Picard Season 3

[Ruin Explorer]

I don't think it's the Pah Wraiths as, AFAIK, Picard never messed with those but someone online points out the glowing red eyes thing is absolutely what people possessed by the Pah Wraiths do, and the John Wick stuff and psychic powers could also be explained by Pah Wraith possession.

I just think it won't be that because there's no connection (apart from a tenuous one to DS9 and thus the Changelings generally).

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I don't think it's the Pah Wraiths as, AFAIK, Picard never messed with those but someone online points out the glowing red eyes thing is absolutely what people possessed by the Pah Wraiths do, and the John Wick stuff and psychic powers could also be explained by Pah Wraith possession.

I just think it won't be that because there's no connection (apart from a tenuous one to DS9 and thus the Changelings generally).

I probably shouldn't really try to think about this, because it seens too far off. But it's fun, so anyway:
Maybe they need Jack and Picard because Picard never was connected to Pah-Wraith Goo, and this way they can use a pure Picard sample to seperate the wraith from Jack.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I probably shouldn't really try to think about this, because it seens too far off. But it's fun, so anyway:
Maybe they need Jack and Picard because Picard never was connected to Pah-Wraith Goo, and this way they can use a pure Picard sample to seperate the wraith from Jack.

Love it.

Almost certainly not true but it works.

I'm reading other theories on Jack and none of them really hold up - they've done a good job of obfuscating what he is.

Like, the easiest theory is Jack is a successful example of what went wrong with Vadic - i.e. he's a super-changeling, but was actually successfully controlled by Starfleet/Section 31/etc. - The primary supporting evidence is that he instinctively knows who is a Changeling.

But there are big problems with that - why did Starfleet make him pretend to be Crusher's kid for like, 20+ years (or replace her kid at some point)? And the only supporting evidence has another explanation - he's psychic - and we know he's definitely psychic, because he puppeteered LaForge this episode.

And that puppeteering style stuff is something usually only godlike beings of various kinds have in Trek.

Of course there's an alternative explanation there too - La Forge is also unknowingly a Changeling, and he used the link!

Part-Borg or "Borg on a molecular level" (whatever that means) is another popular theory, but totally fails to explain the psychic powers and seems very vague.

But that offers a VERY tenuous alternative explanation for the puppeteering - Geordi was also once messed with, with Borg tech - by Lore no less (and a brainwashed Data). So perhaps both Jack and the La Forge kids are "partially Borg" in some weird nanite-related way, because both their dads were messed with by Borg tech? And thus the "psychic powers" are actually the Borg link? He's only mind-read/controlled one of them so far.

Doesn't really explain how he can detect Changelings (maybe he passively emits nanites or something?), though.

(Original theory do not steal lol - absolutely feel free to steal it lol - but I did come up with it!)

Pah-Wraith unfortunately explains everything, but he'll be extremely easy to deal with if it is the case, as Chroniton radiation has been used to get rid of them repeatedly. I still don't believe it though.

 

[Ryujin]

I don't think it's the Pah Wraiths as, AFAIK, Picard never messed with those but someone online points out the glowing red eyes thing is absolutely what people possessed by the Pah Wraiths do, and the John Wick stuff and psychic powers could also be explained by Pah Wraith possession.

I just think it won't be that because there's no connection (apart from a tenuous one to DS9 and thus the Changelings generally).

Or it could be explained as superior reasoning and physical control. Think the Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes."

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Or it could be explained as superior reasoning and physical control. Think the Robert Downey Jr. "Sherlock Holmes."

I mean, the telepathy and body-control of others couldn't be. The John Wick stuff could be - though he was very clear he had no idea what was going on or how he was doing it, and definitely can't intentionally turn it on.

 

[Ryujin]

I mean, the telepathy and body-control of others couldn't be. The John Wick stuff could be - though he was very clear he had no idea what was going on or how he was doing it, and definitely can't intentionally turn it on.

I was speaking specifically of the "John Wick" stuff and, perhaps, somehow recognizing tells for a Changeling. There's a long history in fiction of character not being able to consciously access their powers.... until they are.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I forget to account for the Q Continuum as another explanation. Or more specificially - why was Q so interested in Picard? Maybe he has that little spark that will bring humanity to another level, and so does his son, and it's united with that little spark that turned Wesley into a traveller.

I think the biggest problem with anything like "he's actually a Changling" is that it means he isn't the son of his alleged parents and that seems to undercut the emotional arc of Beverly and Jean-Luc. Though I suppose with the way these new Changlings work - maybe he is a joined form of the son and the changlings. My Pah-Wraith idea would apply here, too - they need Picard to seperate Jack from his Changling. Even though that isn't neccessarily what he wants or needs. (Unless it is, because we hear voices calling out for him to come home or something). But I guess it would still be weird that Beverly never noticed her son becoming joined with a Changling.

Part of me thinks the true nature of Jack is a bit too well-concealed and might end up feeling like an "donkey"-pull. Some people say that the Mirror-Lorca and Voq-Tyler story in DSC were too easily predicted, but I think it was just the right level to ensure that it would make sense and feel right when revealed.

Of course, the changling idea really wouldn't feel like unforseeable surprise from the show. It just feels emotionally wrong to me.

 

[bloodtide]

I mean it does feel like it's kind of too late to establish any new entity as being the thing behind the big floating head big bad

A surprise big big bad pulling the strings of what was thought to be the big bad is common enough. It does seem the floating head is not a Changeling, right? At least twice he has said something like 'your people" to Vadic. Could be he is something else then?

Having the son of Professor X be Legion, in a completely different cinematic universe, would be... weird.

Well, just the idea. Jack Locutis 2.0 takes over the Great Link Gaia Galaxy, as he is the son of Picard/Professor X and that is "Legion". You know like a writer was trying to think of 'why do the bad guys want Jack Picard, they flip through some streaming, see the show Legion and go "Aa-Ha!"

 

[MarkB]

A surprise big big bad pulling the strings of what was thought to be the big bad is common enough. It does seem the floating head is not a Changeling, right? At least twice he has said something like 'your people" to Vadic. Could be he is something else then?

I actually found myself tending more toward it being the Dominion in this episode. With the revelation that Vadic and the other infiltrators had been altered by Starfleet, becoming a new breed of changeling, the "your people" bit could be the Founders of the Great Link condescending to them as lesser, mutated versions. The Founders are nothing if not purists, and would not view an increased capacity to be like solids as an upgrade.

Maybe the reason Vadic needs to do the hand-chopping thing to communicate is that she's become too different to communicate directly through the Link, and must instead sever a purified portion of herself to act as a conduit.

Plus, the episode is called Dominion.

 

[Ryujin]

At least this time they finally explained why they don't all look like a blob of mercury anymore.