Star Trek Picard: 1x05 (Stardust City Rag)
In which we celebrate the half-way point by having women kill their loved ones.
You know, this really does support my belief that the scenes on the cube with Soji and Narek have been a real millstone around the show's neck - the pacing is so much better when we're not cutting back to them all the time. This was far and away the most enjoyable episode of the series so far. We haven't really advanced the plot that much - all that really happens is Picard finally learns where Soji is, but it felt a lot less like wheel-spinning.
I think a lot of us have been waiting for Seven's return with bated breath, and it was handled perfectly. The little scene between Picard and Seven near the end about their experiences with the Borg was exactly what I've always wanted to see when those two characters met. That alone would have made the episode a delight for me. But more than that, bringing her in and contrasting her with Picard underlies the series themes; that systems and institutions can fail you, but that's no excuse to give up the fight yourself. Picard's always put his trust in Starfleet, the Federation, and humanity as a whole. Seven has never had any respect for rules or broader philosophies, but has the stubbornness to refuse to ever abandon what she believes is right.
“It's helpless, and pointless, and exhausting, and the only thing worse would be giving up." may be exactly the ideology we need today.
They also do a fantastic job sketching out a fairly detailed background for Seven in just a few lines; it seems at some point, she had reclaimed a lot more of her humanity, was involved in a relationship with Bjayzl, and was even going by Annika again. And then all of that was torn away in a vicious act of betrayal. It's nasty, but at the same time, it hasn't broken her, and she hasn't retreated from life.
There is a slight structural problem with the episode; I think the opening flashback with Icheb should have been held back until Seven and Bjayzl's confrontation. As it is, we know a little too much about Seven's real motivations, and it undercuts some of the fun of the scenes of the crew in disguise. On the other hand, I disagree with people complaining it was too violent for Star Trek; the show has a long tradition of body horror, particularly involving the Borg, and gruesome as it was, it didn't force me to turn away from the screen like some shows.
(Orphan Black, I'm looking at you, with a similar scene involving eyeballs...)
For people disappointed at Icheb's death, I understand, though I was never as fond of the character myself. I will say that if they'd done that to Naomi Wildman, I'd be ready to burn things down, so I see where people are coming from. But he wouldn't be the first Trek regular or semi-regular to meet a fairly ignoble death, and the episode would have lost its power if it had been a new character.
(There's also a somewhat pleasing symmetry that Borg are now being harvested for their parts by other species; your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.)
We didn't get as much of Elnor this week as I was expecting, but what we did see was great. Now he's offworld, he's lost his stoicism for a sheer exuberant delight at everything new he encounters. I love his disappointment at not getting a popup ad, and his excitement at the novelty of deception. I do think it was a bit of a missed opportunity not to make use of his training in absolute candor when dealing with an alien who could smell deceit, though. Hopefully the next time the crew organizes a heist, they'll find a bigger role for him.
Speaking of that, what do we make of Picard's description of Seven while 'in character'? Is some of that his own genuine feelings about his own experience as a Borg? Permanently tainted by the experience? Or is he repeating lines he's heard others say about ex-Borg?
We also finally get some long-overdue development of Raffi, which goes a long way towards fleshing out her character. It's a really well done scene, and I felt for both Raffi and her son, and it helps show how much her life has fallen apart since Mars and goes a long way towards explaining her situation when she was introduced. There's a recurring theme of absent or failed parental figures in the show; Raffi and her son, Seven and Icheb, PIcard and Elnor, and arguably Maddox and his creations. Then again, absent parents are somewhat underrepresented in Star Trek as a whole.
My only real concern at this point is the payoff regarding the Terrible Secret of Androids; it needs to be something that justifies, or at least explains Dr. Jurati's actions, but I'm not sure what would actually make sense in that context. I liked Jurati a lot, though I suspected something like this was coming, and rather than being a brainwashed sleeper agent or a genuine true believer, she's clearly regretful but sees her actions as a necessary atonement. I'm not sure what truth could justify that in her mind - and that's the problem with this sort of extended mystery storytelling. You have to stick the landing, or the buildup is pointless. It's been a repeated problem with Discovery; hopefully Picard will do better.
Minor mythological and historical notes:
- Fenris, in some versions of Norse myth, is the wolf who consumes the Sun at Ragnarok. An appropriate name then, for an organisation that arose out of the chaos of the Romulan sun's supernovae.
- Icheb is killed in the Hypatia system. As any good classist should know, Hypatia was a 4th century mathematician and astronomer. She was brutally killed by a Christian mob; like Icheb, she was flayed alive and had her eyes gouged out. So, ah, good job on that fun Easter egg, I guess?
You know, this really does support my belief that the scenes on the cube with Soji and Narek have been a real millstone around the show's neck - the pacing is so much better when we're not cutting back to them all the time. This was far and away the most enjoyable episode of the series so far. We haven't really advanced the plot that much - all that really happens is Picard finally learns where Soji is, but it felt a lot less like wheel-spinning.
I think a lot of us have been waiting for Seven's return with bated breath, and it was handled perfectly. The little scene between Picard and Seven near the end about their experiences with the Borg was exactly what I've always wanted to see when those two characters met. That alone would have made the episode a delight for me. But more than that, bringing her in and contrasting her with Picard underlies the series themes; that systems and institutions can fail you, but that's no excuse to give up the fight yourself. Picard's always put his trust in Starfleet, the Federation, and humanity as a whole. Seven has never had any respect for rules or broader philosophies, but has the stubbornness to refuse to ever abandon what she believes is right.
“It's helpless, and pointless, and exhausting, and the only thing worse would be giving up." may be exactly the ideology we need today.
They also do a fantastic job sketching out a fairly detailed background for Seven in just a few lines; it seems at some point, she had reclaimed a lot more of her humanity, was involved in a relationship with Bjayzl, and was even going by Annika again. And then all of that was torn away in a vicious act of betrayal. It's nasty, but at the same time, it hasn't broken her, and she hasn't retreated from life.
There is a slight structural problem with the episode; I think the opening flashback with Icheb should have been held back until Seven and Bjayzl's confrontation. As it is, we know a little too much about Seven's real motivations, and it undercuts some of the fun of the scenes of the crew in disguise. On the other hand, I disagree with people complaining it was too violent for Star Trek; the show has a long tradition of body horror, particularly involving the Borg, and gruesome as it was, it didn't force me to turn away from the screen like some shows.
(Orphan Black, I'm looking at you, with a similar scene involving eyeballs...)
For people disappointed at Icheb's death, I understand, though I was never as fond of the character myself. I will say that if they'd done that to Naomi Wildman, I'd be ready to burn things down, so I see where people are coming from. But he wouldn't be the first Trek regular or semi-regular to meet a fairly ignoble death, and the episode would have lost its power if it had been a new character.
(There's also a somewhat pleasing symmetry that Borg are now being harvested for their parts by other species; your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.)
We didn't get as much of Elnor this week as I was expecting, but what we did see was great. Now he's offworld, he's lost his stoicism for a sheer exuberant delight at everything new he encounters. I love his disappointment at not getting a popup ad, and his excitement at the novelty of deception. I do think it was a bit of a missed opportunity not to make use of his training in absolute candor when dealing with an alien who could smell deceit, though. Hopefully the next time the crew organizes a heist, they'll find a bigger role for him.
Speaking of that, what do we make of Picard's description of Seven while 'in character'? Is some of that his own genuine feelings about his own experience as a Borg? Permanently tainted by the experience? Or is he repeating lines he's heard others say about ex-Borg?
We also finally get some long-overdue development of Raffi, which goes a long way towards fleshing out her character. It's a really well done scene, and I felt for both Raffi and her son, and it helps show how much her life has fallen apart since Mars and goes a long way towards explaining her situation when she was introduced. There's a recurring theme of absent or failed parental figures in the show; Raffi and her son, Seven and Icheb, PIcard and Elnor, and arguably Maddox and his creations. Then again, absent parents are somewhat underrepresented in Star Trek as a whole.
My only real concern at this point is the payoff regarding the Terrible Secret of Androids; it needs to be something that justifies, or at least explains Dr. Jurati's actions, but I'm not sure what would actually make sense in that context. I liked Jurati a lot, though I suspected something like this was coming, and rather than being a brainwashed sleeper agent or a genuine true believer, she's clearly regretful but sees her actions as a necessary atonement. I'm not sure what truth could justify that in her mind - and that's the problem with this sort of extended mystery storytelling. You have to stick the landing, or the buildup is pointless. It's been a repeated problem with Discovery; hopefully Picard will do better.
Minor mythological and historical notes:
- Fenris, in some versions of Norse myth, is the wolf who consumes the Sun at Ragnarok. An appropriate name then, for an organisation that arose out of the chaos of the Romulan sun's supernovae.
- Icheb is killed in the Hypatia system. As any good classist should know, Hypatia was a 4th century mathematician and astronomer. She was brutally killed by a Christian mob; like Icheb, she was flayed alive and had her eyes gouged out. So, ah, good job on that fun Easter egg, I guess?