Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 2x08 - "Mercy"

[Anduinel]

Pros: So, I didn't enjoy most of this ep, but the character work for Seven, Raffi, and Elnor actually makes me very hopeful for the finale episodes. A lot of the stuff that didn't make a whole lot of sense before - why Raffi is only sweet on Seven at a distance, why Elnor wound up in Starfleet when it seems like such a weird fit, why Seven wanted to get away from Raffi, etc. - clicks now. I do think this is information that should have been presented at the start of the season; like so much of S2, the reveal wasn't worth the build up, and in this case, I think actually made for a worse viewing experience for it. But at least those dots got connected.

DeLancie, Pill, and Spiner knocked it out of the park again. Fantastic performances, no notes.

I liked that the wee bit we got of Elnor this episode was closer to his S1 portrayal, where his candor is at once keenly observant and a blunt instrument instead of just him stating the obvious for laughs. Part of me does wonder if the difference there is Elnor realizing what Raffi needed/wanted and playing up to that a bit, but I guess we'll see.

Cons: So. Rios and the doctor. What the hell was that? And Rios seriously went back to the clinic and didn't collect his badge? Did Santiago tick off the writers or something? Because I'd swear his character wasn't this out of it last season.

The whole FBI plot...nope. Hated it. Felt like more padding in a season that has had more than enough already.

All in all, better than last ep, but the pacing and passage of time still seems wonky. But at least it feels like we've got some momentum again.

 

[Quinton]

She discovers the Protomolecule.

…Fuck, you know, maybe a safe galaxy is a human galaxy…

 

[thribs]

Picard was lying to Wells. We all know he was doing the Vulcan Death Grip on him

 

[starfleettanner]

Picard was lying to Wells. We all know he was doing the Vulcan Death Grip on him

I thought it was Wells that was doing the death grip? Anyways, this was a MUCH better episode than last week, but again, it still has that feeling its a couple scenes being stretched out from a movie for an episode or 2-3 parter arc episode.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Seeing the Bradbury Building again - it reminded me of better science fiction.

 

[gweeps]

Well, Quinn did say the Q had limits... so Q is dying? What about the rest of them? Why can't they help him?

Figures Soong would join up with BQJ.

Nice to see Elnor again, though the flashback was a bit jarringly placed.

Seven has some emotional scenes, although they were to remind us how Raffi is self-involved as we already know she is. She's an addict after all.

Q still gets around, so he must have some powers of suggestion at least. Still would be great to have a scene where he's waiting for an Uber or something. And he's as witty as ever.

How did BQJ find out about Soong again?

Rios continues to be the weakest link of the crew. He's really lost objectivity.

I hope we get to see Wells again. I like him. Good that he's ultimately a good guy, just like Ducane.

While watching the opening credits, I noticed again how indebted the design is to Game of Thrones.

I give this episode an 8. Highest rating in a while.

 

[gweeps]

The American Hemisphere could be relatively untouched while Eurasia and Africa are a hell hole. Could be why the ship could crash in France with no one investigating.

I actually forgot the ship was in France lol.

 

[gweeps]

So, Renée discovers a microbe that she believes to be sentient, and that somehow invalidates Soong's research into genetic engineering?

BQJ could be lying.

 

[Char Kais]

Everything in 2024 so far took place in the span of two days.

During this time Soong got his license revoked, made a donation to NASA to get on the board of the Europa Mission, and now has a private army? And not just any army, all ex SF!

WTF? Where do these mercenaries come from? He just calls a general?
This is absurd. Nobody can take this seriously.

BTW, the mercenaries use Discovery armor vest (budget problems?).

This is what I imagine the plot of one of those CW DC Arrowverse shows looks like.

 

[Kraig]

I would rate the episode a 9, but I have to wait for the poll to open. Wells should have submitted his retirement papers when he made the decision to release Picard and Guinan. It is hard to fire someone who has already signed their retirement papers.

 

[Ghel]

I thought this was a really solid episode.

The bad:
Picard essentially talking his way out of the FBI interrogation. This just felt a little. . . convenient.

The good:
John Delancie's interaction with Guinan. That whole scene was incredibly solid and John Delancie truly chewed the scenery as Q. In spite of being a major cause for the problems throughout this season, I really felt empathy for this eternal being potentially facing the end of his existence. I could just watch him do his thing all day.

Brent Spiner as Soong. He was both scary good and just plain scary. I loved the whole conflict between him and his daughter as well as its resolution. His transition from "loving father" to self-appointed god of creation was so fun to watch.

Alison Pill's performance and the entire Borg Queen subplot are amazing. I love that she is happily willing to destroy the world to get what she wants, and Adam Soong is more than happy to help.

Perhaps this is a trend for this episode, because the "villians" and their plotlines are far more interesting than our heros. Granted, I've always been a sucker for a good antagonist, but Q, Jurati/BQ and Soong were all enjoyably despicable in this episode and also had the vast majority of the agency.

Ultimately, where last week felt like a bit of a stall, I really felt like this whole episode regained its traction and moved forward quite nicely. While one disadvantage of the serialized nature of modern Trek is that you get some episodes (like the prior one) where things don't necessarily feel like they are moving forward, this episode illustrates that one very distinct advantage of the serialization is that it had the time to really focus on the antagonists and their abilities to move the plot forward.

 

[starfleettanner]

Everything in 2024 so far took place in the span of two days.

During this time Soong got his license revoked, made a donation to NASA to get on the board of the Europa Mission, and now has a private army? And not just any army, all ex SF!

WTF? Where do these mercenaries come from? He just calls a general?
This is absurd. Nobody can take this seriously.

BTW, the mercenaries use Discovery armor vest (budget problems?).

This is what I imagine the plot of one of those CW DC Arrowverse shows looks like.

I legit thought the mercs were actually augments that remained behind. So imagine that now we have an augmented Borg group...that's something that's going to be high risk in the last couple episodes now, and the goal, it sounds like, is defending the La Sirena. Makes me wonder if that trailer for S3 is actually teasing us appearances in the last couple episodes for S2 before the finale.

 

[thribs]

This is what I imagine the plot of one of those CW DC Arrowverse shows looks like.

They’re actually better there.

 

[KennyB]

Everything in 2024 so far took place in the span of two days.

WTF? Where do these mercenaries come from? He just calls a general?
This is absurd. Nobody can take this seriously.

Far be it from ME to dispute your expert subject matter knowledge...........but, I have been in and out of......things for 30 years and even today, with enough cash, you can find ex-operators to do just about anything. People used to call them mercenaries.......now we call them contractors.

Why, wait a minute.......What's this?
https://silentprofessionals.org/#all-jobs

 

[Visitor1982]

I quite liked this episode, except for the Rios scenes. The story is moving forward again, which is about time!

Still, this story is a three-parter at best...

 

[Lord Exor]

It's amazing just how much of this season was actually teased in the trailers. Most of the time you're lucky to get clips from the first three episodes.

 

[DaveyNY]

Much more entertaining than last week.
I give this one an 8.

Not quite the penultimate episode, but we're finally getting there.

 

[indianatrekker26]

the only thing that confused me this episode, is that to me, it seems that Juradi/BQ is trying to basically help Soong create the Confederation timeline, that she seems to want to prevent when she shows up in S2 episode 1 The Stargazer. Or i really missed something.

 

[StarMan]

Hmmm. Definitely enjoyed it more than anything since episode 2.

Story threads are starting to coalesce - finally. Like others, I've soured on this season so am not inclined to raise the roof just because there was bona fide plot development. How much of the meandering fluff could be cut between episodes 4 and 7?

They nudged Q's story along. His impending demise not related to The Divergence, I assume? No answers on whether this is particular to him or the whole Continuum. I liked that the episode touched on themes Voyager's Death Wish introduced - infinite life does have it's drawbacks. But, the how of it is a non-trivial point that needs further explanation, given everything we know about the Q.

Rios - why is this woman and her child on board La Sirena? Why does this subplot exist at all?

Seven and Raffi were more tolerable; it was good to see Seven given something to do again. Whatever the *thing* between Raffi and her is has been addressed sporadically and whenever there's some inkling of going somewhere with it, the plot interrupts.

"Humans stuck in the past" - it IS the timecop! Wait ... nope. Still, it held my interest. Guinan, Picard, Mulder and Q were the highlights of this episode. De Lancie had a bit of the old Q spark I remember in his interactions with Guinan.

Yep, better job. I just hope Matalas is helming season 3 from start to finish.

 

[JLBTucker]

I like the power of the Picard speech scene and some nice world building but the actual plot of "borg assimilating a pre warp earth" thing again, I wasn't terribly In love with first contact but this seems like a cheap copy of that