Star Trek Picard episode 2 is out and I’ve got to say, cards on the table, I thought
it was just as good as the previous. Hi Ric here with the review and lore dive on “Maps
and Legends.” I’m going to discuss spoiler free thoughts but then get into the nitty-gritty
details pretty soon so if you’ve not seen Picard yet, I’ll let you know when to get
off this 145 year old shuttle Taxi. Alright then, if last episode was world building
to cover the 20 year gap from the end of nemesis, this is more establishing the current climate
and powers at play here. There is surpassingly little action in this episode as ide from
a flashback scene set on Mars which is confirmed as 2385, one year or less before the supernova
in Romulan space. This means that the rest of the episode’s 43 minute runtime, which
is really a lot less once you factor in the credits and recap, is dialogue reliant. It’s
a mixed bag but mostly on the positive. There are a couple of lines that stand out as too
hurriedly written and obvious concerning sci-fi and tea but generally everything flows well.
We spend a lot of time this episode developing the narrative on the Borg Cube, sorry Romulan
Artefact Reclamation Site and following the trail Picard uncovered last time on Earth.
Soji, Dahj’s sister is getting a much slower paced development here and we are really presented
with a sense of life as a researcher aboard this… potentially still malevolent terror
box of assimilating metal. I wonder how long this Cube has been inactive for, clearly long
enough for people to make jokes about the Borg and sleep aboard it. Nothing could possibly
go wrong. The supporting Romulans, Laris and Zhaban
get some development here that expands on their history together pre Picard as covered
in the prequel comics and this is good as not everyone is going to follow these, in
fact most wont. Laris in particular is a joy to watch as well as Narek who clearly has
ulterior motives. Both these two, quite separately play on old Romulan stereotypes or being arrogant
and secretive and it’s fun to see these traits with a more jovial edge.
We also get to see just why Starfleet refuses to help Picard and it’s still a little jarring,
especially with an unnecessary curse word thrown in, at least I thought so, but events
continue that calm the qualms I had brewing. I do worry though about the low run-time as
this seems to be accelerating an otherwise slow paced investigative mystery in places
with one instance of finding the McGuffin in seconds so we didn’t have to waste time
searching for hours. Not that big of an issue, but I hope it doesn’t become a frequent
Trend. All in all, I enjoy that this episode is taking
its time where it can, to establish itself and the new characters being introduced are
growing on me, if this continues it may end up as one of my favourite Star Trek story
arcs from the shows. I say story arcs and not series as at 10 episodes, this is what
it feels like. Moving on to the lore sections complete with
spoilers now, so lets’ take a look at some mentions. 2385 is when the android’s turned
on their organic colleagues and we clearly see that there is some sort of activation
or signal that triggers them, there uncanny valley stares and lack of humour, a tough
concept for an android to grasp shows that although clearly based on Maddox’s Soong
styled work, they are miles behind Data and Lore’s sophistication. Even b4 showed curiosity.
It looks like this was not some sort of revolt on their behalf as they seem too perhaps even
lack self-determination. It looks like the surface of Mars is perhaps a mining facility
of some description while in orbit we get to see a lot of new Starships and large shuttles.
We get a passing line that confirms that Geordie LaForge did survive the attack which is just
as well as he was assigned to oversee construction of the Romulan evacuation fleet.
On visiting Starfleet everything feels very true to nostalgia, maybe with a new veneer
on it, until Picard begins to interact with it. From the receptionist who doesn’t recognize
the former-hero to the Admiral Clancy’s office, it’s clear he has fallen behind
the times during his self-imposed exile. I felt pretty bad for Picard who was frankly
asking a lot of the Admiralty when clearly he was trying to appeal to this Ver’ruul
of an admiral. I get the feeling that Starfleet and the Federation isn’t as “dystopian”
as others are making out, as we learn that they were being pressured by 14 Federation
members not waste resources on Romulus, who they are remains unnamed, and that they did
in fact lose the rescue fleet anyway during the Synth attack. So the order was given to
abandon the project while the Federation turns inward to see to its own issues and Starfleet
as an extension of this stands down from its rescue endeavours. Also this Admiral Clancy,
really doesn’t like Picard and arguably she has a point, he did resign in protest
and outwardly criticise Starfleet on the FNN just days ago. I still hate her for it, but
that bridge has clearly been burnt. One thing I’m not big on is the reveal of
the Zhat Vash. This is an even more secretive wing of the Romulan Empire, burred deep under
even the Tal Shiar. Its name is based on an old term for “the dead” and its purpose
is to oppose Artificial Intelligence wherever it may surface, which is also used to explain
why the Romulan Star Empire never used anything like AI or sentient Holograms. I always assumed
they just weren’t interested. I get tit though, the Tal Shiar has been widely demystified
in Star Trek and too associated with the old regime of the Empire, which we learn now may
have collapsed or undergone a radical shift as the Romulan Free State is mentioned in
passing. The Free State seems to be the new government
in Romulan space and from the name and the fact that they are allowing foreign researchers
onto the Borg cube, they seem to be trying to be a little more cooperative with its neighbouring
powers. I wonder if it was a smooth transition or more like it was depicted in Star Trek
Online as a schism mostly between military and civilian sectors, splintered after the
supernova. As for why the Romulan’s are interested
in the Borg Cube, well, even Starfleet has a cautious curiosity for Borg tech with how
advanced it is and we can’t forget that the Romulans became aware of the Borg around
the same time as the Federation did. In “The Neutral Zone” episode of TNG, the Romulans
and Federation were losing settlements along the border and eventually it was revealed
that the Borg were assimilating them. Plus with the location of Romulan space in the
Beta Quadrant and not fully charted, then it’s actually more likely that they were
encountering the Borg at times too. I look forwards to the development on both these
plots. Picard gets a health check-up from an old
Stargazer friend who reveals that Picard’s potential to develop Irumodic Syndrome is
still present and that his frustrations and bad dreams may be early symptoms. Again, another
old plot thread marking this series as one for TNG fans and I’m curious to see if there’s
anyone watching Picard who hasn’t seen the Next Generation and how they are keeping up
with all these (kind of important) plot threads. The last thing I want to mention is… hang
on, your phone is ringing… you need to answer it because I called it. There most definitely
is a malevolent power at play within the Federation with the Zhat Vash having infiltrated Starfleet
through Commodore Oh and her staff. Oh herself seems to be a Vulcan, but may too be a Romulan
imposter as her subordinate(?) is. I am concerned that they seem to have revealed all the villains
of the piece this early, but hopefully that means there’s more twists to come.
We’ll have to see where their end goal lies and the extent of Admiral Clancy and therefore
Starfleet’s involvement in them, but I’m betting they are the ones who triggered the
Synthetic attack on Mars to get them removed from the Federation before manipulating events
to get the ban in place. It could be argued that Starfleet is still equally guilty in
losing its Utopian values, but it’s far easier for that to occur when those who steer
the Federation are listening to such individuals as the Zhat Vash.
So there we have it, my review and analysis of Picard’s episode two. It did have some
flaws caused by the short runtime but overall they weren’t large enough to detract from
my enjoyment. Thanks for watching and let me know how you think this fares against the
prior episode and how do you feel about the Federation now?
I’ll probably see you next time for another lore and review of Picard, till then, thanks
again and goodbye!