Mike86

Synopsis:
Completely unaware of her special nature, Soji continues her work and captures the attention of the Borg cube research project’s executive director. After rehashing past events with a reluctant Raffi, Picard seeks others willing to join his search for Bruce Maddox, including pilot and former Starfleet officer Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera).

Shannon Nutt

Another solid episode, although I'm not sure a whole lot happened this week, other than getting the gang together and heading off.

I can't believe Picard let ANYONE call him "J.L."

hdtv00

Boring as hell. And J.L..... for fuck sake.

windom

Why is he referred to as "J.L. Picard" on that screen that was showing his profile? Jean-Luc is his first name. Luc isn't a middle name. Unless that was just an entry that she had created for him since she calls him J.L. anyway.

Eric F

Do we think the scientist lady is a spy/being extorted?

Deftones

They seemed to make you want to think that but that would be a lame plot device.

Mike86

I enjoyed the episode overall, but yeah not a lot really happened. Cool seeing Hugh and so far Rios seems like an okay character. I feel like we could use more background on the Raffi character. Maybe we’ll see some further flashbacks before she and Picard lost touch.

Count Dooku

Watching the episode yesterday, I kept mentally wincing every time she called him "J.L." and I thought it was because it just sounded so odd, but I understood that they were doing it to demonstrate that they had a uniquely close relationship.

This morning I realized what was wrong with it. She kept calling him "Jay Ell." That's two syllables. Jean-Luc is also two syllables. She's not shortening the name. If she wants to demonstrate familiarity, she should be calling him "Jail." If you decided to call him "J.L." and then did it repeatedly, you would fall into a comfortable "Jail" or "Jell," and your friend would accept that as a nickname.

Other than that piece of obsessive business, I thought the episode was a weak link getting us to where we needed to go.

The scenes in the desert with Raffi were played way too over-dramatically. One, it is completely out of character for Picard to abandon someone like that. Second, what is wrong with her that getting kicked out of Starfleet sends her into isolation for 14 years. Her friendship with Picard was supposed to make us see her with esteem, but she came off as a weak character to me.

Sorry, but those scenes with the ex-Borg fortune teller --UGH!
I realize that mysticism is in the Vulcan/Romulan heritage, but I don't need that crap thrown into this story. How Maddox went from clueless bastard to creating an army of synths to improving on Data is enough of a mystery for the show right now.

All that stuff with Han Solo and his doppelganger holograms was trying to be way too cute and clever.

bunkaroo

This show is starting to lose me. It was cool to see Picard again in the first episode, but the show is dragging serious ass. Don't really care for any of the new characters except for Picard's Romulan house guests. Hope it gets better but not hopeful given how Discovery has gone.

Mike86

I think now that he has a ship and is embarking out that things should pick up. I agree that having three episodes of straight setup maybe is a bit more than necessary, but I’ve enjoyed all three episodes so far. I also will say I like that the show is taking its time more as opposed to other new Trek properties, which have gone the direction of trying to be more action oriented. This is more of a slow burn sci-fi show which is nice in the modern era, but at the same time some modern viewers may not like.

I agree that Raffi calling him J L was weird, but as long as it’s just the one character doing it I can live with it.

bunkaroo

I don't consider myself a "modern" viewer and I love a slow burn provided it's well executed. So far I don't think that's been the case.

Eric F

They should have just released the first 3 episodes at once.

Mike86

I wasn’t necessarily referring to you. I just meant newer fans who are more used to the Kelvin timeline films and Discovery as they have more of a focus on action. I consider it more of a slow burner. It’s taking its time getting where it’s going rather than getting where the viewing audience expects it to right away.

bunkaroo

I'm actually rewatching DS9 right now and I just started season 2 which isn't considered to be one of the better season, and yet in contrast it is much more compelling than Picard.

Mike86

I think it’s just a different show than we’re used to seeing in that at least the first few episodes have all been based on Earth. The space exploration has been missing. Like I say I think now that he has a ship and will be on his mission things are probably going to pick up more. They probably could have done the setup in the first two episodes or so and gotten more into the main story with the third episode.

Count Dooku

I think the jumping back and forth between Earth and The Cube was a mistake. The story should have stayed with Picard, setting up everything they needed to do to get him on the ship with his new crew. And then there should have been an entire episode setting everything up on The Cube.

Admittedly that would have meant an episode of PICARD without Picard, but the story would have had more flow, and the exposition would not have been scattered all over the place.

Eric F

We know Section 31 has their hand in this somewhere don't we?

Josh-da-man

This is moving way too slowly for a weekly series. The turgid pacing would work better if the viewers could watch it Netflix binge-style.

This episode opened up some interesting questions about how the economics of the Federation work. There's a sort-of reference to Picard being wealthy (when Raffi was giving "J.L." shit about living in a mansion while she was living in a trailer out in the desert) and when a reference was made to Rios' services as being expensive.

There have been mentions on TNG that they no longer used money.

So how are all of those laborers at Picard's vineyard being paid? Who is Picard making the wine for? Presumably someone is buying it. And I'm not sure what the point of running a giant plantation is when anything can be easily replicated.

Is the Federation a communist (as envisioned by Marx in the Communist Manifesto) that provides basic needs like food, shelter, and energy, but there is also existing a second, non-sanctioned economy based around something like bitcoin that allows people to buy things like luxury real estate?

With replication technology and, presumably, free energy, the Federation would be a post-scarcity economy. The only things that would be of any value would be real estate, and particular skills and services.

Mike86

Kinda surprised the show has resisted resorting to cameos from old favorites. I mean Data in the first episode and Hugh in the most recent. Hugh isn’t exactly a character that every non casual fan will remember. Curious when Riker and Troi show up.

Count Dooku

This is a subject that has bothered me a long time and that I have had many discussions about with other fans.

I trace the idea that people in the Federation no longer use money to that first season TNG episode with the Romulans' return, but I think that was an ill-advised concept that the idealist Roddenberry put in there.

As TNG progressed, it became clear that they were all getting paid. They had money to gamble, and they gambled with civilian personnel on the ship. They took vacations and bought personal possessions. And they interacted with a lot of non-Starfleet people who were living in the Federation who absolutely used money.

On DS9, the idea that nobody cared about money in the Federation, or that Starfleet personnel never got paid, was absurd. Quark ran a business, and people paid to drink and gamble and use his holosuites.
And then on Earth, Sisko's father ran a restaurant and had kitchen employees. Maybe the elder Sisko was content to run a restaurant in a no economy society just because he loved it so much, but who's going to take a job peeling potatoes in the back? Or take a job serving drinks at any of the bars that still exist on Earth.

And those people who got killed on Mars, they were complaining about the long hours and lousy food. Those were laborers who had to be getting paid, or else why would they be there?

Of course, the existence of matter replicators make the entire concept of a material economy somewhat insane. If you can instantly replicate any meal, the only reason for restaurants to exist is so you can go out and be waited on. If you can replicate any object, then the only reason for non-replicated objects to exist is for their symbolic and sentimental value.

johnnysd

Not really digging this so far, to be totally honest. I realize Picard is older but he doesnt feel like Picard and I think the entire content of the first 3 episodes could have been done in maybe a slightly longer than 1 hour episode. Also, the dialogue just seems off. They can turn it around but a bit of a letdown for me so far.

windom

So Picard didn't want to recruit his old Enterprise crew to join him on this mission because they would do it without a second thought, but instead he tries to recruit the woman whose career and life he essentially ruined and who actually doesn't want any part of it (initially). I guess she's supposed to be an expert on Romulans though.

Is it Starfleet that banned synthetics or the whole UFP? Are synthetics outlawed on all Federation planets? Why aren't the "emergency holograms" also outlawed? They're essentially another form of AI that can manipulate objects and potentially use weapons. I suppose they might be easier to shut off, but I'm sure if the holograms wanted to revolt, they could find a way to prevent that.

Eric F

I suppose because holograms aren't "real" and are limited to the ship? (Although Voyager's doctor wasn't) and the ship's computer? The question is then if a ship's computer is capable of running an AI then why isn't the ship an AI itself? (although we saw in TOS that Kirk didn't appreciate The Enterprise with a female personality)

movieguru

I had a ssumed that Riker and Troi were on Earth, but now since they juat wapred a way from earth that may not be the case. Maybe they are on Betazed or some other planet.

Count Dooku

Maybe they opened a Bed and Breakfast on Risa.

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