Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 3x04 - "No Win Scenario"

[Yistaan]

Did the credits say who voiced Vadic's boss? Otherwise I'm assuming he's what's left of Laas after they cured him from Section 31's disease too late.

 

[Tuskin38]

Did the credits say who voiced Vadic's boss?

Garth Kemp. Just credited as 'The Face'.

 

[JoeZhang]

Well I thought that was most excellent!

 

[Corran Horn]

I like how to make Jack 5 years younger they realized all they could do is put a hat on him.

 

[Noname Given]

This one gets an 8 from me.

LOVED that the whole "5 Years Ago" bit actually REALLY tied into this episode when Picard realizes that Jack DID come to see him, but when he asked:

Jack: "Did you ever hav a real family of your own?"

And Picard's TRIUMPHANT full throated reply was: "Young man..Starfleet is the ONLY family I've ever needed."

BOOM! (and the sheer f**king arrogance too) - Classic "No really, I'm just a humble man with no fanfare needed..." Jean-Luc Picard hypocrisy and totally in character for Jean-Luc Picard (IMO).

I actually liked it quite a bit, BUT:

- Seriously, if Shaw is still as mentally f**ked up as he appears from Wolf 359 after 35 or so years, how in the hell did he pass the psych exam and get promoted to Captain. Loved the scene and it does explain his motivations perfectly, but with that level of psychological baggage he should never have been given the chair... (But yeah, to be fair, Jean-Luc Picard should have probably been relived of 1701-D command after the Borg encounter; NOT because of what he had done at Wolf-359, but because of what he was carrying himself for years that finally surfaced in ST:FC. Oh, and let's not forget TNG S5 The Inner Light, where he lived 70 years in 40 minutes and retained all that (and he must have because the race designed it so the recipient would be able to tell his race about their culture IN DEPTH - yet next week, Picard was back in the Captain's chair like noting happened with a flute in his closet... So, yeah, I guess the Starfleet Medical - Psychological division HASN'T really changed in 35 years <--- So yeah, situation normal and this nit pick is invalid...

- And sorry, but Beverly Crusher realizing what the energy waves had a pattern but WAITING inn the Sick Bay for a pretty long time before telling ANYONE (And no other Engineer on the ship even thought of trying to use these pulses to re-energize the ship...a !@#$ medical doctor does?? - Hello idiot ball.

- Seriously, have Federation hand Phasers gotten so weak they can't vaporize in one shot? Sorry, but the fact 7of9 found the Changeling in the corridor but was unable to kill it then and there?? Hello again idiot-ball.

- Then, I'm sorry but the Changeling (at a time when the ship is maneuvering with limited power and needs its Chief Helmsman on the Bridge, and Riker broadcasts the situation SHIPWIDE on the Intercom) decides it's best to show up at Nacelle Control in the guise of Sidney La Forge?? Both 7 and Shaw should have disintegrated her when she walked in as they BOTH should know she's AT THE HELM! The whole idea that 7 doesn't realize it until she says "Commander Hansen..." - Hello YET again idiot ball.

- And really? Space Squids with HUGE Anime-esque eyes??? Really?

- No Worf or Raffi this episode?
(And yes, I get why; but I want more of those two)

Overall, I also have to say the pacing of this final season is good. No real filler anywhere so far.
(And overall for me PICARD S1 was the worst in that regard - what they did in its first 3 episodes should have been done in 1 or maybe 1 1/2. YMMV of course.)

So, still holding my interest, looking forward to next week.

 

[Magistos]

It's a good thing he didn't ask for command back from Riker after he got extra pain meds.

He just sulked in the bar and his quarters until he was needed.

Yeah, being in a bar and being free with your opinions under the influence is also kind of crappy. I know when I broke my leg there was one manager that I was feeling particularly "F YOU in particular" about thanks to the hydrocodone and my best friend at work kept me away from them.

 

[Dukhat]

Did the credits say who voiced Vadic's boss? Otherwise I'm assuming he's what's left of Laas after they cured him from Section 31's disease too late.

Why would you think it was Laas? It could be any Changeling, if it’s even a Changeling at all.

 

[J. Frank Doobie]

Any people of refined taste to confirm how it compares to other Irish whiskeys?

It compares very well, and I have zero doubt that, should Ireland remain inhabitable in the 25th century, they will continue to make Jameson.

But, the whole stoner culture, marijuana leaf clothing is irritating, and far more so since I live in Washington State.

As someone who chose "J. Frank Doobie" as his nom de board, let me just say: I agree, it's annoying. Did not mind the reference, though. Reefer-ence?

 

[Yistaan]

It's still not clear why the changeling tried to kill Jack or even why he let the Titan get as far as it did if the goal was for Vadic to capture Jack. He could've sabotaged the ship as far back as Earth spacedock.

 

[Jedi Marso]

- Seriously, have Federation hand Phasers gotten so weak they can't vaporize in one shot? Sorry, but the fact 7of9 found the Changeling in the corridor but was unable to kill it then and there?? Hello again idiot-ball.

That's an ongoing gripe I have with nu-Trek. Compared to TOS, the phasers seem completely nerfed. Even TOS Phaser I would completely disintegrate you with a bright, cheery blue glow! And remember wide angle stun? You could take down a whole corridor with one shot.

 

[Captain Jollydark]

I thoroughly detest alcohol, save in making of vanilla. But, the whole stoner culture, marijuana leaf clothing is irritating, and far more so since I live in Washington State. I found alcohol culture, especially beer culture, just as annoying, especially when in college.

I hear you absolutely. I live in Oregon I hate the smell of marijuana and we have retailers for it on every corner (just like Washington). In the summer it's particularly pungent. A whole host of issues opened up when it became legal, including new uses for human trafficking. Still, I feel I can't impose my issues on responsible users of either. (I can however, not be in the same room with them.)

 

[Lt Mo]

That last scene with Jack… if Beverly’s second child is also some sort of extra-special chosen one… just no.

 

[trek.]

That's an ongoing gripe I have with nu-Trek. Compared to TOS, the phasers seem completely nerfed. Even TOS Phaser I would completely disintegrate you with a bright, cheery blue glow! And remember wide angle stun? You could take down a whole corridor with one shot.

lol also I think it was Tuvok on one early VOY ep stunned the entire bridge with a hand phaser

 

[Tuskin38]

I like how to make Jack 5 years younger they realized all they could do is put a hat on him.

They did some digital de aging too, it's obvious if you put them side by side.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Yeah, being in a bar and being free with your opinions under the influence is also kind of crappy. I know when I broke my leg there was one manager that I was feeling particularly "F YOU in particular" about thanks to the hydrocodone and my best friend at work kept me away from them.

That's why you should have friends watch over you to make sure you don't do anything "Too Stupid" while under the influence of pain meds or any other heavy medications or drugs.

 

[Corran Horn]

Great performance by Todd Stashwick in all respects by the way.

 

[IMC Headquarters]

CHANGELING BUCKET LIST:

• Infiltrate USS Titan
• Learn how to operate transporter
• Take transporter chief's place
• Act completely "by-the-book"
• Learn stupid Kal-toh game
• Impersonate Kal-toh game
• Avoid that ex-Borg
• Watch Terminator 2
• Impersonate Odo and hook up with Colonel Kira
• Impersonate a Ferengi and tease Worf, Son of Whoever
• Be a lampshade at a New Year's Eve party
• Become chewing gum that keeps its flavor
• Become an Andorian with three antennae and sue for discrimination when I'm refused employment
• Replace Number One and pee over all of Picard's furniture

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

They've never actually confirmed that Star Wars exists as a thing in Trek's universe although it should if their world is basically our world as much as possible (Eugenics wars aside), but it'd be hilarious if someone outright called Jack a Han Solo wannabe in the show.

Isn't the Star Wars Galaxy located in "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."

We don't know when those events of Star Wars take place, and how far away from our Galaxy the Star Wars Galaxy is.

 

[Orac Zen]

Shaw, like all of Starfleet—especially, senior officers—should know how the Borg work. They should all be familiar with their methods and how unstoppable they were early on. He has to know JLP wasn't responsible for his actions, right? I can totally buy PTSD and I can totally buy survivor's guilt. It would be more believable for me though if there was a line to the effect of, "look I get it wasn't you but when we saw Locutus it was your face and I still see Locutus's face when I look at you and maybe that's not fair but I can't get past it."

Agree with this. PTSD and / or survivor's guilt make perfect sense. Continuing to blame Picard for events over which he had no control whatsoever, decades after the fact, does not. A bit of dialogue along the lines of what you suggested would make more sense of it (IMO, anyway). And yes, people aren't perfect and aren't always rational, but I wonder how someone with Shaw's obvious issues gets to be a starship captain. I don't "hate" () the character or anything ridiculous like that, but I don't find it overly credible either.

I don't think JLP's command style was responsible for what happened in BOBW though. He didn't do anything reckless and at the time there was no indication or any reason to think the Borg would do what they did.

Yes. I find it difficult to believe that everything around the events at Wolf 359 is somehow classified so I'd imagine it was common knowledge what steps Picard and crew took and the notion that he was somehow "reckless" or whatever doesn't hold water. The mileage of others may vary.

And in the rest of Shaw's career from then to now, no ship's counsellor or doctor ever picked up on his OBVIOUS PTSD / issues and treated him, or helped him overcome them and get them under control?

Unless Troi is the only competent counsellor in Starfleet or something equally absurd (like Shaw being an extraordinary actor who fooled everyone), it rather strains credulity that Shaw's issues went unobserved. Which leads to this:

People slip through the cracks.

Yes, they do. But a starship captain? Moreover, the captain of one of Starfleet's better-known vessels? One wonders how someone with that profile could slip through the cracks.


Hopefully I can find time to binge all four episodes before next week. Hell, I'll make time.

 

[Tuskin38]

But a starship captain?

First Contact shows it can happen yes.