Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 3x05 - "Imposters"

The Intrepid is a 25th century version of the USS Pioneer from the fleet museum from the looks of it.

Also hot damn, Ro back. I did not expect that.

also I seriously think that Jack is potentially a changeling, possibly an evolved one that was swapped out at birth with a real child or something. I dunno. But it's obvious he's not just a human.

Also, I'm expecting the AI defending Daystrom is going to be Moriarty.

 

This is a very small thing, but I was glad to see Michelle wearing a nose very close to the one she had last time we saw her. Most (all?) of the 2400-era Bajorans we've seen lately have these really chunky downward sloping ridges that I personally don't find as aesthetically pleasing.

Like I said, very small.

 

I suspect you may be right about Moriarty because we saw him in the promos.
But why would Starfleet allow Moriarty to become an AI defending Daystrom?
And will he turn out to be a FRIENDLY AI or not. Him genuinely cooperating with Picard and others would be interesting to see (a reformed 'villain' who ends up working with/for Starfleet and the Federation at large).

He may have a 'tiff' with Picard because he essentially trapped Moriarty into a portable holocube with its own internal universe, although in fairness, Moriarty DID compromise and threaten the ship (even though he just wanted to be free), and Picard DID in essence give him what he wanted (within the means he had available at the time).

Plus, SF had no real means of providing Moriarty with the said freedom until the mobile emitter technology was brought back by VOY... in the meantime, they could set up holo emitters in various areas of stations or ships to provide him with greater movement - which would have occured while VOY was still in the DQ (holo emitters weren't too prominent everywhere except certain sections back then).

Since Jupiter station basically had holo emitters virtually everywhere (due to it being a research facility), it stands to reason that Daystrom station would get them too... so he could indeed be the AI defending it.

 

Wow, I hadn't seen Michelle Forbes since S2 of Orphan Black nine years ago(?) She still looks great, but damn them for what they did to Ro!

 

I never trusted Changelings.

I'll never forgive them for the death of my Ro.

 

I wonder if Riker told Troi what happened today in his daily communication with her.

“So you’ll never guess who I ran into today…”



I’m sure it must’ve been a real conundrum deciding whether or not to tell her.

 

And just like that... she was gone (but in fairness, she could have beamed off to the Intrepid at the last moment (which would be nice to learn).

Or he could have been genetically modified by the real Founders in order to track down and eliminate the threat (as for WHY he would have been picked for this task, I have no idea).
Though, your proposal he could be a changeling DID cross my mind too.

Its also possible that because The Great Link has been reformed (at large), it is trying to aid the Federation to get rid of the problem covertly (they can't just do it openly due to infiltrators being changelings themselves). So the next best thing would be to genetically modify Picard's and Crusher's son (again, WHY HIM?), so he can sniff them out and deal with them.

 

Even in season three we can't escape the "classic character returns to die" thing.

 

Don't get me started.
I still detest Pic S1 writers for killing off Icheb (and Hugh - but I'm more ticked off about Icheb).

 

Yup. This episode was great. I really wish they would have done this with Picard from the start. What a waste the first two seasons were. I do wish Ro didn't die though. But she didn't die for nothing so that's something.

 

Greatly enjoyed this episode with the exception of the Raffi scenes. Of all the new Picard characters, why was she the one they had to bring back?

Heck, I think that Laris would be a lot more interesting here than Raffi is. Work having to work with a Romulan would be more interesting.

I couldn't wait for the show to get back to the Titan when they were on screen.

Only other minor quibble is that they name dropped Janeway, but no one from the DS9 crew (obvious exception of Worf here). I'm assuming that Sisko still hasn't returned, but why not communicate with Bashir, O'Brien (another character originally form TNG), Kira, Dax? They proablay have the most experience dealing with shapeshifters.

 

My perspective so far -based on the dialogue about nightmares- is that he had some kind of accident as a small child that a changeling was somehow involved/injured in at the same time, and it merged with him in a desperate attempt at self preservation. Jack was instantly "healed" and has no recollection of the event beyond some initial bad dreams, the changeling got comfortable in its life quietly joined with a solid, and it's only since the evolved "Lesser Link" started reaching out to him that signs of the changeling began to distinctly emerge in Jack's consciousness. Since at least part of them seem to be able to communicate across interstellar distances now, this wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility.

As to what they want with him... No idea. Maybe his changeling side was a fugitive from the Lesser Link in the first place for good reason...

 

The Paramount+ forcing us to wait 24 hours is completely stupid, I can not avoid spoilers on YT or Twitter.

 

I like this take. My twist would be that a change king was a blood or organ donor unbeknownst to Bev. The change king blood is just minding its own business, until recently when Jack / it came into to contact with other changelings - this activating him.

 

Anyone notice how Daystrom Station looked a bit like the Scorpion Fleet Yards from BSG?



There's an Admiral there who looks kinda similar, too




Also, I wonder if Jack is genetically engineered or maybe even designed and made at Daystrom as a way to sniff-out Changelings? Given how he identified and took down 4 of them no problem, maybe he's a living weapon designed by Starfleet during the closing stages of the Dominion War? It would explain why the Changelings would want to get hold of him too.

I'm sure there's a million holes in this theory, but it popped into my head whilst watching.

 

It's logical that Krinn knows a thing or two about Shapeshifters--Kirk Acevedo played one on Fringe!

The Intrepid is the first Starfleet vessel in history to have a reverse gear!

These new Changelings really do keep their shift together through the very end. The Great Link turned Odo into a Solid, so it's not much of a stretch of their abilities.

Ro's backstory seems plausible. The Dominion War left a lot of job openings in Starfleet, too. Ro kept her ear to the ground for a long time, looks like.

Shame we didn't have the holographic 10 Forward play Elvis Costello when Picard requested music. Or did it? I couldn't hear!

I wouldn't want my quarters located near the port nacelle on any vessel in this fleet, if you know what I mean.

So mobile emitters are commonplace enough for offworld crime lords to recognize?

I think Worf will be skipping the prune juice for awhile...

 

Because Picard isn't looking for people with Changeling experience, he's looking for someone high-ranking to help them.

People in some countries are forced to wait an extra day.

 

Is it not self explanatory? Paramount+ forces us to wait 24 hours after the US for no reason. There is no reason in 2023 that it can't be released at the same time or at least a couple of hours later.

 

I had a inkling Ro would be back at some point due to certain hints, but then I got massively spoiled right before I watched the episode! Grr.

But it didn't really spoil it. Great episode with some excellent misdirection before finally giving me the Picard/Ro payoff scene I've been wanting for 30 years. Thanks Terry!

So Ro was Worf's handler, but he also mentions people above her. Hmm...

We got another big Admiral Janeway namedrop. I wonder...

Obviously the stakes are clear now. Changelings have "evolved" somehow, and they could be anyone and we can't possibly detect them.

Maybe an empath might be useful in such a situation?

Does make me laugh a bit how people are praising this season to the high heavens, saying it's a massive improvement on season 1. The story of a child of a TNG regular having a secret identity that is "activated" under duress, being hunted by an old enemy that has also infiltrated Starfleet Command seems a little familiar?