The truth behind Jack Crusher's unusual abilities is at last revealed, sparking an identity crisis and causing him to flee the ship. With the enemy plan for Frontier Day now finally clear, the Titan returns to Earth to warn everyone... but it's too late, and they too are caught in the trap. The Enterprise veterans evacuate to an unexpected (but totally expected) refuge.
I think it's become clear by now that when I write about a Star Trek episode, I do not try to avoid spoilers. Still, let me throw up a clear warning now, before I dive into the episode that many corners of the internet are hailing as the best episode of Star Trek: Picard -- I'm going to spoil everything about it.
Let me start by saying that absolutely, I enjoyed the episode very much. I'm not immune to the nostalgia hit of seeing the Next Generation crew back on the bridge of the Enterprise-D, speaking to a computer that sounds like Majel Barrett, charging into action to Jerry Goldsmith's iconic theme. This must be how fans of the original Star Trek who were actually there in the 60s and 70s felt when Scotty stepped onto a holodeck recreation of the Enterprise bridge... multiplied many times over.
And let me also be clear that this was absolutely the right place for the story to go. The truth about Jack and the Borg was really there the whole time -- masked behind all the imagery being red and not green, but teased by a half dozen pointed comments from Vadic. Forcing Jean-Luc to face a consequence this personal from his time as Locutus is the perfect thing to do for the finale of this series. And thematically, everything is pitch perfect: bringing back one more "character" in the form of the Enterprise herself, setting things up so that only our heroes of old can save the day this one last time, making it so that it's the next generation that has to be saved.
That said, I think that "the best Picard episode ever" would get to these great story points in a way that felt a little more natural. Does the Changeling-Borg team-up actually make any sense when you scrutinize it? (Are they going to scrutinize it further before we're all done?) Would the Borg really pursue a plan that would leave so many people unaffected? Do you really want a character to say "we haven't seen the Borg in over a decade" when they've appeared in every season of this series?
Even on a micro level, nearly perfect moments came with at least a hint of "yeah, but...." Shaw met the heroic and redemptive end we all probably expected from episode one of this season -- but it would have been more impactful had he not been so sidelined in the story for several episodes now. Seeing Shelby return, her ambition having carried her all the way to the rank of admiral, was an exciting and appropriate cameo -- but to kill her off so quickly and unceremoniously felt odd.
Yet like I said, they kind of were perfect moments if you could look past the flaws. And there were also a few moments that truly seemed flawless to me. Data consoling Picard. A "retcon" that really worked, explaining how it was Picard was hearing Borg voices during First Contact. Alice Krige returning to voice the Borg Queen (presumably because, tragically, the late Annie Wersching could no longer reprise the role she played in Picard season two). And, of course, the wonderful restoration of the Enterprise-D bridge.
All told, I think I'd give this episode a B+ -- a mark that perhaps will nudge either up or down depending on what the next, final episode brings us.
What will it bring us? Well, I'll take a stab at it and propose a few things I expect and a few things I hope for. I expect the death of a Next Generation main character -- and in particular think it will be Picard himself. I hope that while they're serving up a great final send-off for the Next Gen characters, that Raffi and Seven get a good subplot in the episode. I expect a couple more cameo appearances -- and in particular think they have to bring on Janeway after name dropping her so many times this season. I hope that they give us some closure on changeling Tuvok from earlier this season by showing us the real Tuvok, and I hope that Miles O'Brien is one more face from Next Gen that we get to see. (Anyone and everyone could show up to the funeral of a major character, right?)
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