2.10: Star Trek: Picard - Farewell

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I was generally happy with this season finale. It did such a thorough job of wrapping things up that I started to wonder if a third season is still planned. (September?)

Long live Queen Jurati! And Elnor! May Seven-Raffi and Picard-Laris romances blossom!

My single, minor objection, is Wil Wheaton. It would have been so funny if, after identifying himself as the former Wesley Crusher turned “a traveler of all of space and time,” Kore had responded with ”Shut up, Wesley!”

I wasn't surprised that Rios stayed behind. Timeline disruption be damned!

Sounds like a corrective issue for the Travelers. Hmm. Does Wesley have a TARDIS?
 
I was generally happy with this season finale...I started to wonder if a third season is still planned... Long live Queen Jurati!
Even though I knew that Q would "magic" everything back to normal, it did feel like an easy way out.

An alien organism that aunty Renée found on Europa that will clean up all the ecological disasters on Earth? I guess I'll have to see that. It also seems too easy and a little magical!

So, Q is finally dead and gone? I guess we'll see about that too, when they need him once again!

There is certainly a third season because there are minor spoilers already. Not serious spoilers but best not read if you don't want to know anything. It is more what isn't going to be in it than what is. I think the season will obviously focus on what entity caused the anomaly and where that unusual kind of transwarp conduit goes to. However, Alison Pill says she won't be in it. they left the "dark" Borg Queen Jurati guarding that, so not sure how that works. It also will not continue the story of the "Khan Project" with Soong and his synthetics.

Does Wesley have a TARDIS?
Wesley turning up was very unexpected. In Star Trek: Nemesis he had seemingly left the Travellers and was back in Star Fleet again. To be honest, the Star Trek chronology and canon (which once held together surprisingly well) is now so shot through with holes, that it's worse than Doctor Who and I can't tell you what is right or what is wrong anymore.
 
Oh, thank you for putting this up. I was just about to do it. I didn't wanted to write or watch it, because I had a biased mind. Now I'm ready to check it out.
 
So IMDB score is 6.8, which is up from last weeks 5.3, with around the same number of votes. It is rare that I'll see the initial number going up. It really rarely does it and the downward trend can be more popular. But I'm not saying that Picard is a bad series.

It is not a bad series. Just like the Enterprise wasn't one. But in this season there has been a lot of stuff that could have been improved, and they could have done the story arc on Earth in a couple of episodes and given up more space opera, in unique Picard fashion.

Didn't happen, which is a kind of shame. Maybe the case is that personally I like the stuff that closer to new BSG and the Expanse. But in the case of having same old New Generation stuff, Picard certainly delivered in that. So for the people who like the old school stuff, this season should be a win.

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Old men are so sneaky. You look at them, and you will think that because they're old, they're going to be slow. But in their age, the run is not in the length of distance, it's in the act, and therefore, the whole run can be a few feet or a meter and half, and they'll do it quickly.

It was literally in a snap of fingers, the great Admiral had made a decision to go with Tallinn to save a Renee, while the others were given watcher tech to replace the alt-future stuff that they lost.

He read her intentions and went to save the love of his life, even though she's wearing a different name to a face that he's used to see. And he went there to tell her that Borg's occasionally lie, and the Queen has done it recently more than any other.

"My fate is not for yours to decide," Tallinn put in the female perspective. "I've seen the heart of this in you. But other people's lives aren't up to you. And their deaths aren't your fault. Not mine if it comes. Not your mother's. That's a fantasy, Jean-Luc. We can't control who we lose."

Why do they have to twist the knife?

I get Picard's position and he's need to save everyone, and I can recognize that thing in myself, because I've done it. And like him, I've stood in the same spot, hearing a similar kind of story. But back then, I didn't give a rat's ars* on that opinion. Picard however, stayed in his shoes and let out a big sigh.

I know man, I know.

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Soong's plan. Dodgy voice records, open consoles with app showing the information and futuristic drones. "The system is encrypted," Raffi shouted just after she had accessed the controls and ran diagnostics. "If I can't crack it, I can't stop it."

On paper that scene has worked perfectly, but in the practice, something failed in the direction. I get that they need to move the story and do something, but when the actors show that they can access the controls, putting out those sorts of lines looks idiotic in the eyes of technical people.

If they'd would have changed the line, "This looks complicated. I don't know if I can crack it in the time we've left." It would have made absolutely sense. And in the real life, it is often the case, that you'll have to find or formulate the right kind of command to initiate shutdown. None of them had a manual, and for example, Seven could have said, "Let me see if I can find a manual or something."

Three minutes to find it and correct entry is not an easy task. Three minutes to crack a hand built encryption algorithm impossible, especially if the key passphrase is longer than ten characters. In other words, "It ain't gonna happen," unless it's a scifi story.

It didn't happen in this one either. The drones launched, before Rios could get an analogue control on the swarm.

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Women :cry:

"The secrets we keep. All the reasons we never tell someone we love them. They're worthless. Sweet Picard. Your guilt must have saved planets by now. Countless lives in trade for one you couldn't. At least I got to tell her. Maybe she'll remember me... and know that she was worth all of it."

Bloody hell, making me cry. The old man was in shock.

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I knew it. Dr Soong is the father of the great Khaaaaaaaaaan. Kore thought that she did the good thing, but all she did was to ensure that the bad thing happened and Cpt Kirk had one of the greatest ST movies.

What nobody knew was the fact the Wesley Crusher had become a time-traveller and he was there to make sure Kore ended in the right place, among the Travellers.

Yet, the greatest Traveller is Jean-Luc. He made sure everything was in place, before Q appeared.

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"You considered destroying it, didn't you?" Q mocked Picard. "Well, let me ask. If that key is not there for the boy to find, does he grow up with his mother? Does the shame instantly lift?" He shrugged. "But you accepted your fate. You accepted you. You chose the Jean-Luc you are. You absolved yourself. And because you choose him, perhaps he will now be worthy enough for someone else to choose. Maybe this time, you will even give him the chance to be loved."

Well that was about Picard, but what about Q?

"I am dying alone. I do not want that for you. Humans... your griefs, your pains fix you to moments in the past long gone. You're like butterflies with your wings pinned. My old friend, forever the boy who, with an errant run of a skeleton key, broke the universe and his own heart. No more. You are now unshackled from the past. As I leave, I leave you free."

Short answer, Q was Picard's watcher and because of his monumental involvement in all things important, his watcher had to be a god like being.

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Assimilated fleet. Man, I hated the way Queen Agnes looked under the mask, but I understand the practicality and her mission, to help people, whoever they're. This time, whole Alpha Quadrant, against unknown galactic event, which created a TransCorridor, through an event that looked like a White Hole expelling matter that a Black Hole had sucked in.

Thanks to Picard and the Event ST now how Borg's guarding the Gate.

---

I'll give this episode 8 and this season 6, because it could have been so much better.
 
in this season there has been a lot of stuff that could have been improved, and they could have done the story arc on Earth in a couple of episodes and given up more space opera
Some of the complaints have been that there was simply too much going on. I sort of agree on that. Some of the plot-lines were not given satisfactory amount of time and their conclusions seemed rushed.
Soong's plan. Dodgy voice records, open consoles with app showing the information and futuristic drones.
I thought the drones looked very like the Nomad MK-15c probe designed by Dr. Jackson Roykirk and launched in the early 21st Century as Earths first interstellar vessel. Earlier in the series Q was seen sitting in Jackson Roykirk Plaza, so my guess would be that Nomad has already been launched. I know it's a small point, but that wouldn't make the drones futuristic.
I knew it. Dr Soong is the father of the great Khaaaaaaaaaan. Kore thought that she did the good thing, but all she did was to ensure that the bad thing happened and Cpt Kirk had one of the greatest ST movies.
She deleted all his computer files but didn't burn his paper copies. How did she know he didn't have back-ups in the Cloud or on other computers and memory sticks anyway. If you only have one copy of something important today, you are much more of a fool that Soong appeared to be.
Q was Picard's watcher and because of his monumental involvement in all things important, his watcher had to be a god like being.
In effect, yes he was, and I hadn't considered that. It makes a symmetry to the story that bookends it. It wasn't said that Q was actually recruited by the Travellers as a Watcher though, was it? I missed that if it was meant to be true. It would explain why Q has an obsession with Picard.
Wasn't that a deleted scene, not in the movie and so can be ignored.

Ah! Okay, I accept that!
 
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Does Wesley have a TARDIS?
Yes he does, but it's not functioning because he's not a Time Lord, but just a Travel(l)er.

I thought the drones looked very like the Nomad MK-15c probe designed by Dr. Jackson Roykirk and launched in the early 21st Century as Earths first interstellar vessel.
Well they most certainly would have used the prop assets as they have done for a long time, and it was an interplanetary vessel, not the interstellar one. I was also surprised how freaking small it really was for at least three year mission to over there and back.
 
I meant that the four small drones looked like Nomad (same size and same shape) not the Europa mission craft (which was not an extra-solar mission.)

There are too many different space missions going on in this time period in Trek lore, in comparison to the actual reality of today, which doesn't have nearly enough (if you discount tourist trips.)
 
I meant that the four small drones looked like Nomad (same size and same shape) not the Europa mission craft (which was not an extra-solar mission.)
I know, but I attached two different things together. I should have made them individual paragraphs.

There are too many different space missions going on in this time period in Trek lore, in comparison to the actual reality of today, which doesn't have nearly enough (if you discount tourist trips.)
Really?
 
Sorry, but you had me confused then.

On the space missions: there is Nomad, there are X number of additional Voyager probes, there is this manned Europa mission, and the Colonel Shaun Christopher manned Earth-Saturn probe. None of which have taken place yet, and look increasingly less likely to happen before World War Three takes place as depicted in the first episode of Brave New Worlds. (Not a spoiler, just a reworking of the Eugenic Wars mixed with some Colonel Green.)
 
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Star Trek: Picard’s second season finale was a bananas trip, messily running around trying to bring closure to the show’s remaining plot threads while throwing out some wild Hail Marys for the show’s future. But in the wake of its release, one weird trend has emerged: a seeming exodus of much of the show’s original cast.

I wasn't harsh. I was honest, but I think they're agreeing in their own way. The season could have been better. And that is intriguing because HBO faced the same thing at the GTO finale. Neither the audience nor the cast were happy. With Picard we only have one season left. What are they going to do with it?
 
Well, just got around to watching it. Feels I'm in the minority, but I have enjoyed season 2: I agree with a lot of the criticism, but I've also found a lot to enjoy - Queenie/Agnes has been a standout for me (and I do approve of her mini-collective joining the federation as a bouncer for the new mystery portal). Every scene with Picard and Q was worth watching as a short in its own right, and I find myself hoping for more of Kore's adventures as a Traveller. I've seen better Star Trek, but I've definitely seen worse. Will tune in for season 3.
 
Feels I'm in the minority, but I have enjoyed season 2
I don't think you are in a minority here. We like to nitpick things here, but only because we love it so much. My main criticism of this season, now that it is completed was that it was a little too busy. There were all kinds of ideas thrown into the mix, but because of that, many came out only half cooked. It needed either less ideas or a longer season. Picard (and Brave New Worlds) are superior to Discovery. Discovery isn't really Star Trek any longer, it's closer to Andromeda. Picard is something that was written for fans of TNG and Voyager.
 
I would have liked to have learned just a little more of the relationship between the El and the Q. Then again a little mystery is always good. Personally my view on them is that at some point in the past the two must have had nearly similar abilities/powers/influences. I've even toyed with the idea that they could have been the very same species an eternity ago. Both aspects would thus put them on par for being able to have a cold war situation where neither one could upstage the other.

Then at some point they diverged. My feeling is that the El sacrificed some part of their power for this change. Resulting in a race in modern trek times which is fairly normal and the Q being very super normal.



Q's death is interesting because it begs the question of when with regard to him. Because he can move within time the Q we see in Picard series 2 could well be a Q from the end of time itself. Which brings around some pretty big questions as to how and why Picard was so monumentally important to him. Then again perhaps he retreated to the Q realm thereafter and Picard really was his one big break. Perhaps he had other "Picards" over time but they never rose to the challenge the same way; or they failed. For whatever reason this one single mortal is exceptionally important to Q. Enough that when he's old enough to die (which far as we can tell almost seems to be a natural death rather than brought on by something else - or if it was we are not allowed to know what that something else is) he came back to give one final test and reward.





Overall I enjoyed the series. It has some clunky parts, but we've often seen before that the time period before the civil war is generally seen as robust and flexible enough to take some localised changes. Lets not forget Earth gets decimated by war and not only are many records lost, but its clear many people die and its such a catastrophic change that you can mess with the timeline a bit and it doesn't appear to have vast ramifications in the future. These are well established even since the days of the films from the Original series. So they fit into the established lore.
I do think the new Queen and New Borg could have been handled just a little differently. When the flagship of the fleet announces that you should "allow the Borg into your computers" that really does not seem very wise. I get that it created the early tension and questions, but really there are a LOT of better ways to get the Federation to bring a fleet and unite their shields than just Borg-ing them and taking over.


The new Temporal hole is interesting. I'm wondering if with the Borg in one Quadrant; the Changlings in another and the Federation in two more and with the galaxy's greatest major races being reasonably well fleshed out - I wonder if we are seeing a potential gateway into another Galaxy being opened up. Instead of messing with timelines and going way forward or back; which always seems to constrain the story and cause problems. Going sideways to a new Galaxy without ANY of the hangovers from the current one. Basically giving Star Trek its own "Stargate Atlantis" setup. It would certainly pave the way for a new generation of exploratory series and aliens without the hang over of having to fit them into an already well populated and established setting.
 
Back in 2019, (partly) in honor of the announcement of Star Trek: Picard, Ars staffers held an informal tasting session to sample two bottles of official Star Trek Wines, a collaboration between CBS Consumer Products and Wines That Rock. And the wines were.... far better than we expected, although very much over-priced.

Picard has now wrapped its second season, with a third currently in production, and the folks behind Star Trek Wines have expanded their collection from two varieties to six. So a second informal wine tasting was clearly in order. And who better to help us in this noble endeavor than Q himself—aka actor John de Lancie—and The Orville writer Andre Bormanis, who launched his career as a science advisor on TNG? They joined a fresh group of tasters (eight people in all) on a cool late spring evening in Los Angeles, where the nibbles were plentiful and the conversation flowed freely. (Wine assessments were anonymous, in keeping with the gathering's super-casual vibe. And the wine was purchased out of pocket, not gifted for promotional purposes.)
a Bordeaux blend from Chateau Picard (the label claims it's a 2386 vintage to keep the conceit going): 85 percent cabernet and 15 percent merlot. As I noted previously, this is a bona fide winery, with a centuries-old vineyard in the St.-Estephe region. It just so happens that Jean-Luc Picard's family has long run a fictional vineyard of the same name, albeit in the Burgundy region rather than Bordeaux—it features prominently in Picard. The real winery agreed to collaborate on a special edition of their cru bourgeois vintage for the Star Trek collection.

Our 2019 verdict: "It's a solid, tasty Bordeaux blend, dryer than the zinfandel, with a longer finish and more interesting spices, even if lacks that 'Andalorian spice.' It is, in short, quintessentially French, and proof that even in the 24th century, terroir still matters."
 
CONTAINS SPOILERS

My family and I struggled greatly with this season, and we generally liked season 1 quite a bit, apart from a couple of patchy episodes - I would have given season 1 a 7/10 overall. I would have to give season 2 a 4/10 overall, more so for the horrible waste of talent, poor script, Chibnal-Who-worthy levels of exposition, and downright strange tone.

I got some pretty bad vibes from the trailer, which smacked of cost-cutting, making it a time-travel story to (practically) present day. Episode 1 was good, and made me think I might have judged it unfairly. Unfortunately, everything went downhill from there; the plot was convoluted, and over-explained at every opportunity; there were huge chunks of screen time devoted to unnecessary events / scenes, like the clinic, the FBI basement (and First Contact retconning) scene; and a horribly clunky and drawn-out flashback to Picard's relationship with his Mother (and I doubt there was anyone who didn't know where that going to end up after the first couple of scenes). Conversely, some of the stuff that deserved far more focus / screen time (7's reborgification trauma / her and Raffie's relationship / Rios' background / and especially Picard's relationship with his father) was totally glossed over.

More than anything else, Picard feels like a massive missed opportunity. TNG (and the character of Picard himself) was at its best when dealing with the morality of life / politics / science, whilst telling interesting stories featuring much-loved characters. Some of Patrick Stewart's finest performances were discussions / quarrels / monologues about the human condition, understanding, tolerance, acceptance, diplomacy, sacrifice, etc. To see him relegated to essentially a bit-part character in his own show, surrounded by some mildly likeable characters, rushing around churning out plot-serving exposition, with the odd swear word or splash of graphic violence to underline 'This is Adult Star Trek' is really quite sad. There was a huge opportunity for this show to improve upon an uneven, but edgy and interesting first season, and same something prescient about today's ultra-divided society as part of a deep, sci-fi political thriller about clashing civilisations and the evolution of the human species - the minor thread about the Borg on the verge of seeking political asylum with the Federation, having effectively exhausted their purpose would have been a great idea to have as the main season arc, WITHOUT the time travel. Maybe you could still have had Q there in some capacity, given he was the one that introduced the Federation to the Borg, so feels guilty perhaps. As it was, that thread was almost an afterthought to a dime-a-dozen time travel story when absolutely everyone knows we will end up five minutes after we started with almost no lasting damage / impact (Rios being the exception).

Maybe I'm too finicky. Maybe I'm a snob. Maybe I'm in the minority that like some depth, meaning, and emotional resonance to a show, not just a endless 'things' happening one after the other, too quick to really care about.

I'll still turn up for season 3, in the hopes that they give the character and actor the send-off they deserve, like they managed to do very well for Data.
 
Enjoyed the final episode a bit more than I expected - the wrap up as to Picard's relationship with his mother, and the reason for Q's intervention, I thought was superb - as was Q in general in this scene.

Guessed the Borg Queen reveal from episode 1, but still satifying to see it - even though the "galactic event" seemed somewhat hand-wavy. The fact that there's a Borg collective now within Star Fleet is a pretty big deal.

There were things wrong with this season, but as Silent Roamer pointed out, there's a lot worse - I think the main flaws were because they tried to put so much in - as opposed to Season 1 which, after a strong beginning, I found infantile and careless.

Overall, reasonably enjoyable, and better than expected - I guess starting with low expectations is good. :)

Anyway, now to start Season 3...
 
Enjoyed the final episode a bit more than I expected - the wrap up as to Picard's relationship with his mother, and the reason for Q's intervention, I thought was superb - as was Q in general in this scene.

Guessed the Borg Queen reveal from episode 1, but still satifying to see it - even though the "galactic event" seemed somewhat hand-wavy. The fact that there's a Borg collective now within Star Fleet is a pretty big deal.

There were things wrong with this season, but as Silent Roamer pointed out, there's a lot worse - I think the main flaws were because they tried to put so much in - as opposed to Season 1 which, after a strong beginning, I found infantile and careless.

Overall, reasonably enjoyable, and better than expected - I guess starting with low expectations is good. :)

Anyway, now to start Season 3...
I'd agree that that part of what the season suffered was a case of too much crammed into too few episodes. I liked Q's farewell - and that, of all characters, he/it went with grace, acceptance, and a sincere effort to help someone he'd come to care about. I also like the Queenie/Jurati arc, especially as it sort of confirms my own suspicions about where the Borg as a faction are heading, in a good way that hopefuly means we can still see more of them in the future without further emasculation. But I am now going to make the same complaint about the end of season 2 as I had about season 1: Can we please have some resolution, or at least a bit more detail, on the 'ubersyths' / 'galactic event'? I mean... twice now we've had it that there's something fairly huge lurking out there, and now twice the idea's just been dropped without more development. Tie books / comics maybe?
 

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