TL;DR – This week’s episode was electric, with every reveal, every twist, and every moment landing perfectly  

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

Star Trek: Picard Review –

There have been a lot of beautiful episodes of Star Trek that have been aired in its 57-year history. Indeed, back in the year 2020, I made my own list of My Personal Top 25 Episodes out of the 743 episodes that had aired up to that point. I bring this up because, as of today, I know I have to amend this list because I just watched one of the finest hours of Star Trek so far.

So to set the scene, after securing the USS Titan-A from the Dominion invaders in Surrender. The whole old crew of the USS Enterprise D and E came together for the first time in an age. Picard (Patrick Stewart), Data (Brent Spiner), Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Troi (Marina Sirtis), Crusher (Gates McFadden), Geordi (LeVar Burton), and Worf (Michael Dorn). There are ill omens in the air because while the Dominion elements have been defeated, it is clear that something is set to occur on Frontier Day, and they have still not worked out what that is. But before they can do that, one question that can be answered is what is happening to Jack (Ed Speleers) because Deanna Troi can help him find what is locked away and is causing him such grief. But no one was prepared for what they found. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Last week’s episode might have had me on the edge of my seat, but this week had me feeling all sorts of emotions: fear and tension, shock and awe, the warm glow of nostalgia, and absolute grief. But before we get into the weeds of what happened this week, I wanted to take a moment to commend the writers and recurring cast this season. Coming into this final hurrah, there were some concerns about how we would engage with this new cast that had the difficult task of connecting with us while also standing out with literal legends [both in and out of canon]. However, as we felt with Stephanie Czajkowski last week, each member of that bridge crew had made a mark because you felt the grief and terror as they were assimilated before your eyes.

We see that more than anything in the course that Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) took, who has only had nine episodes to stamp his mark in the show. When he first appeared in The Next Generation, he was a complete prick, but interestingly he was a prick for both legitimate and illegitimate reasons. This complexity allowed Todd to craft a fascinating character who grew and charmed throughout his time. It was such a good performance that when I watched him die this week, I was overcome with a wave of grief. I don’t think many people suspected that he would make it out of this season alive, but I doubt people flagged the impact that he would have.     

While this episode explored grief and loss, you also could not help and feel the warm joy of nostalgia permeate throughout the world. We see that as we watch the USS Enterprise-F leaving Spacedock surrounded by an honour guard as space-fireworks explode around it. Well, you can’t help but get taken up in the moment, even before we get the cherry on top with the return of Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy). You also feel that at the end, when they reveal the USS Enterprise-D had been restored at the Fleet Museum. I should note that this was actually foreshadowed in last season’s The Star Gazer, to the point that I was surprised that we didn’t get to see the saucer section when we visited the museum in The Bounty. Those moments as the ship came into hard relief and then replicating that exact same feeling as we walked onto the bridge created a palpable sense. I don’t know how they kept that bridge set secret while filming I don’t know, but I am glad they did.

But this was not just an episode about whimsical nostalgia. It is also an episode where everything changes because the Borg are back. From a timeline perspective, The Borg were dealt a terrible blow by the crew of the USS Voyager in the Star Trek Voyager series finale Endgame. That episode was set in 2378, and it was such a defeat that no encounter with the Borg had been recorded in the ten years before 2401. Everything we see in this episode not only backs up the established canon but also the clues they have been dropping all season.

It also feels entirely what a deeply reduced Borg Collective would do in this situation. They have spent three major offensives to capture the Federation: The Best of Both Worlds, First Contact, and finally, the attack on the USS Voyager. At the heart of the lore around the Borg is that they adapt, and if the direct approach has failed on multiple occasions, why not try the subterfuge route instead? It also feels right that for a species that aims to find biological and mechanical perfection, they would have both bio and mech technology. This episode felt like a puzzle [a Kal-toh board, to use a Star Trek reference] that once the final piece falls into place, it shifts the reveal the answer. Like a kaleidoscope coming into sharp relief.  

A lot of the thematic weight of this episode, and eventually the title’s name, falls on Jack Crusher’s shoulders. The slow reveal that you are potentially a monster holding terror at bay for 25 years without knowing it. Well, that is an onerous burden to take. You feel that pain and anger roll through Jack as he understandably irks at the potential of being forcibly hospitalised. That moment when he walked into the Borg station and we heard the voice of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), I could feel a cold shiver go down my back. I also know more than anything that he will be instrumental as to if this season will stick the landing in the series finale next week.                                    

In the end, do we recommend Star Trek: Picard – Võx? Absolutely. This was one of the finest episodes of Star Trek that we have seen so far. Every part of the episode came together to build upon everything that had gone on so far this season and put it in the best possible position for the finale next week. And yes, more than anything, the speed of the plot very much dictates how fast warp speed is, but I didn’t care.

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 – Terry Matalas
Written by –  Sean Tretta & Kiley Rossetter
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, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner & Alice Krige with Todd Stashwick, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut & Elizabeth Dennehy and Mica Burton, Joseph Lee,  Jin Maley, Nolan North, Amy Earhart & Majel Barrett