Spoilers So, what do we think of Season 2 now that it's done?

Faults and all, I still prefer Picard (including Season 2) over Strange New Worlds. With PIC, I felt like I had to see it as soon as the episodes dropped. With SNW I'm like, "I'll get to it when I get to it. No rush."

 

I think that's kind of the point. It's meant to be a non-serialized Trek. No cliffhangers, just "watch it whenever".

 

I have to agree with you.

 

Not just "I have to watch it now!" Also "I want to watch it now!"

 

Well, the writing on SNW has been good thus far, just imagine if they translated that competency into 3 story arcs per season (aka, 3 episodes per arc) which would slowly lead to Pike's moment of becoming paraplegic.
In a way... that's the long standing story arc here as we see that pieces are building on one another using that premise.

 

That's harsh, and true.

I also agree with most of the points Jessie Gender makes in the first half of this video (and she's about the most trek-positive person on the planet, in fact, she often goes out of her way to apologize for being critical...):

 

I usually don't mind that except there's nothing drawing me back.

 

But there's something to be said for that... being able to watch at your leisure. Like I do TNG and VOY.

 

I mean, yes and no. On the one hand, of course I will watch things at my leisure but if there is no push then I might never return back to it. At least at this point in my life.

Like I have not returned to TNG despite an initial attempt to rewatch. It's not a good or bad thing, but there are few things that I feel like watching on an ongoing basis anymore. So having a small push towards it is helpful.

 

If only we could swap countries.

 

I was entertained, engaged, and kept coming back for the next episode. I was also disappointed when realizing that there was not a new episode next week to look forward to. That, to me, signals a win for a series. So I am happy with it overall.

That said, the characterization of Picard just falls flat to me. The Picard of TNG was a well-adjusted, happy man who had made the conscious choice to prioritize his career over having a family. He was also a man who was shown to be capable of having meaningful romantic relationships from time to time. Sure, as he got older, he might have felt a few pangs of regret that he never married or had children. But there was no sign of a man who was deeply psychologically scarred and troubled. I don't buy that at all.

I also don't care for how the resolution of that seems to be, "well, you've talked it out, and now you're cured, so you can go home and get married now." It almost feels like Sybok and his "face your pain" crap that was supposed to eliminate a person's troubles in about 5 minutes time. Real psychological trauma doesn't just go away because you confront it for a half hour.

 

I'm always curious about this. Psychological impact and scarring doesn't always present as a deeply troubled individual. Hell, even comics explored Kirk as a scarred individual even though he rarely presented as such in TOS.

One aspect of psychology is that over the years different things take on different levels of importance. Picard's sense of duty and loyalty was first and foremost for much of his career, but he ended up in a very vulnerable position to revisit his past after the Mars attack. Same thing with the Borg. Picard is able to function even with psychological pain.

It's actually what I would expect.

 

I really think a much more realistic take would have been repressed trauma due to the lifetime he lived in "the inner light". He had a family and they all died, that would mess with anyone's head. That would be a much more believable and in tune with the character.

 

Loved the season. Lots of nice Easter eggs throughout. The bus season comes to mind. I love the Voyage Home. My fav Star Trek movie.

The only bit that I didn't like was the Borg storyline. I saw too many villains become good guys reading comics as a kid. Venom comes to mind.

The rest of the storylines were great. Loved that Rios stayed behind even though I really like his character. The Seven and Rafi storyline was also good. Picard's backstory was a little disturbing, but it was well done. And Q was magnificent.

 

6/10

Much better than season one, but the story was way too convoluted. The constant flashbacks to Picard as a boy with his mother was way overdone and I rolled my eyes every time they popped up. The beginning and end of the season was well done, but the middle really dragged the season down for me. And I HATE what they've done to the Borg. I didn't think it was possible for any Trek show to defang the Borg more than Voyager did, but Picard has managed to do worse many times over.

On the plus side, Q and Guinan were great whenever they were on screen and I really liked the relationships between the crew. Wesley popping up as the Traveler was a nice surprise . I always felt Wheaton was unfairly treated by fans and hated Stuart Baird for leaving most of his scenes in Nemesis on the cutting room floor. The last episode was very touching and felt more like a series finale than just the end of a season. Clearly the third and last season will be one final go around with the TNG crew so I'll watch on that basis alone.

 

SNW had a mania of expectation surrounding it before it had even aired an episode, but to me it’s just… alright?

I feel we will be in the minority on this one and if that’s the way, so be it, but I prefer PIC, DSC and LDS to SNW. It’s only been one episode mind, the show has plenty of places to go, but I am with you as things stand.

 

I definitely prefer the first two episodes of Picard s2 over the first two of SNW s1, but I doubt SNW's going to have such a sharp decline in quality.

Personally this is how I'd rank the seasons based on how much I've enjoyed them on average:

1. LDS s2
2. Picard s2
3. Discovery s4
4. Prodigy s1
5. SNW s1

I think what happened here is that the other shows have the huge advantage of already having a few episodes out to establish themselves and give me a chance to build some familiarity and attachment. I like all the characters in SNW, but I know all the characters in Picard. The dialogue in Discovery frustrated me like crazy last year but it's Burnham and Tilly!

 

‪‪I’m with you two, and I’m sure you’re right and we’re part of a small percentage of the fanbase who feel that way. I’ve enjoyed SNW a lot, things about it ‪‪I love, and ‪‪I feel like ‪‪I understand why it’s as well liked as it is, for many reasons.

Which series ‪‪I enjoy most can change for me, going back and forth (usually favoring whichever series I’m watching regularly), and I can see eventually SNW ending up alongside the series ‪‪I love and revisit the most. But so far, based on the first two episodes of SNW, ‪‪it hasn’t supplanted the previous shows of the new era for me.

Really, the variety of the line right now is one of its greatest strengths at the moment. DSC, PIC, LD, PRO and SNW feel different from one another, and that’s an asset that makes the franchise richer by exploring the universe of Star Trek through multiple creative lenses/voices.

 

The difference comes down to this, at least for me: "What's being brought to the table?"

SNW --> Feels like TOS, except I already have TOS. What I wanted there has already been satisfied.
PIC --> Makes up for the TNG Movies. What I wanted here hadn't already been satisfied.
DSC --> In the 32nd Century, it's now fully something that isn't "TOS" or "TNG" but something else.

 

Just finished it this morning.

I enjoyed both seasons so far, and I'm happy to say that despite what others have said, I didn't find that the middle section of the 2nd season was filler. It isn't perfect, and it often fails in the same way most NewTrek does... but on the whole I liked it just about as much as season 1.