Picard 1x7 "Nepenthe"

rating: ****

the story: Picard visits with old friends (you've probably heard of them).

review: It's official, then.  Riker became Little John.  (Give you a moment to remember.)  That's the wonderful memory and thought I had, anyway, watching "Nepenthe," among other happy reflections.  This was another solid episode.  At this point, I'm easily calling Picard the most rewarding series experience of the whole franchise, not just because I enjoy seeing Picard again, but because the season has been so consistently good, an excellent mix of everything, from ideas to characters new and old, and building on the rich legacy preceding it.

Let's talk about the ideas a little.  Finally we learn what convinced Jurati to kill her own friend and lover, Bruce Maddox, a vision of the future, and not just a vision, but that frequent vision of today, some dreaded apocalypse.  If we don't do this, this will happen.  And there's no convenient real world allegory here, no side to pick, in case you were worried.  It's just the times we live in, which is much as it was in the '60s, when Star Trek originally suggested it didn't have to be that way. 

But we begin to have an idea of why the Romulans, or anyone else, fear artificial life so much, and that's the key here, in this episode, that prejudice so often infused with some awful kernel but more often created by hysterical imagination, especially when the victim is so easy to dismiss as "other," as of course is always the case. 

No doubt we'll learn more.

In the meantime we have Picard and Soji visiting Riker and Troi and their daughter!  And, learning about what's happened in the meantime, who they lost, and how their lives have developed along the way.  Troi's there, but Riker receives more emphasis, and before anyone cries injustice, let me just suggest that Riker makes for better entertainment, and this might actually be his best-ever appearance in the franchise (across Next Generation, Voyager, Enterprise, and even his transporter duplicate in Deep Space Nine, and the movies, and now this, helping him, and Jonathan Frakes, set a new record, surpassing the likes of Nimoy/Spock and Dorn/Worf for most franchise appearances, that is unlikely to be broken).  And I'm not sure his height difference with Picard ever came across this sharply, either, at least for me.

For everything in the mix, it's another strong showing for Soji, who perhaps again most benefits from what might otherwise have seemed an obvious Picard spotlight, as she begins to accept who and what she is as she interacts with Picard's friends.

(Is it too early to suggest that the daughter gets her own series?)

Plus, unfortunately, the death of another familiar face, this time Hugh, as the Romulans officially switch into villainous gear.  Who else was seeing Narek, meanwhile, as a Star Trek Boba Fett?

(The title "Nepenthe," meanwhile, comes from The Odyssey, referencing a drug that cures a troubled mind.  Love the deep Greek mythology cut for that one, as with another recent Star Trek classic, Discovery's "An Obol for Charon.")

criteria analysis:

• franchise - I mean, gosh, it's great to see Riker and Troi again!
• series - But there's still plenty of room to celebrate what's happening in Picard, all you fans still paranoid about "These Are the Voyages..."
• character - Soji grapples with recent revelations, among other highlights.
• essential - Hardly a missed opportunity!

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan Frakes (Riker)
Marina Sirtis (Troi)
Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh)

Picard 1x6 "The Impossible Box"

rating: ****

the story: Picard reaches the Artifact (Borg cube).

review: Such is the emerging interest in Picard itself (which for many fans is contrasting with their perceptions of Discovery, which isn't the case for me, as I like them both, and they're doing two entirely separate things) that fans are starting to hype up the relevance of its events.  With "The Impossible Box" I've seen a rash of articles explaining its relevance to Star Trek: First Contact, how it explains and reconciles Picard's mood from what we've typically seen from him.  But we knew this already, from "Family" and of course, "I, Borg," both of which tackle his emotional response to the events of "The Best of Both Worlds," and from other episodes as well ("The Drumhead," for instance).

But the idea that his time as Locutus continues to bother Picard, that it has in fact becoming a lingering bigotry for him, is perhaps something new.  "I, Borg" touched on it (this is the episode where we originally meet Hugh, of course), but Picard seemed to use it as a definitive turning point.  Instead, as First Contact and "Impossible Box" make clear, it was an experience he had much more difficulty forgetting, much less getting over.

The funny thing is, "Impossible Box" features this aspect of the story much less directly than Seven's role in "Stardust City Rag," which was allowed to create a whole deviation from the flow of the series, so that we didn't even visit the Artifact that episode.  "Impossible Box," meanwhile, is the point the season has been building toward since the first episode, in which Picard finally meets the other sister, Soji (the naming scheme of the sisters can't help but call to mind another Picard movie, Insurrection, at least for me, which might even have been intentional; in a sense Data found a "kid brother" in it), who herself is in the midst of both finding out the truth about her Romulan lover, and her own origins.

In that sense, "Impossible Box" is much more of a Soji episode than it is another Picard spotlight, which is the second episode in a row for that to happen, and only second in six episodes.  Picard's reaction to the Artifact becomes icing on the cake.  In a sense, it's wonderful parallel storytelling, which is something that can sometimes feel like a lost art in the new franchise paradigm (though Discovery attempted, perhaps too much, exactly that in its second season, in successive character arcs throughout the season).

One last note: In his second Picard appearance, Hugh a last gets to soak in his legacy, which was sort of robbed of him the first time.  Viewers were left to either recognize him or not.  Here the context is at the surface.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - I wonder if fans ever really ever tire of revisiting the Borg.
• series - A crucial turning point of the season.
• character - Soji manages to upstage a key moment for Picard.
• essential - All that, plus learning more about that elusive Borg Queen, which amounts to another of Star Trek's spectacular gateways.

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh)

Picard 1x3 "The End Is the Beginning"

rating: ***

the story: Picard sets out to recruit an old colleague to his cause.

review: Notice I say "old colleague," not [insert name of Next Generation character here], which is similar to what the second episode did in recalling Picard's Stargazer days, although in this instance it's filling in some of the space between Star Trek Nemesis/Star Trek (2009) and Picard, in which of course Picard kept doing things even though we weren't watching, and met and did things with people we had never seen before.  I love that he got to have a vibrant life like that, sort of unlike how the original crew, in six movies...never really did.  Like, any of them.  (It's true, by the seventh movie, Generations, Sulu is reported as having made the time, and of course he did have his own ship in Undiscovered Country, and as George Takei loves bringing up, would've had one as early as Wrath of Khan, where of course Chekov is serving aboard another ship.  But this is already a large digression.)

And at some point, I might even start dropping the names of this supporting cast, but as it stands, these characters are still developing, and Picard is, well, Picard, and he's literally the guy in the name of the series this time, so for the time being, I'm going to continue talking mostly about him.

So we actually see the aftermath of his decision to leave Starfleet, fourteen years earlier (which, again, as with Discovery, is the first time in Star Trek lore that the production format has been comfortable to just show flashback moments without some convoluted method to get there, and that's one of the most refreshing elements of the modern franchise), and [New Character] is kind of miffed that not only does Picard get a chance to just walk away, but his retirement is also far more comfortable.  It's an interesting wrinkle of a future Star Trek always described as humanity no longer struggling with issues of equality.  The complaint might not even be much more than Picard having something, anything, to fall back on (in his case, the family vineyard), but it might also, as it seems on the surface, to suggest that equality doesn't always feel so equal, even if you're not an artificial life-form (which is sort of the crux of the series).

We meet another new character, too (a pilot that sort of feels like the Rogue One pilot, only more interesting, since he's got his own EMH literally designed after him), and the team is officially coming together.  We even see Hugh, I think, for the first time, helping the android duplicate as she investigates one of the Romulans reclaimed from the Borg (in the process revealing a prophecy twist that I sort of had to chew on a little).  Hugh, the drone we met way back in "I, Borg," now looking not particularly drone-like at all (unlike when we last saw him, in "Descent Part II"), so that you might not even realize who he is without his name being mentioned, being treated not as a big deal (yet) but just a supporting character feeding some connective tissue in the plot.  That's pretty interesting.

It's also interesting that the pilot dude has a personal EMH (whom he treats much as the Doctor was in early episodes of Voyager, as something that can be switched off at his convenience), which as I've noted is part of the intricate tapestry of prior artificial life bigotry in Star Trek lore, and either unique to people like this guy who are not particularly Starfleet mainstream or an exception to the new crackdown (or old, depending on whether Voyager meant to imply that the whole EMH series was scrapped, or just the original models).  Anyway this EMH is another of the many British accents cropping up in the series, which I find interesting, whether as a nod to Patrick Stewart or for some other production reason (such accents being traditionally more rare in the franchise).

There was a review I had read of the series before it launched that suggested Picard was ultimately too talkative, and far too coy about getting Picard's crew together.  If it was based on these first three episodes, I think plenty of valuable attention was given to the points of view for parties so far introduced.  It's better for Picard to be surrounded, if not by Next Generation characters, then by individuals who get to think about matters for themselves.  Too often, Star Trek (and other such platforms) assume the good guys are just going to agree and send them off on their merry way.  (To paraphrase Worf, not everyone is going to be merry.)

So this is another winner.  Next time: fencing!

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Some more valuable insights into what's familiar, and what's new.
• series - Several key characters are either seen for the first time or outright introduced.
• character - For a series named after a single character, this box sort of needs to be checked permanently, and fortunately, Picard keeps doing exactly that.
• essential - The slow pace of the second and third episodes means the storytelling is most rewarding to those actively watching.  You can't just drop in and be wowed.

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh)

Voyager 7x15 "The Void"

rating: **

the story: The ship ends up trapped in a region of space, and the only way out is to forge alliances with other stranded crews.

 what it's all about: "The Void," despite a painfully straightforward title (of the wrong concept, as you'll see), is actually pretty interesting.  You can see the third and fourth seasons of Enterprise sort of germinate in it, and it also reflects the idealism Janeway always sought to embody, which was always at the core of the series premise.

Now, just to get the metaphor out of the way, in Enterprise's third season, Archer's crew is stranded in a region of space where they're often forced to confront desperate measures in order to survive, having to decide how to handle other ships that have resources they need.  And of course, in the fourth, Archer lays the most deliberate foundations of the Federation as he helps Andorians and Tellarites overcome their differences, paving the way for them to join humans and Vulcans at the core of a powerful alliance.

There's no Federation being formed in "The Void," but the idea is much the same, mutual cooperation to mutual benefit.  And like Archer, Janeway encounters plenty of complications in her efforts to forge alliances.  The whole thing is an exercise in exploring just how Janeway was able to maintain a Starfleet outlook despite difficult circumstances.  Where fans saw only hardship (and that's much how it played out in Ron Moore's sort of response to Voyager, Battlestar Galactica), and that kind of pessimism was in fact indulged in "Year of Hell," "The Void" embodies the kind of resourcefulness and optimism that's at the heart of Star Trek.

There's a subplot involving a "vermin" species the crew discovers among the alien ships, which is eventually used to disable uncooperative (and treacherous) crews, which I'm not sure was given enough time to properly consider.  It's like an entirely separate story that was mashed into the main plot, and sits uncomfortably beside it.  And for its focus on Janeway's significance, Janeway herself doesn't really seem essential to how everything play out.  There's no specific focus on her.  It's more like business as usual.  Seems like a missed opportunity.  Plotwise, "Void" is almost a response to "Night," the fifth season premiere where the crew was similarly stranded in a desolate region.  "Night" was a terrific Janeway spotlight. 

criteria analysis:

• franchise - These echoes of Enterprise are all in hindsight. 
• series - Demonstrates the viewpoint of the crew exceptionally well.
• character - It's the Janeway ethos minus any real spotlight on Janeway.
• essential - And yet, I use the word "exceptionally."  Even if the center is missing, the puzzle is complete in that regard.

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan del Arco

The Next Generation 7x1 "Descent, Part 2"

rating: ***

the story: Data confronts Lore one last time.

what it all means: The seventh season of The Next Generation is often slagged as being meaningless space-filler material, after the grand storytelling contributions of the previous four seasons that measurably added to the legacy of Star Trek.  In contrast, "Descent, Part 2" already seems like it's treading water in comparison to predecessors like "Time's Arrow, Part 2" (sixth season premiere, finally explains why Guinan and Picard mean so much to each other), "Redemption, Part 2" (fifth season premiere, which concludes the Klingon epic), and the mother of them all, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2" (fourth season premiere, which finishes out a universally-acclaimed classic chapter in franchise history).

In contrast, "Descent, Part 2" seems to confirm all the neutering of the Borg established in its sixth season finale predecessor, and makes the whole thing more of a resolution of Data's relationship with Lore than anything else.  The later Enterprise fourth season premiere,"'Storm Front, Parts 1 & 2," similarly finishes up an arc (the equally long-standing Temporal Cold War) with a somewhat dismissive gesture.

What does it all mean?  As a Data/Lore episode, it's perhaps the most satisfying one from the whole series.  For once, Lore is at the advantage, and instead of trying to get Data out of the way, tries to get him to be more like himself, which is perhaps more chilling than the struggles Data experiences in the first part of the story, where no one really knows what's going on.  On that score, "Part 2" is definitely a step up from "Part 1."  But then, its conclusions are troubling.  Data simply decides to switch Lore off, indefinitely.  This is cold reasoning from Data, something that doesn't seem to be supported by the many other episodes where he championed not only his own rights, but those of his offspring as well.

It's tough to reconcile "Part 2" with the ideals of the series or franchise around it.  There are multiple episodes where characters find redemption.  "Part 2" doesn't even seem to consider that as an option, and worse still, Lore is never seen again.  A different Soong android pops up in Star Trek Nemesis, and one of the fascinating thing about that movie fans rarely consider is that it's an odd kind of redemption for Data, because initially he considers treating B4 the same way he does Lore, but eventually relents, with a little help from his friends, which ends up being justified.  That's the Star Trek message in a nutshell, no matter how many irredeemable villains there might be (even Dukat in Deep Space Nine had periods where he could be seen in a positive light).

"Part 2" is an important episode in the overall scheme of Next Generation, and it does set a tone for the season, in which other episodes question whether redemption really is possible.  More often than not, the conclusions are far different from the ones Data reaches in this episode, which actually serves to demonstrate his limitations, where more often than not he didn't seem to have any, except his ability to behave as a human would.

That being said, its limitations prevent "Part 2" from fulfilling its promise, even if those same limitations open up the season to go deeper into Next Generation's psyche than had ever been attempted. 

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Is not a great representation of the franchise.
• series - Is a good representation of the series.
• character - Is a good representation of a character.
• essential - Is an essential episode for Data, and the series.

notable guest-stars:
Brent Spiner (Lore)
Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh)
James Horan

The Next Generation 5x23 "I, Borg"

rating: ****

the story: The unexpectedly comes into possession of a Borg drone, and must determine what to do with it.

similar to: "The Abandoned" (Deep Space Nine), "Drone" (Voyager), "Stratagem" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: If the franchise hadn't done a number of similar episodes itself later, "I, Borg" would seem to be a peculiarly singular accomplishment: sympathy for the devil.  I mean, you can certainly find it elsewhere, but it's not the easiest story to do, and it seems all the less likely for having been done with the Borg, who in "The Best of Both Worlds" proved to be the iconic Next Generation villains.

Simply put, this is one of those impossible experiences that define the franchise at its best.  Although it led to somewhat questionable storytelling logic ("Descent, Part 2") later rectified (Star Trek: First Contact, Voyager), "I, Borg" features a nuanced follow-up for Picard as he confronts a representative of the Collective that nearly ruined his life, and deciding that instead of destroying it or using it (Starfleet can be pretty awful), he'll give an abandoned drone a second shot, now that it's been severed from the hive mind.  It'[s chilling and wonderfully human at the same time.

Later versions of this story feature threats from relatively more benign circumstances, but this is the episode that explores ramifications scarcely considered possible previously.  It's like "Devil in the Dark" in its naked complexity, and could only have been done in an era where serialized storytelling was in its nascent state.  The whole story would have been vastly different had Picard been hunting this opportunity (and thus the difference between, say Enterprise's "Stratagem").  Having stumbled into it and knowing exactly what's going on from the start, more or less (unlike, say, "The Abandoned" from Deep Space Nine or "Drone" from Voyager), it's a moment of cerebral meditation in the best tradition of the series.

Like "The Drumhead" before it, "I, Borg" is an oblique continuation of "The Best of Both Worlds," but an essential part of its story all the same.  For Picard, in all possible regards, this is the conflict of his life.  It's another classic.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential (all criteria met)

notable guest-stars:
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)
Jonathan Del Arco