With the series starting to wrap up we’ve reached some big revelatory events in the season.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The episode begins with Jack and Troi searching through his mind to find what’s wrong with him. It turns out he has inherited a Borg genetic code passed down from his father, Picard. It also is why the changelings were trying to grab the parts of Picard’s brain that were thought to be diseased. The changelings and Borg have been in cahoots to stake down Starfleet. Picard tries to explain to Jack they have to keep him at a Vulcan institution because of protocols, but the young Crusher escapes and finds the Borg and the Queen herself.
Meanwhile, the Titan-A heads to Frontier Day to warn everyone of the impending attack. They are too late and with the fleet now able to sync in an armada formation the Borg implement their plans. It seems Jack has been genetically enabled as a “transmitter” to infiltrate others. The Next Gen crew discover that the transporters have been putting in the DNA to assimilate, genetically, anyone 25 and younger. These various officers aboard ships become Borg and take over. The Titan-A senior officers begin their escape but not without self-sacrifice of Shaw and Seven and Raffi volunteering to stay behind. Geordi takes the old school crew to the fleet museum to pick up a new ship….the Enterprise-D!!
Here we go with our thoughts on the episode.
Music
Mr. Daps: “This music easily had the strongest score yet to be heard in Star Trek: Picard. It was a wonderful blending of new themes that move the story forward musically while also pulling from some classic themes as well. While this has been effective in previous episodes, it was even more prominent in this episodes. The new Titan theme could be heard that was written by Stephen Barton intertwining with Jerry Goldsmith’s theme for The Next Generation while having at times the feel of James Horner’s Star Trek score. It was awesome and I can’t wait for my vinyl to show up!”
Murray: “This episode combined so many great themes including some original Next Generation scores. It stood out the most when the crew entered on the Enterprise-D bridge with a very nostalgic Trek theme, but updated enough to hit the feelings.”
Design
Mr. Daps: “There was so much to love this week in regards to the design found in the episode. The return of the Enterprise-D was simply a beautiful gift to fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was absolutely beautiful and the level of work that went into recreating the bridge of the Enterprise-D was incredible. Seeing it in flight was also gorgeous as well! The Borg Cube was impressive to see, both in and out. Seeing the Enterprise-F was also cool. I will say, with everything else that was incredible in this episode, the Enterprise-F was almost lost in all the excitement. However, it all looked amazing.”
Murray: “I loved the lighting aboard the Enterprise-D. It was a great choice to have this be the brightest in all the season. It’s what we’ve been building to, and it just worked. The set of that bridge is amazing! It had to be recreated but they got it completely right, and yet more detailed? It gave me goosebumps. And the way it flew out of the fleet museum was a great effect since it is a computer model now as opposed to an actual model.”
Story
Mr. Daps: “This story is such a wonderful connection and wrap-up of decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation adventures. It is connecting dots, approaching things in new and interesting ways, and definitely keeping the stakes higher than ever in an effective and believable way. It will be interesting to see how everything gets wrapped up next week.”
Murray: “At first I thought it would be a bit recycled from other things. Here’s the Borg again. Here’s a need for escape. But, it still came together nicely. And it really tied together threads throughout the season. We know why there’s been allusions to the Borg. We know why it’s important for the senior staff to be back together (though perhaps too much of a plot device). It was action-packed and that crescendo to take us into the final voyage next week.”
Hit or Miss?
Mr. Daps: “This almost shouldn’t be a question this week. This episode might go down as one of the best Star Trek episodes of all time, if not the very best. There were so many incredible moments that both moved things forward, sometimes in a terrifying way, while also giving love to the fans. While watching this episode I had this realization that showrunner Terry Matalas and team created an episode that pulled inspiration some of the great moments of Star Trek. There were moments that had the feel of the great moments in Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn or Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country without just copying them. It really did feel like the first half of a two hour movie that we will be waiting for one more week to see the conclusion of… and to see just how good of a job Geordi did on rebuilding the Enterprise-D!
Murray: “I feel like I give my answer away too soon, but it really was a hit. It just hit all the good feelings I’ve been wanting in this season. I’m actually pretty ok with Jack and Picard having Borg DNA because it was something I thought would happen from the beginning. So, to have that come true just touches my fandom right. But what really shined in this episode is both seeing a new Enterprise and the now classic 1701-D. I love that they’re going to take that out for a spin and can’t wait to see how that goes.”
