"Tapestry"

[desfem79]

i don't think he died per se, but was near death. or he may technically have, but was revived (,i.e. his heart stopped, no pulse, no breathing, near brain death, etc.)

I get the impression that it was Q, since I don't get why his brain would create such a detailed near death experience with Q's powers and personality. Unless Picard's brain used Q as Picard knew him as an allegory to God. But then I get the impression Picard is an atheist, I don't think as a rational person who values inquiry he would be terribly religious

 

[2takesfrakes]

In war, there are no Athiests in the Fox Holes! I suspect Picard's not as much the Athiest as we've been led to believe ... let us hope that he turned to Catholicism in the last moments before he really did expire. And that a priest was there to administer Last Rights.

 

[desfem79]

I dunno, just speculation lol..

I get as a philosophy buff, he may challenge the notion of God though, or perhaps be spiritual but not believe in a God per se. I guess by what he told Nagilum in Where Silence Has Lease, he does believe in some kind of afterlife.

 

[desfem79]

OK, pardon the thread revival, but it was a toss-up between this or starting a new thread.

Just watched this episode for the first time in years yesterday. To my knowledge it's a highly regarded episode among fans, but it falls a little short for me. My main issue is that Q practically herds Picard into changing his past, offering him little choice otherwise (You won't just die, you'll have to spend eternity with me!). Thus the motivation for Picard changing his past isn't Picard's own, and it lacks the dramatic oomph of, say, It's a Wonderful Life, in which the protagonist is ready to kill himself and thinks that everyone would have been better off if he'd never been born.

Of course, if it wasn't really Q, but all in Picard's mind, then that changes everything, and the episode becomes more dramatically satisfying.

For me it's the message/meaning, more so than the acting or dialogue (IMO bad acting and a Picard-centric episode are polar opposites hehe..) Picard obviously thought that the biggest mistake of his life actually was his biggest boon.

 

[MikeH92467]

This script reminds me of the old Twlight Zone series. The chance to relive a life and fix our biggest "mistakes" is something we all think we would take in a heartbeat, but in Picard's case (as desfem79 correctly points out) what he thought was his great "mistake" was what actually drove him to a fabulously successful life. Could it have been a dream? Maybe, but it was a great story with a strong message and that's the key to good TV: strong stories, great acting.

 

[MikeS]

The chance to relive a life and fix our biggest "mistakes" is something we all think we would take in a heartbeat

Speak for yourself... and I have made some HUGE mistakes... but they all lead me to where I am now.

I suppose this episode is responsible for shaping my thinking behind this philosophy though...

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It was left deliberately vague whether Q really caused that experience. Though I find either way very plausible. I prefer the explanation that it was Q behind the whole ordeal because it's the more interesting explanation. Though it is likely he would have survived by Crusher's expertise had Q not intervened.

For me there's no specific moment that changed the course of my life, but I'd certainly like to change the person I was back in high school and college. I was set back years in more ways than one because of how I behaved in certain parts of my life.

 

[Iamnotspock]

The chance to relive a life and fix our biggest "mistakes" is something we all think we would take in a heartbeat

Speak for yourself... and I have made some HUGE mistakes... but they all lead me to where I am now.

I suppose this episode is responsible for shaping my thinking behind this philosophy though...

You mean, "I don't want my pain taken away, I need my pain!" didn't do it for you?

 

[Anwar]

Picard's never really been all that Atheistic, or maybe he became more religious minded as the series went on.

I mean, in "Generations" his fantasy involved having a Merry Christmas with his family.

 

[Chensams]

Picard's never really been all that Atheistic, or maybe he became more religious minded as the series went on.

I mean, in "Generations" his fantasy involved having a Merry Christmas with his family.

That's a good point although I suppose one could celebrate the giving gifts part while still being an atheist.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Picard's religion or lack of religion has never really been stated in the series. He clearly does not ritually practice religion, and he clearly believes in a scientific explanation for the natural world, but it's hinted at in indirect ways he believes in fate and that there is a soul that exists separate from the body.

 

[MikeS]

Picard's never really been all that Atheistic, or maybe he became more religious minded as the series went on.

I mean, in "Generations" his fantasy involved having a Merry Christmas with his family.

That's a good point although I suppose one could celebrate the giving gifts part while still being an atheist.

Christmas was originally a Pagan festival to brighten up the cold and lonely mid-winter. Catholicism hijacked it and stuck the birth of Jesus onto it to pacify the Pagan hordes. It is quite possible that Picard was celebrating Christmas as the Pagans did. I do (lights, big feast, family time etc).

 

[2takesfrakes]

This chick definitely cemented Sir (!) Patrick Stewart's expectation of having more scenes like these in TNG, with assorted Babes of the Week ... and dare I say it? Whether she meant to, or not, I think she turned him on.

 

[Makarov]

To me it has to be Q's doing.

What disturbs me about this episode is Riker/Troi's reaction to alternate Picard saying he wanted to move up in the world.

 

[Iamnotspock]

Picard's religion or lack of religion has never really been stated in the series.

He does go on quite an atheistic rant against "superstition, ignorance and fear" in Who Watches the Watchers?