The Most Disliked Episode of PICARD, 2023 Edition - Finals...

[Farscape One]

So now it is time for the final part.

*RULES*

Give what you consider to be the best/your most favorite episode ONE point, and briefly explain WHY. Be sure to copy and paste the list with your point added. When an episode reaches 4 points, it is eliminated. Then a NEW round begins (in this thread) with the numbers restored to 0. Vote ONCE per round. And enjoy!


Season 1...
Winner - "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
Runner up - "Absolute Candor"

Season 2...
Winner - "Monsters"
Runner up - "Fly Me to the Moon"

Season 3...
Winner - "Dominion"
Runner up - "Disengage"



"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 0
"Disengage" - 0

 

[Farscape One]

My first vote is "Dominion"

It's only crime for being the winner of season 3 is really no one saved it. I genuinely don't think there was a bad episode in season 3, though I will agree it's not as strong compared to the rest of the episodes of season 3.


"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 1
"Disengage" - 0

 

[BlueStuff]

Dominion - both season 3 episodes will be rightfully saved immediately, let’s not waste time.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 2
"Disengage" - 0

 

[Seven of Five]

Agreed, whilst Dominion it's not the best in S3, it's still lightyears ahead of the other episodes.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 3
"Disengage" -

 

[Sakonna]

I just can't pick "Dominion" over "Disengage"! I like "Disengage" so much more. "Dominion" was a bit of a disappointment on original air, in that "The Bounty" was SO exciting for being the first episode to have all 7 in it -- only for Riker, Troi, and Worf to be benched again in "Dominion." Also the plotting of the trap in "Dominion" was on the weaker side.

"Disengage" I have no notes. Perfect.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 3
"Disengage" - 1

 

[James Cole]

Seconded. "Dominion" clearly suffers from the early 2022 COVID shutdown and likely a further budget reduction and took the fall for the final episodes.

I just can't pick "Dominion" over "Disengage"! I like "Disengage" so much more. "Dominion" was a bit of a disappointment on original air, in that "The Bounty" was SO exciting for being the first episode to have all 7 in it -- only for Riker, Troi, and Worf to be benched again in "Dominion." Also the plotting of the trap in "Dominion" was on the weaker side.

"Disengage" I have no notes. Perfect.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Dominion" - 3
"Disengage" - 2

 

[CitadelZombies]

I'll finish saving "Dominion". It's not great, but it's no way bad and there's a very nice cameo in there as well.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Disengage" - 0

 

[Farscape One]

Voting for "Disengage" this round.

Let's be real, no third season episode should win this game. Like my previous vote, this episode only got to this point because no one saved it before being runner-up.


"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Disengage" - 1

 

[BlueStuff]

Disengage, obviously.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Disengage" - 2

 

[CitadelZombies]

Got to agree with "Disengage" for this one.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0
"Disengage" - 3

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll save Disengage then. After looking at an episode summary I must have forgotten it existed when doing the S3 contest. It sounds better than I remembered and is easily the best of the rest.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0

 

[Sakonna]

Of these remaining four, "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" really stands out to me as the disaster of the group. The rank incompetence of that script is hard to beat. That plotting would be an embarrassment from a 12 year old trying to write their very first story. For someone like Michael Chabon to turn this out, but not, you know, fake his own death from the shame of it immediately afterwords, I just don't understand.

(And a quick check of the writing credits on "Et In Arcadia Ego" leads me to the realization that the co-writer was Chabon's wife? Ugh, what a mess)

It's a bit of a coin flip between "Fly Me To The Moon" and "Absolute Candor", but I'll give my next point to "Moon", for how creepily effective those Borg tentacles are.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 1

 

[BlueStuff]

For me the bad S1 episodes are still better than the bad S2 episodes - but I don't even think Absolute Candor is that bad. I was definitely getting a sinking feeling at this point that Picard wasn't going to be what I'd hoped for, but in the grand scheme of things, this episode was merely mediocre.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 1
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 1

 

[Farscape One]

"Absolute Candor" is easily the best of what remains. If for no other reason, it gets my vote this round because we learn even more about Romulan culture.


"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 2
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 1

 

[James Cole]

Voting for "Fly Me To The Moon"... There's a great deleted scene between Q and a waiter at a restaurant, we do get more Q otherwise, the Shenzhen Convention heavily implies the Eugenics Wars already took place, the interplay between Agnes and the Queen, and the Gary 7 stuff.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 2
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 2

 

[Seven of Five]

Absolute Candor is part 3 of the introduction, in a 10-episode season. Aside from the padding, it was good to see Elnor introduced and learn more about what Picard was up to on Romulus before it went nova.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Absolute Candor" - 3
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 2

 

[CitadelZombies]

"Absolute Candor" is fine for what it is, especially compared to the rest. Some good backstory for Elnor.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 0
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0

 

[Farscape One]

None of these are good at all.

But I vote for "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" because it is not quite the dumpster fire of either of the season 2 episodes.


"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 1
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 0

 

[James Cole]

Another attempt to vote for "Fly Me To The Moon"... it's better than the episode that preceded it, and 80% of season 1.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 1
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 1

 

[BlueStuff]

EIAE1 - At least it helped bring S1 to a close.

"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 1" - 2
"Monsters" - 0
"Fly Me to the Moon" - 1