Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x10 - "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

[urbandefault]

Data's appearance in this was a little jarring, but now I realize that maybe it was intentional.

On TNG and in the movies, Data looked like an actor in makeup with contact lenses. That's what we're used to.

Data's look on Picard is more artificial, and the more I think about it, maybe more believable.

So if I'm wrong and they just f'd it up, I'd rather not think about it.

 

[El Maestro]

Data's appearance in this was a little jarring, but now I realize that maybe it was intentional.

On TNG and in the movies, Data looked like an actor in makeup with contact lenses. That's what we're used to.

Data's look on Picard is more artificial, and the more I think about it, maybe more believable.

So if I'm wrong and they just f'd it up, I'd rather not think about it.

it just killed me that they couldn’t get him an FC uniform that fit properly.

 

[Tuskin38]

Huh Bernd over at EAS gave this episode an 8/10, I honestly expected him to rate it a lot lower based on other reviews.

 

[DEWLine]

There's this bit of Seven/Annika's dialogue towards the end that echoes: "...in this instance, never again kill somebody just because it's what they deserve. Just because it feels wrong for them to still be alive. "

Why am I hearing echoes of Simon Templar there?

Yes, the Saint, not any of the Punishers. Castle, Michaels, Cole-Alves...

 

[Turtletrekker]

The episode where the guy realizes transferring his mind into a machine only made him an ueber-dick? That ship sank, bruh.

He was always an uber-dick. The mind transfer just made him a super-strong uber-dick.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

He was always an uber-dick. The mind transfer just made him a super-strong uber-dick.

IIANM, he could at least control himself.

 

[Firebird]

it just killed me that they couldn’t get him an FC uniform that fit properly.

Going back to the first episode’s dream sequence, the uniform seemed to fit much better. Overall, Brent looked more convincing as Data in ep 101 than in the finale. Yet another stylistic thing that frustrates the hell out of me.

 

[Danny99]

The finale felt rushed to pack in story elements that should've been spread out through the remainder of the season. All of the Narek backstory we got in this episode about him and the story of demons would've made his actions understandable and less of a cardboard villain.

Narissa, on the other hand, has been a lost cause of a character. The only scene I'd keep of hers would have been the Zhat Vash initiation scene because she actually acted like she had some depth. Putting lines in her mouth like asking Narek if he's fucked any of the Synths only continues to make her a cardboard villain. All of her lines in her final duel with Seven could've been dropped into any 80's action movie. She is just evil to be evil.

Who decided Narek should be the one to try and convince Soji to shut down the beacon? If anything, it would only push her to do it more to spite him.

Speaking of Soji, the Synths and their beacon, they are a remarkably naive people. They literally get the download from Juratti and suddenly Sutra is willing to exterminate all organic life. Yes, she was probably sore at the synth ban, but it would still be a leap from that to genocide. The Synths are more than willing to just take her word for everything. Soji was an awesome character with a lot of conflicting emotions, but as soon as she landed here, she just fell under Sutra's spell as well.

Sutra was another waste of a character. They lined her up to be the big villain on the synth planet and Soong literally has a doohickey to shut her off at the drop of a hat. Just like Narek and Narissa, she was brought in to get us from point A to point B and was a half baked cardboard villain. I would've preferred to see Soji return home and with her internal conflict of her new found synth-ism and remembering Narek using her to wipe out her people, she could be integral to either pushing for or fighting against constructing the beacon.

The Soong son storyline, like I said during Part One, was just a re-hash of The Augment storyline. Was he just inserted into the storyline to have the golem to transfer Picard into or was it a stipulation of Brent Spiner's to get him back in all the Data makeup or did the writers actually think this was a good idea?

The Romulans come all the way to this planet, having this myth for centuries and as soon as the beacon is deactivated, they just slink off because Riker quotes a treaty? They literally think these people are going to release demons upon the universe and there is nothing from stopping them from doing it again. They have the knowledge, the ability. And the Romulans are just going to let them live and keep that?

Tamlyn Tomita has been a strong character actor for years, but she lacked the command presence for her role in this episode and overall.

Why did Picard's brain abnormality suddenly come to a head? He's fine one moment and suddenly he's dying. It felt that the writers felt they had to wrap up every loose end in this season. This is something that could've waited for future years and be something that is always hanging over his head. Transferring him into an android body is fine, it just seemed very lucky for him that he happened to die on a planet with a functioning android ready to receive his consciousness. The episode didn't need that extra drama on the end.

The Data stuff was effectively trying to re-write his death because it was panned in Nemesis. If Data is saved in this complete form, why wasn't he downloaded into an android body? Why couldn't they take those three memory keys and download him? The makeup and costume on Spiner also looked sloppy.

This was still a decent episode and the season was good as a whole. It just slid on the back half of the season. If Narek and Narissa had their backstory introduced earlier in the season, they would've been more effectively villains. Narissa should've been written more like an actual person with conviction in her mission instead of the Romulan version of an 80's action villain.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Every time they downloaded Data into a new body, he would kill himself.

The copy of Data, on file that Picard talked to, was Picard's parent.

They made a Data Clone like all the other synths were made, imprinted Picards memories over the top, and then beamed that personality into a shitty golum body.

Picard is Data, and the son of Data, and Data who we saw was a holy ghost, who was part of the birthing process for golum Picard, and you can't make a new synth without using a copy of Data to help.

 

[Longinus]

Are we even the same people we were a decade ago? All the cells in our bodies are replaced over that time frame.

This is one of those things people often say and many believe it to be true, but it isn't. Your brain cells mostly remain the same throughout your life. And certainly it is the brain cells that are relevant in this context, not the other cells in your body.

 

[Spock Must Diet!]

This is one of those things people often say and many believe it to be true, but it isn't. Your brain cells mostly remain the same throughout your life. And certainly it is the brain cells that are relevant in this context, not the other cells in your body.

Please. I'm a MAN. I don't lead with my brain.

 

[Longinus]

I have been pretty impressed by this show unit the two last episodes. There were some blemishes, but I felt that the story was skilfully told and there were poignant scenes and strong themes. The first part of the finale felt a bit wobbly, and the second continues the same. Still, the story was still concluded pretty satisfactorily, albeit based on the previous episodes I was expecting more. But had it not been the last ten minutes, this would have been a pretty damn amazing season of Sta Trek. But damn, those last ten minutes? I saw it coming, but I didn't want to believe that they would do this. I believed that Chabon would have more sense and certainly would not ruin the pathos and dramatic underpinnings of the show, that Patrick Stewart would not allow the the character of ageing Picard to be undermined that way. I was wrong.

*sigh*

I'm so tired of being disappointed.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Sutra was another waste of a character. They lined her up to be the big villain on the synth planet and Soong literally has a doohickey to shut her off at the drop of a hat.

About time one of these Frankenstein types thought of that. Ought to have a universal remote for all of them in case of these FUBAR situations.

 

[11Alive]

Not a very good climax. Lots of problems had me wondering. So Riker says he's on some super-ship, the best Starfleet has ever fielded, and he's got a whole fleet of them. Who needs Utopia Planitia? They could only manage a few Galaxy class, while Starfleet can now replicate ships better than Sovereigns by the hundreds. And according to Clancy, that's just one squadron. Even the Borg wouldn't be much of a threat against this super-Starfleet. Tamlyn Tomita's character is every bit as two-dimensional as Narissa, if not even more so. All of a sudden, she's changed to a throaty, hissy voice to show she's sinister. Not what I would call a command voice. And how did Narissa survive being mobbed by ex-Borgs?

Worst of all was the whole killing him off then bringing him back. It's worse than a reset button. If you're going to do the whole tug-at-the-heartstrings death scene, don't undo it a few minutes later.

 

[Danja]

Nice ending to the first season, though shame Picard is now an android.

I would've preferred the synth ban still having been in effect (a beloved Starfleet Admiral now reduced to a legal outcast).

The makeup and costume on Spiner also looked sloppy.

Brent agrees with you. It's the reason he asked to die in Nemesis.

Androids aren't supposed to age. He didn't think that he could continue playing the part as he grew older.

 

[Lord Garth]

The way Data looked was something I didn't hold against the episode. You can only do so much to make someone who's 70+ look like they're in their 40s. And Picard was in a cyber-heaven of sorts when he talked to Data. So there's more liberty.

 

[Paul755]

I actually thought this was the closest to “Data” that he’s looked in the entire season. They never did get the eyes right though. They seem too bright or something.

 

[NCC-73515]

Wouldn't surprise me if in S2 we see Picard investigate the idea that the Vulcans didn't evolve on Vulcan at all.
Was a big piece of info that Narek just dropped into the fireside chat.

look up sargon

Androids aren't supposed to age. He didn't think that he could continue playing the part as he grew older.

Geordi confirmed Data can age in appearance.

 

[Roboturner913]

Did I mishear or did Narek say something to Narissa about "our family shame"?

 

[fireproof78]

Worst of all was the whole killing him off then bringing him back. It's worse than a reset button. If you're going to do the whole tug-at-the-heartstrings death scene, don't undo it a few minutes later.

Yeah!


Never mind, Spock. That doesn't count.