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

[Richard S. Ta]

I'll never watch STRANGE it is not a prequel to the CAGE or TOS and there's nothing I noticed that could draw me in ever.

So you said you never watched SNW.

I miss explorations from a ship and doesn't drown itself with LEFTIST politics, like the Anson Mount show

Then you seem to be better informed in the space of a few paragraphs.

Try harder.

 

[NCC-73515]

It's also part of the reason why I don't get super-upset about Klingon makeup and alterations because some of that is making it easier for actors both from a physical comfort stand-point and in an acting with prosthetics on stand-point.

There are plenty of horror stories of actors developing latex allergies and health conditions because of the makeup. I think the actress who played the blue-skinned Zhaan on Farscape talked about how it took so long to apply the makeup and then remove it that while filming she got a lot less sleep compared to the other actors and over the course of full seasons she actually developed bleeding in her kidneys.

If some slight changes to a Klingon makes them look different, but makes it easier for an actor. Has them sit in a makeup chair for less and risks their health less it's for the better.

I would think the much more extensive Disco Klingons are worse to put on and wear than the TNG-ENT ones

 

[Racefuel]

So you said you never watched SNW.



Then you seem to be better informed in the space of a few paragraphs.

Try harder.

a shame really, SNW is great

 

[fireproof78]

I would think the much more extensive Disco Klingons are worse to put on and wear than the TNG-ENT ones

Depends on the materials.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Is it as real as that Russian model in your avatar's photoshopped words on her phone? I am so curious.

Just want to say I love it when someone says what everyone else is thinking.

 

[Firebird]

I miss explorations from a ship and doesn't drown itself with LEFTIST politics, like the Anson Mount show, but tell a neutral story where I can understand both sides of the issues and not feel attacked because on my conservative views.

"Both sides" no longer has meaning when one side these days is usually acting in bad faith.

 

[Racefuel]

Wait till they find out that earth is a one world government in the 23rd and 24th century with a post scarcity economy

gonna be some upsetti folks

 

[XCV330]

SNW was supposed to be the great white hope of those folks then they jumped over to PIC like rats out of leaky hold. Where oh where will they go now?

 

[Scionz]

SNW was supposed to be the great white hope of those folks then they jumped over to PIC like rats out of leaky hold. Where oh where will they go now?

I can't think of a franchise less compatible with the MAGA "National Conservatives" than Star Trek.

Star Trek is actually the 56 year rejection of what they stand for in every form. The Picard show got agreed to by Patrick Stewart, after its initial rejection, specifically to reject the global right-wing power grab. Season 2 was actually entirely about that.

For there to be a MAGA/NC Star Trek fan is like finding the cow that cooks a mean ribeye.

 

[Fateor]

Overall, I found this episode entertaining. So, I'm not really counting this lack of consequences against it.

However, it is clear that while the Queen was in his head, he still was operating under his own volition. If he did something because he was drunk or high, he'd still be responsible. And the idea that he'd take the Queen out all by himself was ignorant. And he knows the stakes and he know how he fits into the Queen's plans.

I don't know if he's legally guilty--but do any of us really know 25th century Federation law? But he's surely morally culpable. And if JL felt guilty over his forced assimilation, Jack will surely feel guilty about approaching the Queen alone. The Federation might look the other way, but Jack knows.

But it's alright. Not going to get hung up on this.

I'm pretty sure "Actions taken while under Mental Influence" were mentioned as being things that people aren't considered culpable for in Lower Decks.

That's also a really bad simile. Because the reason people are found culpable for things they did while drunk or high. Is because they made the choice to get drunk or high in the first place.

 

[Danja]

I'm demanding.

I don't give ten ratings (nothing made by human hands can ever be perfect).

However, if I could give this episode a 9.9, I would.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

In 1994 I watched "All Good Things..." on my Parent's TV in a living room. I was 11 years old.
Now, 29 years later, I own that house. I'm 39 years old. And I got to watch "The Last Generation" in the same room.

Life is beautiful. And that is the crux of my review. I just got done with the episode. 10/10. Loved it. The perfect ending. But instead of going through all the (many) points I liked, there is one thing I want to bring up that this ending did right I've written about it before.

Death is horrifically overused in fiction nowadays. Particularly within the last 15 or 20 years. Maybe it reflects boomers coping with aging, or some long term dark place our society has moved into since 9/11, but death has creeped into comic books, TV shows, movies and books to to a degree that is both overwhelming and unhealthy.

Death in fiction is cheap, stupid and lazy. Writers do it to tug at emotional cords that everyone shares. We're all mortal. We all live. We all die. Maybe we're afraid of it, or maybe we've expressed loss. So they yank at that to engender an emotional reaction. But all it does is cynically turn a character into a prop. to advance other character's stories.

The Walking Dead became entirely about who was going to die "this season".
MCU movies have become since Infinity War a watch for character deaths.
Comics are killing more characters than ever before.
Even once really compelling written fiction have taken to stunt-murder to shock the audience.
Succession just killed their lead two weeks ago (albeit, this one kind of made sense given how the series started).

Need I go on?

Death represents the end of possibility of a character. But the temptation for writers is so high because its so easy. People go into these final episodes or conclusions of trilogy's expecting someone to die. Who is expecting someone to be offed in GotG3? *raises hand*. Five bucks says its Drax.

All season, wisely and to their immense credit and everlasting gratitude, Star Trek Picard's writers avoided this trap. And the last episode rightly reminded viewers that life matters more than death and life is full of possibilities worth exploring. That life is joy and that should be celebrated, for as long as it lasts.

I, like many people, walked into this Episode expecting Picard or Worf to die. But it didn't happen, and I know why now. Because Matalas and his team smartly realized that it would have been fundamentally stupid to repair the mistake of Nemesis after 20 years of breaking up the family in a tragedy (Data's death) by bringing it back together in an epic story, finally bringing and humanizing Data, bringing back the Enterprise D, only to snap all the action figures of these characters in half in our face an episode later. That would have been fucking with us. What purpose will it have surved? To make us sad about loss? How about tears of joy instead. And that's what Matalas and co. chose.

Every note with the ending, from the reveal of the Enterprise G, to Captain Seven, to the final poker game's slow and extended pan around the crew of the Enterprise D, to the after credits scene is just about a long road that started in 2365 ending in 2402 with everybody (mostly) living happily ever after, after a lifetime of trials.

I think Matalas and co knew this too. They dangled the "Picard dies", "Worf dies", "Riker dies", "let's make the audience feel loss" bait in our faces, and then threw it in the fire.

More fiction needs to do this, not just for the sake a franchise or future episodes, but for society. A society reflects how it sees itself through it's creative works. Star Trek Picard is really the first series in a long, long time that gives its audience PERMISSION to believe in the happy ending after a long struggle, rather than cry in their pillow at terrible loss.

I'm sad the Next Generation is finally over only in the sense of I could watch them forever. But like Michael Jordan's last game winning the NBA Finals (which I saw), I actually don't want anymore of these characters. This is the good ending for them. The best ending. All Good Things wasn't an ending because we knew Generations was on its way. Nemesis was a bad ending that was arguably in the opening years of Hollywood's obsession with killing characters for shock value.

This was Matalas' and co's line in the sand on that. This was them recognizing how much of a creative failure death like that truly is. I'm just so thrilled with it.

There will never be another crew like that of the Enterprise D, nor a cast like the TNG cast. They lived the noblest of lives and the cast gave some of the finest performances in American television history in a saga that may never be equaled in its scope and time.

To paraphrase Captain Picard in "Transfiguration", we are privileged to have witness it.

I'm with you on modern media over-using "Death" to tug at your heart strings.

Super Sentai, despite it's 48+ years of being on-air with yearly shows and new teams; it VERY rarely kills it's main characters.

The number of times that a main character truly died has been literally barely past a handful in the past 48+ years of being on air.

Just like Pro Wrestling, "Less is More". You don't want to over-abuse killing off main-characters.

Just like you don't want to over-do anything. No matter what the current writing zeitgeist might suggest.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Outside of DS9, we haven't had another series based on a StarBase or Planetary Base.

StarFleet Academy might be the first show that is on a Planetary Base.

But everything else has been on a ship of some sort.

I'd hope that they don't do "Galaxy Wide Threats very often". That gets tiring. It's something you should do for legendary casts to solve. In this case, it's fine, given the pedigree of the TNG crew.

But other crews, one's that aren't well established should have to work up to a "Galaxy Wide" Threat.

Smaller scale conflicts should be the order of the day until you establish them.

And SNW has shown us that they can do Non-Serialized storylines as well as Serialized.

I'd hope that not everything is "Serial-ized".

Some "Limited" multi-ep/part serial stories are fine, but we don't need one long story every time.

Sometimes, random short multi-part stories and stand alone stories are fine.

I would be interested in an Academy show which was not on Earth but from another world, that could be fun.

You really should give SNW a shot, I really enjoy it.

As for the USS Titan, it's ok; nothing to complain about, but nothing special either.

It's a fine design, nothing that hits it out of the park like TMP Refit Enterprise or the Galaxy Class or Intrepid Class.

But that's fine, not every ship design is going to be a 10/10 IMO.

So we'll see if they keep that ship.

Honestly, I'd like Seven to Captain the Enterprise-G for maybe a season or two, then have her become the Captain of the Voyager-B.

It'd only be fitting that she Captains a new ship named "Voyager."

They dropped the ball by not giving Seven "Voyager" but heck I least I saw a glimpse of what I wanted was to see Raffi and Seven together on a ship.

The timeline is whatever time they choose to set it in.

But for a more balanced politics, they need a writers room that can actually balance it.
SNW isn't that bad, give it a shot.

Not a chance. All I'll be doing is complaining why it doesn't look like THE CAGE and why that things named Enterprise doesn't look like the ship I love? I'll look forward to Legacy and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Both sides" no longer has meaning when one side these days is usually acting in bad faith.

I look forward to when I'll be able to once again say, "I can see both points of view, even though I agree with one more than the other." But that time is definitely not going to be in the 2020s.

 

[Danja]

Overall, I found this episode entertaining. So, I'm not really counting this lack of consequences against it.

However, it is clear that while the Queen was in his head, he still was operating under his own volition.

Jack was naive and The Borg Queen was manipulative.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Makes sense. Q is not dead. He is dying. That process can take centuries from our human perspective.

Stop thinking so linearly, his death process in-universe could take millions of years to billions.

Who knows since he jumps around time and universes at will.

But IRL, Q will be around as long as John DeLancie is alive, acting, and willing to take part in ST.

 

[IRW Bloodwing]

Sigh. Maybe, it all depends on what I see from the previews or something from "Legacy". All lot of things would have to happen for me to get invested. The ship designs have to look pretty and not what I've seen so far, and the uniforms needs a new touch where it has the Star Trek DNA but is not similar to TNG. I would like the stories to be ship based along with the characters and not another Galaxy wide super threat, I'd hope for tales which are not serialized. Probably not going to happen but we'll see.

I'll never watch STRANGE it is not a prequel to the CAGE or TOS and there's nothing I noticed that could draw me in ever. I read too many things that leaves me cold.

You're right about a possible new series with Seven but the Titan design to me doesn't deserve the name Enterprise. Sorry I was never a fan of the ship designs for CBSALLACCESS + Trek.

I really like Sidney La Forge and I hope she's cast for the Legacy show, I think I could be invested in seeing that character as a regular on that show, but a lot of things have to happen in order for me to watch.

For me, I would like the franchise to move on from TNG timelines and move forward into the future where there's a clean slate. The DNA is still there but brings something new... I miss explorations from a ship and doesn't drown itself with LEFTIST politics, like the Anson Mount show, but tell a neutral story where I can understand both sides of the issues and not feel attacked because on my conservative views. I can only be optimistic for what comes but I am glad to see my heroes once more and the Enterprise in PICARD.

"Have any of you ever actually watched the show?" - Guy Fleegman

 

[Danja]

Q will be around as long as John DeLancie is alive, acting, and willing to take part in ST.

Maybe he can do what Dr. Who does and regenerate into another body?

 

[Scionz]

a shame really, SNW is great

Legitimately the only annoying in Trek right now, in my view, is the fact that the 2380-2385 period seems to have 10 different uniforms and comebadges, but that's such an esoteric, hard core fan thing at this point, it feels silly to bring up.

I remember when the idea of Lower Decks was reviled. It's announcement was not pretty. Now many fans guard that show with their life. Trek CAN be animated and funny! LD, as it turns out, enriched the Franchise as every other show. Even the weirdness of Prodigy's launch arch got worked out (but it too added more uniforms and combadges... *shakes fist*.

Rather than have two live action shows that just have different settings, we right now have 5 shows that are all vastly different.

-The classic ensemble in SNW in the 23rd century with some GREAT new (or reimagined) characters.
-The deep-cut into the Berman era Picard, which is fan service central and really about Trek's longest running story, starring probably Trek's greatest cast. Takes place in the 24th/25th century.
-The very character-focused Discovery which takes place in the radically different far future, that looks little else like the rest of Trek. The ensamble is not the focus here and it's much more "dramatic" than the other Treks.
-The AAA kids animated series in Prodigy, in the early 2380s. Tells a unique story really only an animated series can. A quasi Voyager follow up.
- The comedy 2D animated Lower Decks that doesn't take trek seriously.

And coming down the road we got the radically different Starfleet Academy finally (probably 32nd century) and the Section 31 movie.

Trek is enriched by all this stuff being so different from each other. It stops them from competing and eating each others audience. It makes tuning in refreshing every time rather than feeling like you saw the same Trek when you moved from SNW to Discovery Season 4. They're both Trek, but radically different.

This is as close to a golden age as we've seen. There is a lot of money behind the franchise right now. I just hope people tune in in general. With Picard's ratings, it seems like they do. But ironically, reruns of 20 and 30 year old shows just still dominate streaming, and that perhaps is more Trek's biggest adversary.

 

[Scionz]

Maybe he can do what Dr. Who does and regenerate into another body?

I 100% predict this is exactly what will happen. With Data too one day. I don't think they'll recast the TNG crew as a whole like they did the TOS crew.. Too much of the actors personalities came through in the TNG performances compared to TOS, which was much more a "role". It just wouldn't work.

But that being said, I see them one day having Data, in a new synth body, showing up in the 32nd century or something. Not while Brent Spiner is alive. And very far removed from the 25th century. But as shown by his movements in The Last Generation, he, unlike the Picard synth, seems to have "superpowers" as Soong called it.