans to take into their hearts.

Lots of really nice character interactions in this episode, solid stuff.

I would think, and hope, that they would build on the PIC characters. I have my gripes here and there, but I see greater potential for them this season than last. All the actors are good, and with strong writing, I think many of these characters can stand beside any of the other Trek characters. From my fan fiction writing perspective, I see a lot of interesting hooks with them that haven't been there for a lot of the DISCO characters or even some of the ENT cast (perhaps until it was too late to do much to explore or expand on them, thinking here of poker playing martial artist Hoshi or Section 31 Reed).

As I wrote before I was hoping for a Captain Rios Stargazer series and I still wouldn't mind seeing that, unless Paramount is looking at say a Captain Worf, Geordi, or Beverly Crusher series which I would like to see more.

 

[fireproof78]

(that even the hired band somehow caught and got into perfectly...

First time time traveling?

"Guess you're not ready for that yet. But you're kids are going to love it."

 

[Noname Given]

...Soong begged for funding for his research but happened to make a hefty donation to the Europa mission?

That was probably done by Q (the donation) in Soong's name to GET Soong into the position he needed to be (IE - The Mission Board Of Directors)

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I hope the rest of the cast from "Star Trek: Picard" can move on to have their own series together once JLP retires at the end of Season 3.

I still want to see the adventures of Cristobal Rios, Raffi Musiker, Seven of Nine, Elnor, Agnes Jurati (Liberated former Borg Queen?)

Heck we might even see Seven & Jurati bond over being both former Ex Borg Drones/Queen.

Maybe flesh out the "Fenris Rangers" and the adventures in that area of space.

Maybe move foreward on the relationship between Rios x Jurati.

The Power of Love might be what brings Jurati back from the "Borg Side" and back to being human.

 

[Llywela]

Maybe move foreward on the relationship between Rios x Jurati.
The Power of Love might be what brings Jurati back from the "Borg Side" and back to being human.

I think that one would be a hard sell for Rios. He definitely still cares about her and worries for her, but he also definitely is not in love with her. He was not into that kiss. His interest and enthusiasm is all about Theresa right now.

And honestly, Rios and Jurati are much more fun as bickering exes than they were as tentative lovers.