ST: Picard 3.03.
In which there is a cool twist, and otherwise a mixture of enjoyable and frustrating stuff.
Starting with the bad and ending with the great: see, the problem with Unexpected Children is that you need a good reason why they are unexpected. And our writers here can't come up with a better one for Beverly to keep this secret from not just Picard but all her old friends and to break off relations with all of them than the idea that" as the son of Jean-Luc Picard, Jack would have had a target on his back". Complete with "you told me you have Dad issues" and "you'd never have given up space". I'm sorry, but in-universe, that's rubbish. Firstly, the whole premise of season one was that Picard had left Starfleet and retired to France. I dare say Beverly and Jack were the ones living far more dangerously, if they spent their lives bringing medicine to out of Federation space worlds. So if that had truly been her main reason, she could have told him then. Secondly, 99& of ST characters have parent issues. (The Siskos being the laudable exception.) TNG specific, both Will and Deanna had very big hang ups about their parents. Thirdly, since when endangered being related to Picard anyone? He's not living in the Klingon Empire, is he. When Moore & Braga decided to kill off his brother, nephew and sister-in-law off screen for Generations, they did so via a simple targic accident. And finally, Beverly herself chose a Starfleet career, and even post Starfleet seems to have spend the last 20 years doing dangerous things in space, so seriously, giving an intellegent woman this kind of reasoning is just - a trap the writers made for themselves by going for the Unexpected Kid trope.
(Otoh, I can totally buy Picard and Beverly Crusher had an on/off relationship where they kept switching between romance and friendship and broke up five times because they couldn't get the romance part right and felt more comfortable as friends. That works with the characters and was probably the best part of the scene.)
Moving on to the better stuff: the Raffi and Worf team up so far is excellent. It made me smile that Worf is still into Klingon opera and has updated his introduction from "I am Worf, son of Mogh" (which I found myself mouthing along with him) to "I am Worf, Son of Mogh, of the House of Martok, of the House of Rozshenko", thereby acknowledging all his parents, biological and adopted. And it cracked me up that he assigned himself the part of good cop to Raffi's bad cop when they were interrogating their suspect. Best of all, of course, was the big twist, which makes also sense of Worf having started this investigation: CHANGELINGS! The Great Link having split into a faction Odo is part of and one which wants revenge on the Federation totally works for me, as does Odo contacting Worf, and I'm over the moon we finally have a DS9 main antagonist in the post DS9 Trek. Changelings make an ever so muich better main foe than a lone rogue villain who has it in for either Jack Junior or Picard or both. Not to mention that Changelings as the villains offer a golden opportunity to every one of our actors since they get to play different versions of their characters. And it's not negating Odo's decision at the end of DS9, since the majority of the Great Link is still on his side. It also makes sense that Starfleet for now kees this hush hush and doesn't want a rerun of the Dominion War if it can be avoided. Like I said: excellent plot twist, and I also like both plot threads in the episode, Raffi & Worf on the one hand and the everyone on the Titan on the other, figured out it at the same time. Oh, and Raffi assuming their suspect has drug withdrawal symptoms while Worf recognizes the effect not regenerating for too long has on a Changeling again makes utter sense given their respective backstories.
Picard and Riker: the opening flashback to when Riker has just become a father (of the doomed Thaddeus) which gives the episode its title - 17 Seconds is evidently meant to be mirrored later when Picard like young Dad Riker leaves the bridge when his newborn/hew found son is in lethal danger and in the space between leaving and arriving at sickbay becomes a father, and the actors are good as usual, but alas in the opening scene, the uncanny valley effect of making them look younger is very distracting, and all the forced illogic of Secret Son trope stops me from feeling the later scene. Otoh, what is well build up through the episode is Riker and Picard having different ideas of how to solve the current dilemma and this coming to a head once Riker is in command. (Though I have to say, Will, no one forced you to go for his idea. He didn't override you. So the blame at the end is somewhat unfair.)
Trivia: aaaand we actually get an on screen explanation for Jack's English accent, which is so silly that it's the one thing about this plot twist I didn't mind.
Speculation: okay, with the Changelings as main antagonists, there just has to be a cameo of a DS9 main cast member sooner or later, right? (I mean, other than Worf. Whom I still see as TNG and only holidaying on DS9, despite his bieng there for four seasons.) RIGHT? Who will it be?
Starting with the bad and ending with the great: see, the problem with Unexpected Children is that you need a good reason why they are unexpected. And our writers here can't come up with a better one for Beverly to keep this secret from not just Picard but all her old friends and to break off relations with all of them than the idea that" as the son of Jean-Luc Picard, Jack would have had a target on his back". Complete with "you told me you have Dad issues" and "you'd never have given up space". I'm sorry, but in-universe, that's rubbish. Firstly, the whole premise of season one was that Picard had left Starfleet and retired to France. I dare say Beverly and Jack were the ones living far more dangerously, if they spent their lives bringing medicine to out of Federation space worlds. So if that had truly been her main reason, she could have told him then. Secondly, 99& of ST characters have parent issues. (The Siskos being the laudable exception.) TNG specific, both Will and Deanna had very big hang ups about their parents. Thirdly, since when endangered being related to Picard anyone? He's not living in the Klingon Empire, is he. When Moore & Braga decided to kill off his brother, nephew and sister-in-law off screen for Generations, they did so via a simple targic accident. And finally, Beverly herself chose a Starfleet career, and even post Starfleet seems to have spend the last 20 years doing dangerous things in space, so seriously, giving an intellegent woman this kind of reasoning is just - a trap the writers made for themselves by going for the Unexpected Kid trope.
(Otoh, I can totally buy Picard and Beverly Crusher had an on/off relationship where they kept switching between romance and friendship and broke up five times because they couldn't get the romance part right and felt more comfortable as friends. That works with the characters and was probably the best part of the scene.)
Moving on to the better stuff: the Raffi and Worf team up so far is excellent. It made me smile that Worf is still into Klingon opera and has updated his introduction from "I am Worf, son of Mogh" (which I found myself mouthing along with him) to "I am Worf, Son of Mogh, of the House of Martok, of the House of Rozshenko", thereby acknowledging all his parents, biological and adopted. And it cracked me up that he assigned himself the part of good cop to Raffi's bad cop when they were interrogating their suspect. Best of all, of course, was the big twist, which makes also sense of Worf having started this investigation: CHANGELINGS! The Great Link having split into a faction Odo is part of and one which wants revenge on the Federation totally works for me, as does Odo contacting Worf, and I'm over the moon we finally have a DS9 main antagonist in the post DS9 Trek. Changelings make an ever so muich better main foe than a lone rogue villain who has it in for either Jack Junior or Picard or both. Not to mention that Changelings as the villains offer a golden opportunity to every one of our actors since they get to play different versions of their characters. And it's not negating Odo's decision at the end of DS9, since the majority of the Great Link is still on his side. It also makes sense that Starfleet for now kees this hush hush and doesn't want a rerun of the Dominion War if it can be avoided. Like I said: excellent plot twist, and I also like both plot threads in the episode, Raffi & Worf on the one hand and the everyone on the Titan on the other, figured out it at the same time. Oh, and Raffi assuming their suspect has drug withdrawal symptoms while Worf recognizes the effect not regenerating for too long has on a Changeling again makes utter sense given their respective backstories.
Picard and Riker: the opening flashback to when Riker has just become a father (of the doomed Thaddeus) which gives the episode its title - 17 Seconds is evidently meant to be mirrored later when Picard like young Dad Riker leaves the bridge when his newborn/hew found son is in lethal danger and in the space between leaving and arriving at sickbay becomes a father, and the actors are good as usual, but alas in the opening scene, the uncanny valley effect of making them look younger is very distracting, and all the forced illogic of Secret Son trope stops me from feeling the later scene. Otoh, what is well build up through the episode is Riker and Picard having different ideas of how to solve the current dilemma and this coming to a head once Riker is in command. (Though I have to say, Will, no one forced you to go for his idea. He didn't override you. So the blame at the end is somewhat unfair.)
Trivia: aaaand we actually get an on screen explanation for Jack's English accent, which is so silly that it's the one thing about this plot twist I didn't mind.
Speculation: okay, with the Changelings as main antagonists, there just has to be a cameo of a DS9 main cast member sooner or later, right? (I mean, other than Worf. Whom I still see as TNG and only holidaying on DS9, despite his bieng there for four seasons.) RIGHT? Who will it be?