Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 3x08 - "Surrender"

[Xerxes82]

Did he have a badge and rankpins? It also looks like none of the other shirts, so it's probably not a uniform. Though you can never be sure with these designers

Different outfit for different scenes. He's wearing a unique (or maybe not, it's similar to what Riker was wearing earlier in the season) when he's recovered from Daystrom and during the Data/Lore scenes.

But in the final scenes with the conference room and Geordi he's wearing the same uniform that Geordi is.

 

[Firebird]

Sooo. Jack Crusher is a New Type??!! Incoming Mobile Suit Gundam/Star Trek TNG crossover CONFIRMED!
(And if you're not into Anime, just ignore the above - you won't get it )

Mechas and Star Trek: two great tastes that taste great together!

 

[Lord Garth]

Lots of fun =D

Spoiler: Personal Bubble Shields are cannon now =D

And it's not some Jerry Rigged Contraption like what Worf did in the Holodeck.


Yes, but they were MUCH bigger. Equipment that you had to set into place and activate to create a giant networked Force Field wall.

When Nella Darren was setting up Thermal Deflector Units, she was down planet side trying to stop a Fire Storm on
Bersallis III which threatened a Federation Outpost.

So no Mock Outrage Du Jour yet?

 

[KennyB]

So no Mock Outrage Du Jour yet?

It’s early Garth

 

[Lord Garth]

On another note: I was thinking about this earlier today, and I think in the next two episodes Terry Matalas is going to use this as a second chance to have Picard fight a Picard Clone. That would be very Matalasian.

 

[Nerys Myk]

On another note: I was thinking about this earlier today, and I think in the next two episodes Terry Matalas is going to use this as his second chance to have Picard fight a Picard Clone. That would be very Matalasian.

Picard will fight his weaponize parietal lobe.

 

[Grizzlor]

Easily the strongest episode yet, and very enjoyable. Not sure if that's the last we've seen of Vadic (hope not Plummer is great), but it's really time to get cracking and finish this thing out.

I know some might presume that Data zapping Lore away is a bit "easy" but come on, it's a TV show. Had to happen, and really kudos to the writers for allowing Brent to be Brent...as Data...from this point on. The ready room full of our full TNG cast was a sight to behold.

Lastly, finally Marina is given her screen time and doesn't disappoint.

 

[Turtletrekker]

You know, even before I realized that they were actually going to do a mindscape battle between Data and Lore, I was thinking about the similar situation that Rutherford found himself in in the most recent season of Lower Decks. Although, the Lower Decks version was flashier, they both had similar outcomes. Data used his memories of his friends and loved ones to overpower Lore, and Rutherford used the memories of his friends and loved ones to empower himself and overcome his "evil" self.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

So no Mock Outrage Du Jour yet?

?

 

[Lord Garth]

?

Nevermind. We're good, we're good. Don't worry about it.

 

[Amasov]

My patience is really wearing thin here.

There are two episodes left and it's like the needle has barely moved. Lots of things happened in this one, but, I still feel like I don't know anything.

Mysteries are overextended for no reason other than just to keep us hanging on.

And once again, it seems that the show is just hedging all its bets on the finale where EVERYTHING is tied together in a nice bow. I'm not surprised by this, but I'm also annoyed that it persists.

I've said it a million times, but, I really just can't stand how these new Trek shows structure their serialized seasons.

The pacing is all over the place. They're quite good on the rising action, but the moment they reach the climax and falling action, it just stalls and is killing time until we reach the conclusion.

 

[Scionz]

My patience is really wearing thin here.

There are two episodes left and it's like the needle has barely moved. Lots of things happened in this one, but, I still feel like I don't know anything.

Mysteries are overextended for no reason other than just to keep us hanging on.

And once again, it seems that the show is just hedging all its bets on the finale where EVERYTHING is tied together in a nice bow. I'm not surprised by this, but I'm also annoyed that it persists.

I've said it a million times, but, I really just can't stand how these new Trek shows structure their serialized seasons.

The pacing is all over the place. They're quite good on the rising action, but the moment they reach the climax and falling action, it just stalls and is killing time until we reach the conclusion.

Respectfully, the mysteries aren't the point this time (not speaking for the other shows). This isn't the start of something. This is the end of something. The "reveal" needs to be "big", in my view, if there were a few more seasons to work through the consequences of that big reveal. With just 2 hours left, the reveal only serves as a vehicle to get the TNG crew on their final adventure together.

The villain and the mystery isn't the point this time, which is something Trek sometimes gets wrong with its stunt casting. That's why I'm glad they removed Vadic from the story two episodes early. The last two hours shouldn't have been about defeating her or the Borg queen, or Dukat, or species 8472, or Armus or anybody else. It's about the interactions at this, the end of the road, for the only Star Trek cast that truly stuck together as a family for 40 years, reunited for the first time in 20.

I'm as eager to know who is behind this and what the deal with Jack is as anyone. But what I want is scenes like Episode 8's conference room as much as possible... the crew doing things together... and not some outside actor or CG construct taking up screen time being all supervillainy to make the reveal worth it. Because every minute of the last 2 hours they get is a minute less we get of Worf, Data, Geordi, Riker, Troi, Crusher and of course, Picard. And they will never be together again.

Sadly shows the past 15 years have trained us to desire to have our socks blown off with their big reveal. It's a habit we have to break from because it often overshadows a larger point of why the show and the season (not necessarily even THIS show and THIS season) exist in the first place.

 

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

kudos to the writers for allowing Brent to be Brent...as Data...from this point on.

I'm all for Brent ditching the gold paint and playing his age from here on out, but I do think visually, the inner mind battle between Data and Lore should have had them in the classical makeup, and when they merge, the resulting being in the mindscape look like the new Golum Data. It becomes visually impactful and simbolic that both are now gone and replaced with something new and more human.
But, it was still a great scene.

 

[Uhura's Song]

Solid episode. Nice nostalgia. Good to see the big six at the conference table once again.

Though, I must admit, when/how did Worf & Raffi get a cloaking device?

High 7/low 8. Bump it a point if I'm dorking on the cloak.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Solid episode. Nice nostalgia. Good to see the big six at the conference table once again.







Though, I must admit, when/how did Worf & Raffi get a cloaking device?







High 7/low 8. Bump it a point if I'm dorking on the cloak.

They may have borrowed the one on the Titan for a while. Maybe it was the cloaking device that Kirk and Spock got in third season of tos. Maybe was still in the museum inside.

 

[UssGlenn]

Though, I must admit, when/how did Worf & Raffi get a cloaking device?

They uninstalled it from the Titan, and put it back in after they got back.

 

[Scionz]

I'm all for Brent ditching the gold paint and playing his age from here on out, but I do think visually, the inner mind battle between Data and Lore should have had them in the classical makeup, and when they merge, the resulting being in the mindscape look like the new Golum Data. It becomes visually impactful and simbolic that both are now gone and replaced with something new and more human.
But, it was still a great scene.

Speculating here, but I think the reason they didn't do that is because this is noticeably a much lower budget show than Season 1 and Season 2 and they have been frugal in their use of (expensive) de-aging CGI.

Season 1 was the most expensive Trek show ever made, reportedly, by far. It certainly didn't look it, but I think it went into the varied sets, and Stewart and Chabon's payday. Being shot in LA makes it expensive.
Season 2 was also very expensive reportedly, especially with the huge amount of location shooting and again, the LA production. We got more ships in Season 2 because they got and upscaled Star Trek Online meshes, but the only all-new Starfleet designs were the Stargazer (and bridge) and the Excelsior-A.

Season 3 is reportedly more modestly budgeted. Much of it has been made in the classic Trek bottle-show style of a bridge, corridors, and modular rooms that serve different purposes. The bridge is a redeco of the Stargazer. They kept the Guinan's bar set. Picard's Chateau is noticeably different looking (different set). There is virtually no location shooting. It's almost all soundstage (again LA). So where is the money going? The prolific use of CG for space scenes. Far more than Season 1 and Season 2. Also likely the pay of the TNG cast.

I share your desire for more retro-Data, especially since we saw in Season 1 they can do 2360s Data de-aged pretty well (though their 2379 Data wasn't very good). But honestly, I'd take old man Data and more space stuff, than less space stuff and de-aged Data at this point.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Nice episode. Of course, I knew they weren't going to kill off Data for a third time and that his surrender was a trick. Still, beautifully done and a big TNG movie fix for me. It always seemed so dull and trite that Data could gain emotions from something as tawdry as an 'emotion chip'. Him being an amalgamation of Lore and himself makes so much more sense and feels so much more satisfying for the character.

Sad to see Vadic go. Shaw is still on his Hansen trip but I have a feeling he will acknowledge Seven properly by the end.

Other thoughts:

Nice to see 'Spot', although I know it's not the original Spot. I think there were about three original Spot's anyway.

Is that the Denise Crosby appearance we were teased with over and done?

The idea that Data is incapable of using contractions doesn't even tally with the evidence presented in TNG. He did it before Datalore and he did it after so it seems a bit stupid to bring it up.

Nice to see the Worf/Troi relationship acknowledged, even if just as undertones.

Good! Very good! I can't believe there are only two more.

 

[rondo]

I was so lovin' this episode, thinking it was the best one ever, until the titan shoots 5? torpedoes at the giant warship and it just, you know, blows up? wtf, like a rowboat shooting a battleship. Can no longer suspend disbelief thank you. I have little doubt that someone thought, hmm, how we can add a jj abrims level dumb fu#&ery moment to the best episode ever...I know, let's do this.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Oh, one more. It felt so meta to see the whole gang in the ready-room talking about how much they've missed each other and being together... Just 'cause I know what a wonderful relationship the cast have IRL. It is wonderful to see them together and I could feel how much of a great experience it was for each and every one of the cast too.