TL;DR – Things go from bad to just fundamentally worse, like just about the worst of the worst.

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

Star Trek: Picard Review –

I need to stop saying that ‘It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn’ because I fundamentally misjudged where the bottom was for the USS Titan-A and her crew. Because … oh wow … we are in a bad place, like fundamentally almost the worst place you want to be.

So to set the scene, after fighting off The Shrike and escaping the nebula, the USS Titan-A limped back into Federation space to make repairs. But while the crew wonders why the Changelings are not reverting to goo, Starfleet shows up. Riker (Michael Dorn) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) did break more than a few laws to save Beverly (Gates McFadden). But when the security crew from the Duderstadt class USS Intrepid arrives, we find the exanimation undertaken by an old friend … or enemy? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead for the show.    

I will start this review by examining Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi’s (Michelle Hurd) story. Mainly because it was missing from last week’s No Win Scenario, but also after spending all of this season being separated, we finally come back together. You would think with almost an over-use of Vulcans that, we would have explored the many different sides of the species. But Deep Space Nine showed they could be a real threat if pushed, and watching Krinn (Kirk Acevedo) pontificate was fascinating. Much of this sequence lacked tension because you kind of knew where it was going. Okay, there was one moment, but then a big feeling of the resolution coming.

For the next section, we have the unfortunate realities of global distribution. The real hook of this episode is a very well-kept secret that Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) is returning. However, I live in Australia, and even though we watch this show on Paramount+, we must wait a day before release. Well, the internet can’t wait a minute, let alone a day and pasted this everywhere. All the impact of that reveal and what followed was immediately undercut. Patrick Stewart and Michelle Forbes are electric here, and I wish I could have had the same impact as the people who got to see this without the spoiler.

The main crux of the story is that we are very, very screwed. We have a complete infiltration of Changelings into Starfleet as they have evolved to be better infiltrators. So, basically, it is Among Us, but on a fleet level, with Founders Day looming, which would be a good target for a Federation-wide disaster. There have been many forced significant threats in the newer Star Trek, but this one with the added organs makes me feel like this is a touch more grounded. You can start to see where all the dominoes will fall going forward.

This does give us some scope for some fantastic performances. I am not sure what the hell is going on with Jack Crusher, but Ed Speleers is playing the heck out of it. Michelle Forbes brought some excellent class and power to every moment she was in and probably died in a way that Shaxs would be proud of. Also, while I am not saying that I like Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), but the delivery of “Oh, and um, as a courtesy, because of the harrowing ordeal that we all survived together, I’m going to step outside so the three of you can get your bullshit story straight” might be the best delivery of a line that I have seen in an age.

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Picard – Imposters? Look, there is no shock that we do. This season has been going from strength to strength, and so far, we have not had the mid-season slump, but only time will tell.          

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 – Dan Liu
Written by –  Chris Derrick & Cindy Appel
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, Michelle Forbes, Jonathan Frakes & Gates McFadden with Todd Stashwick, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut & Kirk Acevedo and Stephanie Czajkowski, Joseph Lee, Jin Maley, Tiffany Shepis, Grace Lee & Amy Earhart