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

[ThreeEdgedSword]

To be fair, it's amazing how infrequent this is, considering all the trauma those characters have gone through....holodeck accidents, transporter accidents, weird diseases, possessions, all that.

Really?

I'm more surprised as to how many of our heroes haven't gone to therapy (as far as we know).
On Picard alone:
- (I won't include Picard as he seems to have repressed his trauma that's only now resurfacing, but also the Borgification thing, losing his only family etc)
- Raffi - addiction, losing her family, job etc
- Agnes ( taken over by another person to murder her ex-bf - now experiencing another form of mental takeover/ violation - boy, Trek really likes its mind-raping women trope, remember Troi)
- Soji (learning only as a YA that her whole life has been a lie, she's been an android all along, her new bf tried to kill her, she lot her twin, oh and also she tried to extinguish all organic life in the universe)
- Seven (aside from her whole history of being abducted/ violated/ forced to kill by the Borg, then violently cut off and forced to adapt): lost her adopted son (who also saved her life by risking his own in the past) to her evil gf, killed said gf

... Did I forget anyone?

 

[brandnewfan]

Yep. Same.

But I have to admit I’m struggling to sit through Prodigy.

sToP WaTcHiNg iT !!!!1!!! jk

See, I'm loving Prodigy. And Lower Decks. Those two are the best things about this new era of Trek, for me. Discovery, the worst.

 

[gvn2fly]

I’m apprehensive at the thought of Tallin/Laris-lookalikie going into Picard’s mind to heal his psychological issues. They used this trope to death in 90’s Trek (going into a character’s mind) and I’ve always found it rather cheap storytelling. I still didnt entirely forgive DS9 for grinding the final run of episodes to a halt for the dreadful Sloan episode (“Extreme Measures”). I’ll reserve judgement, but my enthusiasm for the next episode is dampened.

well, the good thing is that Picard’s mind won’t be the entire episode, unlike the bashir turned off in his mind episode or the one with Sloan. The episode should have other plots going on.

 

[Finn]

Really?

I'm more surprised as to how many of our heroes haven't gone to therapy (as far as we know).
On Picard alone:
- (I won't include Picard as he seems to have repressed his trauma that's only now resurfacing, but also the Borgification thing, losing his only family etc)
- Raffi - addiction, losing her family, job etc
- Agnes ( taken over by another person to murder her ex-bf - now experiencing another form of mental takeover/ violation - boy, Trek really likes its mind-raping women trope, remember Troi)
- Soji (learning only as a YA that her whole life has been a lie, she's been an android all along, her new bf tried to kill her, she lot her twin, oh and also she tried to extinguish all organic life in the universe)
- Seven (aside from her whole history of being abducted/ violated/ forced to kill by the Borg, then violently cut off and forced to adapt): lost her adopted son (who also saved her life by risking his own in the past) to her evil gf, killed said gf

... Did I forget anyone?

How many of these instances resulted into someone going into their minds. Surely Dr. Selar could have mind melded with Troi, Riker and Beverly in Violations.

 

[fireproof78]

Not liking an episode and saying so in a place that specifically asks for opinions and scores between 1 and 10 != “being miserable all the time.”

And I apparently lead a joyless existence.

It's a funny old fandom.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Add in Lwaxana Troi in Dark Page.

 

[ananta]

sToP WaTcHiNg iT !!!!1!!! jk

See, I'm loving Prodigy. And Lower Decks. Those two are the best things about this new era of Trek, for me. Discovery, the worst.

I’m really fond of Discovery, but I’m not sure how much of that is the fact I always have sympathy for the underdog. I confess I’m not fussed by the two animated shows, however. I watch them for completion’s sake, but wouldn’t really be bothered if I missed them. I’m happy they exist, though—we’ve never had so much choice when it comes to Trek. It’s cool that each show may not be for everyone when alternatives abound.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

You know, it just struck me. Why was everybody freaking out over the band picking up on Jurati's singing? It was an existing song that had been popular for decades. Why WOULDN'T they be able to follow it?

Also, I'm just gonna hazard a guess that Renée has already had whatever children she's destined to have, otherwise Picard would be endangering his own existence just by talking to her. Unless, as I typically think in situations like this, it's all a predestination paradox.

I do think it's rather refreshing that Rios actually enjoys 21st century life. Makes a nice break from all the guilt tripping.

 

[Tuskin38]

Also, I'm just gonna hazard a guess that Renée has already had whatever children she's destined to have, otherwise Picard would be endangering his own existence just by talking to her.

She's a great-great cousin, not a direct ancestor of Picard.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

She's a great-geat cousin, not a direct ancestor.

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[Romulan_spy]

You know, it just struck me. Why was everybody freaking out over the band picking up on Jurati's singing? It was an existing song that had been popular for decades. Why WOULDN'T they be able to follow it?

Yeah. It is also a common trope and conceit of a character spontaneously singing and the band being able to follow perfectly. I think this is a case of entertainment over realism. It would be more realistic to have Jurati talk to the band, tell them her song and how she wants to sing it, hear them practice for a few minutes and then see the number. But it would be more entertaining and fun to just see Jurati's dramatic reveal and launch into the song.

 

[Nyotarules]

I don’t see him hitting on her.
oh wow. I find his acting fantastic.

As if much older man hitting on decades younger woman never happens, just ask the real life Mrs or Lady Stewart

 

[captainmkb]

Yeah. It is also a common trope and conceit of a character spontaneously singing and the band being able to follow perfectly. I think this is a case of entertainment over realism. It would be more realistic to have Jurati talk to the band, tell them her song and how she wants to sing it, hear them practice for a few minutes and then see the number. But it would be more entertaining and fun to just see Jurati's dramatic reveal and launch into the song.

plus she has a Borg Queen's machine consciousness that is tied directly into the event's computerized agenda. it took her only seconds to tap in and remotely adjust all the lighting.

it's not far fetched to take the additional few seconds to google the lyrics and deliver the chord progressions directly to any particular devices the band was working off of. everybody's networked. she could probably even download lyrics back into her own noggin.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

As if much older man hitting on decades younger woman never happens, just ask the real life Mrs or Lady Stewart

And there are younger folks who simply prefer older partners. That happens, too.

As for PIC... I mean, he's Jean-Luc Picard, the most wonderful and not to mention beautiful man in the Trek universe (sorry but not sorry). I'm almost 39 and I'd marry him right there, and I'm not someone who enjoys the idea of marriage, but I'd make an exception for Jean-Luc. I therefore can't blame anyone who finds him attractive. (Although I will agree that he's not exactly hitting on NotLaris. It's more like him seeing Laris in her, and I suspect this whole thing will get even stronger in the next episode when she goes into his mind and helps him out. Although, regarding Laris herself, I would argue that a) Laris is Romulan and therefore probably much older than Jean-Luc and b) SHE was more like hitting on HIM, Romulans ARE quite direct.)

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Get Brent Spiner back as yet another Soong.

I just had another thought about that.

I used to wonder why Adam would go to all that trouble to genetically create children, when he could have just gotten married and had a daughter like anyone else (as I said, Adam IS rich and smart and not bad looking, he should have no trouble finding a wife). And I also wondered why people keep thinking that all the Soongs are clones, just because Brent played them all.

But what if there is only one Soong?

Think of it. Could be "Requiem for Methuselah" Part II. Maybe Soong is immortal, and he has to make a new identity every few decades? So Adam, Arik, Noonien, and Alton could all literally be the same person. And, IIRC, Flint from TOS could not have children of his own. Maybe Adam has the same problem? If he IS immortal and can't father children, he has to find some other way...

Picard is 80 but it’s ok that he’s hitting on Laris-who-isn’t-Laris who is about 45.

So? Nothing wrong or creepy about that. James Doohan was in his 80's, married to a woman who was like 30, wasn't he? As long as they're both adults, there's no problem.

And even so, we have absolutely no idea how old Tallinn is.

And I didn't get the "hitting on" vibe, either.

 

[cooleddie74]

Actually Picard is 96 in Season 2.

And it doesn't matter. Love is love if two characters are drawn to one another.

 

[Llywela]

I used to wonder why Adam would go to all that trouble to genetically create children, when he could have just gotten married and had a daughter like anyone else

I would imagine he did it for the same reason Noonien Soong created Data and Lore. Because he could. As the culmination of his life's work. To prove his own theories. To push the limits of what is possible. Where's the challenge in having a child the old-fashioned way? He's a geneticist and a eugenicist. He doesn't want just any child, doesn't want to just trust in nature and see how it turns out, the way everyone else does. He wants to tamper. He wants to craft a child to be just the way he wants it, to prove to himself and the world that such a thing is possible. He wants to edit and manipulate and create until he achieves perfection.

Except, of course, that his tampering was always flawed, and child after child ended in failure. I imagine it became an obsession at that point, refusing to accept defeat, refusing to admit that he was tampering with things that should not be tampered with, always determined that next time he'd get it right, next time would make it all worthwhile.

Picard is 80 but it’s ok that he’s hitting on Laris-who-isn’t-Laris who is about 45.

Orla Brady is 61 (I know, right, she looks amazing) and Romulans, like Vulcans, age much more slowly than humans, so Laris is probably older than Picard, in fact.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

And for the record, Jean-Luc isn't 80. He's over 90 because Jean-Luc is over a decade older than Sir Patrick (which is btw also why Sir Patrick PLAYS him as over a decade older than he himself is). I know, I'm a nitpicker.

 

[Kevman7987]

Two things:

1. Picard in no way showed any interest in his ancestor other than helping her to want to go on the space mission. I don't know where anybody got a different idea. Picard wouldn't be interest either, he's mostly interested in women near his age whose husbands he's murdered (Beverly, Marie, Laris).

2. Laris is probably around Picard's age or older as I'd assume Romulans don't even begin to look middle-aged until at least 100 years old. For all we know her interest in Picard might be considered cradle robbing.

 

[jackoverfull]

Yes, he does. It can be done. I've done it before myself. If you've got the right experiences and skill-sets, it's not as difficult as one would think.

sure you’ve “done” it. You (?) played with a brass section that improvised an harmonised melodic counterpoint at whim. You don’t happen to have a recording of that, right? Right?

Right.

apparently, tnis biomechanical android is so similar to people a 21st century doctor can work in it? But,

that was the whole point in season one: these new biological androids totally pass as human.

I was thinking she was a pointless character, but I'm guessing that her plot rationale for existing is in the upcoming episode where she goes into Picard's head and presumably fixes whatever is going on.

yeah, so far she has been very underwhelming. Hope things change.

Triggering endorphins is what BQ needs to control Agnes, and this is pulled out of nowhere.

true. On the other hand it came out of nowhere for Jurati as well, so I guess it’s something we weren’t supposed to anticipate. Although I guess everyone of us was anticipating the Queen having her own agenda.

I’m apprehensive at the thought of Tallin/Laris-lookalikie going into Picard’s mind to heal his psychological issues. They used this trope to death in 90’s Trek (going into a character’s mind) and I’ve always found it rather cheap storytelling.

agreed, the trope is really overused. They also used it last year in discovery (with Adira) and with the Dajh meditation in Picard season 1.