Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x09 - "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

[Kore]

For some reason New Trek isn't nailing their season long storylines. It's really weird, since so many other shows out there can have amazing episodes, with mysteries, and season long archs, but every episode you learn something new or achieve something in that's satisfying. That's been so rare in Picard and DIscovery, where they hang so much on where the end of the season is going. And for some reason it's very hard for stuff to hold up to scrutiny and serious thought on why x or y is happening or has happened.

Smaller is often better, but they always go for the biggest, most overblown end of days endgame to fight against. I hope they limit the scope of their stories next season. These continual galaxy ending plotlines are tough to get behind. I think most people can predict 90% of what's going to happen in part II.

 

[Campe]

Not my favorite episode but it’s obviously building to something. Opinion might change after part 2. I think it’s hard to actually rate this one until you see the whole thing. I’m going to therefore wait to vote until after next week.

 

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

Smaller is often better, but they always go for the biggest, most overblown end of days endgame to fight against. I hope they limit the scope of their stories next season. These continual galaxy ending plotlines are tough to get behind. I think most people can predict 90% of what's going to happen in part II.

I was hoping this show going to be more like Better Call Saul--heavy on character study, with a simmering background plot--than like PIC's frenetic, scatterbrained sister show Discovery. I guess that was unrealistic, since "successful" Star Trek is action-oriented and CBS is selling subscriptions based on this show's drawing factor. I would like a smaller, more intimate story in S2. That sounds good. I doubt I'll get it, though.

 

[thribs]

They better not deploy bloody drones in the next episode. That ruined the Discovery finale.

 

[ThreeEdgedSword]

Hrmph, not sure how to rate this yet. Certainly not my favorite, despite Seven's awesome, but very fanwanky scenes. Awesome, fanwanky entrance scenes do not make for good drama, people.

Too much soap for my taste, like the ridiculous GoldenSoji/ Narek sexy stuff and much of the Jurati stuff. Soapy is not character drama, people.

Wow, they really are going to kill Picard this season. If they make him an android, they sure as hell spelled it out in the intro, didn't they? Only we thought it was metaphorical...

At least they're teasing us with Jurati's sacrificial death. Hope springs eternal.

They spoiled Brent in the credits. Can't do a Sirtis to anyone but Sirtis, right?

And now I'll read up on what you guys thought of it.

 

[Arpy]

Is she actually evil? She's ruthless, yeah , but is she wrong?

Yes. Because she doesn't need the collateral damage of trillions of sentients so that 100 of them may live. Because she wants intergalactic power instead of taking a chance on Picard, before calling them in if need be.

It's not like they misunderstood the message completely. Most of what Oh, Jurati, etc. took away was accurate.

Dubious. But, meh.

That's always a problem with Trek. Do you adhere to dopey precedent, or defy it? Either approach has costs.

Defy. Every series tries to build on the last and they make decisions all the time that are long since forgotten -- lithium crystals.

I bought this based on IRL experience., Sometimes, it's just there. But YMMV.

Not my biggest complaint, but given how unsophisticated some of the politics were, the common lovebirds thing rubbed me the wrong way. He wanted sex and she wanted to forget. It was good, and they woke up and got on with it. Maybe Rios would be looking at Seven next or Soji, and Jurati could clear her mind of Maddox and think about making amends. A great love affair for the ages this need not begin.

Obviously, you don't get it.

A sutra is an aphorism. She literally took the message of a "god" and translated it so people could understand what it meant.

Better. Still, I don't know if Kama Sutra was too far from their minds, the way she sauntered and nearly "used" (kissed/fucked) Narek to her purposes.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I've just started the episode, but referencin ETA Hoffmann's The Sandman in the planet name was a weird choice. Coppelius was not just a maker of automatons, he was secretive and devious, responsible for the madness of the protagonist and the death of his father.

 

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

If the Picardroid talks with Patrick Stewart's voice and gets to captain the Enterprise-F, I'll be one happy quarantined person.

 

[ThreeEdgedSword]

Btw., that last shot, when they show Rizzo Oh on the bridge, then zoom out, was very Babylon 5.

 

[MrPointy]

honestly the way everyone was dressed reminded me of the edo in “justice”. i kept thinking, this isn’t the android planet, it’s the orgy planet.

I had the same thought, and I was hoping to see an android orgy.

 

[MrPointy]

Not a great episode. Part 2 really better nail this fucking ending.

 

[EmoBorg]

I had the same thought, and I was hoping to see an android orgy.

 

[Batai]

What are Sutra's motivations? Power? She was the one who hurt her fellow synths by releasing Narek.

Also Narek can kill an android so easily? This doesn't strike Soong as odd? I thought androids activated and were super strong and super fast when in danger.

Narek didn't do it.

 

[MrPointy]

"One or both?"

 

[SolarisOne]

That's creepy as hell.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Fragmented. Too much exposition. Too many new motivations introduced at the last minute. I found the episode frustrating. The only thing that were are really left with is that we still can't trust the interpretations of the Admonition.

 

[dinzy]

I gave it a 9, but am torn. The whole evil android thing is a little too predictable/ disappointing. I am not sure what is going on with the skin. Why is Sutra and all the others yellow skinned/yellow eyed when Soji/Dahj/Jana/Spot2 were not? And why do all Soong's look the same over centuries and why are 2/3s of them more Lore than Data? Are they clones? /sarcasm.

That said, I like how the big bad is being revealed slowly.

 

[Gonzo]

The reaction to this weeks episode are interesting and a bit of a mixed bag it seems.

The episode is bound to be heavy on the setup to prepare for next weeks finale.

So the whole thing is a self fulfilling prophecy after all.

The Romulans attack the Synths in an attempt to stop the apocalypse.

That forces the Synths to call for help which unsurprisingly triggers the apocalypse.

Its up to Soji to stop the Synths, which is fine but who is going to stop the Romulans, I assume it will be Starfleet or Narek who is cruising towards the possibility of a face turn or unpleasant death.

Its highly likely that for every good android (Data) that is made there is the possibility of creating a bad android (Lore).

Could this intergalactic intelligence already have a spy on the planet, it may already be too late.

Is this intelligence the same one that the Voyager probe encountered, turning it into VGer.

Not surprised to see Brent Spiner playing a Soong, I am also not surprised that advanced androids can perform their version of a mind meld, its just electrical signals after all.

We meet our destiny on the path we take to avoid it.

Will watch it tomorrow.

 

[thribs]

So that evil telepathic Soji is their Saren correct?
Picard didn’t seem to care that much about Hugh’s death. Like it was just a minor inconvenience.

 

[Cyrus]

I am not sure what is going on with the skin. Why is Sutra and all the others yellow skinned/yellow eyed when Soji/Dahj/Jana/Spot2 were not?

I assume their skin color is their choice. These Android don't live on a human planet and are not trying to pass as humans.