Oh my, there was a lot to unpack in this episode.
Hi all, I’m Ric and this is my review for episode five “Imposters” of Star Trek
Picard season three.
When changelings became involved we all knew there was going to be lots of suspicion and
paranoia to go around, that is just what comes when you are dealing with infiltration, but
it seems like the extent at which Starfleet has been compromised is rather grand.
Over the course of the episode the level of what we are dealing with is exposed through
the reveal of a familiar face, Ro Laren returns at the rank of Commander within Starfleet,
but I’m getting ahead of myself.
As the episode fills in, Ro betrayed Starfleet and joined the Maquis movement in opposition
to the Cardassians obtaining a series of colonies previously owned by the Federation in the
episode “Preemptive Strike”.
Revisiting this betrayal serves as a centrepiece for Picard in this story, with the added suspicion
of the changeling infiltration.
The back and fourth between Ro and Picard was tense to see and the introduction of Crusher’s
results that changelings can pass the blood test maintained that tension, just when you
thought it was easing.
Similar for the holodeck scene when it became clear that Ro knew what was happening and
was likewise testing Picard.
Imposters abound it seems, even within the admiralty of Starfleet and infesting many
levels of its operation.
You can see why she would suspect Picard, he participates in the diversion of the Titan,
beelines straight for his son, a key figure in her investigation and could very well be
an imposter.
Ro Laren was always an outsider, as stated by Riker, but Picard holds people to high
standards.
He places a great emphasis on loyalty and morality and for the most of his career, it
is true that Starfleet has often aligned with his ideals and thus it is easy for him to
conflate morality and duty.
I’m using many quotes from this episode, quite frankly because the dialogue and understanding
on show of Picard and Ro’s characters I think is on point and eloquently explained.
Picard’s standards can be stifling, especially for someone like Laren who is more prone to
follow her impressions of right and wrong.
Picard has done this too in the past, which does make him kind of hypocritical, but only
when he felt someone else in Starfleet was betraying its ideals.
Quite simply, he has been hurt by her defecting and dwelling on it, sorry rehearsing his speech,
for 30 years.
Blind faith in an institution is not the same thing indeed and Picard was never necessarily
blind…
it’s just this and Starfleet’s ideals nearly always lined up.
The emotional catharsis eventually comes when he realises that he had placed great hopes
and respect on Laren, and she in turn on him, but their view on morals versus loyalty differed
slightly, just enough to lead them onto different paths.
After all, she returned to Starfleet to face her crime and embraced the second chance in
Starfleet Intelligence.
Picard was right to see that she does value dedication and duty, just not to the extent
that she would let them conflict with her doing the right thing.
This plays out in the positioning in the bar scene too, with the counter initially being
between them while they are confrontational, then they are on the same side by the end
of it, much as the distance between the biobeds was with Beverly and Picard in their earlier
confrontation in episode 3.
Ro and Picard’s resolution is tinged with the tragedy of her sacrifice, but the torch
and her investigation was passed to someone she ultimately trusted.
The Changelings too have changed!
It seems they have become more adept at shapeshifting, down to the ability to replicate blood and
internal organs as well as maintain the physical form they last took.
Interestingly, I don’t think we have seen them adopt any inorganic form yet, so I wonder
if this increased proficiency came at the cost of diversity in shapes.
The gains however, are that they seem to be able to now bypass pretty much every security
system created by Starfleet during the Dominion War, blood tests, transporters and even some
funky new scanners devised to detect changeling physiology.
Beverly cites evolution as a factor, but I think it’s an artificial one, after all,
genetics are a specialty of the Dominion and perhaps this new variation on the shapeshifting
leaders are not just renegades, but unable to return to the Great Link, truly separated
from it and dedicated to taking down the Federation.
Another weakness seams to be that they are apparently subject to the same vulnerabilities
as a solid when in that form, considering one suffers a broken neck.
And there are more of them than just a handful it seems, we see six that we know off already,
all now dead, but there must be more.
The whole thing gives me TNG’s Conspiracy vibes with a strong dose of Battlestar Galactica,
although that could just be seeing Michelle Forbes again.
Whoever is in command of the USS Intrepid for a start is clearly one, but not only that,
they have all the pieces they need to place blame on the USS Titan and its crew.
The setup has all the justification it needs, Picard and Riker going rogue, tricking Captain
Shaw into acting out, the death of the person sent to “investigate” them, Ro, followed
by the seeming attack on the Intrepid while harbouring a fugitive.
From the outside perspective, even legitimate people within Starfleet can look at that and
place the Titan on a wanted list, and that is a scary thought.
Jack Crusher on the other hand seems to have no problem identifying changelings, no his
problems seem to be rooted in something else.
His vision are getting worse, and he seems to be unaware of their origin too, witnessing
branches now ensnaring people and also entering a trance state where he is unaware of his
actions.
He seems to be even having trouble telling reality from these illusions, and worryingly
finds himself even beginning to act out his visions.
I’m glad he has confided in Beverly, because for a while I thought he would keep this to
himself.
The moment when he has to put on the uniform to hide in plain sight was preying off his
fears.
The questions racing through his mind when he finds him acting out violence on the bridge
crew in a uniform, very uncharacteristic in both act and appearance, only to then have
to don one throws him.
And the questions raised amplify, are these prophetic visions, intrusive thoughts?
We hear a voice too, its phrase book getting ever expanded, including calls like “find
me” and it all sounds like a call to return home to something.
So the question has to be asked, is Jack himself some form of changeling?
Hearing a call to return which may be why they are after him?
But if that is so, what about him being Picard’s son, I don’t want to see Jean-Luc robbed
of another chance of family and what of Beverly?
Now I don’t think Jack is a changeling or anything so severe but the thought has entered
my mind and I can’t be the only one?
The mystery surrounding him is deepening with every episode and every time we get an answer
to one aspect of his life, another question rises.
Now, I do think I know an upcoming reveal thanks to an apparent Subtitle issue, but
I’ll leave that to the very end, because spoilers are one thing, but yeah, this may
be a mistake that led to an unintentional reveal.
Krinn was a great element too, a criminal Vulcan who cites logic to back up his reasoning.
He clearly has emotional triggers despite his calm facade and straight away we have
an interesting character that is deeper than just a new bad guy.
He has history from the experiences he cites and the scars he bears.
Worf and Raffi are making a very good team and it's a pairing I would never have suspected
but am really enjoying.
I can never tell which one is going to play the bad cop and which will be the good one
and their dynamic keeps flipping, yet they remain on the same page.
With the USS Titan now on the run, I think we can see why things are beginning to slot
into place when it comes to their icy reception at the hands of LaForge later on in the series.
Clearly they will target the Daystrom facility at some point soon, and with the mentions
of the AI security program, who wants to bet it’s Moriarty?
With Lore being present there too, it looks like Daystom was researching advanced AI,
it’s too much of a coincidence to have two of the most complicated programs created in
one place.
Speaking of holograms, it’s interesting to see that Starfleet has reverse engineered
the mobile emitter.
I noticed the emitter on “Raffi’s” arm earlier on and was happy to see it pay off,
little moments like that, not going to lie, give me a little smug moment.
That’s fine, because other parts of this show have me scratching my head in confusion
and set my theory crafting alight.
Watching Captain Shaw this episode was honestly delightful, the glee that git has in having
Picard and Riker face the music was unprofessional and discourteous yes, but I can’t lie, it
brought a smile to my face.
He cites the films of Generations, Insurrection and the finale of “All Good Things” as
incidents where Picard and Riker had jeopardised their careers or the Federation, which is
a point.
As a viewer, we were there for those events and can see the justifications, but just like
a third party perusing Kirk’s personnel file, you can easily see the times where reprimands
were lax.
That has to irritate a straight arrow like Shaw, especially as it centres on Locutus
and triggers some deep personal issues.
Still, I think he’s already come some way in developing.
On the that spoiler now…
So, subtitles apparently attribute Jack’s voices to the Borg Queen, so he may have inherited
a connection to the hive mind from his father.
How that factors in however, remains to be seen, but it adds to the Daystrom AI theory
too.
But why the Changeling involvement?
Still unanswered questions here.
Overall, this episode as both a culmination of and unravelling of one mystery and the
reveals are large enough to set up some truly hefty stakes going forwards.
We get the loss of another legacy character, but Ro’s departure was one of defiance and
heroism while sticking it to the bad guys in a way that did not endanger the innocents
aboard the Intrepid.
Definitely a way she would have wanted to go out.
There is plenty left to explore for the next episode, so I’m looking forwards to seeing
it and thank you all for joining me on this review.
I’ve been Ric, Thanks again and goodbye!