.jpg.1342f9db04d103d2aa5f93560b00d084.jpg)
dovegrey
-
Posts
572 -
Joined
Content Type
Blogs
Gallery
Downloads
Discussion
Posts posted by dovegrey
-
-
17 minutes ago, Wyndsong said:
Wait, so every crew member on the Titan is under 25 years old except for the main cast? That seems...improbable. But this is just illustrative of the writing of this series. Nostalgia has helped to carry the series but it can only do so much. There's no sense of urgency, no plan, no logic. Like I said, I'm still here because of the nostalgia, but it's hard to handwave a lot of this away.
Ro took all non-essential crew off the Titan, before she told Picard to run. But that sure does seem like a whole lot of the essential crew are fairly young and/or they didn't show the massacre of the non-compromised crew. I think they pulled the punch.
I'm with you on the nostalgia/no urgency/no plan/no logic. The characters just kind of stand around and look mildly shocked, then run to a new location. The entire fleet has been assimilated or annihilated, and they're patting each other on the back and commenting on carpet...before setting course to a planet under Borg control with absolutely no back-up, or even before sending a call-to-arms to colonies/outposts/allies/anyone who would not like the Federation to be Borg territory. I think the last scene with the Enterprise was supposed to be special and touching, but I'm fairly stuck on the tonal shift and complete lack of planning.
-
1
-
3
-
1
-
-
2 minutes ago, Cthulhudrew said:
My take was that Vadic was trying to terrorize the crew and Picard's people, and a Vulcan was the least likely to be susceptible to emotional blackmail so made sense as the first victim.
It seems logical to me. 😄
The crew held at gunpoint weren't the ones being blackmailed. Jack was being emotionally blackmailed. Why mercy kill the people that will be the subject of your twisted revenge? The Vulcan crew member was dead, either way. The young ones would live on as drones. I'd rather be vaporized than assimilated, personally. 🙃
-
3
-
-
5 minutes ago, marinw said:
So nobody over 25 gets assimilated? Most people in command level positions are older than that. And different species mature at different ages.
I don't think the age limit makes much sense in terms of what we've seen of the Borg previously (and with other species), but between the thousands of people who are now suddenly hostile Borg drones and much (most?) of the senior command staff having been replaced by Changelings, anyone left uncompromised appears to have been rather quickly killed. All in all, the Changelings get some nasty revenge, and the Borg get Federation technology + Starfleet finally off their backs + a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant. They didn't need to assimilate everyone.
As a general comment, what I really didn't like about the episode was the clunky dialogue and most of the cast standing around the same computer screen just waiting to say their expository lines and try to act around silly sudden revelations. Also, while I think the guy who plays Jack is a decent actor, I really, really can't see him as a 23-year-old kid. He just comes off as a really unstable and impulsive 40-year-old.
Also, from the last episode, I'm wondering if Vadic avoided killing the younger crew members (who were assimilated in this episode) and chose to kill the older crew member at the last moment, because she knew exactly what was going to happen when the Borg took over. I'd be a bit impressed with that subtle bit of writing. (Also, wow, the poor Titan crew have been through all the levels of hell this season.)
-
7
-
1
-
-
58 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:
Wasn't there a detente between the Borg and the Federation at the end of last season of Picard? What happened to it? Or Queen Agnes and her drive for a new collective that was based on only voluntary membership in the Collective?
Come to think of it, wasn't there some mutual threat that got the Borg to call for Picard specifically that season? What happened to it?
That was just basically one independent cube that Agnes controlled after being assimilated by a Queen from a different timeline who had been cut off from the Collective. The regular Borg from TNG and Voyager had nothing to do with season two and were not involved in Agnes’ friendly idea to only assimilate “willing” people at their lowest point in life (how kind).
But I’d very much like if that big threat at the end of season two and the “alliance” with the Agnes Collective was a sham to set up for this story - and in the hundred of years between 2024 and now, she reunified with Borg Proper, helped them rebuild after Voyager Endgame (essentially took the place of the Queen that Janeway killed), and then arranged all this. Agnes would have the knowledge.
-
2
-
2
-
-
Yep…
I’m actually really happy this was all foreshadowed essentially from Episode 1, and then with Ro avoiding the transporters later in the season; it makes for a more or less cohesive season in retrospect. I’ve felt nuts the whole time thinking it was Borg/Locutus/DNA hijinks, while everything at face value screamed DS9. Not sure how it all wraps up in one episode, though; maybe Picard will give a really good speech (while Seven goes Queen again). 😅
-
4
-
-
6 minutes ago, paigow said:
Jack has already remote controlled the brain and body of several Titan Crew... So unless it was only possible because they each had Irumodic Syndrome, spreading the disease as a means of enslavement makes no sense.
I saw a speculation-only theory that ties back to Ro not wanting to use the transporters - possibly a contagion has been passed through Starfleet through the transporters. My speculation based on that would be it's Changeling revenge for Starfleet's Dominion War virus, or, possibly, it's the Borg silently infecting everyone with nanoprobes that can be activated all at once. If the Borg thought it'd be easy to assimilate the Federation, they wouldn't have needed Locutus. (And when Picard died and became a synth, Locutus was lost, hence why Picard's kid is so special?)
And it sounds like it's never been Irumodic Syndrome at all, based on what Data/Lore said in 3x7: "Soong research indicates an anomalous form inside Jean-Luc Picard. Previous diagnosis of Irumodic Syndrome is in question. Additional research establishes an inferior Picard. A perfectly imperfect Picard." That last piece of dialogue choice is interesting, because the Borg are all about literally achieving "perfection." Was he saying that whatever was in Picard's brain was meant to be there as a Borg imperfection? Or was he talking about Jack - the inferior Picard with JPL's perfect "imperfection"?
It's fun to have a show to speculate about again, even if, historically, this show does not land finales, IMO 😅.
-
1 hour ago, cambridgeguy said:
You mean they'll make the finale all about another series's character? It worked out so well for Berman and Braga in the Enterprise finale (i.e. the last time creators were pilloried by the fanbase for ruining Trek).
They've so far made this season about another series' war and another series' villains. 🤷♂️ The Borg are at least relevant and deeply tied to Picard and TNG, while Janeway and what happened in Voyager's Endgame is deeply tied to this series' lead actress (Ryan/Seven).
-
2
-
-
Unless they really pull something incredible off, the only thing I would find interesting and possibly compelling is if it's a representation of Locutus behind the door. (Or it's a door to get off the holodeck 🤣).
Whether or not it makes sense for Picard to have passed along genetic Borg nanoprobes (IDK, maybe Picard/Locutus was actually meant to be some sort of trojan horse all along), thematically, having a Borg tie-in makes the most sense based on details strewn about the season (e.g., playing Picard's log from Best of Both Worlds, Shaw's Wolf 359 experience and Locutus exposition, Jack's hallucination of Seven, Vadic saying it made sense for Seven to witness whatever was supposed to have happened with Jack, and the Borg possibly being considered "ancient and weak," the latter thanks to Janeway) and even the major story-threads from Picard seasons 1 and 2. I really think we're too far along to go all in with a DS9/Changeling/Founders/Pah Wraith/etc explanation; the plane needs to start landing, and a Borg explanation is the closest runway.
It's interesting to me, as a possible storypoint or possibly just a handwaved plothole, that Deanna was so quickly discovered on Nepenthe. In season 1, the Rikers were so far off the grid that Picard felt safe going there when he was being hunted. How did Vadic know? How did Vadic know so much about everything? It makes me wonder if Section 31 experimented on Vadic/the Changelings with Borg nanotech and there's some sort of Great Link/Borg Collective stuff going on; possibly Vadic tapped into Agnes's Collective. Or they grabbed Kestra from the Academy and tortured her for information, and Riker and Deanna don't care.
I kinda miss Wesley. It doesn't feel right that he's not been a part of any of this. *ducks*
I admit that I'm curious if they'll be able to pull it all together and to find out where this has all been going. Hopefully it's been going somewhere.
-
4
-
1
-
-
On 3/29/2023 at 9:17 PM, Quickbeam said:
Just got Paramount so motoring through this series. I hated this episode, felt like “fun with fancy dress” for the cast. It just felt flat to me but glad the doctor’s kid side story got resolved.
Same. Felt like a waste for 90% of the characters, since no one remembered and they weren’t themselves. They have 10 episodes, not broadcast 22-25, and I’m surprised they did this episode (and the mutiny episode).
It also makes me wonder why Pike wouldn’t be brought to this nebula after the radiation accident, unless Pike really doesn’t want to become whatever Deborah and Rukiya are.
-
2
-
-
13 minutes ago, Francie said:
Now, here, this season was sold as TNG reunion, but the show runners immediately pushed that cast aside so that they could express their love and sentimentality for Voyager and DS9. Whether Seven was on the first season of Picard is immaterial to that when this season was sold as all about TNG. She's here in this season because of Terry Matalas's love for the character, not because there's some continuing plot point from the first season of Picard that warrants her continued presence (right? I didn't watch the first season, but she's on a new ship that nothing to do with what happened in the first season of Picard).
This showrunner immediately pushed nearly the entire cast of season one and season two of Picard aside, with the exception of Picard, Seven, and Raffi, to make room for all these TNG cast members that have apparently also been pushed aside. I'm not going to begrudge a longstanding main cast member of Picard a smidge of a storyline because that smidge is rooted in a different Trek show; I don't get that issue. Beyond that, I don't know if you've taken the time or interest to watch any of this series beyond this one ongoing season, but this season of Picard has shit all to do with itself and its prior storylines; the entire premise of Picard, whatever that premise actually was, has been uprooted to have all these non-Picard characters take center stage. And it's not the party we all thought it'd be.
What this all means, IMO, is that this season of Picard is doing nothing for a lot of people - many Picard fans don't like it and many TNG fans don't like it, from what I've seen. Someone else said it upthread; whatever this is would have been "better" as a new limited series and not Picard season 3.
-
2
-
-
7 hours ago, Francie said:
As far as I can discern, this show is a TNG/Voyager crossover show with a DS9 plotline.
Seven has been on Picard since season one. She’s one of the few last OGs of this specific show’s original cast (more or less), who happened to come from Voyager. This is kind of like surmising that DS9 was a TNG crossover because it had Worf and Miles and that one time Picard guest starred (like Tuvok here). If anything, it’s reading to me like a bad TNG rip off fanfic with a DS9 tie-in. 😉 We’ll see how much Janeway has to do in the last few episodes (if anything), because they certainly could make this into a Voyager fest.
FWIW and related to your earlier post - I grew up in a chaotic and unpleasant household and latched onto TNG as a young kid. No interpersonal conflicts, respect for each other, tidy resolutions and happy endings, people doing good things because that’s what you do, and stalwart nonreactive solutions to bad situations? Sign me up. I learned a lot of who I am from TNG. These people on this show are not those people. I feel like I’ve met my heroes and everything was a lie. And they’ve also messed up Seven, so at least it’s everyone.
-
6
-
1
-
-
2 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:
I don't think they even need a 'whacky' out for Pike. Surely all he needs to do is just retire from Starfleet at about the time of the radiation accident. Heck, he can even save the other victims first. The important thing is that Kirk gets the opportunity to command the Enterprise. Pike doesn't have to be incapacitated for that to happen. All that would be changed would be that Spock wouldn't have to steal the Enterprise and go to Talos IV.
IIRC, Admiral Pike said that there is no timeline he explored where he escapes the radiation accident and doesn't mess up everything else - "Every time we change the path, he dies." I took that as meaning that Pike had tried other ways and always got Spock killed. A butterfly flaps its wings type thing. If it wasn't for that line, I would just think that Pike could stay on the Enterprise for as long as he wants, so long as he kills the Romulans that day. Done.
Pike's radiation accident has a huge impact on Spock, as he risks his career to give Pike a modicum of peace on Talos, and it sounds like that accident with that specific impact on that specific person is the galaxy-saving event that Pike achieves.
-
1
-
-
4 hours ago, Francie said:
Being a TNG fan who eschewed Rick Berman's creations, I comprehend your post like a cat understanding humans
Similar over here. I never got into DS9 and didn't like the direction it took Starfleet (didn't like Moore's take on BSG after season 1, either, FWIW), especially compared to TNG. But I enjoyed the more optimistic and typically idealistic Voyager, so I'm kind of geeking out about those little moments. But the DS9 stuff? I seriously don't care.
I think this season ultimately wants to be the MCU of Star Trek and tie all the 90's shows into a big story, but it's (1) stuck in the framework of the show revolving around JPL, which isn't working; and (2) it's majorly suffering because the writers aren't good at writing the legacy characters.
-
4
-
-
I really enjoy timey-wimey stuff and alternate looks at realities, so this episode was pretty cool.
Like others, I didn't get Kirk from Wesley. At all. It's been a long time since I've rewatched TOS, but if they'd never named Kirk in this episode, I don't think I would have pegged him as Kirk.
Since almost the start of SNW, I've gotten more Kirk vibes from Anson Mount than anything else. And this is where the episode and premise stumbled for me, a lot. I feel like either I don't have a good enough sense of Pike as a captain*, or they dumbed down Pike to make him so ineffective in this situation, or they wrote for convenience (because, any other episode, a catastrophic war and destroyed starships wouldn't have been the outcome).
*I acknowledge that I haven't watched Discovery and I missed a whole lot of Pike there, but the last 4 of 5 SNW episodes before this one did nothing to build up to this episode's premise. Most importantly, I don't find that Pike has been well-developed on his own show, which circles back to my existing problem with SNW spending so much time developing established TOS legacy characters so early on. For instance, Una has barely been on this show, and I honestly don't care what happens to her. I don't have that connection.
All that said, I really liked the ultimate moral ambiguity of the situation weighted against the fate of the Federation resting on the exact right person on the exact right ship at the exact right time. Pike wasn't wrong about the individual warbird and did what I would say any good Starfleet captain would try to do, but he catastrophically misjudged the Romulans. Kirk destroying the warbird could have just as easily ignited the same war; it's a roll of the dice against an unknown enemy. I'm curious if this will change how Pike approaches situations, or if he'll go uncompromisingly into his future with his existing ideals and convictions.
I'm also very, very curious if they're ultimately going to go through with the radiation incident with Pike as-was on TOS. It was dark AF on TOS, and it will be beyond dark to have it happen to an established and now-well-beloved Trek captain. With the Kelvinverse tie-in in this episode, I'm wondering if they're going to find some sort of whacky "out" that way - since that Pike didn't get irradiated, that Spock did not personally suffer a physically terrible fate, and Spock Prime ends up there. There is, in fact, a timeline where it's possible (and didn't we all love the Khan serum that cures radiation poisoning 😝).
-
2
-
-
I’m bummed about Hemmer for a variety of reasons. The biggest being … This show doesn’t need to barrel toward TOS, and it’s the TOS legacy characters - like Uhura and Spock and quite possibly Hemmer’s replacement (I’m a year behind but still unspoiled whoo hoo) - that I’m least interested in watching, but it’s those characters and TOS callbacks that the writers seem most interested in revolving the show around. Boo. Just reboot Prime TOS, then.
I think what I like best about this show is the Enterprise and Mount’s Pike. I find myself wondering if it wasn’t for those two factors, if I’d care to keep watching. It’s certainly not the strange new worlds and new civilisations that they never actually get around to exploring.😅
-
3
-
-
Just got around to watching this one due to travel. Beyond everything that's already been posted...
I really enjoyed this episode. It was good Trek, more or less.
While I still have my quibbles, I'm disappointed that there's only five episodes left. When watching, I keep thinking that this would have been a fantastic season 1, and the show itself could have been a kick ass series that stitched together major threads of the 90s Treks into one epic send-off. I don't have faith that there's going to be a decent resolution to this huge, franchise-spanning story they've finally decided to do, but I'm really, really hoping they stick the landing (with no reliance on some backdoor spin off).
Also, I certainly remember Ro from TNG but apparently can now only see Michelle Forbes as Admiral Cain. That was weird.
I can't with Raffi. She's a 21st century loose cannon in a 25th century plot, which was fine in the La Sirena spacescapade days but not so good since the show went all in on Starfleet.
-
4
-
-
9 hours ago, millennium said:
P.S. Is Marina Sirtis playing Deanna Troi or Marina Sirtis in this show? Because the woman on the view screen haranguing Riker sounded a whole lot like Sirtis.
I feel like most all the legacy characters, including Seven, are acting more like their actors than their characters. It feels less like character development and more like “screw all that stuff from before.”
-
2
-
1
-
1
-
-
We caught up with Picard and are now binging SNW. I’m really enjoying this show and feel like it’s good, solid Trek. Very enjoyable all the way around. We just got through this episode last night.
I like that it gives itself time for hijinks and to let its characters breathe. That’s huge, in my book. I could do with more formality and Trek decorum, but I also like that characters aren’t siloed and actually interact with each other in different combinations. This episode really surprised me, in a good way, and what easily could have been filler seemed to progress characters forward.
I’m also loving that both Pike and the audience knows what happens to him; I feel like we’re on borrowed time, even during the good moments and silly moments (like this episode), and even in the midst of the show’s optimism. I really don’t want to get to the end of Pike’s journey.
My only issue is that Pike routinely reminds me of who an older, more experienced/mature Kelvin Kirk could have been (his interaction with Spock in this episode reminded me of Kelvin Kirk, and his physical relief at the end of last episode near exactly mirrored Kelvin Kirk’s relief when McCoy didn’t blow up in STiD). It doesn’t help that this Spock is more like Quinto than Nimoy, IMO, or that this Enterprise looks like the Kelvin Enterprise. I have to remind myself sometimes that this isn’t an alternate Kelvin timeline. To me, it doesn’t feel like Trek Prime or even TOS (harkening back to the discussion here of how these characters are supposed to turn into the TOS characters) - and I’m okay with that. I do think it’s going to be hard to square this show with TOS, unless the writers stall character development for the characters who rollover to TOS and also find some new aliens/strange new worlds to write around.
But, yeah. This show makes me excited for Trek again.
-
2
-
-
49 minutes ago, Ottis said:
This show is afflicted with what I have come to think of as "writers who are too young or too inexperienced to know better." I've seen this a lot in the past couple of years, on multiple shows. Yeah, I'm old (I watched reruns of TOS as a kid), but I also write for a living and have for decades. For people who just want to roll with it, today's writers and their blind spots may not matter. For someone like me, who wants to see tight and logical links between actions and events, it drives me crazy.
Agreed. I think of it as convenience writing. I like the fabric of this season, but the writing is loose, sloppy, and makes poor use of the fabric. There are good moments, and there's good nostalgia, but it's at the expense of good writing. This season could be incredible if the writing was tightened up or dialogue altered even just a little bit, which is what is incredibly fun (to me) about writing fiction - you have 100% control to fix the issues and solve the story puzzle, if the effort, thought, and (at times) sacrifice is put into it. Anyway.
2 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:Jack was calling out coordinates to Picard so Picard could tell Sidney where to go. Any child of Starfleet should be able to do that. It's not like Jack knocked Sidney out of her seat and piloted the Titan himself.
But Jack had no business even being on the bridge. He's not Starfleet. Starfleet isn't inherited. Riker and Picard don't know Jack at all. If this all happened on La Sirena, fine. But it's a starship with hundreds of lives at risk in a survival situation, and it's not okay to have some random guy they all just met call coordinates on the bridge because his parents are/were Starfleet. Why did Picard need Jack on the bridge?
That whole sequence, starting with Riker ceding command to Picard (just pick a captain!), honestly made me think that, at this point in the story, I'd choose Cadet Kelvin!Kirk as captain over this version of Picard and even Riker. Imagine being a crew member on the Titan after those two showed up.
-
6
-
1
-
2
-
-
37 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:
They stated in this episode that the holodeck has its own self-contained power system.
The problem of how to channel the nebula's energy into propulsion was not apparently a difficult one. They managed to solve it without Seven's help. Riker stated he wanted Seven to continue being officially still suspended so she could be free to operate to track down Saboteur Changeling. I agree that Seven has been in general dumbed down, but I don't think it was the case in this episode.
The thing is that Picard was not just any old Borg drone as Shaw pointed out. He got a special place amongst them as Locutus. So I could see people being skeptical about how little choice he had to resist them. I would love Seven to have her own show. Or a Riker/Seven show. But I don't have much of a need to see Shaw after this season's over. I could go with the Next Next Generation with the relatives of the Next Generation main crew if they were crazy enough to do it. (Jack or Wesley Crusher, Kestra Troi-Riker, Soji or some other synth, Alexander, son of Worf, Sidney LaForge, Molly or Kirayoshi O'Brien).
I missed that line about the holodeck; thanks. That being said - I'd probably reroute that huge self-contained power system into the ship's main power to aid survival. Because the holodeck is a massive power draw, which means its self-contained system is a possible massive power source.
Seven has the complete knowledge of the Borg Collective up until 30 some years ago, such as some obscure schematic for some random Delta Quadrant civilization's power needs that she was able to replicate single-handedly back in the Voyager days. She's also First Officer of the ship that Picard and Riker commandeered. But Team TNG doesn't have her in the Ready Room, when Riker's losing his shit and saying they're all dead because Beverly's plan will never work. Instead, they have a con artist who flies a shuttle of stolen medical supplies look old and broody, while his mom gives an inspirational speech that Saves the Day. I still don't buy it. 🤷♂️ It's enough to make me wonder about how Borgati assimilated her last season and if Seven is still physiologically/neurologically anything like Voyager!Seven (give her a show!!!).
Honestly, I'm the opposite re: the kids. I really, really don't like shows about the characters' kids. All in all, watching this episode of Picard in between catching up on SNW (...we were CBS All Access/Paramount+ holdouts...) has convinced me that I'm fairly over watching once-beloved characters do dumb things and act bizarrely because *TNG Theme* engage.
-
7
-
-
This poor crew, at the mercy of all these random people who boarded their ship, lead them into certain death, and replaced their entire command crew. This show is pandering way too much to TNG and that was the main reason I wanted to watch Picard. It’s like meeting your heroes and being highly disappointed.
Does the holodeck not draw on power? Seriously?
A cast for a broken bone? Seriously?
Why the hell wouldn’t you have Seven working on how to channel the nebula’s energy into propulsion? She. Is. Brilliant. They’ve dumbed her down so, so much.
I like Shaw. I don’t cognitively understand how Borg drones are blamed for what the Borg do, but it emotionally makes sense. I’d like a Shaw/Seven show in the vein of SNW.
I still think this show overuses flashback framing to drive narrative but this season has used them effectively. I liked the ending beat when it was revealed that Jack had sought out Picard.
Didn’t miss Raffi and forgot she existed until the credits rolled.
I speculated about this in last episode’s thread…and now with Locutus being discussed and expositioned this episode, I’m more and more thinking that Jack is wanted because of some very rare biological Borg stuff that xB Picard passed down to him (though, technically, I guess B'Elanna's kid would also be the kid of an xB because of that one asinine Voyager episode...). Genetic nanoprobes? Genetic Borg memory? Curious what “Asset” refers to.
-
15
-
-
2 hours ago, Cattoy said:
Not that big of a fan of the flashback to NewDad!Riker and Picard. If you're going to use deaging software, allocate the budget to do it well. Also, it didn't add to the episode beyond the title.
I think it was supposed to connect to Picard taking the turbolift to sickbay after Jack was attacked by the Changeling. I think we were supposed to see that, just like with Riker's story of becoming a dad, it was the moment Picard emotionally became a father to Jack.
47 minutes ago, MissLucas said:Last season Riker seemed to be at peace with the death of his son (or at least at peace as you can be with such a tragic loss).
Things like this and Suddenly A Commander Seven (and Surprise Son Jack) really, really make me wish Team Picard had changed the timeline last season and were left trying to navigate the differences while getting on with their lives. If Trek wants to be dark, there it is.
Anyway...
With the general discussion of the actual Big Bad for this season - as cool as it would be to tie all the way into DS9 (though I fear that would be too big of a bite for these writers), I’m hoping it connects with at least one of the stories or enemies from Picard seasons 1 or 2. That being said, the Borg have been a consistent presence across both seasons, and Jack’s “connect the branches” hallucination with Seven reminded me of the Borg transwarp hub diagram from Voyager’s “Endgame.” That transwarp hub was also located in the middle of a nebula.
Which gets me thinking... Is Jack special not because he's a Picard but because he’s the child of an xB? (Which, IIRC, is pretty rare, if not a first time thing. I haven't really rewatched Old Trek for a while, though.)
-
6
-
-
2 hours ago, Affogato said:
They made him Beverley's son, because Beverley. . A lot of Picard is about his facing his own mortality and reassessing his relationships and responses to his parents, so having a son turn up makes a certain kind of sense.
I agree that this is likely part of the reason for the story (except Q would have known and should have mentioned it or hinted at it last season, right?) but that rationale reads to me like a shoehorned plot contrivance than an organic story. The plot demands a son, so there’s a son. This show does too much reinventing of Picard, IMO.
What would have been doable and organic to this show (and respectful of TNG) is if Team Picard had actually changed time last season and resulted in Jack’s existence, but Team Picard remained their original timeline selves (like Marty McFly remembering life before his dad became a success).
-
5
-
-
I mostly enjoyed this episode. The nebula scenes were cool, and I really, really, really enjoyed when the Shrike portaled Titan's attack back at them. I'm curious about Vadic, who is pretty entertaining.
Is there something with Jack and Seven? He gave her a look but didn’t say anything when he first came on board; he specifically sought her out in this episode; now he had that weird hallucination (?) of her. I’m curious if they ever crossed paths when she was a Ranger.
I'm worried that this season, while much more interesting than season 1 and thematically intact than season 2, has the same problems as the first two. The interesting stories and characters don't get to breathe (I'd love to get to know this crew), so the focus can be on Picard, who is one of the most grating parts of the show.
Some specific things that bugged:
I can’t tell if Picard is acting bizarre or if Riker is acting bizarre or if it’s just bad writing.
I don’t at all like Sidney. “I’m the daughter of a well-known legend and I decided to take the same career path as him but on a different part of a ship and that’s been so hard!” is not anywhere in the same realm of problem as “as a young child, I was kidnapped and brutalized by an alien race for 20 years, was rejected by Starfleet for 20 years because of being kidnapped+brutalized, and am now all-but-rejected by my boss who refuses to even use my name because he doesn’t like the alien race that kidnapped and brutalized me.” What was that scene, besides more cringe, bad writing. Seven was gracious.
It doesn’t make sense that Seven is still confined to quarters, or that her “guard” still takes orders from her (when she allowed Sidney and then Jack inside)…except when he doesn’t. If I was Picard and Riker, I’d immediately want the ship’s real First Officer - and brilliant Seven of Nine - out and about doing her job. More bad writing, apparently so Picard and Riker could have a bizarre falling out in the middle of a catastrophe.
It would have made a tiny bit more sense if Picard had known about Jack and didn’t want involved for the reasons Beverly cited. But since Jack is more than likely a huge retcon who wasn't conceptualized until after season 2, the writers couldn’t do that, because then Jack’s existence would have needed to be a key part of Q's machinations in season 2. More bad writing. On that note, I keep thinking that it might have been a better story if Jack was Rios who came back to the future with Team Picard, quit Starfleet again, and got involved in the Mariposa Medical thing that Beverly is a part of. But I guess that wouldn’t give Beverly the same level of story or allow the whole show to revolve around Picard's retconned personal life.
I'm liking Raffi less and less. How was someone as impulsive and erratic as her ever successful in Starfleet, let alone someone who saw eye-to-eye with Picard? I watched Trek mostly when I was a kid, so maybe I have rose colored glasses on, but I don't remember archaic torture practices even being something that would cross any Federation citizen's mind in this century. I don't mind some realism or grit but Trek usually represented the best of what we could be - and how far we'd come since the grievous savageries of our species, as Q would put it. Between that and medical treatment now being CPR + fancy paddles with body flopping, I feel the writers think this is 2023 with fancy starships and aliens.
-
7
-
1
-
S03.E09: Part Nine - Vox
in Star Trek: Picard
The new change in the Borg MO and this specific attack would make more sense if Queen Agnes was involved, or even if she had been re-assimilated by the regular Borg and caused a change. Or possibly if this is a sort of offensive retaliation for what Janeway did at the end of Voyager, which was more significant than taking out a few cubes. The Borg Queens strike me as fairly human-like in their interactions and nothing I’ve seen of them rules out this level of plotting or covert attack. As it is, though, the Borg would certainly want to assimilate a species that had developed as far as the Federation had by the end of Voyager (with shields the Borg couldn’t penetrate, weapons that one-shotted cubes, and a virus that destroyed an entire transwarp hub, IIRC). They clearly can’t assimilate them the old fashioned way, so they adapted, which is very much what the Borg do.
Speaking of Endgame… if Janeway can go back in time to change the entire timeline to save Seven (and apparently possibly result in the end of the Federation oops), what is stopping them from time traveling to fix all this? Hell, even Chakotay and Harry figured out how to send a message back in time to save Voyager. Funny how that works.