Vadic finally gets the center seat in the latest episode of Star Trek Picard and it’s a doozy.
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Anyone else think that Jack might be a human Esper like Gary Mitchell? But since he hasn’t been beyond the galactic barrier it hasn’t been supercharged?
We had a bit of a chuckle re: Seven, Tuvok, and the second question: two-factor authentication SAVES LIVES 😆
How freaking awesome was it that Dr Crusher identified a way to trace a compound unique to these Changelings?!
If Janeway is organizing the show for Frontier Day as they suggested in this ep, I would be surprised if she didn't make an appearance.
I think that it's not creating a doppelganger so much as something about the brain defect (the "misdiagnosed" Irumodic Syndrome) that they need from both Picard and Jack. Or are you suggesting that the defect is a remnant of Borgification?
The floating head may not be one of the Changelings, as it referred to Vadic as "you and your kind" (or… if it is a Changeling, it's not one of the evolved ones).
I'm thinking Picard and crew are pulling a fast one on Vadic and letting her take control is part of the plan. Lore's causing chaos was part of the plan too, because there would have been no reason to have Data/Lore connected to the ship to begin with.
This I feel was the best episode of the season… that said… please don't be annoyed, but I agree with Steve Shives about the value of brevity 🙁
What of the Vulcan ship that "disabled" the Titan? And Worf and Raffi are supposed to be returning, according to Geordi earlier on in the episode. My next-episode theory is that, between all of those, the Titan crew has a trick up their sleeve.
Geordi making me cry in this.
Plot-wise, I've been feeling that, since they revealed what the "Red Lady" was a few episodes back, we are getting some time shenanigans as part of the climax. Like, the Garrett thing is either foreshadowing time travel/parallel dimension stuff in general, or specifically calling up Garrett somehow. My money is on them somehow having Tasha Yar make one last cameo in a way that reveals she risked her life to save all the others. That would tie into the Wrath of Khan idea that "the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few, or the one."
This new series tries to blend multiple characters, species, phenomena, and situations from previous Star Trek episodes (and movies) that were never fully developed or explained. Because those things were never clear to begin with, we have many unanswered questions. This keeps people on the edge of their seats, but it also makes things rather frustrating.
Janeway will come with the Protostar to save the day.
Am I the only one who noticed Lore getting emotional when Geordi was pouring his heart out about Data? Still hoping for redemption for Lore. Maybe he and Data integrate personalities and become one. Data's calculated logic combined with Lore's ruthlessness would be the greatest weapon against whatever Vadic intends for Picard's body. Please don't let me down, Terry Matalas!
Ep 1 : Shaw is mean to Picard and Riker… I don't like him! Ep 7 : If you kill Shaw I will quit this show! This is great Star Trek I love it.
With Data mentioning that the inheritable syndrome that Jean-Luc was diagnosed with may be in error, it made me think how did he get what he had ended up passing on to his son.
Was it on a prior mission? Such as while he was captain of the Stargazer? What if it was before that?
Then I thought of his mother. What if he inherited what he had from his mother?
She was haunted by nightmares. To the point of insanity. Fairy-tale like fantasies.
Not being able to go back to rewatch Season 2 episodes, I was able to use IMDb.
For the episode 'Fly Me to the Moon', there's a snapshot (next to the trailer for the episode) of Renee Picard lying on the ground, with red tendrils along her face, from her eyes, her mouth, body and hands.
As was said in STSP, if Kurtzman wasn't such a coward, Geordi would've absolutely told Data that he loved him
Red eyes, mind tricks… He's obviously a Sith
Yay for the NX-01 refit!
If they do (hopefully) green light a series for Section 31, I would like to see Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys as agents.
Omg, the Borg theory had in no way occurred to me, but it makes so much sense! 😮😮😮 Now I'm dying to see if you're right.
It's so nice to see someone as excited as I am about the NX-01 refit
I’m hoping Amanda Plummer gets an Emmy for this!
I kind of hope they don't answer the [ sings ] "Something's up with Jack, Something's up with Jack…" question with some Weird Borg Thing, purely because they're overused at this point, especially in Picard. There's lots of possibilities – the Nexus, the anti-time anomaly doing something to Picard and so on. But the Borg seem like the obvious answer at this point, both for narrative simplicity and more so as a tie-in to the first two series of Picard.
Vadic was about to be released because the systems were being turned off by the Lore personality. That's why Picard had to decide to kill Vadic.
Not sold on the borg idea, as the Jack-Effects are far too organic. But Picard has no connection to 8472 which would fit the organics, yet not the color scheme. Hmm.
Not sure on data/geordi-shipping… Always loved geordi, never cared for data. I was VERY upset in PIC season 1 not to have Geordi meeting Hugh Borg again, because I still think he was able to leave the collective because he fell in love with Geordie.
I hope what is going on with Jack isn't a Borg thing, because I'm tired of the Borg. I think the last season of Picard sort of killed them for me. I wish they had just stuck with the notion of ex-borg having a hard time within the federation that they barely touched before Seven decided to turn her eyes black and control a cube, then make Jurati a Neo-borg queen. Honestly, maybe it's just the bad taste from the previous seasons, but I'm starting to worry that the Jack Crusher mystery box reveal will be the moment the show jumps the shark.
I don't think the "weird head thing" is a changeling. It always says "you" and not "we" refering to the changelings.
When we first saw the red eyes a few episodes back I thought it was going to be Pah Wraiths. They can read minds/induce visions, but I don't know if there is anyway to connect the wormhole/celestial temple to Jean Luc.
I'm not a huge fan of the Spinerbot (that's what I'm calling the hybrid Soong android) because it feels a bit like a reach to get Brent Spiner back in, and I'm not loving that Jack Crusher has superpowers, but every other reach this season has gone for has been a success so far, so I'm still hoping for the best.
Also after hearing your theory I can't help but imagine a little Borgified sperm.
Heck yeah, Jack is an organic Borg hybrid. As far as I know, there has never been Borg technology to go through a pregnancy.👍👍👍
@Jessie Gender After Dark Hi Jessie hunny, I really enjoyed this intriguing episode as it had interesting exposition involving ethical and moral issues, answers to some questions yet leading to more mystery and questions. In addition, I really liked the story being on a much more smaller scale and the music stood out to me in this episode, keeping me on edge.
Thank you for explaining the important historical aspects of the Dominion War from DS9 as having watched them a while ago, I have forgotten the intricate details. I was also pleased to see Tuvok, whose cameo served a purpose to the story.
Re: Vadic- I also found her background to be fascinating. Amanda’s Plummer acting is stellar as she draws you into her character, especially in Vadic’s interaction with Picard and Beverly. I loved how she revelled in taking over the Titan and spoke casually to the whole crew, true villain style.
Re: Jack- I am really enjoying the revelation of his character, of his telepathic and telekinetic abilities. I am now so glad that his underlying symptoms are not due to the result of a misdiagnosed inherited disease and that there is more to him than meets the eye. From what Vadic said to Beverly, that Jack was not for Beverly, makes me question whether Jack’s genetic makeup was tampered with. I agree with you in that using Picard’s remains and Jack’s blood to make a doppelganger of Picard doesn’t make sense as the changelings could easily impersonate him, so there is more to it.
Re: Geordi and Data. It was so touching to see how Data’s death affected him and more so much he missed his best friend. Brent Spiner’s effortless Dr Jecky and Hyde like acting of transforming between Lore and Data is phenomenal.
I was surprised to not see Riker and Troi in this episode. I am hoping that Troi comes onto the scene in the net few episodes as no doubt she would be able to figure out what is happening with Jack.
The glowing eyes thing makes me squee as a huge fan of vampire literature it's like yippy cosmic horror
Jessie I thought you would love this bit of news. I saw on Twitter that Scott Bakula will be in the finale (my take on the post) I cannot find the post anymore however I think that may have to do with my news feed. Now I know you are an Enterprise fan so I thought you would like that bit of news.
I think the Pah Wraiths are the ones behind it all.
Star Trek / X-Men Reality Collision Update:
– Jack Crusher is telepathic b'cuz his pa is Professor XB – which means he may also be part Phalanx.. Side note: Jack's visions are subtle product placement for the candied soda straws known as Red Vines.
– Picard is literally Charlie X. That is his first name and last initial. Picard's first Trek appearance was in TOS (first appearance ever was in X-Men). He's older than he looks.
– An anomaly and its explanation: The acronym for ex-Borg should be EB, not XB. Also, the "abbreviation" to XB doesn't reduce the number of syllables, which means its purpose is not to shorten the term. Obviously, "XB" was deliberately chosen, to foreshadow the intro of mutants and allow Picard the catchy nickname "Professor XB".
– The Phalanx were the main villain of DIS S2.
– Borg Queen from PIC S2 is Moira X, b'cuz she's a Phalanx cyborg whose desperation comes from viewing multiple timelines and concluding that her people are destined to lose.
– Multiverse of Madness is one of Pike's nightmares about his fate, including some apparent foreshadowing: Pike sees a vision of a futuristic wheelchair much like the one he knows he will inhabit in the future. But in the chair sits an elderly Picard – whom Pike has never met, and whose omnipotent teenage self Pike would be destined to meet if not for the injuries which he's destined to receive instead. If not for the injuries, it would've been Pike who would tell young Picard to back off of Rand. Anyway – Then Pike tries to speak, and his head explodes. The meanings of these portents are yet to be revealed.
– Based on Trek's laws of parallel evolution, and the existence of Iconian gateways, it's clear that the Iconians evolved on a sentient mutant island named Icoa.
– The doors leading to the monitoring station under P'Jem Monastery are taken straight from X-Men headquarters.
Good to see your videos again! Need to go back and binge my way through your Picard reviews
Two things:
1. I'm surprised, when recounting the war crimes by the Founders, you missed their enslavement of the entire Jem'Hadar race with the use of biological addiction (Ketracel-White) and subsequent execution of any defectors. That is tantamount to genocide – if not worse. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
2. I do not believe the Borg are involved here. This season seems keen on avoiding them as that was a Season 2 deal… and a polarizing one at that. Rather… I think Vadic gave up a VERY likely potential motive in her monologuing. She said she could pass on her abilities to others. I think Jack was somehow altered during Beverly's pregnancy. He became a hybrid changling/human with abilities that could be learned and spread. Vadic also mentioned to Beverly that human race's biggest weakness is their disconnection. "Would you have hid Picard's son from him if you could feel his loss?" She said….
What if Jack will somehow be used to "connect" all of Star Fleet to each other during the frontier day celebration? A poetic revenge… humans separated them from the Founders who were designed to be together…. Now the founders connect a species not designed to be connected…. and then watch them rip each other apart as every secret – no matter how big, small, or damaging – is revealed to each other. Everyone would know everything about everyone. Every classified piece of dirt would be exposed. The myth of the Federation "ideal" would be gone. It would destroy us from within all at once. And it's an indictment on humanity and the amount we lie to each other… and ourselves.
Agreed, Jack is absolutely Borg or some sort of Borg-hybrid. I wish we had more than 3 episodes left to learn what's going on.
Shaw's tears destroyed me. He is a decent dude. Didn't like him at first.
gonna talk on that theory at the end:
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ok so the idea that Picard wound up with uh… Borgified sperm? That strikes me as really weird. I'm not sure if I buy that. But in Best of Both Worlds Part 2 Dr. Crusher said that Picard's DNA was being rewritten—maybe in the mold of some assimilated species that would be more compatible with the brain-linking that the Borg do. And maybe that rewritten DNA has a bigger impact on a kid who grows from the start with that DNA in place?
All I gotta say is I want to see A Federation Era Quantum Leap Project leap into Doctor Samuel Beckett and then maybe into the Special Senior Agent of NCIS headquartered out of New Orleans
Some of you might remember at the beginning of the season I thought Jack was Picard and Crusher's kid but there was something weird about him. Like at some point there was some genetic engineering or cloning or something involved. I don't know what exactly it is but I felt pretty strongly that if Picard's kid was going to be the target for the villains there had to be something more there. He couldn't just be a normal man. I specifically thought they might revisit some of the themes from Nemesis. I still think that may happen but I find myself dreading the reveal now
It seems like they're hinting at Jack being some kind of Changeling or somehow related to the prophets; maybe both. If he's a Changeling that means there at least was a real Jack Crusher and he's been replaced. If that's the case Picard has (or had) a son and we never got to meet him. If they discover the real Jack at the end that means we're back to square one and just don't know Picard's son at all but now they expect us to be cool with that. If the original Jack is dead then we've set up a tragic event that can't be paid off. Because we never met him. So I hope he isn't a Changeling. I don't think he is but they have hinted that he doesn't remember his early childhood so… I don't know. I think it's more likely he's a potential emissary and so was Picard (tho I think that would be a very weird dramatic choice) or that they have some connection to the dimension or whatever it was that they lived in. I would be confused by that because that's from a whole different show and doesn't make much sense dramatically as the end of Picard's story but it's not as bad
I just hope they don't go that way with it. Either one of them. I hope it's something else entirely but I find myself dreading what I think might be coming
Great review, Jesse.
I know this isn't very Star Trek-y but I admit I would have been cool with Picard and Crusher wasting Vadic. I'll be completely honest with you, I would have. I have thought for a long time that if I were in a situation where I had to kill someone I would just do it before I had a chance to think it over. I've always said that if it's him or me it's not going to be me if I have anything to say about it. I understand that a lot of people disagree and think I'm a bad person for that, and that's fine if you think that too, but I don't think preserving life is always the most important thing to do in every situation. I think sometimes people have it coming. If you're putting someone I care about in the way of great harm, yeah. Maybe you have it coming. It's case by case obviously, but I think if I felt like ending someone is the best option that's what would happen. And I think a lot of you would make that same decision. I am not on the fringe here. I don't know if most people agree with me or not but a lot do and you shouldn't write it off. You might very well make the same decision if you felt like you had to. You don't know. You just might. I don't think that's necessarily the wrong decision
Actually, I'm not certain of the logic of Jack's power being Borg. Borg can't mind control. And that would imply that along with sperm, Picard passed on nanoprobes, that weren't really active beyond doing a tiny thing in his brain. And if there was a connection, he'd probably connect to Seven, since she has Borg components. Or he would connect with the Borg.
No, I think it's something to do with Q. I think Picard has some Qish thing in his brain, naturally, which is why Q connected with him, and that is passed on. And Beverly has some other recessive gene for Travellers, so Jack has a weird little cocktail of recessives that may activate or interact. 😁
I am very worried for Liam Shaw in this show. He became one of my favourite Captains very early, and after this episode, I think he will give his life to save them all. In the beginning I hoped for a Shaw spin off, but now I just hope he survive season 3.
Took me a while to get to see this review. Once again, I really enjoyed this review and your thoughts as you work through the episode, but we disagree about the Borg thing, which I believe the show Picard has done to death.
Thoughts re: Worf and Raffi’s absence. 1) it trims the cast down to a more manageable number, to concentrate the story telling on a few. 2) Would we buy the Changelings taking over the ship so readily with Worf onboard 3) It sets up a potential for rescue.
Picard and Beverly’s plan to execute Vadic was especially difficult for me. I understand that they are at breaking point, but a cold blooded murder just felt out of character for them. Thankfully they were never actually put in that position and the force field dropped and they channelled their inner storm trooper and utterly missed repeatedly.
The Sidney/Jack thing. I honestly didn’t like how Sidney was on the front line of the bait the Changelings plan, especially not after all the attempts to keep her safe that Geordi had in the previous episode. I honestly feel that he’d have been against this plan to put her right in harm’s way.
I wish the weapons vs Changelings was a little more consistent. Some shots totally eradicate them and others seem to have almost no effect.
We don’t agree with the whole Borg theory. We believe that Picard was carrying a Pah Wraith and that was the iromodic syndrome and that this is why they stole his remains, to release it. That is possibly the space head. Jack is somehow carrying a copy or descendant of this, possibly making him the Pah Wraith emissary.
You mention that Vadec is on a bit of a deadline, and I think that's kinda a neat storytelling sleight of hand we don't see very often.
The whole show, we think it's our main characters who have a deadline with Frontier Day and the fleet massing, but now it's sorta becoming more clear it's the villain who is being crunched by time, and all Picard and Co. would really have to do is shove Jack in a locker for a few days and run out the clock.
I really like that little twist, I feel like a lot of shows have the villains taking big risks for dumb reasons, but Vadic has just as much pressure on her as the protagonists.
I think one of the keys to identifying the Changelings is the transporter. Seems like the Changelings avoid the transporter for some reason. Maybe the transporter technology can identify them as Changelings as they are being reconstructed. Jack is Pah Wrath possessed. The red eyes is the giveaway. The big bad is he bug aliens from another galaxy that infiltrated Star Fleet in Season 1 of TNG.
As for the morality of them wanting to blast Vadic, I feel the complexities of that choice are undercut a bit by the fact there is no such thing as an unarmed changeling. You can't reasonably accept the surrender of someone who still has the ability to kill you, but also doesn't care if they live or die.
I do dislike that they rationalized themselves into killing her "even though she's their prisoner" by using their shared child as the reason. I always hated it when writers have a character who would do anything, break any law or bone, for the kid he founnd out he had a week ago.
Thanks for the great show! Know that most of us care for you, let me know if any phobia f** come at you- I will come with a plan to get you outta danger girl! Let me know if your phaser needs a fresh sarium krelide power cell- Rich
wheels with in wheels, section 13 wants control, who there in, it all stems from Datastrom, control. they are tired of being back ground they want it all.
who is the big baddie?
the enemy from within? Jack has something in himself, again section 31, they want this power back, otherwise it would be readily available. he unknowingling got hold of something they want back