Rewatching Picard...

[Lord Garth]

The swearing. For me, it depends on the situation and the context. Clancy calling Picard's proposed plan "Sheer fucking hubris!" didn't bother me in the slightest because, from her point-of-view, what Picard was telling her sounded both outrageous and arrogant at the same time. Especially coming to Starfleet for help after bad-mouthing them on the news the other day. Later on in the season, when Clancy says, "Shut the fuck up," That sounded gratuitous. Like they were riding off of Clancy's coattails from last time.

Dahj is one of my favorite parts about Season 1. Here she is living her life, before it's turned completely upside-down and she finds out she's something she's not. Same goes for Soji even though it happens to her over an extended period of time.

Picard facing the Romulans in person took real courage. They hated him. He didn't have the Enterprise to protect him. He didn't have Starfleet to protect him. He didn't have anyone to protect him in a sword fight he had no hope of winning. And I like that that's why Elnor finally decided to help Picard, because he truly was a lost cause.

I love that TNG ended with a card game and PIC started with a card game. I like that the TNG Movies ended with the a few notes of Blue Skies and then PIC started with it. Having the Enterprise-D in a dream at the beginning of the series and actually having the Enterprise-D (or the Syraprise, whatever works!) at end of the series, serves as a bookend. But that opening scene to "Remembrance" just works on so many levels, IMO. Right down to Picard saying, "I don't want the game to end."

Icheb's death was extremely graphic. So much so that I always turn away from the screen (or projector, depending on how I'm watching) whenever that moment comes up. It definitely sells why Seven hates Bjayzl so much.

I'm a card-carrying Picard Fan, everyone here knows that, and I make no apologies for it. BUT, that having been said, whenever Maddox was on screen, the re-casting took me right out of it. I understand they couldn't get Brian Brophy back, but too bad they couldn't get an actor who at least looked similar enough.

 

[AntonyF]

1.09 "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1" out of 5

This is the first time since I started where I feel like reviewing is a chore. I'd rather be angry than this. This episode... it's just so pedestrian.

For an episode that has massive orchids, a Borg ship not only arriving but crashing into a planet, a load of synths, another Soong... it's amazing how it feels like so little happened.

The Borg Cube was just a wasted opportunity. And then just Seven and Elnor disappearing again feels like a wasted opportunity. It's almost like the writers are going "We'll park you until we need you."

Everyone else just potters about and not a whole lot happens.

Soong... another Soong turns up. A son we never ever heard of. Admittedly we never heard about Juliana, but another unheard of Soong feels a bit too much. And does that family have no genetic diversity? His great, great grandfather, his father and he all look like the same person. Funny that.

I did think wouldn't it be more interesting if the synths had somehow cloned him, that he's Noonien or something. It could really tip the narrative on its head. That the synths have now become the creators. Wheels within wheels. That he doesn't have autonomy, much like many synths don't. There would have been more to mine storywise here.

The story as it stands is just too much like BSG. It feels like we've heard all this before.

The non-Soji sister lookalike learning mind melds feels silly. In that scenario I would have preferred soe probes or wires or something. If you can 'learn' mind melds it opens up many questions.

Incidentally that montage when she did the mind meld felt like it was an abandoned credit sequence they'd repurposed. The Vitruvian Man... doesn't all this story predate this drawing by a lot?

When a cat was there I thought "If they call it Spot or some variation of that I'll scream..." Oh it's Spot 2. This is exactly the bullshit that just once again feels stupid and breaks you out of it. You don't need to make EVERYTHING TIE INTO EVERYTHING. Stop it. And it doesn't even make sense. We had three spots in TNG alone, and they had no number in between TNG and this time? And where did Spot even come from as a name they'd know or care about?

It ends with... the Romulans are coming! Which makes you wonder why they weren't coming about three or four episodes ago when Rizzo got the planet's location.

The fact that I'm focusing on a cat's name says a lot about this episode. There was nothing very objectionable, it was just rather boring. And that for its highs and lows boring is not a word I'd level at Picard's previous episodes.

 

[Turtletrekker]

As much as the opening should have been two episodes rather than three, the conclusion should have been one episode rather than two.

 

[AntonyF]

1.10 "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2" out of 5

I half came in expecting to give this episode zero moons as they kill Picard, but I can't. Partially as I could see they were telling a thoughtful story but partially my opinion shifted a lot since I last saw it.

There continued to be elements that I didn't think were properly thought though. They clearly had a planned arc for the season, but I feel at times the cogs don't entirely fit together.

Take the Borg cube. It was a feature of much of the season. I said in the last episode how it just crashed and that was that. Seven and Elnor had little to do. Surely... surely it would have been good to left them out for an episode then BHAM instead of a load of space orchids the Borg cube comes in and runs interference on the Romulan's mission. That would feel like a good convergence of stories and just add to the weird dynamics.

Talking of weird dynamics, I was struggling at times to know who I was meant to be rooting for. Ambiguous stories, where it's not always clear of good vs bad is a good thing. But they were making such a good case of making these portal aliens very evil and making the synths fine with wiping out organic life I kept thinking "Wait aren't the Romulans the good guys here?"

Soji I was a bit disappointed with as they built her arc so well over the season then just had her succumb to the synth group think too easily. So then her reversal felt a bit cheap. The Picard speech convincing her was good, and classic Picard the person. I enjoyed that. But the whole conversion then u-turn just never felt fleshed out.

Again they had laid groundwork to potentially help this. The Federation captain that assassinated one of her sisters and another synth. They'd done the setup. Her learning that might have turned her against the Federation and made her damn angry and wanting to summon these beasts. But they never really built up her motivations.

Happy to see Rizzo sent down a Borg lift shift, but what happened to Narek. Am I missing something? What happened to Sutra? Dangling threads...

Commodore Oh must be one of the biggest talkers of drama without delivery. In this she must have said to start or prepare to start or think about preparing to the start the planet cleanse about ten times. I love Planet Cleanse Number Five, like you have a whole programme of them. And you don't confirm what that means. "Oh damn I meant number four!"

The fact that they just stop using that beam and she goes "Oh okay then" is just madness. They have been setting this up that this is a mission that's gone on for millennia. She said this was a lifetime's work. And she sees Soji stop the beam and oh well I guess synths are fine?

She had 200 ships. They should have been aiming themselves at that planet to kamikaze into the city. That would be proportionate for all they had set up.

Anti-climatic is not in it.

Riker didn't feel entirely necessary and you can see he's just in a virtual studio not playing against someone. Frakes' delivery is remarkably lifeless compared to what we saw just a few episodes ago.

The synths also seemed to be forgotten about quickly too. Considering they were the main thrust of the narrative of the season, you barely saws them in this episode and their fate is left dangling.

Now the big elephant in the room. Picard is dead. I didn't like it the first time, and them copying his thoughts to a robot. I still don't. It's not Picard. It's an entity loaded with his memories but the Picard we have seen for all these years is dead. Gone. Finito. That spark of life is gone, and the device in his place in my mind is not him.

What the big surprise for me this time was "I'm okay with him dying". I quite like this crew he's built around him. Even Raffi who rubs me up the wrong way sometimes but has some redeeming qualities. And I thought wouldn't it have been brave to kill him and leave him dead. Then Picard season two is this rag tag group of people who carry on doing good deeds in his honour. That Picard became a concept rather than a person. That would have been a bold move, and I think I'd kind of like that.

Instead, we have this imposter.

I loved the scenes with Data, they were quite touching and nicely done. I don't entirely get why Data wanted to die. Or indeed that the of the season had in anyway built to that either. It'd have been nice to see Data and Picard go together.

Data almost makes the case for it. "Mortality gives meaning to human life, Captain. Peace, love, friendship. These are precious because we know they cannot endure. A butterfly that lives forever... is really not a butterfly at all."

And while they dance around that a bit with "Oh we've programmed you to get old and die, robot Picard" it kind of misses the point. They cheated mortality with this antics. The butterfly might not live forever but it's going to live on longer than it should have and in a robot butterfly.

Overall this was a good episode. It had nice touches. I just feel they could have coordinated the pieces a bit better at times. And robot Picard is not Picard...

---------

Thank you to those that have given comments and likes for this journey. It has been nice to write my thoughts out after too as it makes me stop and look at the episode even if my analysis is never meant to be forensic more gut feelings.

I think I appreciated quite a bit about this season. It's not perfect, but I didn't hate it either. Season two I may be less kind, but that's for my season two review. If I'm going in liking the components a bit more than I did last time thanks to rewatching season one then maybe, just maybe it'll go a bit better...

 

[DonIago]

S1 is my favorite of the three. Looking forward to reading your thoughts on the other 2/3 though...well, maybe. We'll see!

 

[Turtletrekker]

Re: The Picard Golem -- It's Picard. This is hardly the first time we've seen consciousness transference in Star Trek. Data's Grandpa did it, and Alton has probably studied his work. More to the point, all the characters in-universe accept him as being the same man. Q accepted him as the same man. Starfleet even gave him his rank back. This argument reminds me of the old "transporters kill you and create a new person on the other end" argument. If we can accept people being reduced to atoms, essentially disintegrated, and being put back together at the other end, then why can't it be accepted that a consciousness can be transferred into a new body, especially as the golem was more synthetic than robotic?

And then there's the time in "Lonely Among Us" when Picard was beamed into a nebula as energy only and they had to reconstitute his energy with the pattern left in the transporter pattern buffer. When Picard returned, he had no memory of joining with the energy creature. Does that mean that the original Picard died and the Picard that they reconstructed through the pattern buffer is a new creation?

Did the original Picard die then and this "Lonely Among Us" Picard is what died in Picard season 1? Rather than go down all of these rabbit holes, I just accept the pseudoscience and the fact that this is still Jean-Luc Picard. YMMV, of course.

Frakes was actually performing on the redressed bridge of Discovery as he filmed his bit while he was there directing an episode.

There was a deleted scene showing Narek being taken into custody. And wasn't Sutra deactivated by Soong?

 

[AntonyF]

I think the what is life and what isn't life is something the world's greatest philosophers have pondered so I am unlikely to crack it in on the Trek BBS. I think this story with Picard you either buy into or you don't... and I don't.

People buying into the delusion on the show doesn't validate it for me. And in some ways it undermines it and reinforces the point: "Why bother?"

If you're going to act exactly like you were, with no consequences, no reflection, no drawback... what was the point? If this led to some long term reflection and changes then it could have something, but I don't recall that it does (I may be wrong, I only saw part of season two and that was years ago.) But right now it's not apparant.

Funny you should mention the "transports kill you" theory as from a quite early age I considered that with transporters - is what is the other end a copy and that spark of life, those electrons and neurons that were that person are now more. I can't dwell on that much as I'd never watch Trek, but it always lurks in the back of my mind. And Second Chances drove these concerns into overdrive for me.

But I can also justify to myself that it is the same bits and bobs that are just reconstituted (Thomas Riker aside). It's moved those particles elsewhere.

With this, I can't. They said "Before your brain functions ceased, Doctors Soong and Jurati, with help from Soji, Were able to scan, map and transfer a complete neural image of your brain substrates."

The first part there - the brain functions ceased. So that brain, that contained Picard, ceased and with it Picard. Then they transferred a complete "neural image" - well that's a copy if ever I heard one. So for me this Robo Picard is a copy of him.

Frakes was actually performing on the redressed bridge of Discovery as he filmed his bit while he was there directing an episode.

Thanks. That may add to the disjointed feeling - he was there for a different job.

There was a deleted scene showing Narek being taken into custody. And wasn't Sutra deactivated by Soong?

Ahh that answers about Narek. It's a shame. I didn't love his character but when you spend a season with them such a loose thread feels weird.

As to Sutra he did turn her off, but I thought that was a temporary thing. If she remains turned off I guess a human murdering a synth again should have maybe stirred up some issues but they forgot the synths quite quickly in part two. Also do the synths have no justice system? Again the show makes the synths not look very likeable or trustworthy.

 

[Lord Garth]

I'm not going to get into the whole Picard thing. As you say, you either buy into or you don't. I do, but it feels like the episode was trying to have it both ways. First with the emotional Picard Death Scene, which in isolation is very powerful... and then he's resurrected/transferred/copied whatever you want to call it. Overall though, I don't have a problem with Patrick Stewart continuing to be in the series.

What I do have a problem with, and this has bugged me for years, is that Data's essentially asking Picard to help him to commit suicide by going into non-existence. I'm not a fan of that.

The rest of the end of the season, I don't have a problem with. Especially Picard saving the day by reasoning with Soji. That's the way to adapt the TNG style into something more action-packed.

Riker's Xerox fleet is hilarious. It's ridiculous but it's a fun, stupid kind of ridiculous. What they really should've done if they ran out of budget to create a new fleet should've been to just upscale and repurpose some old DS9 footage. Something, anything to make Riker's fleet look more varied.

 

[Hellbird]

I'm not going to get into the whole Picard thing. As you say, you either buy into or you don't. I do, but it feels like the episode was trying to have it both ways. First with the emotional Picard Death Scene, which in isolation is very powerful... and then he's resurrected/transferred/copied whatever you want to call it. Overall though, I don't have a problem with Patrick Stewart continuing to be in the series.

What I do have a problem with, and this has bugged me for years, is that Data's essentially asking Picard to help him to commit suicide by going into non-existence. I'm not a fan of that.

The rest of the end of the season, I don't have a problem with. Especially Picard saving the day by reasoning with Soji. That's the way to adapt the TNG style into something more action-packed.

Riker's Xerox fleet is hilarious. It's ridiculous but it's a fun, stupid kind of ridiculous. What they really should've done if they ran out of budget to create a new fleet should've been to just upscale and repurpose some old DS9 footage. Something, anything to make Riker's fleet look more varied.

Same, I cannot understand the rationale behind it.

It's given a little bit of internal justification later on, but by itself, it is very strange.

 

[Set Harth]

I think the what is life and what isn't life is something the world's greatest philosophers have pondered so I am unlikely to crack it in on the Trek BBS. I think this story with Picard you either buy into or you don't... and I don't.

Just like the Alien show.

 

[AntonyF]

2.01 "The Star Gazer" out of 5

And I've gone straight into season two! I remember first time round I really enjoyed this opening episode. After feeling that season one was lacklustre, I recall it feeling more like Star Trek. And for the most part that holds up. It's not perfect, but it's very good hence the five moons.

As opening scenes go, it's a really good one to draw you in. Then we're back with Laris, who's now a widower it seems and there's a sudden love spark between her and Picard. Seems a bit out of nowhere, but I love Laris so can enjoy scenes with her. "Cheers big ears" is silly in the best possible way, very British and I love it. Of course she has to mention some earl grey again, as we didn't get enough of that last year. He loves earl grey got it?

We're then into flashback territory. Is that Picard's mother? Is she suddenly now British? I guess more will be revealed.

It's funny how I enjoyed it being more 'Star Trek' the first time around, but this time I noticed Raffi is back in Starfleet, Rio is back in Starfleet, Elnor going into the Academy. It's a shame after setting them up as independent that they rammed them all into uniforms to join the great homogeneity of Starfleet.

And isn't this funny? First time around I loved that they were all getting put back into the Starfleet sausage machine... this time, after really trying to like season one on its own merits, I've kind of bought into them as a different kid of crew - one that shows a different vision of the future but one mostly still positive.

Poor writers can't keep every fan happy - and in cases like this, one fan is having different opinions years apart so how do you satisfy that dichotomy?!

I still hate the cigar, it seems even more silly on a Starfleet ship.

We get ta bit of Soji, but not much. I continue to be sad to see her sidelined but again I guess I'll have to see if she gets more to do later. It's hard to see how the synth story fits.

Do we need the actual Stargazer? We had Picard's ship as the Stargazer, and now a new Stargazer, and the symbology of star gazing... again it comes back to the joiny-joiny I keep saying they do too much at times. Then if you don't get that Stargazer is on one of the panels. And oh look the Excelsior! And mention Sulu, and the Kobiashi Maru, and Spock. TOO MUCH.

Which leads me to Ten Forward. What are the chances there's a road called Forward, and Guinan got hold of number ten. Seriously? It's TOO MUCH.

But is wonderful to see Guinan again. She say some bullshit about aging herself to make people feel comfortable, but it was completely needless as Whoopi looks like she's barely aged a day. Also there's no established logic that El Aurians age in any particular pattern like humans.

The central mystery with the portal is one that's interesting and I really noticed the sound design on this one - it sounds great around the portal and the attack scenes. The music was also really good at points, like when Picard sees the picture of himself.

I like the weird Borg queen. I think I have heard who she is at some point, but never actually saw those episodes so all that's to come for me as to the 'why'.

I love the pop of "Non, je ne regrette rien" and in Picard I do like the use of music now and again - that and Blue Skies for example.

Then of course... Q! We all knew he was coming as they trailed it heavily before the show aired. I remember thinking "I hope they show him as he was, then he adjusts to 'match' Picard's age". And I got my wish! The execution may not have quite met the ambition, but it's a great moment and it just makes sense. They didn't need to do it with Guinan, but it worked with Q.

"The trial never ends"... Q is well placed for timeline/alternate universe shenanigans.

What amazes me still is how did I go from enthusiasm here to dumping this show in three or four episodes time? And will I have such a catastrophic drop in my opinion this time? We shall see...

 

[DonIago]

I know what caused my catastrophic drop in opinion. It's not in the first few episodes.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

I do kind of like the freaky nonsense aging of El-Aurians. It raises questions but it adds to their alien-ness which is good for the indistinguishable from human races.

 

[Lord Garth]

The first two episodes are solid, with some exceptions. The second one is especially fun. My opinion of the next eight episodes is mixed. The ideas are there, but the execution is more hairy and very case-by-case.

The exceptions are Captain Rios and his cigar. He really does look like he belongs in the 21st Century instead of the 25th. And Zhaban's off-screen death. He seemed perfectly healthy in Season 1. Then poof!

I love the season starting off by throwing you right into it, before going back to show all the setup.

I would've loved if Season 2 spent more time in the Confederation Timeline.

 

[AntonyF]

And Zhaban's off-screen death. He seemed perfectly healthy in Season 1. Then poof!

I didn't even realise they were a couple until they said he'd died. I did wonder if his exclusion was the actor not being available or they just wanted this Picard romance contrivance.

 

[Lord Garth]

I did wonder if his exclusion was the actor not being available or they just wanted this Picard romance contrivance.

According to Wikipedia, Season 2 was shot from February to September 2021. Having 75% of it set in Present Day had to have cut way down on the post-production time.

In terms of projects that were released from 2021-2022, according to IMDB, Jamie McShane (the actor who played Zhaban) was involved with several episodes of the series SEAL Team, Animal Kingdom, CSI: Vegas, and The Lincoln Lawyer. Plus, a short film called Unspoken and a film with only a 3.8 IMDB score called Immanence.

So, it looks to me like Jamie McShane was most likely unavailable. Then they probably took advantage of that and thought, "We can make Picard and Laris a pair!"

 

[AntonyF]

2.02 "Penance" out of 5

Q: How Yesterday's Enterprise of you". Hmm. I guess he did say "your trek through the stars in All Good Things..." but this is pushing it. Picard shouting "I'm too old for your bullshit!" is the first time the language felt like it landed for me, but maybe that's again as it feels like a mildish word that Brits would use even with friends.

I think first time around I was pushing back against the dark timeline... mostly as I was not happy with Picard and felt it was going too dark. This time I feel more ambivalent about it. I can see it as a mirror universe episode and I guess it is contrast to what they have now, i.e. they're meant to be better than this. Despite Starfleet not being shown in the best light in season one.

"In your history humanity found a way to spare the planet they were in the process of murdering" - social commentary klaxon!

The scene with the skulls was the subtlety that kind of was driving me away from the show. Dukat - you know Dukat. Martok - you know Martok! Sarek - you know Sarek! And Sarek was killed in front his his son - that's Spock innit!? And Borg. And Ferengi!

He drinks COFFEE. COFFEE? It's not Earl Grey tea? Got that? Can you see how MAD this timeline is? You even change your tastes if you're evil.

Stewart hams up the evil Picard rather well though, I have to say. A certain energy in him that he lacked in season one. Not saying he should be evil all the time, but I liked it.

President Seven is cool and then there's Elnor he's mixed up with a girl who lasts all of a seconds. "They can call us terrorists or insurgents" - social commentary klaxon! Why Raffi is also there who knows, but I guess you can write off anything as Q's interference.

Great to see Jurati again. I suspect with any other actress I'd find her aggravating, but I continue to like Jurati. Even with Spot 73... because... Data's cat was Spot and somehow this is a Spot and... I don't think even the writers know at this point.

The Borg Queen. Wowza. Alice Kridge is iconic as it's her role, but she played it very sexy. Susanna Thompson gave it a fair stab but I can't say is memorable. But Annie Wersching (who I sadly see has now died at such a young age) is something else. A look, a single word... I feel there's so much going on there. A brilliant portrayal.

There's a lot of jiggery pokery around timelines, and detecting shifts and other technobabble.. but that's in Trek's DNA so I'll never begrudge Picard that. I just want to wave "Yeah whatever just get o with it." Much of the tension is around trying to get transporter locks.

This may sound like I hate it but I didn't really. I think as I'm more invested in the cast this time around, it allows me to moderate where the story is taking them. Having Q back is good and it makes sense. The alternate timeline is reasonably interesting. And the Borg Queen is a delight.

But it is a bit of a transition episode until they go back in time....

Edit: oh I forgot Raffi when she hears Seven is President: "Oh, she's gonna wear that gracefully." That made me laugh. I can appreciate both Raffi and the humour at times. I guess I like it when it's dryer.

 

[Set Harth]

Q: How Yesterday's Enterprise of you". Hmm. I guess he did say "your trek through the stars in All Good Things..." but this is pushing it.

"And you people, you're all astronauts, on some kind of star trek." - Cochrane

 

[Hellbird]

At this point, I was looking forward to the rest of Season 2.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The Q Continuum sees incidents in people's lives as episodes of TV shows. Their name for that incident is the same as TNG's.