Star Trek: Picard 2.06
Imo, this one and the previous one should have been a single episode. Each had good scenes but also filler scenes.
As opposed to poor Kore, I don't think there are many viewers surprised that this particular member of the Soong family also was into artificial creation; like his descendant (?) from ST: Enterprise, in his case, via genetic manipulation, it appears. (BTW: the use of the term "Eugenics" as to what Dr. Soong's been accused of works both as a nod to the Eugenics War, which in the classic ST timeline has already happened at this point, and should work if you're less familiar with TOS as well.) However, Kore seems to lack education when it comes to Greek myths, since after finding the first of her precedessors she asks "who the hell is Persephone"? (Persephone and Kore are the same person; both are Demeter's daughter, Hades' wife, the Queen of the Underworld.) If her discovery wasn't surprising to the viewer - especially after Soong referred to her as "my life's work" - it was skillfully executed as a sequence. I still think the reason why all the previous girls died young and why Kore herself has a dangerous genetic illness is that Soong tried to clone an "original" (whether the original was a wife or a biological daughter, I don't know) who died but also tried eliminate the reason for the death via genetic manipulation, using the forbidden research from the Eugenic War era to do it. But even if I'm wrong, there was no cloning involved and it was a straightforward attempt to create a genetic superbeing, at this point one has to wonder whether the male (human) Soongs themselves aren't clones. I mean. Wouldn't we have met one who decided to research literature instead if not? And where are the non-artificial female Soongs?
Aaaanyway. The Picard-Picard talk between Jean-Luc and Renee was lovely, and the Agnes Jurati/Borg Queen storyline continues to be great. Given some episode's earlier Picard told her that the assimilation state feels like an endorphine rush, the Queen's (ultimately successful) attempt to make her feel relaxed and joyful, which allows her dominance by the time the episode wraps up, makes complete sense. It's not lost on me that Agnes basically now lives with the equivalant of Angel's (from BTVS) curse, condemned to a life of angst and guilt if she doesn't want Angelus the Queen to take over via complete happiness endorphines. Though I still suspect we'll get an amalgan of both personalities in the Borg Queen 2.0. from the season opener. For now, Queen!Agnes walking away in her red dress makes for a great visual (and equivalent of Angelus smoking at the end of Innocence). Incidentally, one detail that iimpressed me was that the earlier Agnes & Queen talk showed Agnes deliberately allowed the dying Queen to touch her (and thus to transfer to her), in order to to be able to accomplish the time travel back once they've saved the universe. (Whether or not the Queen's taunt that she also did it in order to be with her is true as well.)
Raffi seeing Temporary Dead Elnor everywhere and Rios crushing on the doctor at this point feels redundant since what it tells us we've seen before. (That's what I mean by filler material and that this episode and the previous one should have been a single ep.) Ditto for Picard's flashbacks, though I appreciate we and Jean-Luc will finally get out of that particular loop now that Tallinn is mind-melding with him, err, artificially going inside his mind. (Seriously, they should have just let her be Romulan or Vulcan, though I guess they didn't to make it clear this really isn't Laris.)
On to next week!
P.S. Jurati's ability to sing should have clued in at least Seven what was up, since Seven's own ability to sing was according to herself in the Voyager episode Someone to watch over me a gift from the Collective.
As opposed to poor Kore, I don't think there are many viewers surprised that this particular member of the Soong family also was into artificial creation; like his descendant (?) from ST: Enterprise, in his case, via genetic manipulation, it appears. (BTW: the use of the term "Eugenics" as to what Dr. Soong's been accused of works both as a nod to the Eugenics War, which in the classic ST timeline has already happened at this point, and should work if you're less familiar with TOS as well.) However, Kore seems to lack education when it comes to Greek myths, since after finding the first of her precedessors she asks "who the hell is Persephone"? (Persephone and Kore are the same person; both are Demeter's daughter, Hades' wife, the Queen of the Underworld.) If her discovery wasn't surprising to the viewer - especially after Soong referred to her as "my life's work" - it was skillfully executed as a sequence. I still think the reason why all the previous girls died young and why Kore herself has a dangerous genetic illness is that Soong tried to clone an "original" (whether the original was a wife or a biological daughter, I don't know) who died but also tried eliminate the reason for the death via genetic manipulation, using the forbidden research from the Eugenic War era to do it. But even if I'm wrong, there was no cloning involved and it was a straightforward attempt to create a genetic superbeing, at this point one has to wonder whether the male (human) Soongs themselves aren't clones. I mean. Wouldn't we have met one who decided to research literature instead if not? And where are the non-artificial female Soongs?
Aaaanyway. The Picard-Picard talk between Jean-Luc and Renee was lovely, and the Agnes Jurati/Borg Queen storyline continues to be great. Given some episode's earlier Picard told her that the assimilation state feels like an endorphine rush, the Queen's (ultimately successful) attempt to make her feel relaxed and joyful, which allows her dominance by the time the episode wraps up, makes complete sense. It's not lost on me that Agnes basically now lives with the equivalant of Angel's (from BTVS) curse, condemned to a life of angst and guilt if she doesn't want Angelus the Queen to take over via complete happiness endorphines. Though I still suspect we'll get an amalgan of both personalities in the Borg Queen 2.0. from the season opener. For now, Queen!Agnes walking away in her red dress makes for a great visual (and equivalent of Angelus smoking at the end of Innocence). Incidentally, one detail that iimpressed me was that the earlier Agnes & Queen talk showed Agnes deliberately allowed the dying Queen to touch her (and thus to transfer to her), in order to to be able to accomplish the time travel back once they've saved the universe. (Whether or not the Queen's taunt that she also did it in order to be with her is true as well.)
Raffi seeing Temporary Dead Elnor everywhere and Rios crushing on the doctor at this point feels redundant since what it tells us we've seen before. (That's what I mean by filler material and that this episode and the previous one should have been a single ep.) Ditto for Picard's flashbacks, though I appreciate we and Jean-Luc will finally get out of that particular loop now that Tallinn is mind-melding with him, err, artificially going inside his mind. (Seriously, they should have just let her be Romulan or Vulcan, though I guess they didn't to make it clear this really isn't Laris.)
On to next week!
P.S. Jurati's ability to sing should have clued in at least Seven what was up, since Seven's own ability to sing was according to herself in the Voyager episode Someone to watch over me a gift from the Collective.