Picard season 2 (spoilers maybe unmarked)

[Mort]

Am I the only one who thinks (depowered) Q is actually trying to fix the timeline, if only to get his powers back?

I hope it's something like that!

IMO, Q (even a depowered Q) works much better as a plot device than an adversary.

It's not really all that fun having a nearly omniscient/omnipotent adversary because then the plot twists etc. required for the protagonists to prevail - just have so much less meaning.

 

[Omand]

This one was a hard sell for me - the super security for a NASA party just sounded ridiculous.

All they had to do was have some reclusive Billionaire and his company be handling the space launch - then it sounds eccentric (as in completely unnecessary but why not...). I believe SpaceX handles 2/3rds of NASA's launches IRL - so why not have some eccentric Billionaire doing it?

I agree, perhaps a bit of a stretch.

But remember, this is different from our own time. The Sanctuary Districts that were explored in DS9 are a thing in this 2024. Higher security for a gala event like this might be standard in the Trek 2024 time, even for NASA. We also kind of know that the Colonel Green era is right around the corner (showed up in TOS and some background in Enterprise as well for the 2050s), so it would make sense for increased security and paranoia to be part of the lead up to Green and the Eugenics Wars.

Cheers

 

[MarkB]

This one was a hard sell for me - the super security for a NASA party just sounded ridiculous.

All they had to do was have some reclusive Billionaire and his company be handling the space launch - then it sounds eccentric (as in completely unnecessary but why not...). I believe SpaceX handles 2/3rds of NASA's launches IRL - so why not have some eccentric Billionaire doing it?

It's not exactly the average NASA party. A manned mission to Europa is a much more high-profile event than anything NASA has done in the last several decades, and it seems to be pretty controversial.

Plus it's a meet'n'greet for investors, and for the sort of funding needed for a Europa mission that does mean billionaires.

And is the security really that overwhelming? Security badges with built-in RFID tags are already pretty commonplace in more secure office environments, and while facial recognition software is still a little hit-and-miss these days, given a couple more years of developement there could easily be off-the-shelf solutions as capable as the one seen here, and cheap enough that any prestigious event would use them routinely.

 

[Ryujin]

Remember folks, "The test never ends." Yes, Q could be trying to fix the timeline. Then again he could just be messing around, as is his wont, waiting for Picard to break the future. There's precedent.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

This one was a hard sell for me - the super security for a NASA party just sounded ridiculous.

All they had to do was have some reclusive Billionaire and his company be handling the space launch - then it sounds eccentric (as in completely unnecessary but why not...). I believe SpaceX handles 2/3rds of NASA's launches IRL - so why not have some eccentric Billionaire doing it?

I think the original sin was setting it in 2024 (which I assume they did because they wanted the immigration subplot to be a bolder statement). If they had just had it set in the 2030s then both NASA running a bit differently (and, you know, having a manned mission to Europa) and Dr. Soong's sci-fi patio screen thing would require way less suspension of disbelief.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

A manned mission to Europa is a much more high-profile event than anything NASA has done in the last several decades, and it seems to be pretty controversial.

It's also something NASA definitely won't be doing in 2024. Few things are certain in the universe, but even in the scenario where some sort of major event tomorrow creates the political will to go to Europa, NASA scheduling more than two years lead time from the present to make their most technically demanding mission ever happen is an absolute certainty.

 

[MarkB]

It's also something NASA definitely won't be doing in 2024. Few things are certain in the universe, but even in the scenario where some sort of major event tomorrow creates the political will to go to Europa, NASA scheduling more than two years lead time from the present to make their most technically demanding mission ever happen is an absolute certainty.

Yeah, between that and Adam Soong's hovering forcefield sunshade, this does already seem to be an alternate timeline from our own.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I do feel obligated to say, given how many nitpicky comments I've made, that I am really enjoying this season on the whole (and my initial reaction when I saw that it was a time travel plot was "haven't we had enough Star Trek time travel plots?"). It just has a lot of details that don't really hold up to scrutiny, and and the "whole season storyline" storytelling form encourages (perhaps demands) more scrutiny than traditional "wrap it all up in 52 minutes" Trek.

 

[Mallus]

This episode turned Star Trek into Cloud Atlas: the same set of souls reincarnated through the ages, playing variations on a theme. A bit jarring at first, but I think I may love it.

At the same time it turned into a heist movie were they send the roboticist in first, instead of the ex-spy.

While also featuring a NASA prom that’s totally the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, except Elon Musk is probably there.

Not quite as contemplative as the first season, but a lot of fun. I bet it was even fun to write.

 

[Mallus]

So how/why does Renee Picard join NASA? Why the AMERICAN space agency?

“How does somebody move to another country and get a job?” isn’t as difficult a question to answer as you’re making it out to be.