Another random thought:
Frakes still has some gravitas, pulled off badass Riker quite convincingly.
Frakes still has some gravitas, pulled off badass Riker quite convincingly.
Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 1x10 - "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
I'd throw in the robotrix from METROPOLIS, too.
I find the whole synth world and synth characters and Romulan armageddon a little half baked and rushed, but whatever. I watch the show for the character development and they did that very well. I liked Picard’s death and resurrection as a synth and the reactions of the other characters. I like the new characters but I hope they eventually bring back Zhaban and Laris and No. 1 next season and there is more of the Rikers. I’m guessing that the surviving Romulans and ex-Borg will show up, as well as other past Star Trek characters.
I know. Its weird to see Star Trek using tech that I read about in future projecting tech magazines and articles. How dare they!?
I think it's likely that Geordi will make a few guest appearances next season, if the actor is willing. Lots of story there with Data's death and the fact that Picard is now a synth.
Crusher might make an appearance too now that Picard is "fully functional."
Crusher might make an appearance too now that Picard is "fully functional."
A disappointing ending to a disappointing show.
So much of it felt like contrivance after unnecessary contrivance to pad out a paradoxically complicated yet at the same time simplistic story to 10 episodes. What was the point of all the twists and turns? Not much really.
I even went ahead and rewatched the show from the beginning just to go the extra mile to give it a fair shake before watching the finale and frankly it really didn't hold up well to a repeat view - I doubt whether I would've scored some of the previous episodes as high as i did when they came out.
So much of it felt like contrivance after unnecessary contrivance to pad out a paradoxically complicated yet at the same time simplistic story to 10 episodes. What was the point of all the twists and turns? Not much really.
I even went ahead and rewatched the show from the beginning just to go the extra mile to give it a fair shake before watching the finale and frankly it really didn't hold up well to a repeat view - I doubt whether I would've scored some of the previous episodes as high as i did when they came out.
I thought it was one positron? (Which is ludicrous because a positron is just an anti-electron, which shouldn't store information)
Hmm unless they figured out how to unfold one like in the 3 body series
It was convenient in the way the Magic Handwavi-o-meter was.
Indeed. My criticisms went the other way. Neural interface, transfer, high level AI, robots/androids are things being worked on now. If anything, they are way behind the curve. I think we will have that in this century.
A positronic neuron, whatever that is.
So I'm guessing this "positronic neuron" stored Data's "DNA" (like a real neuron has a copy of a person's DNA) and they got the memories from B4. That's how my science trained self is rationalizing this. We could write off Agnes saying a positronic neuron contains Data's memories as just Agnes not knowing what she's talking about or misleading Picard.
Overall, I felt the episode was a big let-down.
However, I was delighted by two Agnes moments—"Are you not answering for the sake of suspense?" and the multi-paste of her head both actually made me laugh out loud. But the latter mostly for its jarring abrasion against Trek texture, so that's a miss for me in the end.
Speaking of Agnes, I'm kind of fond of the character and I think the actress is quite good, so I say this with all possible respect and affection: doesn't she look a bit like she's out Wallace & Gromit?
I'll also add my voice to the chorus saying that a 7/Raffi pairing is plausible, but that the hand-fondling snap at the end felt too sudden. So much of this episode felt rushed, and I agree strongly with whoever it was who said above in the thread that it felt like a lot of it is lying on the cutting-room floor.
However, I was delighted by two Agnes moments—"Are you not answering for the sake of suspense?" and the multi-paste of her head both actually made me laugh out loud. But the latter mostly for its jarring abrasion against Trek texture, so that's a miss for me in the end.
Speaking of Agnes, I'm kind of fond of the character and I think the actress is quite good, so I say this with all possible respect and affection: doesn't she look a bit like she's out Wallace & Gromit?
I'll also add my voice to the chorus saying that a 7/Raffi pairing is plausible, but that the hand-fondling snap at the end felt too sudden. So much of this episode felt rushed, and I agree strongly with whoever it was who said above in the thread that it felt like a lot of it is lying on the cutting-room floor.
Especially the bit about teaching by example.
The Picard Data scenes were the best thing about this episode.
Felt Frakes was reading his lines off an autocue and his line about 'I HAVE BIG SHIPS AND BIG GUNS SO WATCH OUT LADY' were a bit poorly written.
Best ending would have been Picard to die and him being added into that Quantum simulation to be with Data for eternity.
Felt Frakes was reading his lines off an autocue and his line about 'I HAVE BIG SHIPS AND BIG GUNS SO WATCH OUT LADY' were a bit poorly written.
Best ending would have been Picard to die and him being added into that Quantum simulation to be with Data for eternity.
I liked some of the character beats but really the plot is a mess. When Starfleet showed up I couldn't help thinking they should be joining the Romulans. I get where Picard was going but to risk all life on getting through to Soji is pretty damned reckless. His last-second sacrifice moved her despite being five seconds from bringing in advanced synths (from The Matrix apparently) to kill him? I get where they were going to try to get Picard back to the Picard of old but I wasn't completely sold.
It's not like it was just one or two points of handwavium but all sorts of ass pulls and a lot of major threads throughout just didn't seem to really come to anything. I rolled through them as the season progressed and forgave a lot but I don't think it came together as strongly as it should.
However, I like the setup they have going into Season 2 which could be fun. I feel like that was the starting point and they started from there and then ham-fistedly worked backwards to get there with sledgehammers and chainsaws as needed.
It's not like it was just one or two points of handwavium but all sorts of ass pulls and a lot of major threads throughout just didn't seem to really come to anything. I rolled through them as the season progressed and forgave a lot but I don't think it came together as strongly as it should.
However, I like the setup they have going into Season 2 which could be fun. I feel like that was the starting point and they started from there and then ham-fistedly worked backwards to get there with sledgehammers and chainsaws as needed.
I assumed that's what they were going for. Kind of like nuBSG where, by the end, there's no real difference, they're just two slightly different variations of the same race.
If I had to describe this episode in one word, it would be "catharsis." Seriously, I've found tears in my eyes so many times I've lost count. It was a beautiful sendoff to a surprisingly strong season, and it also had a powerful message throughout. I loved how the big question was ultimately solved without violence, even if it took a rocky path to convince everyone and especially Soji. I genuinely expected a big battle when the Starfleet cavalry arrived (it reminded me of Worf's arrival in Sacrifice of Angels), so it was a really pleasant surprise that Soji closing the beacon eventually convinced Oh to cut her losses and retreat.
As for Picard's death, it was basically telegraphed, but it still hit like a truck when it happened. When its inevitability dawned on me, the episode became a veritable stream of tear jerking moments for me, from him being perfectly comfortable with sacrificing his life, Riker thanking him for everything, and of course going out with a smile, content that he'd done good and had no burden to carry with himself beyond the Rim. His proud parting words to Elnor and Raffi were especially touching, and then came meeting Data in the waiting room between worlds. The moment Data said "when you leave", I realized why the whole scene reminded me of Harry meeting Dumbledore at King's Cross in the Deathly Hollows. In hindsight, Picard's resurrection was something I suspected will happen, but it was still executed with the greatest grace I could've hoped for. And then, the final tear jerker, Data's beautiful refutation of Picard's "I wish it was you instead of me", his request to become a mortal, then watching him imagine growing old as Picard granted his last wish... I honestly cried, even though I'll have to admit it was weird to watch Brent Spiner basically mourn himself. Seriously, by the end I was basically cry-laughing from all the catharsis this episode gave me. At the end, Picard was resurrected, in basically what's a clone body. I think it'll lead to some very interesting discussions about the continuity of consciousness, and I welcome it.
As for the philosophical message, it was also beautiful and touching. Picard's speech about teaching the synths the value of life really reminded me of the T-800 from Terminator 2, and the ending quote of that movie fit this episode just as well. If a machine, a Terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too. Not to mention the very Star Trek-like fact that the fleets only had a stand-off, and no shots were fired after Starfleet arrived (with Acting Captain Riker, no less!). Not to mention Data's reasoning for becoming mortal, describing friendships and love as precious because they're finite. It reminded me of what Lorien said to Ivanova in Into the Fire. Immortality is the loneliest existence imaginable.
Needless to say, I loved the ending as well, especially the classic line-up of the whole crew and "the adventure continues" ending. It was natural that Soji would realize she didn't belong on Coppelius after all, and I was very happy to see Seven wearing a La Sirena badge, which gave me hope that she might stick around as a main character for the second season. Well, if we're already talking about Seven, it was a surprisingly strong episode for her. Her battle with Narissa was made so much stronger by the aftermath where she admitted to Rios that it made her feel hopelessly stuck in her vengefulness. In fact, her entire scene with him made me realize how similar they are as cynical, disillusioned idealists. And of course the final confirmation of her sexuality as she played Kal-toh with Raffi, their fingers intertwined, continuing from the allusions in Stardust City Rag... it wasn't much and it was still better than what we got in the Rise of Skywalker.
And seriously, the episode was so good I didn't even realize we don't know what happened to Narek until now. I'll guess he'll be royally pissed at Seven for killing his big sister. Not to mention Jurati's fate, given that she's still on La Sirena. Well, talk about sequel hooks.
Observations:
As for Picard's death, it was basically telegraphed, but it still hit like a truck when it happened. When its inevitability dawned on me, the episode became a veritable stream of tear jerking moments for me, from him being perfectly comfortable with sacrificing his life, Riker thanking him for everything, and of course going out with a smile, content that he'd done good and had no burden to carry with himself beyond the Rim. His proud parting words to Elnor and Raffi were especially touching, and then came meeting Data in the waiting room between worlds. The moment Data said "when you leave", I realized why the whole scene reminded me of Harry meeting Dumbledore at King's Cross in the Deathly Hollows. In hindsight, Picard's resurrection was something I suspected will happen, but it was still executed with the greatest grace I could've hoped for. And then, the final tear jerker, Data's beautiful refutation of Picard's "I wish it was you instead of me", his request to become a mortal, then watching him imagine growing old as Picard granted his last wish... I honestly cried, even though I'll have to admit it was weird to watch Brent Spiner basically mourn himself. Seriously, by the end I was basically cry-laughing from all the catharsis this episode gave me. At the end, Picard was resurrected, in basically what's a clone body. I think it'll lead to some very interesting discussions about the continuity of consciousness, and I welcome it.
As for the philosophical message, it was also beautiful and touching. Picard's speech about teaching the synths the value of life really reminded me of the T-800 from Terminator 2, and the ending quote of that movie fit this episode just as well. If a machine, a Terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too. Not to mention the very Star Trek-like fact that the fleets only had a stand-off, and no shots were fired after Starfleet arrived (with Acting Captain Riker, no less!). Not to mention Data's reasoning for becoming mortal, describing friendships and love as precious because they're finite. It reminded me of what Lorien said to Ivanova in Into the Fire. Immortality is the loneliest existence imaginable.
Needless to say, I loved the ending as well, especially the classic line-up of the whole crew and "the adventure continues" ending. It was natural that Soji would realize she didn't belong on Coppelius after all, and I was very happy to see Seven wearing a La Sirena badge, which gave me hope that she might stick around as a main character for the second season. Well, if we're already talking about Seven, it was a surprisingly strong episode for her. Her battle with Narissa was made so much stronger by the aftermath where she admitted to Rios that it made her feel hopelessly stuck in her vengefulness. In fact, her entire scene with him made me realize how similar they are as cynical, disillusioned idealists. And of course the final confirmation of her sexuality as she played Kal-toh with Raffi, their fingers intertwined, continuing from the allusions in Stardust City Rag... it wasn't much and it was still better than what we got in the Rise of Skywalker.
And seriously, the episode was so good I didn't even realize we don't know what happened to Narek until now. I'll guess he'll be royally pissed at Seven for killing his big sister. Not to mention Jurati's fate, given that she's still on La Sirena. Well, talk about sequel hooks.
Observations:
- Narek & Narissa's moments together were surprisingly strong. Despite all the animosity between them, you could still feel the begrudging respect they feel for each other, even beneath Narissa's jealousy. I guess when it's everything they ever worked for being on the line, she knew better than to antagonize her little brother for the fun of it.
- "Long before our ancestors arrived on Vulcan." - this was huge. Vulcans aren't native to Vulcan? Did they ever hear this on Star Trek before? It could be a reason for proto-Vulcans such as the Mintakans existing in the most random places; they were always migratory.
- I loved Jurati saying "make it so" and referring to the actual Picard Maneuver, even if she misremembered the actual ship. She's definitely a fan.
- Jonathan Frakes' worries about reprising his role were totally unfounded. His portrayal of Acting Captain Riker was absolutely spot-on, as confident and snarky as ever. He made me wish Oh gave him a reason to kick her treacherous Tal Shiar ass.
- My favorite funny bit was when the synths stopped jamming the communications as Soji activated the beacon and Picard's outgoing call from the last episode just randomly glitched in as Riker and Oh were talking. It was just so random.
- IKEA Death Star lamps in Soong's lab... I had one of those in my old bedroom
- EDIT: A final one that I forgot. When Picard described Data's "strange, beautiful face" and confirmed he loved him, I couldn't help but think PatStew was channeling his own love for Sir Ian McKellen a bit.
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It's close enough.
The fleet was so homoginized.
I always assumed that the fleet was so fricking different becuase the 150 member worlds, add their own flair to the ships built at their shipyards.
A couple reasons why Star Fleet wouldn't have any older ships left.
1. Big war. Lost all the old ships.
2. The old ships were retofitted for synth crews. Then synths were outlawed. It was too costly/bothersome to reretorofit the ships back for human crews, who had been made redundant, and didn't feel like coming back.
3. a humoungous tech jump, that just made it silly to still be using Galaxy Class ships.
4. Ships are built faster now. Those ships were made last week, and they have not been assigned anywhere yet. Which means that they were not battle ready and Will was bluffing.
5. Will was also using a holographic interface to spoof the size of his fleet, which was only one ship, and he was bluffing even harder.
I always assumed that the fleet was so fricking different becuase the 150 member worlds, add their own flair to the ships built at their shipyards.
A couple reasons why Star Fleet wouldn't have any older ships left.
1. Big war. Lost all the old ships.
2. The old ships were retofitted for synth crews. Then synths were outlawed. It was too costly/bothersome to reretorofit the ships back for human crews, who had been made redundant, and didn't feel like coming back.
3. a humoungous tech jump, that just made it silly to still be using Galaxy Class ships.
4. Ships are built faster now. Those ships were made last week, and they have not been assigned anywhere yet. Which means that they were not battle ready and Will was bluffing.
5. Will was also using a holographic interface to spoof the size of his fleet, which was only one ship, and he was bluffing even harder.
It was beautiful.
