Hello all!
Ric here with my review and thoughts on episode three of Star Trek Picard’s third season,
Seventeen Seconds”.
It’s an episode that builds tension and stakes for our cast through emotional moments
and real threat.
The Shrike seems to have the Quantum Tunnelling device within its armoury and uses it to great
effect simply to teleport vessels around, bringing the Titan back into its range whenever
they try to flee.
Such a weapon would be ineffectual against more manoeuvrable shuttlecraft but the Titan,
despite being a smaller and vast vessel at impulse is still a Starfleet cruiser and slow
to turn.
It was something noted by Riker too that the Titan A really is has the mission profile
of an exploratory craft and does not have the firepower to stand up to the Shrike, although
its shielding seems to be doing a very commendable job in warding off photon torpedoes.
It’s metaphasic.
Picard assesses the situation and concludes that the only course of action is to attack,
odds be damned and while I agree that evading the Shrike seems to be futile, I find it odd
that his plan seems to be little more than “hit it and hope”.
In fact the only pro to Picard’s plan I can see is that Vadic does not want them dead,
but I she is willing to peck away at them, as she describes it.
So I’m not against Riker here who commands that the Titan continue to evade for as long
as it can and in fact and his plan would have worked, if it was not for the saboteur breaking
down the warp engines and removing that option.
By this stage, if flight really is no longer an option, then fighting is, but I don’t
disagree with his choices either.
You could argue that Picard saw this outcome coming from experience, but at this time,
he was unaware of the insider on board leaving a trial for Vadic.
So I feel he did jump to pushing for the offensive fat too soon, when escape was still very much
on the table.
It was certainly added weight to the conversation between Riker and Picard when the latter brought
up the fear of fatherhood as a limiting factor and I yes that was certainly a deep jab at
Riker.
The episode opened with a look to the past, soon after the birth of Thaddeus Troi-Riker
and touched on the how fatherhood shaped Riker’s outlook.
We also get Deanna’s first appearance this season and it put a smile on my face to see
this glimpse in to Riker’s early times as a family.
The sentiment is touching and we see that beneath all the genuine love Picard has for
his friend, there is a sadness at never experiencing the same thing, a lament for what he never
had.
Of course this is around the time, Jack Crusher came into being, which leads me to another
scene; the confrontation between Beverly and Jean-Luc.
This is another emotionally charged scene, and unlike the confrontation between Riker
and Picard, I find myself more fully understanding both approaches.
From earlier, we know that Picard quietly mourns that fact he never has had the family
life that Riker has found, always putting duty first, not matter how dangerous.
So when he learns that he did not even have a choice in the matter, Beverly decided for
him, it cuts deep.
Who knows if he would have continued on as an Admiral if asked and he sums it up succinctly
by simply stating as much.
In turn Beverly admits to her own fears fuelling her actions, she has lost everyone around
her, her parents when she was young, her husband under Picard’s command, then Wesley, while
not dead, is part of the Travelers now and away protecting other times and timelines.
She could not stay with Picard, there was too much danger involved in his new role as
the face of the Romulan evacuation and she wanted to keep Jack’s identity a secret
in case he was used against him.
Understandable motives for a mother, above all, she wanted to keep her family safe in
a universe that has already taken that from her several times.
This whole scene was engaging and I think believable.
On the Raffi and Worf front, this is the first episode where we get to see him in action
fully and there still is that comedic edge to him that works better considering his introduction
displayed his more badass side already.
Worf does not technically work for Starfleet Intelligence, or perhaps he does and is more
of a deniable asset?
Either way he is a good choice for this and while he was never exactly subtle in TNG,
DS9 tenure did a lot to develop him.
He has continued this trend it seems, becoming a very focused and calm individual, one who
makes and apt agent.
He already had the paranoia and instincts, as well as the security background and political
knowledge to work this and while not a future I had foreseen for him, is one I think fits,
honestly far better than the role of Starship captain.
Raffi, as expected, is having doubts as to how much she has sacrificed and on the verge
of throwing it all in, if Worf had not reached out to her to assure her that they would continue
the hunt themselves, it’s not meaningless.
While interrogating Titus Rikka, I remember thinking that perhaps they had underestimated
how devoted or resilient this lowlife was, but I was not prepared for how much.
We also get the mention of Odo feeding Starfleet Intelligence, or at least his old friend Worf,
information that there are Changelings who have separated from the Great Link in order
to pursue some anti-Federation objective.
“Why” remains to be seen as well as how come it seems to be Picard as a target?
I could speculate and look into other stories that featured such relics of the Dominion
to look for motivations but honestly, I feel that this is going to be something new, or
at least, something from Picard that we have seen before rather than folding in outside
apocryphal content.
What I’m saying is I think there are other players on the field.
It was heart-warming to see that Worf fondly remembers his time from Deep Space Nine and
that Odo seems to be trying to maintain the peace between the Dominion and the Federation
by trusting Starfleet to handle this covertly.
Understandably, the involvement of changelings answers lots of question as to how the Daystrom
Institute was burgled and the recruitment bureau hit.
These changelings, seem to have infiltrated several layers of society, from the USS Titan
to the criminal underworld and such placements are all working towards some goal.
It’s a good antagonist to be behind the scenes, one that the Federation has recent
history with and a perfectly capable threat when it comes to bringing low the UFP.
So yeah, the scale increases.
The show is moving very slowly right now, I expected us to be on our way home to the
ESD or some other rendezvous by this point and I’m not complaining because I’m enjoying
this so far.
In fact I take it as a sign that the show is not going to be jumping around for the
sake of it.
While Jack is passing out on the floor, he sees a vision of Seven of Nine saying “Jack…
connecting the branches.”
And other indistinct phrases as well as seeing a vision of a storm and a red door.
I take this to mean he is putting together the strands of this conspiracy in his head
and might be able to supply some answers when he wakes.
Either that or the strange emissions from the Nebula they are in have some other effect
going on, because evidently this is going to come up again.
They have dropped the strange Nebula bio-signs before and we are reminded twice in this episode
so it has to come to something.
Also, it was a fun aside hearing Picard ask about the accent jack had with Beverly explaining
aside and even making jokes about it being heredity once he picked it up from London.
Especially as it was something called out by watchers of the show and it actually got
answered, again a minor detail getting a couple of seconds to alleviate a gripe, something
that I feel this show would have previously ignored.
Attention to detail is appreciated.
In terms of the look of the show, once more the visuals of combat in space are clear to
follow and full of tense moments.
It’s also fun to see Vadic at work, a very collected individual with a clear plan of
action up her sleeve.
The flashback scene featured some slight de-aging, maybe it was the quality of my stream, but
I did not notice anything out of place or uncanny about it.
I almost liked the slightly modified movie ear uniform Riker was wearing making this
the one that followed on from that era, just after his appearances in Lower Decks.
I say almost liked it because it’s yet another variation added in for no reason I can see
but at least I can tell where it lands in the chronology from its look.
So overall, this was an intense episode upping the stakes for our TNG crew and the Federation
itself.
The butting heads of Picard with Crusher and Riker is showing the strain in the friendships
which I have no doubt will endure, even if they clash.
While Vadic keeps the Titan A cornered and continues harassing them as she promised into
submission.
The involvement of the Changelings increases the stakes as rogue or not, the echoes of
the Dominion are still going to be something that gives Starfleet shivers and as anyone
who has seen DS9 can attest, they are not to be taken lightly.
A solid episode of development with discussions I wanted to see from all involved that suitable
raises the crisis level and I look forwards to the next part.
Thanks for watching this video, I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you later for another one,
thanks again and goodbye!