The Most Disliked Episode of PICARD, Season 1 - 2025 Edition...

[Farscape One]

Welcome to our bi-yearly 'Most Disliked Episode' games! Now that the 'Least Disliked Episode' games hosted by BlueStuff (who inspired me to create these games, so thank you very much for paving the way) have concluded, we can begin the opposite side of that coin.

Here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2023 - "Monsters"
2025 -


Season 1

"Remembrance"
"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"The Impossible Box"
"Nepenthe"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Farscape One]

I was so excited that this series was coming! A continuation of Picard's journey? I was thrilled, and surprised, that we would get Patrick Stewart back again! Even my wife was super excited and wanted to watch. (And this is the first STAR TREK series she has watched during its initial run. We watched all 3 seasons together.) I was expecting awesome things.

And then it was just... okay. There's a lot to dislike about this season, but there are some great things here, too. More insight into Romulan culture. The return of Seven of Nine. Laris and Zhaban. Picard's goodbye to Data.

Which brings me to my first save, "Remembrance".

The fact the rest of the season let me down in some ways isn't the fault of this episode, which began with seeing the Enterprise-D again, Ten Forward, and my personal scifi icon... Data. I can't express the joy I felt at seeing all of this again. If for no other reason, Picard's dream scene with Data is good enough to save this episode.


"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"The Impossible Box"
"Nepenthe"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Sakonna]

Such a difficult season. So much is so good, and so much is so bad. The first two seasons of Disco and the first two seasons of Picard all go in the same box for me. They are all just confounding works of serialized television that are such a mishmash of soaring highs and crushing lows.

I'll save "Nepenthe" on the strength of the Riker/Troi material, which is just next level. I'm not sure Troi was ever written better. Of course, the B story is a disaster, but I'm just trying to ignore that. Every one of these episodes has SOMETHING seriously wrong with them.

"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Stardust City Rag"
"The Impossible Box"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Tough choice. Love this season.

Going for Stardust City Rag as my first save, excellent use of Seven of Nine despite her having no connection to Picard other than their shared trauma.

Freecloud was fun as was their personas and that lovely moment of Picard trying to be all Picardy to Seven only for her to be all like nah I'm going to go forth and bust a cap.

"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"The Impossible Box"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2".

While the tentacle machine coming out was ludicrous, as well as much of the rest of the episode, the final scene between Picard and Data never fails to make me cry. It was beautiful.


"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"The Impossible Box"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"

 

[Sakonna]

"The Impossible Box" is a very satisfying episode, when viewed in isolation. All the Borg cube stuff here is a great payoff to the first five episodes.

And it's the last moment the story is really holding together, until things start to spin out in "Nepenthe."

"Maps and Legends"
"The End Is the Beginning"
"Absolute Candor"
"Broken Pieces"
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1"