I recently posted my initial thoughts on the first PIC episode "Remembrance" and intentionally kept them spoiler free. Now, with episode 2 released, I thought I would give some more detailed thoughts, and in order to do that, I have to talk about what actually happened, so a spoiler alert is in effect for the rest of this article.
I find myself ever impressed with this episode and the start it gave to the series. Within 48 hours of it being released I watched the episode four times, which is a first for me. So much to take in, and I think there are many details that I might have missed, but I will talk about how the show went for me, what stood out, what might have been improved, and what the future may hold.
First off, let's talk about the fan service. There was a lot, and if you paid attention there were goldmines all over the place. Starting with the opening scene where you hear Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies" (which Data sang at Troi and Riker's wedding in Star Trek: Nemesis), and then see the Enterprise D come into view. We zoom in on Ten-Forward and see Picard and Data engaged in a friendly game of poker. From there we are given so many great moments, ranging from the classic uniforms to using production photos of Picard in the introduction to his interview, it gives us healthy doses of familiarity to help us feel at home. We see Jean-Luc at his family vinyard, with his faithful dog, named "Number One". A special treat was when Picard went into the Federation archives. There we are treated to so many blasts from the past, ranging from a batleth (one can only assume it to have been Worf's), a model of the USS Stargazer, another model of the Captain's Yacht from the Enterprise E, and (my favorite) the banner from Captain Picard Day seen in the TNG episode "The Pegasus". There is reference to the events of 2009's movie "Star Trek" with the destruction of Romulus, and we see the disassembled B4. Bruce Maddox, who was seen in "The Measure of a Man" and mentioned in "Data's Day" is mentioned again, and there is a good chance that he will be seen or mentioned again. So much good stuff to look fondly back on, but thankfully it was not overwhelming or distracting from the main story. I hope that in future episodes these throwbacks will still be there, but I think they should be used with much less frequency. For the pilot episode it is good, but too much can weaken the show. Nostalgia is great, but it should not be the theme for a new series.
The acting was outstanding. Patrick Stewart, as almost always, was at his best. What struck me this time was I could see how easy it was to slip back into being Picard, as if he hadn't missed a beat. When recounting his reasons for leaving Starfleet I was mesmerized by the small nuances Stewart added, giving us a distinctly different Picard than we had previously known. He has been through so much in the last couple decades that I wanted to learn all I could about that time period. He made a familiar character fresh again. I also want to give kudos to Isa Briones, who stars as Data's daughters Dahj and Soji. While we see Dahj the most, Isa does a great job at playing up both characters, giving each of them some subtle differences. We see such range and depth in Dahj that it was shocking to see that character's fate. Brent Spiner also returns for what might be the last time as Data (albeit in dream sequences), and he is perfect.
Dahj is one of the several new characters we are introduced to, and we truly get to care for her, especially after it is revealed that she is Data's "daughter". To have her killed so early in the series was a jaw-dropper, but in the final moments we are introduced to her twin sister Soji. We also meet Narek in that scene. He is a Romulan who has also suffered loss. It will be interesting to see how his character develops. Orla Brady and Jamie McShane are excellent as the Romulan refugees Laris and Zhaban who reside with Picard in his chateau. Finally, we meet Agnes Jurati, played by Alison Pill. She's an energetic scientist who specializes in AI and cybernetics. I look forward to what she will offer the show in upcoming episodes.
The story is compelling. The pacing to bring us up to speed is well balanced and gives us time to digest what has happened and pay attention to what is currently transpiring. We learn that an attack by synthetics (which I believe were androids) destroyed the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, which not only stopped the evacuation of Romulus but outlawed all synthetic lifeforms. This brings us to Dahj, who is initially unaware of her true nature. She is attacked by some unknowns who activate her suppressed programming. As she seeks out Picard, the two are sent on a journey where Picard discerns her true nature. The big surprise comes that moments after Picard discovers that she is the "daughter" of his lost friend Data, the two are ambushed again. Dahj fends them off, but is killed in the process. Picard, grief-stricken, heads to the Daystrom Institute where he not only gains more evidence to confirm his suspicions of Dahj being an android, but he learns that she has a twin sister. So much to absorb in the first episode, but it leaves us with lots of anticipation. It will be interesting to see this whole tale unravel.
Some will take issue with where the Federation is right now. In this episode, we learn that after the attack on Mars the plans to evacuate the Romulans was abandoned. Starfleet has circled the wagons and is taking a more "look after us first" mentality. This has caused Admiral Picard to leave Starfleet. He believes that Starfleet has abandoned their morals by abandoning the Romulans and by banning synthetic lifeforms, for which Jean-Luc fought to define rights for. Yes, the Federation is in a darker place than it was when Voyager returned home and Star Trek: Nemesis was in theaters. Yes, it is different, but the world is different since then. Think about what has happened since Trek was a dominant force on the small screen. While many obstacles have been overcome, new ones have sprung up. The world is more divided. Nations and groups are putting their own not only ahead of others, but in many cases in the place of others. The "Us vs. Them" mentality is morphing into "Us or Them" perspectives. As Star Trek has always done, they address the issues of the day through their story-telling, and it could not be more apparent here. As our world sees isolationism rising, Star Trek is now holding up a mirror to show the same.
There is an exchange between Picard and Richter, the news correspondent conducting his interview, that contains not only my favorite line, but the message that we need to remember in this divided world we find ourselves in.
"The Federation understood there were millions of lives at stake." Picard states.
"Romulan lives," Richter adds.
"No. Lives!" Picard retorts with conviction.
Right there. As we see those in power try to divide us and push us towards labels and camps of tribalism at its worst, Jean-Luc focuses the perspective. While the Romulans had been adversaries of the Federation for centuries, Picard still saw them as people whose lives mattered. It did not matter that he had been involved in several confrontations with the Romulans over the years, Jean-Luc saw them as living, sentient beings who deserved compassion. He taught us that all lives matter. I know, that phrase has been weaponized and politicized as of late, but take a moment and look at what it means. It means that we have a moral obligation to care for those whose lives are threatened. It means that even if we are opponents or adversaries, we cannot afford to see them as less than people. The characters in Trek have often voiced what needed to be said, and Picard does so with the fire and passion that has been consistent with his character.
I cannot express enough how wonderful this episode was, and I cannot wait to see more. There are a couple issues I had, however, and I would be remiss in not mentioning them. During the San Francisco scene where Picard and Dahj are being chased by masked assassins it seems obvious that there is a stunt double running in place of Patrick Stewart. The guy is almost 80, and I get that, but I still found it a bit odd that they would have the character running like that. I don't think it is disrespectful to point out that the character is older, and no longer as spry and fit as he was when he was on the show and previous movies. They even had the retired Admiral using a cane in his vineyard. I also thought that they could have fleshed out some of the characters a bit more. I suppose that what I really wanted was a traditional two-hour premiere episode. They used the time that they had well, but for a show like this we should have had more.
Overall, "Remembrance" is right up there with the best of series premiere episodes, not just in Trek but in television. Great acting, an enthralling story, new characters, and some fond memories gave us a great mix to start us on Jean-Luc's next journey. I am so looking forward to seeing what comes next. As he says to Data in his first scene, "I don't want the game to end".
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