The TNG crew shouldn't be allowed to steal everything that was so we'll devised in DS9. That story isn't theirs to tell. Use this story for a DS9 reboot or keep your hands off. I bet it's because the Picard witters envy DS9. They know DS9 was the better show. Because they had a clear idea of an overarching story arc that spanned multiple seasons. Btw: the "hands off part" includes any reference to Tribbles. DS9's TOS hommage was great. Don't touch it! They can use their own lore. Moriarty is theirs. And - if that's what it takes to have a proper reunion - they can reuse parts from Encounter at Farpoint. I'm fine with that. But what's that part aboard the Daystrom facility anyway? A raven? Moriarty?Data's tune? Does that serve any purpose or is that just something the writers wanted because it sounded like fun? Can't Starfleet maintain regular inventory lists? Can't they hack into a regular database to find out what was taken? That part of the story seems to be over engineered. Did they really need Data in this show? Why? I said it before, I say it again: this sometimes feels more like a family reunion than an actual show. Will they really bring every single person from TNG back? Tasha? Miles? Reginald? Will we meet them too?
Rant over... Now, back to the actual story. Last episode I hoped that we had our final objective: stop the shapeshifters' conspiracy against the Federation. And certainly I hope that Jack (and Beverly who certainly knows more than she's telling) will tell us what's going on with him and why he's being hunted. With all mysteries out of the way I hoped that the second part of this season is a plain and simple story. But the writers - like in season 2 - continue to love their mysteries. They hunt Picard junior. They steal JL's body. But why? I don't like this style of storytelling. I don't want to watch the next episode primarily because I hope that next episode will clarify all the mysteries so that the actual story can commence. Only to be disappointed time and time again. I fear that they will reveal this mystery in the last couple of minutes. And will it be a WTF revelation? Just like in season two? This is not complex story telling. That's a sequence of artificial cliffhangers. When you think about it, you wonder what really did happen in this episode: they found out what was stolen and two people were kidnapped. That's probably it. The rest isn't interesting either. I don't really care about the "daddy issues" in this episode. I don't know Jack very well (I don't even like him). Why should I care about him? I don't know the LaForge girl - she's at least likeable. But why should I care about her? The only moment that captivated my attention was when Seven talked about the Voyager. I would be interested in her post Voyager story but like always they use Seven as a mere prop (because she's a fan favorite) without doing her multi-dimensional character any justice. They have even lost any interest to explore her love and sex life (if that was ever explored in a honest or romantic way in this show - they just used Raffi and her to check the "diversity checkbox"). Instead of a real story, I'm forced to watch Frau Greta Farbissina acting crazy.
This all may sound a bit too harsh. This season is certainly better than the first two seasons (and it's 500% better than Discovery). And because of the nostalgia, it's still kind of enjoyable. But the story - at least until this point - is mediocre.
Not me getting teary eyed at Seven wistfully speaking of her Voyager family :hearts:
That got me right in the feels!
What an episode overall though! I'll echo others in the comments in saying the quality jump has been phenomenonal. This is the Picard we always wanted.
Also that POV of the AI was so Person of Interest and I loved it.
P.S. Data golem mixing it up like he's got DID or something. The faker community are gonna love that (if any of them were old enough to watch this show)
My experience of this ep was stronger in the first two-thirds. I'm not gonna ding it points however.
This has got to be one of the strongest jumps in quality from a season to another in a show.
What an amazing ride this has been so far.
How did anyone having a watch party of this episode with fans even get through it without hooping and hollering? Easily wins nostalgia prize of the decade!
who thinks there might be a spin off with a Capt Jack Picard :thinking::hushed:
More of this please :pray_tone1:
I have just one word: nostalgia
Wharf and Riker are pure magic.
Omg! The entrance of Prof. Moriarty!!! And the rest of the story!! Marvelous!
So nobody on the Titan knew that the fleet is now “integrated,” did I get that right? They needed to come all the way to Geordi’s manchild of a character to be told so?
What a trainwreck of an episode. It’s ruining all of ST for me, they are really pulling all the stops on the gimmicks, kitsch, terrible characters, and bad acting. Most of the time the horrendously written, timed and delivered humor makes the set seem like a particularly bad sketch of SNL, you know, the ones where they can’t keep a straight face. Any chance the outlandish plots and subplots had to hold the illusion are shattered by these new lows of any ST franchise I can think of.
It boggles the mind such a project can get financed, and it’s seriously having me reconsider if the entire ST universe is like this and I just never saw it. I sure don’t remember shows like DS9, Voy or even TNG being anywhere near this kitsch and lame, not even their worst episodes, but now I’m almost afraid to revisit them.
This season has been awesome so far!
There's such a thing as too much fan service, at which point it starts to take away from the narrative because the viewers keep getting reminded that they're being pandered to by the writers. That is definitely happening here, but at least the story is pretty strong overall. The bits of humor, in particular, are wonderfully done.
Season 3 is what fans were hoping for all along. At least they figured that out. Nice to even have the First Contact score.
10/10
All Gold
Holy-smokes what a
Amazing episode, so much
going on but beautifully
woven into the story
and all the callbacks....well
Phenomenal.
This season
Absolutely
Kicks-Ass and blows
S1 and S2 clean out
the solo system.
Quite okay episode. So far this season has been infinitely better than the previous trash.
Let's chuck everything (completely unrelated to each other) at it and stuff the episode till there's no room left. We're getting the Gang back together!!! Episode 7 is Part 2 in this mess. Hope it improves after this because it's getting beyond stupid.
Riker, Worf and Raffi infiltrate Daystrom Station - and Picard tries to convince Geordi to help against the fleet.
Well, of course, there would be some form of Data there... a multipersonality-version. And the changelings stole Picard's human remains. Jack's diagnosed with Irumodic syndrome, a genetic disease from Picard's side, which apparently caused the hallucinations.
So, the changelings have Deanna as leverage for a newly captured Riker. I liked to see Moriarty, I also liked the shoutback to Farpoint Station with Riker and Data (even though I could have done without the actual flashback to that scene)... but at some point, the fanservice gets a bit much. Now we're at a starship graveyard and Seven points out pretty much every ever shown starship... starting with Enterprise, to Bounty, to Voyager... I love references, of course, I do, but you shouldn't exaggerate it.
I have 2 major issues with the plot, though: Why does no one on Titan know that the ships are networked/integrated? Shouldn't that be basic knowledge that a captain should have? (Also, this sounds awfully like BSG as in how that can be exploited.) And secondly, shouldn't a plot involving changelings rather involve the DS9-crew? I know, I know, VOY kind of took over the Borg, but the Dominion War was DS9, the changelings were DS9. So, somehow I keep waiting for Odo, Sisko etc to pop up.
Picard s3 writers brief "...make sure you shoehorn in ALL the memberberries!"
I loved that scene in the ready room where Picard makes excellent use of the word "Burgle", and then gets that nod of approval from Shaw...simply perfect!
Shout by NyxBlockedParentSpoilers2023-03-24T03:57:52Z
The writing leapt from middling at the beginning of this season to phenomenal in this episode, I could not take my eyes off the screen! The OGs AND the literal next generation (lol) are out here KILLING it! Amanda Plummer was on her A game here, absolutely TERRIFYING, Vadic makes Weyoun look like a disgruntled puppy.
I'm crossing fingers and toes hoping to see some more familiar faces for this bon homage. Faces that were involved in the Dominion War, and from Voyager, they certainly have options - perhaps Kira, O'Brien and/or Bashir because of their Section 31 connections, Janeway, Tuvok... look, if the PTB successfully deep faked Carrie Fisher for Star Wars, they can deep fake Odo and Benjamin Sisko for Star Trek. Whoever, whatever they choose now, I'm fully on-board because this ship found its second wind and is sailing!
10/10 - for Amanda Plummer putting in some serious WORK, and in memory of Lal (who we very likely may hear again soon).