Star Trek: Picard - Episode 10 "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

Remember when episode 10 wasn't even half-way through a season?

*sigh*

I'm not sure how I feel about this episode. I generally liked it, I guess, but it felt rushed in places. They left a few loose ends hanging, as well.

• Picard's a synth, but not immortal. I got that half-right last week.
• They showed no conflict at all over Alton giving up his golem synth for Picard. Hadn't he been working on it for himself? That struck me as odd.
• Narissa is dead, which kind of sucks. She was a great villain.
• How did Narissa get on the Artifact anyway? She was just there. Poof. No explanation. Didn't they make it look like her emergency transporter beamed her away to one of those ships before? Did it just send her to somewhere else on the cube?
• We don't know what happened to Narek, but I'm sure he's still alive.
• I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it.
• I thought the Romulans gave up way too easily. A single photon torpedo could have vaporized the synth compound lickety split, before Starfleet even showed up. Shouldn't they have been in a bigger hurry to destroy the transmitter? Oh is supposed to be Zhat Vash, and the Zhat Vash are supposed to be fanatics. She should have been more fanatical.
• Whatever happened to Ramda?
• Is Aggie still going to turn herself in? She was kissing Rios at the end and acting like everything was perfectly normal.
• And what the hell was up with that quick shot of Seven and Raffi holding hands at the end? Blam. Just out of the blue? That was ridiculous. Those two have barely said two words to each other all season. Huge eye roll moment. That felt forced and stupid.
• Finally, now that the Destroyer signal has been received by the alien synth monster thingies, are they going to come back? The portal was closed, but they know some synths just called for help. They know the location. Are they on their way?

Also, the show had a bit of a weird ending, didn't it? Picard had a heartwarming "engage" moment, but they left us with everyone on La Sirena warping off to... where, exactly? To do what?

With the exception of Aggie turning herself in, the whole season 1 story has been wrapped up, hasn't it? They made it look like they were going off on a pre-planned adventure or something.

Speaking of having the story wrapped up, what are they going to do next season? These characters came together for the synth story arc. Now that it's over, what's going to keep them together on that ship?

Almost forgot... If you liked the rendition of "Blue Skies" in this episode, it was sung by none other than Isa Briones herself.

Oddly enough, that song was used in the ending of "This is Us" the night before. Funny how things like that happen. 

The exact same song? The Isa Briones version?

This was a suttle reference back to ST: Nemesis. Data played this song as a wedding gift to Riker and Troy at their reception. Remember Worf putting his head in his hands and uttering "Oh no, not Irving Berlin!".

They showed no conflict at all over Alton giving up his golem synth for Picard. Hadn't he been working on it for himself? That struck me as odd.

I took it as it wasn't a matter of life and death for him, and that now that the ban was over, he would just make a new one. 

Narissa is dead, which kind of sucks. She was a great villain.

Kind of glad she's dead. 

How did Narissa get on the Artifact anyway?

She was on it the whole time I thought.

I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it.

I missed that. I thought it was Narek, too. Now I am going to have to go back and rewatch that part... or the whole thing.

I thought the Romulans gave up way too easily.

While they could have taken a shot, I think that would have brought the rath of the Federation down on them, and I think that wasn't worth it to them.

Whatever happened to Ramda?

Didn't Soong kill her?

Is Aggie still going to turn herself in? She was kissing Rios at the end and acting like everything was perfectly normal.

I don't think they are holding a rude given what happened to her.

And what the hell was up with that quick shot of Seven and Raffi holding hands at the end? Blam. Just out of the blue? That was ridiculous.

I totally agree. 

Finally, now that the Destroyer signal has been received by the alien synth monster thingies, are they going to come back? The portal was closed, but they know some synths just called for help. They know the location. Are they on their way?

I think the assumption is that they only come when called for. At least that is what the lore says. But I could be wrong. 

All in all, I loved the series and that was the quickest 10 weeks. Oh well. I look forward to the next adventure. 

I took it as it wasn't a matter of life and death for him, and that now that the ban was over, he would just make a new one.

Good point. That makes me wonder why it didn't occur to anyone to make another one for Data's neural patterns that were stored in that machine, instead of just pulling the plug on him. I know he said he wanted to die like a real person, but they could have made him a synth body that was mortal like Picard's. They could have even made it look aged like Picard's, and Brent Spiner could have played him without any de-aging makeup or anything. 

They could have brought Data back! Fans would've loved that.

What were they thinking???

She was on it the whole time I thought.

Hmm. I thought they showed those Romulan ships leaving right after she beamed away, as if she was on one of them.

While they could have taken a shot, I think that would have brought the rath of the Federation down on them, and I think that wasn't worth it to them.

Ah, but the Federation hadn't shown up yet when they first got there, and Riker hadn't informed them that Picard had requested asylum and protection for the synths. They didn't know and wouldn't have cared, right?

Speaking of Riker, why did he feel the need to explain to Oh how powerful the ships he brought were? She was a high ranking officer at Starfleet Command, and would have been fully aware. 

Didn't Soong kill her?

Ramda? Nobody on the planet ever saw her. She was Narek and Narissa'a aunt. The crazy Romulan XB that recognized Soji as the Destroyer. Narissa just left her on the Artifact in a coma or something in that one episode, just before she went to find Elnor.

that was the quickest 10 weeks

It sure was. I can't believe it's over already. We still have Disco season 3 coming up, which might be good. I'm not exactly holding my breath for it, though. It doesn't hold a candle to this show.

They could have even made it look aged like Picard's, and Brent Spiner could have played him without any de-aging makeup or anything.

I honestly thought that Data in his "afterlife" simulation could have been done better.  His mouth looked weird, and the angle of his jaw was all wrong.  It was like watching Henry Cavill in "Justice League" with his beard digitally edited out.

I don't mind saying that the scene of Data approaching death with Picard in his command uniform, holding his hand, just tore me up.  Definitely needed some Kleenex to get through that one.

I would have liked to see what Star Fleet did with Commodore Oh. Seems like she was guilty of treason. Maybe that will come later.

TBH, I'd like to see some serious soul-searching of their own motives by Starfleet.  Seems their vetting process for their highest-ranking officers is a bit lacking.  They were infiltrated far too easily, and turned to supporting Romulan causes far too readily.

In short, they were either too stupid to see that they were being duped, or they were willing to go along.  Neither reflects well.

I don't mind saying that the scene of Data approaching death with Picard in his command uniform, holding his hand, just tore me up.

Doubly bittersweet, considering they could very well have reanimated him in a new body. I would have just loved to see Data experiencing life in one of those new, almost real bodies, instead of his old mechanical android one. Seems to me like that was always his biggest desire, to be as close to human as possible. What a shame. What a missed opportunity on the part of the writers.

considering they could very well have reanimated him in a new body.

Yeah, but that's not what he wanted, unless you mean a mortal body.  In which case, yeah, having Data back - I would have loved that.

I would have liked to see what Star Fleet did with Commodore Oh. Seems like she was guilty of treason. Maybe that will come later.

Now that her cover is blown, I doubt she'll give Starfleet a chance to do anything. She's probably back in the Zhat Vash underworld for good.

unless you mean a mortal body.

Yeah, that's what I meant. The same way they made Picard's with a finite life expectancy (which bothers the hell out of me, actually). They could have spent the rest of their years together, old friends saving the galaxy.

In which case, yeah, having Data back - I would have loved that.

I bet everyone would have loved that.

Can you imagine? I mean, Data in one of those new synth bodies? Soji didn't even know she was a synth. Eating, drinking, sleeping, emotions, sex... the whole package. It would have been a dream come true for Data.

emotions,

Would he have had emotions, though?  I'm honestly not sure how that would work.  As it's entirely fictional, I guess the writers could have given him emotions.

Hmm. I suppose I'm not sure either. It would work if they made emotions an emergent quality of the new synth brain or something. Soji obviously had them. 

Soji obviously had them. 

True, and she was a product of Data's positronic neurons.

It would be interesting to see Data learning to deal with emotions.

But I guess that's what we're seeing in Soji.  She's like a second Lal (another android whose death made me ugly cry).

It would be interesting to see Data learning to deal with emotions.

He had that emotion chip in the movies, but being movies there was never time to have any real fun with it.

But I guess that's what we're seeing in Soji.  She's like a second Lal (another android whose death made me ugly cry).

Lol. Pretty sure I didn't ugly cry, but that episode sure tugged on my heart strings. It was definitely a sad one. Lal was such a great character. I remember being seriously pissed off at that admiral who was trying to take her away, causing her neural instability and eventual failure.

That was a great episode.

but they left us with everyone on La Sirena warping off to... where, exactly? To do what?

Lol we're gonna have to wait to find that out

Whatever happened to Ramda

I was working on the assumption she was one of the Borg that were ejected into space

I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it.

I still think it was Sutra and Narek was either trying to embellish his credibility to the crew or had an agreement with Sutra to take responsibility (less likely)

The only disappointment for me was there was no battle scene (not even a partial one), the potential was there but in typical TNG fashion there was only talk (I was never a fan of TNG)

But overall I look forward to future episodes.

I was working on the assumption she was one of the Borg that were ejected into space

But she wasn't in the drone bay. She was in a room somewhere else in the cube, like the other XBs that survived the airlocking. I can't be sure off the top of my head, but didn't the scene with her and Narissa take place after that?

I still think it was Sutra and Narek was either trying to embellish his credibility to the crew or had an agreement with Sutra to take responsibility (less likely)

Yeah, we should probably go with the hard evidence of Saga's memory engram that showed Sutra doing it.

The only disappointment for me was there was no battle scene (not even a partial one)

I know. I was hoping for a big DS9-style space battle, myself.

But overall I look forward to future episodes.

Me too. I can hardly wait. I hope they give us longer seasons in the future as well. At least as long as Discovery's.

She was in a room somewhere else in the cube

Maybe, maybe not.  Imo she was a minor character whose only purpose was to provide a little early intrigue and backstory, once she did that whether she lived or died she was no longer relevant to the bigger story

I was hoping for a big DS9-style space battle, myself.

That was a good one.  Have you seen the Discovery finale yet? Imo amazing final battle scene (except the cutaways to Michael)

I hope they give us longer seasons in the future as well. At least as long as Discovery's.

Ditto but I think they will.  I believe this season was just testing the waters

Have you seen the Discovery finale yet? Imo amazing final battle scene

I actually thought that was a bit overdone, in a J.J. Abrams 'too much dependence on effects' kind of way. A little too busy, so to speak. Watching it was like sensory overload. Just my own opinion, though.

Watching it was like sensory overload.

I agree and I loved it

Is it me, or are there just some weird camera angles in Discovery?  For seemingly no reason other than the director trying too hard, a scene will open with the camera upside down, then it sweeps over the set and turns right side up.  Maybe they think its artistic.  I think it's annoying.

Yeah. I think they're called Dutch angles. Someone else here mentioned that in another discussion once. I'd never heard of the term before that.

I found a lot of things about Discovery annoying besides that. Just off the top of my head...

• The Shenzhou's upside down bridge deck.
• Discovery's spore drive with part of the ship's superstructure rotating.
• Discovery's huge triangular engineering hull and super long nacelles.
• Cybernetic augmentation on some crew members that looked way too advanced for a pre-Kirk show.
• Tilly is cute sometimes, but annoying as hell at other times.
• Michael is annoying as hell most of the time.
• Big bridge windows instead of viewscreens (thanks a lot J.J.).
• All the mirror universe stuff.
• The Klingons are almost unwatchable.

I'm sure there's more that I can't recall at the moment.

I'm still going to keep watching it, though, simply because it's Star Trek. Glutton for punishment, I suppose (at least when it comes to Trek).

Speaking of that, I really need to get around to finishing ENT. It's the only Trek show I ever abandoned out of disgust, but plenty of time has passed, and if I can stomach something like Disco now, then I can watch the rest of ENT.

I think they're called Dutch angles.

Thanks.  I'd never heard that term.

The Shenzhou's upside down bridge deck.

I hadn't even noticed until you mentioned it.  It's where the observation deck would normally be, isn't it?

Discovery's spore drive with part of the ship's superstructure rotating.

That, and that weird flip it does before it "drops" into the jump.  But I think the spore drive concept is just silly.

Cybernetic augmentation on some crew members that looked way too advanced for a pre-Kirk show.

Ditto.  The Abrams films bothered me that way, too.  The tech was just too advanced.  As does the extensive use of holograms for communication in Discovery, with some dismissing screens as archaic.

Tilly is cute sometimes, but annoying as hell at other times.

More annoying than cute, IMO.

Michael is annoying as hell most of the time.

She's too preachy.

The Klingons are almost unwatchable.

Agreed.  I can't stand how they speak.

I'm going to add one.  Sarek smiled too often.  I'm aware that Vulcans actually do have emotions that they're very good at suppressing, and engage in humor, but they don't generally make a show of their emotions.  He did.

True. That reminds me of when we met Raffi's son and his Vulcan wife in this show. I thought she was smiling a bit more than a Vulcan would.

I thought she was smiling a bit more than a Vulcan would.

I noticed that, too.  Appropriate for a human daughter-in-law, yes.  Not for a Vulcan one.

It's where the observation deck would normally be, isn't it?

Depends on the ship, I guess. More like where the Captain's Yacht or Aeroshuttle would be on other starships (even though we never saw them used until Insurrection). Center bottom of the saucer. Here's Voyager's:

... the extensive use of holograms for communication in Discovery, with some dismissing screens as archaic.

Oh, yeah. I forgot about that one. That really bugged me, too. Holographic communications weren't introduced until DS9, in the episode "For the Uniform", where Sisko tries to chase down Eddington.

Archaic, my ass.

They really should have made use of that yacht in Voyager.

Have you seen the Discovery finale yet?

I finally finished Discovery season 2 today.  I didn't mind the sensory overload of the final battle.  I've come to accept that as part of the post-JJ Trekverse.

But it drove me bananas that, in the middle of the battle, and even in the leadup to the jump to the future, there seemed to be plenty of time for everybody to sit around and talk about their feelings.  I mean, I can see a goodbye here and there, but when you have about an hour to build a time-travel suit and charge a time crystal (really, the Klingons are the guardians of time travel?) in order to save all of existence, surely, that's an all-hands-on-deck moment, yes?

Lmao yes there were some squirrely writing/plot moments (in more than just the final episode) but I guess there's a reason it's called fiction

Picard's a synth, but not immortal. I got that half-right last week.

Glad I didn't put money on that one.

They showed no conflict at all over Alton giving up his golem synth for Picard. Hadn't he been working on it for himself? That struck me as odd.

They can make another.  Picard was a successful test case.

Narissa is dead, which kind of sucks. She was a great villain.

Agreed.  I'd say she ranks right up there with Seska as a Trek villain.  I love to hate her.

How did Narissa get on the Artifact anyway? She was just there. Poof. No explanation. Didn't they make it look like her emergency transporter beamed her away to one of those ships before? Did it just send her to somewhere else on the cube?

Either she was beamed elsewhere on the cube, or she made her way there at some point between the crash landing and Narek's return.  TBH, this one doesn't bother me too much.

• We don't know what happened to Narek, but I'm sure he's still alive.
• I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it.

I'm willing to accept being an accomplice to murder as having killed somebody.  And I hope Narek is still alive.  I'd kinda like to see Soji do him in.

I thought the Romulans gave up way too easily.

Same.  After all the trouble they've gone to, I'd have thought they'd just finish off the synths at that point.  It seems to me that they're  much more afraid of them than they are of the Federation.

Is Aggie still going to turn herself in? She was kissing Rios at the end and acting like everything was perfectly normal.

I think she should.  Even if it's to be acquitted for the murder of Bruce Maddox on the grounds that she was under the influence of a mind meld.  To me, it seems like they sort of glossed over that whole thing.

And what the hell was up with that quick shot of Seven and Raffi holding hands at the end? Blam. Just out of the blue? That was ridiculous. Those two have barely said two words to each other all season. Huge eye roll moment. That felt forced and stupid.

Well, apparently, Seven's gotta be with somebody.  The whole Chakotay/Seven thing was equally out of left field.

They know the location. Are they on their way?

Season 2.

I'd say she ranks right up there with Seska as a Trek villain.

I wasn't sad at all to see Seska go. She creeped me out. I never missed her when she was gone. I think I am going to miss Narissa's villainy, though.

Either she was beamed elsewhere on the cube, or she made her way there at some point between the crash landing and Narek's return.

I suppose what makes the most sense is that she beamed elsewhere on the cube. Maybe emergency transporters don't have much range. Power issue or something.

And I hope Narek is still alive.  I'd kinda like to see Soji do him in.

There is some bad blood there, to be sure. He's probably being held behind a force field like before. I doubt the synths have a jail. 

They need to get him out of there, though. They probably should have sent him off in Picard's custody. He's Tal Shiar. If the Romulans know he's being held by by a bunch of synths, they might decide to come for him. They probably wouldn't mind killing a few synths during a rescue mission, either. 

Then again, with Narissa gone, there might not be anyone who cares enough to rescue him.

After all the trouble they've gone to, I'd have thought they'd just finish off the synths at that point.  It seems to me that they're  much more afraid of them than they are of the Federation.

Exactly what I was thinking. They're supposed to be obsessed and completely devoted to destroying artificial life. They should have been willing to die at the hands of Starfleet to achieve their goal.

I glad they didn't, but leaving so easily didn't really fit with the previous narrative about them.

I think she should.  Even if it's to be acquitted for the murder of Bruce Maddox on the grounds that she was under the influence of a mind meld.

I guess she could still turn herself in. Maybe that's where they were going at the end - to Deep Space 12. She looked awfully cheerful when they left, though. No dread at all.

Well, apparently, Seven's gotta be with somebody.  The whole Chakotay/Seven thing was equally out of left field.

You may have a point. I hadn't considered that. I never thought of Seven as being overly needy, though.

Weird.

Maybe she had a thing with Bjayzl, too. I can't remember exactly, but wasn't something said about them being 'very close' or 'intimately close' before the betrayal? Something like that.

I wasn't sad at all to see Seska go.

When I see pictures of Martha Hackett, the actress who played her, I still want to slap her, which means she did a really good job as a villain.  She really didn't creep me out, just made my blood boil.  Narissa creeped me out, but that was mostly because she and Narek came across as a bit incestuous.

there might not be anyone who cares enough to rescue him.

Oh, perhaps.  Or Ramdha, if she's still alive, and ever able to regain coherency.

She looked awfully cheerful when they left, though. No dread at all.

Yeah, and everybody else seems to be perfectly happy to forget it.  Rios, especially.  I mean, if I were starting a relationship with someone, and found out he'd killed his last lover, well, that would be a bit of a cold shower, ya know?

I never thought of Seven as being overly needy, though.

I meant that the writers seem to need to pair Seven up with somebody.  Chakotay, then Raffi.  No real buildup to either relationship.

Maybe she had a thing with Bjayzl, too. I can't remember exactly, but wasn't something said about them being 'very close' or 'intimately close' before the betrayal? Something like that.

Yes, but it was ambiguous enough that it wasn't clear that they'd had a romantic relationship.  I took it to mean they had, but it was never really spelled out.

When I see pictures of Martha Hackett, the actress who played her, I still want to slap her

OK. That made me laugh out loud for real.

I liked her as a Romulan in DS9, though. A northerner, apparently.

She really didn't creep me out, just made my blood boil.  Narissa creeped me out, but that was mostly because she and Narek came across as a bit incestuous.

I get that it was implied, but I was never really sure about it. She could have just been tormenting Narek. It seems like that was her thing. I don't know, though.

I mean, if I were starting a relationship with someone, and found out he'd killed his last lover, well, that would be a bit of a cold shower, ya know?

Exactly.

No real buildup to either relationship.

At least Seven and Chakotay had a date or two, didn't they? And there was a period of time later on that we didn't get to see when they were supposedly together, allowing for at least the possibility of some chemistry. This is worse than that, though - completely sudden and inexplicable. Almost like a random, last minute thought on the part of the writers, and totally unnecessary.

Seska was a pretty good Romulan, too.

I don't think Narissa and Narek actually had a sexual relationship, but they still came across as really creepy that way, especially Narissa.

At least Seven and Chakotay had a date or two, didn't they?

One or two, but IIRC, those didn't happen until the last few episodes of the series.  Before that - not a hint of mutual chemistry.  Seven had a fling with a holodeck version of Chakotay sometime earlier in the last season.

OK maybe I naive, but I didn't think they came across incestuous. I thought she just seemed like a mean bigger sister and since she saw the vision and Narek didn't, she had a lot more to drive her.

I felt like she took way too much of an interest in his sex life, and got way too close to him.  But yeah, she had the mean older sister thing going on, too.

I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it. Narissa is dead, which kind of sucks. She was a great villain.

Maybe.   We did not see her actually die.   And it was far too easy for 7 of 9 to kill her.

How did Narissa get on the Artifact anyway? She was just there. Poof. No explanation. Didn't they make it look like her emergency transporter beamed her away to one of those ships before? Did it just send her to somewhere else on the cube?

They do seem to be cutting corners.

I'm still not sure who actually killed the synth girl Saga last week. Her memory engram showed Sutra stabbing her, but Narek boasted to Narissa earlier that he had just killed a synth. I don't get it.

Narek was holding her when Sutra stabbed her.

I thought the Romulans gave up way too easily. A single photon torpedo could have vaporized the synth compound lickety split, before Starfleet even showed up. Shouldn't they have been in a bigger hurry to destroy the transmitter? Oh is supposed to be Zhat Vash, and the Zhat Vash are supposed to be fanatics. She should have been more fanatical.

I agree.   Also, the split second timing of everything was impossible to believe.   Disaster was always averted by a split-second act.

Is Aggie still going to turn herself in? She was kissing Rios at the end and acting like everything was perfectly normal.

Yeah, guess they are moving on from that.

And what the hell was up with that quick shot of Seven and Raffi holding hands at the end? Blam. Just out of the blue? That was ridiculous. Those two have barely said two words to each other all season. Huge eye roll moment. That felt forced and stupid.

Yup.  Gratuitous.

Finally, now that the Destroyer signal has been received by the alien synth monster thingies, are they going to come back? The portal was closed, but they know some synths just called for help. They know the location. Are they on their way?

Good question.

Now that it's over, what's going to keep them together on that ship?

They bonded.     Star Trek has no problem coming up with new adventures so imagination is the only limit.

We did not see her actually die.   And it was far too easy for 7 of 9 to kill her.

Hmm. A fake death? Some kind of secret agent subterfuge? Narissa does have an emergency transporter. We've seen her use it.

Holy cow. I hadn't thought of that before.

It sure looked like she went splat, though. But you're right, we never actually saw her die.

Narek was holding her when Sutra stabbed her.

That's what it looked like to me, too. Maybe he was just lying to gain points with Narissa. She's been pretty hard on him in the past.

Disaster was always averted by a split-second act.

Deus Ex Machina.

Used far too often in all sorts of fiction, if you ask me.

Good question.

Whatever was coming through the portal looked scary as hell to me. It could be quite a problem if they have to deal with it in the future.

Star Trek has no problem coming up with new adventures so imagination is the only limit.

True. I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas for how to do it, though. Rios already said he was done. He probably needs to get back to smuggling, or whatever he was doing before. Seven has the Fenris Rangers. Aggie needs to have a trial. Raffi, Soji, and Elnor are the only ones I can see sticking with Picard at the moment, and none of them have their own ship.

But I know they'll figure something out. I imagine every one of them will be back, somehow.

I hope we get to see Laris and Zhaban again, too.

I hope we get to see Laris and Zhaban again, too.

Hear, hear!

How did Narissa get on the Artifact anyway? She was just there. Poof. No explanation. Didn't they make it look like her emergency transporter beamed her away to one of those ships before? Did it just send her to somewhere else on the cube?

It did appear that way and I know I mentioned it, but now in retrospect, the woman on the bridge of the last Romunan ship was Commodore Oh as was evident when they popped out of light speed.

Narissa was only transported a short distance.

In typical fashion, we don't actually see her die.  We assume as much.

Nor do I remember seeing what happened to her brother when he was restrained by the synths.

They may both make future appearances...

Also unclear, if Riker is an Acting Captain, how long is that?

For that matter is Picard and Acting Captain, Admiral or Start Fleet Diplomat?

Also unclear, if Riker is an Acting Captain, how long is that? For that matter is Picard and Acting Captain, Admiral or Start Fleet Diplomat?

I don't know about Riker, but I never saw Picard receive any kind of official status. He's a retired admiral, but still a private citizen as far as I can tell.

That could change in the future, I suppose. For Raffi and Rios, too.

Saving the galaxy has to be worth something, right?

They made him an official diplomatic emissary of Starfleet when he visited the Artifact.

A continuance since he called them about a new civilization would be easy...

just loose ends?

They may not want to reinstate him in any kind of official capacity. If they did, he'd probably be demanding they start expending resources again on the Romulan resettlement worlds that they abandoned after the Mars uprising.

Who knows, though?

Picard would be too "Starfleet" for Starfleet to handle?

Probably.  Also, I think he's got a bit of a taste for operating outside the command structure now.

Picard would be too "Starfleet" for Starfleet to handle? Probably.

I wonder what Gene Roddenberry would think of that?

Also, I think he's got a bit of a taste for operating outside the command structure now.

He's probably sick of Clancy cussing him out every time they speak, too. I imagine he's been a little low on esprit de corps ever since they let him go and abandoned the rescue effort.

I can definitely see him wanting to do his own thing, but out in space, not stuck at home tending his vineyard.

There is definitely some disillusionment I can see him not getting over.  And Clancy is much harsher than she needs to be.

not stuck at home tending his vineyard.

Yeah, that was always his brother's gig, not his.

Clancy was actually on his side in the prequel book, until member worlds started threatening to secede from the Federation after the destruction of the shipyards.

The Mars disaster was apparently a turning point for Starfleet. A 'Utopia-no-more' kind of moment. Maybe that's something the writers will have Picard working on in future seasons, setting Starfleet right again.

Maybe that's something the writers will have Picard working on in future seasons, setting Starfleet right again.

If so, he'll need to be in active service, I think.  I can't see even Picard having the pull to change Starfleet from the sidelines.

You know, if not for this storyline, I thought he'd have made an excellent commandant of Starfleet Academy.

If so, he'll need to be in active service, I think.

Interesting thought.  Are synths like Picard granted full equal rights and allowed to be a part of the service, or is it more of a DADT situation?

I can see a return to that.  

OK. Serious discussion time.

While downloading Picard's mind into a synth body was a nifty way of dealing with his impending death, I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't another huge, universe-altering mistake on the part of the writers.

Remember in "Voyager" when Seven brought Neelix back to life with Borg nanoprobes? She essentially developed a way to prevent death. But people still died afterwards, as if nothing had changed. They never had Seven save anyone else that way again. It was as if the writers realized that it was too much of a paradigm shift and decided to ignore it, hoping we would all simply forget about it.

Well, didn't they just make the exact same kind of mistake again with Picard? If it became possible in real life to download people into fully-functioning synthetic bodies that were nearly identical to, but better in many ways than real ones, then everyone in the galaxy would be wanting to do it before they died. People could make themselves practically immortal. No one would ever die of natural causes again.

They may have given Picard's synth body a limited lifespan in this episode (which was kind of stupid if you ask me), but they made it clear that they didn't have to. Other people would surely not make the same choice. Quite the contrary; in addition to immortality, people would probably also want some of the augmentation Aggie mentioned leaving out of Picard's new body.

See what I mean? That's some deep, life and death, universe altering, what-it means-to-be-alive-and-human, paradigm shifting stuff. What they did in this episode represents the ultimate step in biological evolution: advancing beyond natural, biological death.

Alton knows how to do it now. Aggie knows how to do it now. Picard probably knows, too. How are the writers going to deal with that going forward? Are they just going to act like it never happened, as if people everywhere wouldn't be demanding nearly perfect, nearly immortal synth bodies with super-human abilities before they die, now that it's possible?

Are the writers simply going to ignore the mind-blowing consequences of their writing, the same way they did before with Seven and Neelix?

Picard's synth body a limited lifespan in this episode (which was kind of stupid if you ask me), 

Gotta disagree with this point, while the Picard character living forever works the actor playing him will not.  If you write up the character as immortal and the actor passes you're now stuck trying to plausibly write him out of the series.

That wouldn't be a problem at all, though. Synths can be killed off like any other character. Many were killed in this show. The synths on Mars, and then Dahj, Flower, Jana, and Saga. Heck, Data was supposed to live for centuries I think. They've dealt with writing for extended lifespans before.

I actually think it was immoral to restrict Picard's new lifespan. Giving his synth an artificial and unnecessarily early expiration date, when he otherwise would have lived on, is arguably a criminal act (intentionally causing someone to die before their time).

Some good points but I'm still gonna stick with my opinion

I just heard today that a third new Star Trek series for CBS All Access is currently in rehearsals and production called "Star Trek: Strange New Words". It covers the exploits of Spock, Captain Pike, and Number One from just after the loss of Discovery almost up to the time of Kirk.

I saw that, too.  Looks promising.

Yep.

And to top it off, they are also going to do one on Philippa Giorgiou on her time with Section 31.

I'm not so sure about that one.  I liked the interactions between Giorgiou and Michael, which were pretty entertaining, but beyond that, I'm not sure I'm interested in watching 24/7 ruthlessness.  Giorgiou is an excellent villain/antihero, but she needs context to be entertaining.