So… using Picard’s body to do some borg virus voodoo with the interlinked starfleet ships? I like the museum fleet riding in to save the day, although most would be so outclassed at this point that it would suck to seem them totaled by pot shots. Also museum pieces are usually deactivated well past the point of quick revival, with weapons and critical components removed…
Didn't shatners novel The Return have a similar premise? The Borg/romulans stole his body from Veridian and borgified it or something.
Episode 7 description Crippled, cornered, and out of options, Picard stages a gambit to trap Vadic and reveal her true motive.
Sounds interesting. And I read that the ep is heavy on exposition. So I bet we get a big info dump on Vadic's origins and what happened to the Founders after the Dominion war.
Trekmovie analyzes the clip for the next episode and looks like Vadic’s boss is not who we thought it might be.
Matalas said on twitter that whoever is in episode 7 and the Ready Room this week isn't a crazy surprise and that he doesn't know why they framed it that way. He could be joking or downplaying obviously, but didn't seem like it.
My latest insane theory: I don't think that Jack having Irumodic Syndrome is just for drama with his father. Perhaps the morphogenic virus was based on Irumodic Syndrome (perhaps even with samples using Picard's DNA). These Changelings could have either contracted a mutated form of the virus (the cure was based on the source, Odo) or perhaps they found a way to use the virus to improve their abilities even more but it's gone wrong. I think their plan is to use it to help themselves but also develop a virus to attack the Federation. Better samples are needed for their plan, which is difficult due to the rarity of the disease. They stole Picard's body but discovered a corpse wasn't good enough, but managed to use a database to scan for signs and discovered Jack. In short: I'm not entirely sure why, but I think Irumodic Syndrome is very important to the overall plot.
I agree, this has been referenced quite heavily, and just having it as a plot device works on its own, but it lends to being a bigger part of the overall plot of the season. I am struggling to see how a disorder can somehow be vital to the Changelings plan, unless this is an evolutionary thing and Irumodic syndrome is what manifests itself as the brain is changing, hell perhaps it is a stepping stone to humans becoming non-corporeal and the Changelings want to examine this. This still doesn't explain away who the boss is and what their motives are, until we know who they are it is hard to guess.
I agree that Irumodic Syndrome is important though I also think it might be because the Changelings are hoping to make biological weapon. The syndrome is rare so it makes sense for them to want Jack and Jean-Lucy’s bodies.
The villains' true goal is to grow a clone of their favorite actor Tom Hardy, so they need Picard and Jack's DNA to do it.
It's Star Trek: Picard, not Star Trek: DS9 Redux. The mystery person is from TNG, and the fact that Matalas says it isn't a crazy surprise is probably because it's Brent Spiner (the only cast member who hasn't been on the RR yet).
Everything that has been said indicated the RR interviewee was a guest star, not someone who has been in the show so far. I know they Terry Matalas has indicated it is not a big deal, but if revealing it would reveal the guest star of episode 7 then I just don't see how Brent Spiner can gel with that.
It seems from what Wil Wheaton said it’s more that the identity being revealed would be a spoiler as opposed to some huge surprise so I can see Wheaton and Matalas’s statements gelling. My guess is Jeffrey Combs. Terry Matalas said this week is basically Vadic backstory info dump so maybe there will be flashbacks to during the Dominion war where we can see what she was up to as a Founder, while Weyoun was still alive?
Now that you mention this... given the rarity of the condition, the Changelings might need Picard and his son to create a version of a syndrome which could be spread via infection (say a virus - similar to the Quickening as seen in DS9) but one they could not successfully treat... aka, they enact their plan on Frontier day and infect the Federation by affecting most of their ships. It's possible both the syndrome and the Portal technology are supposed to be used together to deliver/spread the syndrome throughout the Federation. I'm also suspecting they may somehow use the interlinkage between Starships to cripple Starfleet and use it to deliver the syndrome.