Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 2x06 - "Two of One"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
Poor Agnes Jurati's mind is taken over yet again. She should start charging rent!
I gave this one a 6. It didn't quite work for me. Not outright bad or anything. And it certainly had its moments. But it felt lackluster overall.
For the good, it was fun seeing the various interactions throughout the gala. It often felt like real people interacting.
However, everything that involved advancing the plot felt forced.
So, saving the timeline all comes down to convincing Renee Picard to stay on the mission at this gala? What an odd way to frame a way to save the timeline. But OK.
In the end, it came down to a very short conversation with Picard. While the conversation was nice, it wasn't as deep or long as I'd have hoped. It really should've been JL Picard with all his years as a Starfleet Captain passing on wisdom to a young, aspiring astronaut. What we got was a watered down version of that. Again, it wasn't terrible, but it was superficial compared to the role it was supposed to play in advancing the plot.
The conversation between Talinn and Picard confirms what I wrote last week. Talinn just is not cut from the cloth as Gary Seven. She's scared to do anything in person. Meanwhile, Gary Seven just went out and did what was needed. Oh, my two agents were killed in a car crash? Alright, I need to do the mission myself!
I'll go infiltrate that base and go up on the rocket. No hemming and hawing. Meanwhile Talinn is terrified about even being in the same room as Renee Picard, much less any of them interacting with her. JL Picard had a nice response to that!
I'm guessing that the "big" conversation won't be enough to save the timeline. Q and Soong are still around to find ways to interfere. It really can't have been that easy.
The other stuff in the show was just sort of there. An inconsequential cameo by Spiner that seemed to serve no other purpose than remind us that he's around. Oh, and plenty of foreshadowing that Rios will stay in the 21st century.
According to the subtitle Talinn spoke in Romulan at one point during the gala. Not sure what connection is going on there but there's definitely something.
I guess next week we'll need to watch Talinn and Picard deal with his inner issues. I'm guessing we'll see whatever causes that trauma in the flashbacks.
Given recent history with Discovery and now Picard with season long stories, I'm thinking future ST should stick with the ENT's approach for its final season. Just do more 2-3 parters. Get a bit more depth but don't worry about writing something that works for an entire season. There's just not enough gas in these storylines to fill out even 10 parts. They do good at the beginning and ends, but it's slumping in the middle.
For the good, it was fun seeing the various interactions throughout the gala. It often felt like real people interacting.
However, everything that involved advancing the plot felt forced.
So, saving the timeline all comes down to convincing Renee Picard to stay on the mission at this gala? What an odd way to frame a way to save the timeline. But OK.
In the end, it came down to a very short conversation with Picard. While the conversation was nice, it wasn't as deep or long as I'd have hoped. It really should've been JL Picard with all his years as a Starfleet Captain passing on wisdom to a young, aspiring astronaut. What we got was a watered down version of that. Again, it wasn't terrible, but it was superficial compared to the role it was supposed to play in advancing the plot.
The conversation between Talinn and Picard confirms what I wrote last week. Talinn just is not cut from the cloth as Gary Seven. She's scared to do anything in person. Meanwhile, Gary Seven just went out and did what was needed. Oh, my two agents were killed in a car crash? Alright, I need to do the mission myself!
I'll go infiltrate that base and go up on the rocket. No hemming and hawing. Meanwhile Talinn is terrified about even being in the same room as Renee Picard, much less any of them interacting with her. JL Picard had a nice response to that!
I'm guessing that the "big" conversation won't be enough to save the timeline. Q and Soong are still around to find ways to interfere. It really can't have been that easy.
The other stuff in the show was just sort of there. An inconsequential cameo by Spiner that seemed to serve no other purpose than remind us that he's around. Oh, and plenty of foreshadowing that Rios will stay in the 21st century.
According to the subtitle Talinn spoke in Romulan at one point during the gala. Not sure what connection is going on there but there's definitely something.
I guess next week we'll need to watch Talinn and Picard deal with his inner issues. I'm guessing we'll see whatever causes that trauma in the flashbacks.
Given recent history with Discovery and now Picard with season long stories, I'm thinking future ST should stick with the ENT's approach for its final season. Just do more 2-3 parters. Get a bit more depth but don't worry about writing something that works for an entire season. There's just not enough gas in these storylines to fill out even 10 parts. They do good at the beginning and ends, but it's slumping in the middle.
Not enough story to fill the airtime. Even with the shorter lengths, the story is clearly slumping in the middle.
I wondered about that before this episode. Now, I'm not sure that an episode would go out of its way to say that an aspiring female astronaut wasn't emotionally sound enough for the job.
Going beyond that, while the conversation between JL and Renee was nice, it wasn't as deep as it really needed to be given the import of the scene. However, it did at least confirm to me that she does need to be on that mission.
I suspect she still is a red herring in some fashion though. It can't have been that easy. Perhaps there were multiple changes in the past? The combined effect produced the Confederation?
A
Amaris
Guest
Credits:
* Dr. Agnes Jurati Benatar, never out of touch being a heartbreaker while belting it out, making promises in the dark like love was a battlefield, giving our heroes precious time, and never wanting to leave.
Debits:
* Too short. Much too short.
Ruminations:
A somewhat slower paced, but enjoyable episode, focusing on getting Renee Picard to trust in herself, to believe in her abilities. A good lesson is found here: fear is fear. Humans often interpret it as a harbinger, or maybe even as a gentle reminder, that it comes from a good place, but ultimately fear is simply fear, and our brains interpret its meaning based on our knowledge or lack thereof.
Alison Pill can sing, damn. Love that scene, and she easily stole the spotlight for that scene. On that same note, I love Annie Hersching's absolute indulgence in her role as the Borg Queen. She is a delight. That said, while they keep lampshading that Jurati is the future Borg Queen, I have a niggling suspicion that we're being lead down the primrose path, and it's not who we think it is, or at least not who I think it is. Only time will tell. Oh, and that ending where she's walking away from the camera, and heading what seems to be further into the city? Foreboding much.
All in all, solid episode, enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see how all of this ultimately resolves itself. This one gets an 8/10. I'd have given it a 9, but at 38 minutes, it loses a point. Come on, folks, give us another 10 minutes at least. Have Alison sing the best of Pat Benatar. She's seriously good.
* Dr. Agnes Jurati Benatar, never out of touch being a heartbreaker while belting it out, making promises in the dark like love was a battlefield, giving our heroes precious time, and never wanting to leave.
Debits:
* Too short. Much too short.
Ruminations:
A somewhat slower paced, but enjoyable episode, focusing on getting Renee Picard to trust in herself, to believe in her abilities. A good lesson is found here: fear is fear. Humans often interpret it as a harbinger, or maybe even as a gentle reminder, that it comes from a good place, but ultimately fear is simply fear, and our brains interpret its meaning based on our knowledge or lack thereof.
Alison Pill can sing, damn. Love that scene, and she easily stole the spotlight for that scene. On that same note, I love Annie Hersching's absolute indulgence in her role as the Borg Queen. She is a delight. That said, while they keep lampshading that Jurati is the future Borg Queen, I have a niggling suspicion that we're being lead down the primrose path, and it's not who we think it is, or at least not who I think it is. Only time will tell. Oh, and that ending where she's walking away from the camera, and heading what seems to be further into the city? Foreboding much.
All in all, solid episode, enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see how all of this ultimately resolves itself. This one gets an 8/10. I'd have given it a 9, but at 38 minutes, it loses a point. Come on, folks, give us another 10 minutes at least. Have Alison sing the best of Pat Benatar. She's seriously good.
That and the band knew exactly what to do to follow her improvised plan!
I hate the Borg, but at least they're not doing the overwhelming/invincible space zombies thing this time.
In a Ready Room interview with John de Lancie, he said that Picard is going in one direction and Q needs him to go in another. He also said Q is giving him a gift.
So, a second chance at family ( a relationship with Laris)?
Who knows how or where they'll return in their own century when they've successfully completed their mission? Events will probably unfold differently, so I doubt they'll be back on The Stargazer since it was ready to go bye-bye.
My guess is Picard will return to the conversation over wine with Laris. Jurati will be in the Borg hive as the new queen. Q will gift Seven no Borg implants even after her return. And the others, who knows?
Picard has always been private about his personal feelings on family. He only discussed his experiences from "The Inner Light" with one person after a good amount of time had passed.
Something that happened in his youth has made him afraid to have a family. Maybe his words to Renee this week about acknowledging fear and using it as a strength will come back. Just like she can let her depression overpower and immobilize into inaction at times, so too Picard has held back from making certain choices because he has either refused to address his past or has let the memories of it affect his decisions about long-term relationships and / or having children of his own.
Remember in the episode "We'll Always Have Paris" they established he left his love interest waiting at the cafe and never showed up? In the episode "Tapestry" we see he gets slapped by his girlfriend for arranging a date with another girl. (Side note: In this episode we briefly see Jean Luc's father and how he opposed his entry into Starfleet)
I hear these words..... "Things don't have to be the same for you, Jean Luc. You are not your parents."
So, a second chance at family ( a relationship with Laris)?
Who knows how or where they'll return in their own century when they've successfully completed their mission? Events will probably unfold differently, so I doubt they'll be back on The Stargazer since it was ready to go bye-bye.
My guess is Picard will return to the conversation over wine with Laris. Jurati will be in the Borg hive as the new queen. Q will gift Seven no Borg implants even after her return. And the others, who knows?
Picard has always been private about his personal feelings on family. He only discussed his experiences from "The Inner Light" with one person after a good amount of time had passed.
Something that happened in his youth has made him afraid to have a family. Maybe his words to Renee this week about acknowledging fear and using it as a strength will come back. Just like she can let her depression overpower and immobilize into inaction at times, so too Picard has held back from making certain choices because he has either refused to address his past or has let the memories of it affect his decisions about long-term relationships and / or having children of his own.
Remember in the episode "We'll Always Have Paris" they established he left his love interest waiting at the cafe and never showed up? In the episode "Tapestry" we see he gets slapped by his girlfriend for arranging a date with another girl. (Side note: In this episode we briefly see Jean Luc's father and how he opposed his entry into Starfleet)
I hear these words..... "Things don't have to be the same for you, Jean Luc. You are not your parents."
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Nah, the real problem is that there just isn't enough story to fill the episodes, even now with these shorter lengths.
However, I do agree with you in thinking that they'll stick the landing.
It took 3 episodes to save Renee. If it takes 3 episodes to stop Soong, then that leaves the finale to see an alternate version of the premiere.
It would actually explain alot of things about the Soong family lineage.
I think you're right about the need to wrap something up in this episode. They could've expanded this episode from 38 to 50 minutes and resolve whatever is going on in Picard's head with his Mom. No need to drag that out another frigging week.
I could see Adam Soong cloning himself if Kore dies or is otherwise incapacitated and that starts the lineage of Soongs that look just like Brent Spiner that lasts until at least Alton in 2399.
Pretty good episode, with a couple of caveats.
The story flows right, with a good balance between action and character moments, I’m not terribly impressed by what Picard says to convince his ancestor, but HOW he says it…Well, I’m convinced and ready to go in space myself! As always, the acting is top-notch all around.
My two problems…Well, Juraty’s singing diversion is jus to totally unrealistic. It’s not the singing itself, it’s not even that it’s without a microphone (well, that doesn’t help), it’s that she’s an unannounced surprise guest coming in suddenly and the band jumps into the song perfectly, with full brass instrumentation. Having been in my fair share of jam sessions, even with really good musicians, this is just not possible.
Oh well…The other detail that irks me is the need of relying on a 21st century doctor to rescue Picard. One might say that they don’t really know how to use the Confederation La Sirena’s medical equipment and that the ship has no EMH, sure. One might, if they didn’t just fix a severed spleen in the previous episode (well, I do hope they fixed it!)!
Kobe’s turns out to be exactly what everyone thought she was, which is ok. With Soong’s lack of computer security it’s a miracle she didn’t find out years earlier. Oh well, he’s a great geneticist but doesn’t understand passwords.
Talinn’s presence is yet again quite pointless, the story would have worked just fine without her so far, it looks like she’s going to get something to do next week, at least.
Seven alse seems to have drifted this season, with not much to do in the last few episodes.
The Jurati/Borg Queen part was pretty great and the queen plot to take control was very well executed. This is definitely my favourite incarnation of the queen, a character I never cared about in her previous incarnations, she’s truly terrifying and the damage she could do now that she’s in control is plenty.
Giving an 8. Carry on!
The story flows right, with a good balance between action and character moments, I’m not terribly impressed by what Picard says to convince his ancestor, but HOW he says it…Well, I’m convinced and ready to go in space myself! As always, the acting is top-notch all around.
My two problems…Well, Juraty’s singing diversion is jus to totally unrealistic. It’s not the singing itself, it’s not even that it’s without a microphone (well, that doesn’t help), it’s that she’s an unannounced surprise guest coming in suddenly and the band jumps into the song perfectly, with full brass instrumentation. Having been in my fair share of jam sessions, even with really good musicians, this is just not possible.
Oh well…The other detail that irks me is the need of relying on a 21st century doctor to rescue Picard. One might say that they don’t really know how to use the Confederation La Sirena’s medical equipment and that the ship has no EMH, sure. One might, if they didn’t just fix a severed spleen in the previous episode (well, I do hope they fixed it!)!
Kobe’s turns out to be exactly what everyone thought she was, which is ok. With Soong’s lack of computer security it’s a miracle she didn’t find out years earlier. Oh well, he’s a great geneticist but doesn’t understand passwords.
Talinn’s presence is yet again quite pointless, the story would have worked just fine without her so far, it looks like she’s going to get something to do next week, at least.
Seven alse seems to have drifted this season, with not much to do in the last few episodes.
The Jurati/Borg Queen part was pretty great and the queen plot to take control was very well executed. This is definitely my favourite incarnation of the queen, a character I never cared about in her previous incarnations, she’s truly terrifying and the damage she could do now that she’s in control is plenty.
Giving an 8. Carry on!
I'm not sure if we are talking about the same person?
I was speaking of Picard's mother in the flashbacks, you seem to be referring to his distant relative Renee?
Oops! Yeah. Sorry for the confusion!
I think this Queen acts the way the original individual of her species who was assimilated to become the first Queen acted as an individual since, you know, there's no Collective. She's an individual again for the first time in however long.
It also puts her proclamations in First Contact of actually being the Collective to rest.
It also puts her proclamations in First Contact of actually being the Collective to rest.
