Star Trek Picard: Fly Me to the Moon

"This is a very bumpy century but I think I'm getting the hang of it."

With the introduction of a new player and a bit more details about Q’s interference in time, we finally have some idea of what is actually going on.

Not that we have the full picture yet. There has to be a reason why Q is acting like this. He has always been a bit of antagonist, but here he seems to be acting like a mustache twirling villain. He was always the fun rival, the one that challenged Picard and gave him obnoxious lessons in humility. What is he doing here except dooming humanity to the darkest timeline? Is he trying to rig the trial again? Maybe the issues with his powers have something to do with his actions.

So apparently the significance of Renée Picard’s trip to space is that she discovers life in our solar system. That throwaway line symbolizes such a massively important step in the grand scheme of things for our species that it makes total sense that it would be a nexus point that could diverge timelines. It makes total sense that she would have someone watching over her timeline. Except Tallinn doesn’t seem to be doing a great job if Renée is about to abandon her major life event before it happens

Speaking of Tallinn, do you think that she might be an earlier version of Laris? A watcher who has become so intertwined with the Picard family that she has fallen for the last Picard? Wouldn’t that be delightful? Or is that creepy? I’m honestly not sure, but either way I look forward to Picard’s conversation with Laris upon his return. I don’t see him changing much yet, but perhaps the catalyst for that change is yet to come (god, I hope so, or this season is kind of pointless).

I think it was monumentally stupid to leave Jurati with the Borg Queen. Not that she isn’t trustworthy, she has proven a few times already this season that she is. No, it is that she is vulnerable and the Queen has shown an interest in her. Of course she started an assimilation and has joined with Jurati’s mind as a last ditch survival effort. I just hope that doesn’t mean Jurati is lost, more like it will be a final arc problem that needs to be solved.

Raffi and Seven really have some issues to work through. Seven’s need to keep moving and never settle is clearly the root of Raffi’s issue with her. But Raffi’s need for stability and someone to stay isn’t helping. I think for them to work they need to learn to trust that the other will always be there no matter the distance. We’ll see if that works out, but it was interesting their interactions almost always revert to acceptance of each other, no matter the argument.

So in a lovely little retcon, the Soong family has always had a Soji. Her image could be explained as almost a genetic legacy of the original Soong family, with Data's painting a recreation of a child that must’ve died horribly in the original timeline before Q started to meddle. Soong’s failure likely drove his family into the fringe of society where Noonian Soong eventually found the resources to create Data and Lore. Now if the timeline isn't restored, Adam Soong will rise to enough prominence to be featured as a giant holographic statue in the Confederation capital.

Bits:

I did love Isa Briones coming in to play Adam Soong’s daughter who is named Kore, which is so close to Lore that it is laughable. She has a rare genetic disorder that keeps her confined to her house (which I assume is hermetically sealed with several high-tech filters). They haven’t mentioned it, but how much do you wanna bet she is a twin who isn’t inflicted with the disease or died at an earlier age?

The big action sequence was the bus escape, and I thought it was a lot of fun. Rios giving his fellow detainees a heads up in Spanish was kind of wonderful, as the ignorant officer in charge didn't know enough to understand what was being discussed two feet away from him.

Sinatra's version of "Fly Me to the Moon" featured briefly in the gala scene.

How remote is Picard’s chateau that the Borg Queen had to call in the issue? Fine, I’ll buy that no one saw the ship crash into the woods. But why on earth would a property that big and wonderful stay abandoned in prime French countryside for that long? What are the property occupation rates for vineyards in France?

Gary Seven was mentioned by Picard, which is the second time he has evoked the adventures of Kirk’s Enterprise.

Lea Thompson, who has directed some episodes of this season already, had a cameo on the board deciding the fate of Adam Soong's future and funding. She is of course famous for starring in Back to the Future. The three person panel was an almost direct homage to that movie's opening scene where Marty auditions for the school dance.

Quotes:

Dr. Soong: "Do you have any idea how many crackpots contact me about my work? I get everything from basement-dwelling Nazis to rich heiresses who want me to clone their fucking cats."

Seven: "Look, I get it. You're angry. About Elnor. About Gabe..."
Raffi: "Don't."
Seven: "I know you. You need a target. You want to set your feet and fight."
Raffi: "And all you want to do is run away."

Q: "I am the evolution of stardust. I am the gentle flutter of a butterfly. I am Death, destroyer of worlds."

This wasn't really a self-contained episode. Because it was all arc I found it hard to rate on its own, so no rating this week.

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Samantha M. Quinn spends most of her time in front of a computer typing away at one thing or another; when she has free time, she enjoys pretty much anything science fiction or fantasy-related.

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