Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x02 - "Maps and Legends"

Picard always has the last laugh.

 

Following his broadcast interview, I suspect there was a pop-up conspiracy to humiliate Picard should he ever set foot in Starfleet HQ again:
*project holographic representation of Discoprise above his head to make him think he's going senile with lack of recognition
*project holographic representation of Enterprise-D above his head. You know, the one that crashed because he wasn't on it
*instruct reception staff to pretend not to recognize him
*give him a VISITOR badge to wear over his civvies
*not provide tea and sympathy when he meets with the Admiral
*have him leave by escalator so he has more time to play over the verbal whipping in his head

 

And she acts like a Romulan. So I think I can be forgiven for being "mistaken" earlier.

 

Yeah, I don't think Nechayev was as evil as people make her out to be. We just don't agree with her since we're on Picard and the Enterprise's side all the time since they're our heroes.

 

You're probably right that on paper it should be hard for a Federation member to leave. But because of how drastically different it is for neighboring states to secede vs a planet light years away to leave, in pratical terms, it could be easy for a planet to cut off ties to the Federation.

 

I used to find Nechayev insanely attractive.

 

Very true.

 

"Zhat Vash"! Does nobody check anymore to see if the are reusing names?

 

Spoiler: Ep 3

I don't know. The way he's talking to her really makes me think he's the director.

 

''Lieutenant Rizzo' calls her an ally in a later scene, not a boss or superior, just 'ally'.

 

Nechayev seemed to me to be one of the most realistic characters on the show.

Her actions affected millions if not billions of lives. She took that seriously. Her decisions—agree or disagree with them—were a result of her consideration for what would be best for Starfleet, the Federation, and every person affected by her decision.

She recognized there were two separate things to consider in each situation: the process and the results. Sometimes, you can not have the process you want while getting the results you desire. So, should she stick to a scrupulously moral, aboveboard process, even if it will likely lead to disastrous results? Or should she focus on getting a good outcome, even if to get that good outcome, she has to use amoral or immoral means?

Those are hard decisions and hard questions. I wouldn’t want to have to make them. You constantly have to balance the process with the results. *Is* one human life worth it in order to destroy a threat that has killed billions in the past and will undoubtedly kill billions in the future?

Nobody should have to answer that question, but in reality, someone does. And it’s Nechayev, and she actually seems to grapple with the questions in order to give them thoughtful answers. Is directly killing one person ok? No, of course not. But is indirectly killing billions because of your own refusal to act a good thing either? No.

And Nechayev seems to weigh all the factors and make a decision. And while she certainly wants to “look good” (who doesn’t?) she doesn’t make decisions based on her own self-aggrandizement, as we have seen other admirals in the Trek world do, but rather her perception of what is best for everyone.

All of our best, most revered leaders throughout history have had to make morally questionable decisions. Is it ok to send a battalion to do a feint attack, one that is tantamount to a suicide mission, in order to draw the enemy away and leave you to strike in strength elsewhere? What if it wins you the war and ends the fighting—does that make up for sending 1000 people directly to their death? Is it ok to covertly kill a member of the royal family if not doing so will lead to a civil war? What if that person is an innocent child? Then again, how many innocent men, women, and children would be killed in a war?

There’s not one right answer to these questions.

Nechayev was hard without being heartless, ruthless without ever losing her morality. Of course, as a superior officer, she often didn’t show any of the agony of her thought process (and nor should she) but here and there, over her appearances in TNG and DS9, there were hints that she struggled with her decisions and questioned herself.

Far from being a “bad” Admiral, Nechayev was one of the best.

 

Spoiler: E3

Just the only thing about that that wouldn't make sense is that he's been trying to protect his borg (the actor said so), so why would he allow others to be experimented on? Unless he has a deal with the Romulans for protection??

 

So the actor who plays Admiral Clancy, Ann Magnuson, used to sing in a faux heavy metal band named "Vulcan Death Grip"

At least according to Memory-Alpha

There's nothing wrong with reusing names, accidental or otherwise.

 

Between that and her smacking Zhaban and calling him "idiot" when he suggested they acompany Picard, could Orla be any more her Irish self?

 

Completely agree. And in her last two episodes, Journey's End and Preemptive Strike, she's much more emotionally accessible to Picard (due to his efforts to reach out to her) and we see how the weight of her command decisions weigh upon her mind.

I think she's a great character and definitely not in the same league as the corrupt/incompetent admirals like Admiral Kennelly (sp?) from "Ensign Ro."

 

Well, Kennelly was more a sucker, led on a leash by the Cardassians. He had no obvious traits of desire for personal power or wealth, or a personal agenda, or strange political views, or general offensive manners. He just happened to think that it was the right thing to do to hit terrorists hard instead of playing fair with them.

Corrupt Admirals? Difficult to find in Trek where there's little to bribe them with. Dougherty turned down an envelope full of eternal youth!

Timo Saloniemi

 

Spoiler

But was the experimentation really what was happening? Or was that a supposition? I just went back and watched the scene with the "experimentation." The only thing they were doing was removing the Borg parts of "the nameless." Based upon what's happening in that scene, based on Hugh's appearance here, based on why Soji is involved in this project, it seems to me that the more public task is to save the former drones one by one. What the Romulans are doing behind the scenes (because you know they are doing something) is much different. Not to add to that, the fact that they identified the director in a mysterious form as just "the director" suggests that its someone we know. It makes sense its Hugh, not only from that perspective but also from that of him being a former drone who obviously went through the same procedures himself, it absolutely makes sense that he would have a vested interest in their survival and their reacclimation into society. Even if it means making a deal with the Romulans. Does he know all that's going on on the Cube? Probably not, which is why we see him in promos helping Picard and Soji off the Cube. I do wonder if he won't make it out there with them as well.

 

Cutting deals with foreign governments to do their dirty work for them is the definition of corruption. It doesn't have to have anything to do with being personally enriched. Yes, he was a sucker, too, but his motives were also immoral - he was going to hand over terrorists to be killed by Cardassians.

 

I gave it an 8. I liked it but didn't love it. It was VERY exposition-heavy, and the CSI scene was pretty silly. I love seeing advanced sci-fi tech, but that came off more like magic.

I got a strong Dr. Who vibe off of the scene depicting the synth uprising, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I dug it.

I love Picard's Romulan friends, especially the woman. And I loved everything dealing with the Borg cube. Name-checking Worf and Geordie was cool, too.

It was enjoyable overall, but clunky. It definitely felt more like setting up the story rather than the story itself.