Picard season 2 (spoilers maybe unmarked)

[MarkB]

For those wondering how they might be able to get back the their own future, the race that Tallinn serves have at least some knowledge of time travel, or at least time viewing. In the TOS episode that introduced Gary Seven they either had knowledge of, or projected forward to know that the orbital weapons platform launch had to fail, in order to turn the arms race around. Oh, and that race might just be:

And then there's Q, who may not be at his best right now, but he might have some juice left.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

and that race might just be:

Cats.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Well I've seen the season finale. I liked it, I'm sure people who dislike the season or the show will find plenty reason to hate it.

I'm not sure the following exactly requires full spoiler protocol, but given that I'm on Pacific time, and a night owl, and presumably most people haven't had any meaningful opportunity to watch it yet at all I'll be extra discrete.

Spoiler

Once again I return to the current vogue of full season/series plots as my major issue here. It's a fashion that has many things to recommend it, but the downsides following it to a fault are particularly striking to me when watching something that is fundamentally a spin-off of TNG, a show that was episodic to a fault.

In this episode the "main" plot of the last several episodes is basically resolved in the first third of the episode with no real major setbacks. This was necessary because when you have decided to make your story an eight hour epic you need half an hour plus of closing action to resolve your various plots and character arcs.

 

[Mallus]

So this season ended up being a more personal version of "All Good Things" where instead of taking place in three time frames, it took place in three 1980s movies spliced awkwardly together (but set in 2024).

For the first half of the finale I was disappointed. Mediocre TV writing trying to wrap up a season worth of plot and questionable aesthetic choices. Then suddenly it was thrilling and honestly heartfelt. Kinda sums up the S02. Very uneven, but the high points were pretty entertaining.

Still would have preferred 10 episodes of My Dinner With Q.

 

[bloodtide]

S2E10 The end

Sure are a LOT of people just hanging around like right next to the rocket.

And, um, did they ever say WHY was the launch done from L.A. ? When did L.A. become a space hub?

So....Talan who was always "I just watch", had a silly plan to sneak in to the rocket launch? Do the writers not even watch the show?

The "Scooby Gang" of useless characters just waste time with the drones.

And wow, the switch places was such a great plan. Well.....at least Soong finally used poison.

So...um....Talan with all her super science...why does she not have a cure for a silly 21st century poison?

And...well, after Talan dies does Picard just dump her alien body on the ground and walk away? Did he stuff her body in a dumpster? Or are we meant to think the alien supervisors have a clean up crew?

So....super smart Soong has no back up drives? Even more so one not online.

Guess in the Kelvin rewrite of real Trek the Eugenics wars take place in like 2030?

So, Picard and crew were just going to die in the past then? They had no plan to get home? Is that right?

And Q comes back to have a talk....one of the best parts.

Rios stays in the past....awwww.

Wonder how Q got his powers back JUST when the plot needed him too...... And why EVEN waste the time having him loose his powers for no reason in the first place?

Now...Back to the Future

So Picard has everyone stand down....and sure we all know The Masked Borg Queen is Jariti. Wow...what a twist!

And we get two annoying "writer services":

Dead space ninja is Back....and now he is SO cool that...er....he is answering communication calls.

And super cheap for a couple seconds Captain Seven!

And wow, wow, wow, big SIGH. Can the moder super lazy Star Trek writers DO any plot other then "yuck, yuck yuck, sume super duper space energy thingy will bring doom" AGAIN!


And...er...so New Borg Jeriti heads to space and...er...does nothing for 400 years? She does not stop the borg. We guess she does not "save people"?

But...oh, no....a super dumb writer space thingy will destroy the Federation....AGAIN. So Jeriti zooms over to save the day. Though...she does nothing to help for 400 years. So why can she suddenly help at the start of Picard? Like why could she not save all them hate filled Romulans when their planet blew up?

But...ok...Jeriti comes along to Save the Federation...again. Um....why did she not just say so? Why not just ask for help?


And...wow....look a that waste of CGI spam as the borg shield blocks that awesome "pew pew" and the day is saved!

Then back to the dumb Ten Forward Bar. And look it's elf ninja guy!

And Picard has a happy ending and gets the girl?


AND.......we get to see Wesley Crusher?!? In his new role of Demi God! But...um "Travelers" is a dumb name for the "people" that "do things". That gray guy from TNG TRAVELED around to find people like Wesley. But the people that DO things need another name.....even the Watchers would be better (or you know, hint, hint, wink wink The Preservers).

It's REALLY to bad they could not add a bit where Wesley and Picard at least see each other. Maybe we will get that for season 3?

 

[Stalker0]

Then suddenly it was thrilling and honestly heartfelt. Kinda sums up the S02. Very uneven, but the high points were pretty entertaining.

A very succinct summary. There are many moments in this series where I want to tear my hair out at how stupid plot moved and characters acted, but at least it managed to give me some feels on occasion.

I actually liked the Wesley Crusher cameo, was really surprised they kept that thread going. Still I feel bad for Kore's character, that entire arc was just really really pointless in the greater sense of the show. The borg change was interesting, as implausible as it might sound at first, Jurati had a unique chance no other being had possessed with the borg in possibly millenia.... 1 on 1 time, without a million voices distracting her, but just 1 on 1 with a single being putting the mirror of infinite timelines showing infinite borg destruction, to point to a truth as obvious as it was hard...the borg was did not work. And so in that fragile moment, the borg found a way to change. Now personally I have always preferred the borg as the faceless cyborg masses....you don't shed a light on your horror monsters. But in terms of character change its at least a neat way to go, and its probably the only version that could make sense to cause such a change like that.

Still at the end of the day definitely a C+ to B- show for me, it had its moments, but its no TNG.

 

[Mort]

I'd give this a C and only that high because some of the actors are so engaging and because of the very few actual high points.

If Strange New Worlds continues to be anywhere near as good as the first episode was... It'll blow this show out of the water - at least for me.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

AND.......we get to see Wesley Crusher?!? In his new role of Demi God! But...um "Travelers" is a dumb name for the "people" that "do things". That gray guy from TNG TRAVELED around to find people like Wesley. But the people that DO things need another name.....even the Watchers would be better (or you know, hint, hint, wink wink The Preservers).

It's REALLY to bad they could not add a bit where Wesley and Picard at least see each other. Maybe we will get that for season 3?

I actually liked the Wesley Crusher cameo, was really surprised they kept that thread going.

I liked that they had the discretion to not give away that he was in the episode in the opening credits.

Since I thought the whole Traveler arc was a weak way to write-off his character back in TNG, (especially since it involved the unfortunate appearance of sullen, emo-Wesley) I'll take all the retconning of the Travelers into galactic guardians that they want to give me.

I'm going to guess that they'll at least acknowledge him in season 3 given that his mother is going to be featured. Honestly his relationships with the Crushers seem like the biggest piece of unresolved character business for Picard at this point, so if they want to feature in a substantial role I'm all for it, however annoying I may find his character in early TNG, and however limited Wil Wheaton's acting abilities may be (I really enjoy him as an internet personality, presenter, etc, but he only really knows how to play the part of Wil Wheaton).

That said even if this one weird little cameo is the last we ever see of Wesley I think it's a more satisfying last look at his character than we got with either his last TNG series appearance or his featured extra, only-lines-were-cut appearance in Nemesis.

 

[Stalker0]

So just a few posts above I gave this show a C+. Now that I have seen the first episode of Strange New Worlds, this probably plummets to a D. SNW blows this completely and utterly out of the water. In one epsiode, I felt more "Star Trek", and enjoyed more character interactions, than in two seasons of Picard.

 

[Horwath]

Picard season 2, bloating of a 2hr(maybe) worth script time.

Entire season should have been a (bad)TNG double feature length episode.

Well, they atleast gave Jurati some meaning in this series, otherwise completely useless character.

Raffi is still annoying, ah and we got our space ninja elf Elrond back, yaaay....

This series should have been Picard, Rios and Seven with Q and Guinan as deus ex machina