Spoilers Star Trek: Picard 3x10 - "The Last Generation"

[Bad Thoughts]

Hey, don't forget the first captain of the Enterprise G, Liam Shaw!
It may not have been called that yet, but it's the exact same ship and it was his first for 5+ years before his first officer took over! Give the man his respect, he died protecting that ship!

Don't forget Jellico either.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I have to say, Matalas and his team (plus the actors) nailed the characters bits. He does understand them. Wish the story around them was better.

 

[fireproof78]

Fanwank critics are dead wrong. They're entitled to feel as they like, but their argument is barren.

Well, no. It's subjective. The whole point of entertainment is to appeal to the audience on some level. If fan wank doesn't appeal to a particular audience member that's not wrong, any more than its right just because it appeals to the majority.

Frankly, fan wank and nostalgia bait would go over easier if I wasn't told how wrong I was on a subjective opinion.

 

[Citiprime]

Matalas veteos this motion. He actually directly calls out this nonsense and Trek is far better for it. Fanwank critics are dead wrong. They're entitled to feel as they like, but their argument is barren.

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-picard-ending-just-changed-starfleet-forever/

I think Matalas makes a great point in that interview that the remembrance of things past is earned through the characters who are NOT the same people they were. They're all different people from the TNG at the beginning of the season. They all learn something new about themselves by being reunited with each other. And they all grow from the experience. So it's not just putting them on the Enterprise-D and going: "Isn't that cool?"

Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek series. Its been that way since I was teenager in the 90s. And part of the reason I love it is that it decided to use the universe and history of Star Trek as a playground to say well what does it mean for "X" if we know that "Y" lives over there and "Z" happened in the past.

When Kor, Kang, and Koloth show up at DS9 in "Blood Oath," is that "member-berries," or is it the jumping off point to wonder how old characters exist within a new era, explore how their lives have changed, and watch everyone be changed or grow from the experience? I think that's the same dynamic that happened here, and it's the reason I really liked Picard season 3.

 

[CommanderTrip]

For me personally as a 24-25 year fan of Star Trek, I enjoyed the series finale as a TNG send off and it felt like a satisfying ending for this crew.10/10. Compared to Season 2, the arc and characters for season 3 seemed more developed, cohesive, and paid tribute to what came before. For me, Season 3 of Picard did for TNG what Endgame and TATV couldn't do for VOY and ENT, and gave the fans a satisfying conclusion. (although perhaps maybe not satisfying for all. As with all things, YMMV) I think 10 years from now, I will look back and re-watch this with much enjoyment.

Laris' absence in the very end was a little front-and-center for me, but I suppose you could say season 3 really was the love letter/send-off for TNG, not PIC. The way things end, I wouldn't be surprised if our heroes pop up from time to time in a Legacy Trek show if ever greenlit. I wager it would be absolutely foolish for CBS not to greenlight such a show, and there are more stories to tell with Seven, Raffi, the Enterprise-G crew, Elnor, and the gang.

I would love to pull a Ronald D Moore and go work for a Matalas led Trek spin-off that celebrates the Piller/Behr/Berman era of Trek, and would leave my current employment in a heartbeat to do so. (shameless plug just in case Paramount TPTB/ Terry Matalas or any other showrunners happen to pass through here. Hey, it worked for Ronald D. Moore! lol) Highlights for me:

• Vox of Borg and his very Locutus-like appearance. Nice homage.
• The Queen's post-Voyager fate. How fitting for someone linked to countless others for so long to end up being alone on that cube, consuming what little collective she had left from the inside out to limp along. The necrotized drone being consumed by nanoprobes to keep the queen going? That was cool and definitely added another creepy spin to the Borg. Part of me feared Janeway would end up being the new borg queen in some big twist, and I am forever grateful they did not go this route. (side note: I was also surprised no appearance of Admiral Janeway, considering how previous episodes mentioned she was instrumental in assembling fleet for Frontier Day)
• Doctor Crusher at tactical, showing how a lot has changed in 20 years.
• Riker picking up Worf's Mek'leth, and the hilarity that ensured.
• Riker's goodbye to Imzadi as he prepares to see Thaddeus again, and how Imzadi took the helm to save JL, No 1, Worf, and Jack Crusher, and didn't crash the saucer into anything. To her credit, there was a lot more stuff she could have slammed into in that cube, when compared to Veridian III or the Scimitar.
• Seeing the Enterprise-D in action again and the lights dim on the old girl in a proper, respectful manner as she takes her place in the fleet museum. Re-use of the Generations OST was perfect. We need more LCARS/Majel Barrett Roddenberry ship computers, please.
• Captain Shaw's pre Ryten system assessment of Commander Seven, and Captain Tuvok's rejection of Captain Seven's resignation.
• Captain Seven of Nine of the Federation starship Enterprise, registry NCC 1701-G, constitution II class.
• Raffi's happy ending and sharing a hug with Worf.
• Post credits scene with Q - Either means death isn't the end for the Q, or this is Q before he died in season 2. This may bother some, but im ok with it. In my mind, wouldn't be the first time an omnipotent being time-traveled.
• No one died - several times part of me thought maybe this really was the end for at least one of enterprise D senior staff, or Jack in some big twist.. Gates McFadden really sold the anticipatory grief and had me fooled for a few seconds. I thought maybe Worf or Riker was a gonner at one point, So relieved to see our heroes get to sail off into the sunset like TOS crew in TUC.
• One more poker game, and a very familiar top-down shot of the poker table to remind us Trek fans that all good things must come to an end.

Probably going to re-watch TNG from Season 1 to Picard Season 3. Definitely will feel more satisfying then re-watching from TNG Season 1 to Nemesis. Make it so.

I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion for the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard and the gang.

 

[jaime]

It perhaps wasn’t as great as nine, but then it is the denouement. Surprises are fun, and have their place, but are not necessarily in a finale.
The performances really raise the material too… there’s a lot of care and work in this, even if you can feel the budget straining. (No President on the screen, no shots of the interior of space dock during the attack, rarely more than half a dozen actors on screen at once)

But it’s neatly done, sews up and finishes the edging on so many things, just open enough if oppurtunity arrives and leaves the franchise and this corner of the franchise — particularly those most hard done by in their previous ‘endings’ i.e VOY and TNG post the movies — in a better place than they were before. (VOY is also served well by Prodigy and even LD)

Feel a little sorry for the torch bearer that was STO, but you can see it’s influence on this, and I bet they were happy to see it. (Even if there’s going to be another ripple of the timeline to fit in again… I and many of STO’s Captains remember the launch of the Enterprise F coming up a decade ago… and now the G is commissioned beforehand…) Happy to help basically.

Everything is nipped and tucked here, and done well — if some viewers don’t understand things, I would say that’s on them this time out. They can always rewatch it, until they pick up the details.

If some viewers don’t *like* certain things, well, then maybe this one just wasn’t *for* them.

It was for a lot of us though, and it really did make up for a lot of lost faith.

 

[Blackout]

Don't forget Jellico either.

Technically accurate, however I'm not very personally inclined to associate his name with a ship he was only on for a couple days.

 

[Scionz]

Ok. We're not owed anything, we're not entitled to anything, and we earned nothing.

This wasn't a comment on nostalgia but the ridiculous entitlement attitude that I find offensive and pervasive in fan circles.

You're welcome to the nostalgia. I'm ok without it and I'm ok with it. Don't tell me it's the greatest thing ever because it preys on the emoitionality of the audience.

Oh it's certainly the greatest thing in its own way.

What's a bettermeal ? A $1500 dinner made by a michelin star chef, or a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles? I would say they're incomparable. The former is unique, enriching experience. The latter brings you unrequited joy. When I went to Greece last year I experinced just that. I went to a Michelin Star resturant and BOY was that an experience I'll never forget. But I also don't even rank it as "dinner" because it was more a performance than a meal. The best meal I had was in a dive in Santorini that cost me $13. I'll NEVER forget that meal. I'll also never forget the watermelon the size of of a Cello that cost me $3.50.

What's the point of this culinary aside? When Star Trek tries to be the former after 56 years, it usually fails hard. When they tried to hard-science Discovery last season, it was cringe. It sounded out of place because Trek at its core, is a facile fantasy. When Trek instead takes the "saturday morning cartoon and bowl of sugary cereal approach", it is often at its best.

It took a long time for fans to come back arond to that. After the very talky Berman era, which started to give way to the more action oriented NX-01 production, it was disturbing for fans to see action-adventure at the core of Trek in the (Horrid) Kevlinverse films. And while those bad movies have their issues, realizing Trek as a super srs "Andor" esque show is a dead end, was 100% on point. When Picard Season 1 and 2 tried to do that, it wasn't very good.

And just to drive the point home... ANDOR. Star Wars, more than Star Trek, is about selling merch to kids and parents. It's fundamentally a fantasy story for kids that because people grew up with it, folks are desperate to turn into this mature thing. That is one reason Andor got such accolades, because it resonates with sophisticated ardencies. And Mandalorian did too while it was gritty. But what happened when it embraced the "Silly Star Wars" side, and have Jack Black and Lizzo looking exactly like you'd expect them to in Star War? It was revolting to some critics, even though there is far more silly star wars than serious star wars.

Andor is a serious show with serious themes. And Star Wars can do both. But the trap Star Wars is falling into as you have adults consume these exceptionally expensive shows, is they forget Star Wars is always sill first, and serious a far, far distant second. It's going to be really bad when Ashoka is excellent if you liked Clone Wars and Rebels, but nonsense to people who think Star Wars is Andor and Rogue One (my favorite STar Wars movie) which it isn't.

Similarly, Trek... we did the serious bit decades before Star Wars did, and it's played out. A hard lean into the fantasy "sugary cereal" side for the franchise is healthy, expands interest in it., and most of all, will bring people back.

Strange New Worlds is bringing people back in a way the dour Discovery and the dour Season 1 and 2 of Picard didn't (until they hyped Season 3 as TNG Season 8 in all but name), because it gets this. Because it gets that people want escapism, not moralizing.

 

[fireproof78]

I think Matalas makes a great point in that interview that the remembrance of things past is earned through the characters who are NOT the same people they were. They're all different people from the TNG at the beginning of the season. They all learn something new about themselves by being reunited with each other. And they all grow from the experience. So it's not just putting them on the Enterprise-D and going: "Isn't that cool?"

Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek series. Its been that way since I was teenager in the 90s. And part of the reason I love it is that it decided to use the universe and history of Star Trek as a playground to say well what does it mean for "X" if we know that "Y" lives over there and "Z" happened in the past.

When Kor, Kang, and Koloth show up at DS9 in "Blood Oath," is that "member-berries," or is it the jumping off point to wonder how old characters exist within a new era, explore how their lives have changed, and watch everyone be changed or grow from the experience? I think that's the same dynamic that happened here, and it's the reason I really liked Picard season 3.

It's a fine line for me.

 

[Scionz]

I likely won't ever really do a rewatch of Picard as a series, but I certainly won't forget the finale, or the characters who were a part of it.

I'll watch Season 3 again. Probably never Season 1 and 2. But your point here about the finale, once again, they need to do a feature length cut of 9 and 10 together as "Star Trek XI: The Last Generation" film. How they can do that without cutting the AMAZING opening to Episode 10 (with the Enterprise D, the borgified stuff, and most of all the brilliant use of the opening nebula.) would be a challenge though.

But 9 and 10 were shot as one feature and should recut as one feature.

 

[fireproof78]

Oh it's certainly the greatest thing in its own way.

What's a bettermeal ? A $1500 dinner made by a michelin star chef, or a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles? I would say they're incomparable. The former is unique, enriching experience. The latter brings you unrequited joy. When I went to Greece last year I experinced just that. I went to a Michelin Star resturant and BOY was that an experience I'll never forget. But I also don't even rank it as "dinner" because it was more a performance than a meal. The best meal I had was in a dive in Santorini that cost me $13. I'll NEVER forget that meal. I'll also never forget the watermelon the size of of a Cello that cost me $3.50.

What's the point of this culinary aside? When Star Trek tries to be the former after 56 years, it usually fails hard. When they tried to hard-science Discovery last season, it was cringe. It sounded out of place because Trek at its core, is a facile fantasy. When Trek instead takes the "saturday morning cartoon and bowl of sugary cereal approach", it is often at its best.

It took a long time for fans to come back arond to that. After the very talky Berman era, which started to give way to the more action oriented NX-01 production, it was disturbing for fans to see action-adventure at the core of Trek in the (Horrid) Kevlinverse films. And while those bad movies have their issues, realizing Trek as a super srs "Andor" esque show is a dead end, was 100% on point. When Picard Season 1 and 2 tried to do that, it wasn't very good.

And just to drive the point home... ANDOR. Star Wars, more than Star Trek, is about selling merch to kids and parents. It's fundamentally a fantasy story for kids that because people grew up with it, folks are desperate to turn into this mature thing. That is one reason Andor got such accolades, because it resonates with sophisticated ardencies. And Mandalorian did too while it was gritty. But what happened when it embraced the "Silly Star Wars" side, and have Jack Black and Lizzo looking exactly like you'd expect them to in Star War? It was revolting to some critics, even though there is far more silly star wars than serious star wars.

Andor is a serious show with serious themes. And Star Wars can do both. But the trap Star Wars is falling into as you have adults consume these exceptionally expensive shows, is they forget Star Wars is always sill first, and serious a far, far distant second. It's going to be really bad when Ashoka is excellent if you liked Clone Wars and Rebels, but nonsense to people who think Star Wars is Andor and Rogue One (my favorite STar Wars movie) which it isn't.

Similarly, Trek... we did the serious bit decades before Star Wars did, and it's played out. A hard lean into the fantasy "sugary cereal" side for the franchise is healthy, expands interest in it., and most of all, will bring people back.

Strange New Worlds is bringing people back in a way the dour Discovery and the dour Season 1 and 2 of Picard didn't (until they hyped Season 3 as TNG Season 8 in all but name), because it gets this. Because it gets that people want escapism, not moralizing.

That is your opinion. It doesn't speak for me as a fan.

 

[tomalak301]

I have to say, Matalas and his team (plus the actors) nailed the characters bits. He does understand them. Wish the story around them was better.

Agreed on that. The interactions did feel like a modern day TNG episode and it was proper evolution to today's sensibilities. I've always been a fan of the character work this season, and despite my issues with the plot and writing, the TNG cast was utilized really well (I would have liked to have Worf aknowledge either Jadzia or Ezri though but that's minor).

 

[Mudd]

All of these are must read for context to this series and especially the last two episodes.

No, you just have to watch it and respond to what you see.

I have to say, Matalas and his team (plus the actors) nailed the characters bits. He does understand them. Wish the story around them was better.

Pretty much this. The group was charming and funny when given their head.

 

[Scionz]

I wonder how the anti-Borg sentiment would be after the Frontier Day incident? You would think it would amplify it to extreme levels, given the number of officers killed or temporarily assimilated. Distrust of the transporters would probably be at an all-time high.

Matalas mentioned in an interview that a plot thread he sees for Legacy is that the day everyone iN Starfleet under 25 became Borg could be seen as a MCU style "Blip" for Star Trek. It would be a unifying experience for a whole generation of officers. For some, it would be life defining. For others, a Thursday. But the day everyone was connected but also robbed of their free will, would have impacts.

So per your comment, the impact might not be anti-Borg sentinement (especially if the Borg are finally no more, which seems likely), but rather the long term impacts of having everyone under 25 in a hive mind. There are people who will feel violated, but also people who said "having experienced that, that was better." Some will feel violated. But others will feel teased.

There is a lot more you can do than just more anti-Borg grifiti. Especially if they're all dead.

 

[cooleddie74]

When Worf mentions they'll be a threesome and Riker says: "Do you listen to yourself?" that was a real groaner but funny. It's the kind of humor I'd expect from the two of them after 37 years knowing each other.

 

[Scionz]

No, you just have to watch it and respond to what you see.

Honestly I've been participating in Trek discussion for over 20 years, and it's actually miracle of the universe that comments like this still take me to the brink of having an aneurysm.

Christ in heaven.

Of course speaks for itself. But the very exitence of this fucken thread is about people asking questions about why X happened or Y didn't happen or where was character Z.

Guess what. Matalas and Patrick Stewart have those answers tied up in a little bow for all us Trekkers. No need to speculate. The answers come straight from the horses mouth.

*Captain Shaw voice* Maybe civilization was a fucking mistake.

 

[Scionz]

When Worf mentions they'll be a threesome and Riker says: "Do you listen to yourself?" that was a real groaner but funny. It's the kind of humor I'd expect from the two of them after 37 years knowing each other.

You see, classic TNG missed some of this. It's writing of friendships felt force. This line though, this is the kind of shit friends say to each other all the time. DS9 was a lot better about it. Nice to see a glimmer of it here.

I loved that line. It was a groaner in a good way. I actually said "oh my god, Worf" out loud and facepalmed.

 

[tomalak301]

When Kor, Kang, and Koloth show up at DS9 in "Blood Oath," is that "member-berries," or is it the jumping off point to wonder how old characters exist within a new era, explore how their lives have changed, and watch everyone be changed or grow from the experience? I think that's the same dynamic that happened here, and it's the reason I really liked Picard season 3.

Great comparison with Kor, Kang and Koloth. I was just saying I liked the character work this season and I think you summed up what I liked the most about this season. It was using memberbarries as a why to show how the crew changed through time. The look to Beverly and then saying "It's been 20 years", was a nice simple example of that. It was still the TNG crew we knew and loved, but they have changed and for the most part, it was for the better. I think this season did a great job showing that passage of time and maybe it was a response to All Good Things about how the crew shifted apart, well, this episode showed how the crew did shift apart, but found each other again and became closer because of it.

 

[fireproof78]

Didn't like the line but it did remind me of a Hudson and Landry sketch. Close enough.

 

[Scionz]

Well, no. It's subjective. The whole point of entertainment is to appeal to the audience on some level. If fan wank doesn't appeal to a particular audience member that's not wrong, any more than its right just because it appeals to the majority.

Frankly, fan wank and nostalgia bait would go over easier if I wasn't told how wrong I was on a subjective opinion.

Kinda can't believe we're still smoking the "all opinions are equally legitimate" peyote in 2023 after the shit the human race has been through the past 10 years in particular, but hey, whatever. You are entitled to feel like you want. For now, it's still a free country.