Warning: Spoilers forward for “Star Trek: Picard” Season 3, episode 3
Has “Picard” set itself a excessive commonplace it could’t keep? Following last week’s surprisingly high-quality installment, we now have a cautiously optimistic view for this third and ultimate season … however, we have been damage earlier than. That mentioned, this incarnation of “Nu-Trek” is borrowing greater than little bit from the perfect that the “Star Trek” universe has to supply, specifically “The Wrath of Khan,” which is a welcome change from lifting off of different mental property, like “Discovery” has executed up to now. And when you concentrate on how a lot in-universe historical past there may be in “Trek,” you must marvel why there would ever be a have to look elsewhere.
This week’s installment is entitled “Seventeen Seconds” and efficiently establishes the that means and significance of that notably particular period of time and circles again to it simply as efficiently to create a pleasant bookended really feel to this episode. Though fairly why Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) did not do a site-to-site transport between the bridge and the infirmary reasonably than mucking about (opens in new tab) in a turbolift for an eternity is not adequately defined. Lest we overlook, within the thirty second century a minimum of, transporters have changed stairs … and whereas we’re not fairly at that stage simply but, site-to-site transport is a really actual factor within the twenty fifth century.
And that is what occurs if you begin going up to now into the long run that the aptitude of expertise creates story writing minefields that can not be averted as soon as established. You already know, like the truth that Jean-Luc Picard is now an android … which curiously sufficient truly will get referenced this week. After which simply as shortly brushed again beneath the carpet from whence it got here, most likely by no means to be talked about ever once more.
Associated: ‘Star Trek: Picard’ episode 2 is unexpectedly excellent
That minor plot pickle apart, the writing is as soon as once more of a top quality this week, hopefully marking a breakthrough by way of how Paramount, Kurtzman et al produce “Star Trek” going ahead. And whereas among the dialogue is implausible, “I’m Worf, son of Mogh, Home of Martok, son of Sergey, Home of Rozhenko, Bane to the Duras household, slayer of Gowron … I’ve made some chamomile tea, do you’re taking sugar?” it walks a really fantastic line between simply sufficient and an excessive amount of.
The reintroduction of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) can also be properly dealt with and mercifully we’re not given a “Comfortable Days”-style, live-in-front-of-a-studio-audience scene that has been identified to occur every now and then. Plus we’re given some further backstory to Troi and Riker’s son, Thad. If you happen to recall within the episode “Nepenthe” (S01, E07) Troi speaks of her son, Thad, and the way he was born and raised on starships and thus he felt like he had no homeworld of his personal, however when he grew to become sick, Troi and Riker got here to Nepenthe and it grew to become his homeworld.
In response to Troi, Thad had “mendaxic neurosclerosis,” (MN) a really uncommon silicon-based virus (opens in new tab) and in concept, utterly curable (you simply need to tradition the contaminated cells in an energetic positronic matrix), however by the point Thad got here down with MN, there have been no energetic positronic matrices and nobody was allowed to develop new ones, due to the synth ban. This was in fact a small a part of the artificial storyline from the primary season, however on this episode the main target is someplace utterly totally different. Fortunately.
Up to now, the story hasn’t actually gone anyplace notably new or thrilling and every part up till now appears to be serving the Son of Picard plot. Hopefully Vadic (Amanda Plummer) will become greater than only a deus ex machina. It’s enjoyable, although, to see the top results of 65 years of unresolved sexual stress between Jean-Luc (Patrick Stewart) and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), however is it sufficient to hold the following seven episodes?
Picard’s hubris might additionally get very drained in a short time and whereas he shuffles off the bridge of the Titan like a youngster who’s simply been scalded, you must marvel why Riker listened to him within the first place. Social media has been fast to level out that Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) was in reality 100% right in his reluctance to bow to the whims of an eccentric previous admiral and Riker fails in that respect. Although it could possibly be instructed that his sense of loyalty to his previous buddy took priority, however that is not the job of a starship captain and never a accountability he would simply overlook.
Different Trek references are additionally properly positioned, together with Worf listening to the opera “Les Troyens” by Hector Berlioz, which in fact is a nod to the film “First Contact” — however once more, runs the fantastic line between simply sufficient and an excessive amount of. All that extreme fan service does is present an absence of creativeness. This week additionally sees a large throwback to “Deep House 9” and the Dominian Struggle, which could become attention-grabbing. Or it won’t.
Rather a lot unfolds this week and the episode is effectively paced, although maybe not fairly as efficient as final week’s installment. That mentioned, that is among the many finest Nu-Trek that we have seen up to now, however Frakes nonetheless tends to over do it on the humor, clichés or theatrical set items and one suspects that he nonetheless needed to dial it again a bit. The dialogue is sweet and the precept story writing remains to be far superior than something we have seen up to now in “Discovery.”
“Star Trek: Picard” and each episode of every “Star Trek” show at the moment streams solely on Paramount Plus within the US. Internationally, the exhibits can be found on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, in addition to on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel.
In addition they stream solely on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.
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