Another week and another great episode. I was thinking about deducting a point because we didn't get much with Vadic this week, but then the ending happened and confirmed that Vadic is still alive and will play a larger role down the line. If last week gave me DS9 vibes, this week gave me TNG vibes. It was great to see them in the conference room hatching up a plan. It was great to see that plan in action and see a birth of a new alien species. That is what I've missed in Star Trek for a while. The "Seek out New Life" aspect. Hell, I think I would put this right up there with when the Discovery Crew finally made first contact with Species 10-C. There was wonder and awe and intrigue in this episode I haven't felt in a while.
I also loved the character development. Maybe the plot didn't advance much (Even though they left the nebula so that's good) the stuff they did with Shaw was great. Also, I'm not well versed in the novels so I was wondering when did Picard ever find time with the Hirogen.
Actually if I did have one quibble with this episode it's a feeling of confusion on the timeline. Does each season represent a year? If I remember the first season accurately, Picard was pretty secluded on his property. When was the Mars Attack and Picard was still grieving Data's death and we are told it had been 20 years since Nemesis. Basically, I'm asking can someone help me reconcile what we are discovering this season with the events of the Children of Mars short trek and Season 1 because I feel like there might be some retconning going on.
Despite that though, and because this episode gave me a sense of wonder and awe that I haven't felt for a while, I'm giving the episode a 10. I was excited for the escape, I was loving the birth of the new species and I loved the character development. I hope we get more Vadic stuff next week, and I hope Raffi and Worf join up with the Titan pretty soon.