TL;DR – This episode was full of electric moments that I could not look away from.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this episode.

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There are many things I look for in an episode of Science Fiction. Sometimes I am in the mood for an action scene, sometimes, it is a character marching into an entire soliloquy captivating the screen, and sometimes I just want to be shocked by what just happened. Well, today, we get an episode of Star Trek that does all this and more.   

So to set the scene, in The Next Generation, Picard (Patrick Stewart) is almost on his way off-world to spend some time with his love when he gets a message from Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and old friend, an old flame, and someone who he has not talked to in 20 years. But she was in trouble, and with the help of Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Seven (Jeri Ryan) [and no thanks to Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick)], they went past the edges of Federation space to mount a rescue. But when they got there, they found a couple of surprises, including Beverly’s son Jack (Ed Speleers), but also that they might have led the person hunting Beverly right to her. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.    

Today’s episode is one of those beasts where it is almost hard to see where to first attack it from, so in that vein, let’s talk about the action. Many things can fall under the banner of action, but this week we get a long drawn out potential and quick shocking thrust to the chest. Much of the time spent on the USS Titan-A this week was under the barrel of a gun, well, several guns, okay, an epic arse ton of guns. Give us Jack Crusher, or we will kill you, and I 100% believe that threat to be authentic. Pulling off a menacing ship design without overdoing it can be challenging. But the Shrike piercing through that nebula, it perfectly nails the brief. It is a design that feels reminiscent of several different races in Star Trek, the folded wings of a Klingon bird-of-prey, the colour scheme and vibe of a Ferengi D’Kora-class Marauder, with the construction that makes me think the Son’a built it. It is both unique while also being a ship that feels grounded in this universe, and it is a ship that feels like it could kill with a moment’s notice.

In an inverse to the long wait was the short stab to the chest that happened as part of Raffi’s (Michelle Hurd) investigation into the missing portal weapons, which last week were used to destroy a Starfleet recruitment centre killing over 100 people. Her handler told her to disengage as she continued to make her way through the underbelly of M’talas Prime. Like that was going to work, she went deeper into the underworld instead. We get the meeting of her and Sneed (Aaron Stanford), a local crime lord/ broker/ generally not very nice person. This is the second redesign of the Ferengi makeup, and I liked that they found a middle ground between the old style and the more plastic-style prosthetics from Discovery. Things go from bad to worse for Raffi because Sneed can smell the Federation on her, but unfortunately, his accomplices don’t smell the Klingon sneaking up on them until a kur’leth blade slices one through the middle. I think there was a lot of concern in the build-up to Season 3 with the mention that Worf (Michael Dorn) was more of a pacifist at this point. Well, was he imbued in grey? Yes. Still willing to sever one’s head from their shoulders, absolutely.  

One thing this episode nailed was the character interactions. The beforementioned Sneed was captivating in his unfortunately short tenure in the show. We got to see some of Jack Crusher very much dancing in the roguish charm territory. Even a moment of quiet from Beverly that I realised I was holding my breath for, even though there were no words. But I want to focus on two characters in this review, and the first is Shaw. Last week we were introduced to Captain Shaw, a complete dick, but for reasons that were both valid and not. Picard and Riker were trying to con him, so it was reasonable for him to fight back on that front. But the insistence of having Seven be referred to by a name that causes her discomfort, well, that tells you a lot of who he is. We get more of that exploration this week, where he almost has to be forced into doing the good thing [though it might not have been the right thing, we will see]. But we also see him when he is forced to make a hard choice, which is a fascinating moment to watch.

We started with the look at the Shrike, so it is fair that we finish with that because it is time to talk about their captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). As far as we know, she is new to the series and may indeed have no connection to Picard’s past, but in just a hand full of lines this week, she has stamped her place as one of the best villains in Star Trek. There is a cold-friendliness to her performance that is captivating. Someone who is polite because they choose to be, not because they have to. She felt like someone who was having glee talking to an ant, knowing that she had a magnifying glass and the sun was out. Every moment she was on the screen, I was captivated. What an opening performance.

In the end, do we recommend Disengage? Absolutely. I was entranced throughout this episode as I watched each of the dominoes fall into place. It was also one of the rare moments of TV that genuinely surprised me. Frankly, I can’t wait to see what happens next week.                   

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Star Trek: Picard yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Star Trek: Picard
Directed by – Doug Aarniokoski
Written by –  Christopher Monfette & Sean Tretta
Created by – Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer & Alex Kurtzman
Showrunner – Terry Matalas
Based on – Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry
Production/Distribution Companies – CBS Studios, Amazon Prime & Paramount+
Starring – Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Ed Speleers, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes & Gates McFadden with Todd Stashwick, Amanda Plummer, Aaron Stanford, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Randy J. Goodwin & Robert G. Morgan and Stephanie Czajkowski, Joseph Lee, Chad Lindberg, Jin Maley, Tiffany Shepis, Amy Earhart & Grace Lee