Star Trek: Picard season 1, episode 7 found a few characters in need of a safe place to land, but only one was able to return to the comforts of home.
The latest Star Trek: Picard decided that if it was going to give us a reunion of Will Riker and Jean-Luc Picard, they might as well go in for an entire episode. Behind the camera the two Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes have reunited for two episodes as Frakes returned to the director chair for his second CBS All Access Trek property.
“Nepenthe” takes us to the planet by the same name, a place where Will and Deanna Troi have settled down to raise their daughter. Their son, Thadeus died young and the family still mourns his loss, another phase of someone’s life where the revered Captain was absent. But Will does not hold it or really anything against Jean-Luc. He still rolls onto screen with his dashing blue eyes, the same captivating inflection of his voice that commands attention and invites everyone to settle in for some homemade pizza.
The arrival of Will bookends a rough goodbye on the other end of the episode that, has left me a bit distressed and more in need of a Short Treks episode for a character more than ever.
After looking forward to Riker’s arrival since Comic Con, the episode felt bittersweet. It did not disappoint by any means, but it felt as if Picard was saying his final goodbye to the Riker-Troi family. There are certainly going to be more moments like this one as the series moves ahead in season 1 and into season 2 as Picard comes to terms with what is truly meant to be his final adventure in space. If the other farewells are as well-executed as this one, I don’t know how well I’ll be able to handle it.
As an aside before diving into what happened on Nepenthe, the idea that end of the line is coming for Picard is something that didn’t quite settle until he and Will took their stroll through the woods. Coffee (or presumably tea) in hand, Will and Jean-Luc’s comfort in each other’s company echoed through that forest. Aside from Data, who we’ve only seen in flashbacks, I do not believe that we will see another reunion that will hit Picard so deeply.
That’s to say there are those who will take away much more from seeing Picard again, rather than vice-versa. As a Captain, as an Admiral, the man left an imprint across the galaxy. I just hope that when more character returns occur, the series continues to play into how Jean-Luc’s impact is reflected back to him in moments when he needs to be reminded of his legacy.
(With the exception of Guinan’s expected arrival in season 2. I desire a full read on Picard and his actions up until the point of their meeting. I have no doubt that Whoopi Goldberg can and will deliver.)
‘Star Trek: Picard’ season 1, episode 7 recap
Space isn’t what I dreamed it would be
Three weeks before boarding the La Sirena, Jurati was approached by Commodore Oh who tasked the doctor with a mission that would require her to betray not only Jean-Luc Picard, but her dearest friend and mentor, Bruce Maddox. The conversation between the two has been one of the most frustrating secrets the show has harbored over the course of five or so episodes.
Finally, however, we have some answers about what Commodore Oh told Agnes to make turn on her entire life’s work and eventually take the life of Bruce Maddox. Oh performs a mind meld to transfer her knowledge of the events that took place detailing the destruction that synthetic lifeforms can cause. Emotional transference coupled with the details of the events leave Jurati horrified and sickened.
Though we only see flashes of these events — in the teaser for episode 8 it looks like more details will come to light — the destruction is only a peek at the type of events that may unfold due to the continued expansion of synthetic development. However, due to the flashes we see, it is hard to get a grasp on what is real and what is staged for effect.
Commodore Oh asks what Agnes was apologizing for when she spoke to Picard the second time. She told Picard that she was “sorry” that she never had the opportunity to meet Dahj. It was not an apology, but the first of several admissions of loss that are associated with her work to further the dream of Bruce Maddox. Her contributions were essential to his success, Maddox reminds Jurati at the close of episode 5. And now to see firsthand the destruction that could come of her work, that the enemy could hide in plain sight like that, overwhelms her.
But aiding another known enemy, is just as, if not more damaging.
A game of hide and seek
Narek is placed on the tail of Rios in the hope that Picard’s rendezvous with his crew will eventually lead him to the home planet of Soji, Dahj and Maddox. His tracker is Jurati. When Commodore Oh visited her, she asked Jurati to eat a tracking device — chew it up so that it enters the system.
Unfortunately, Rios believes that Raffi and her suspicious behavior on Freecloud are the red flags that they should be paying attention to. Is she responsible for the Romulans ability to track their every move. Naturally, I would have to side with Rios, but Jurati has been a mess since they entered space and it is definitely not just nerves that are keeping her up at night.
Raffi tries her best to soothe Agnes through the grief/guilt combo she is currently harboring, but it turns out that three slices of cake and chocolate milk are not the best combination for someone who is already uneasy. Resting up in sick bay, Jurati realizes that she can, quite literally, turn the ship around, but it will require as great a sacrifice as the one she made in the name of helping the wrong people.
The episode does a much better job of capturing just how on edge Jurati is. Though we still do not have the entire picture of the events that lead to a complete distrust in her life’s work, it is evident that the series is doing some work to make sure that her spiral is captured enough to make it known how heavily this is weighing on her.
Jurati is trained in studying and creating life forms, it is not likely that her actions with the hypospray will do any lasting damage, but they will knock her out of commission long enough for Narek to stop tracking them. Her actions immediately wipe the La Sirena from Narek’s navigation and leave Jurati in a coma, which apparently the emergency hologram is not equipped to handle alone.
Home is not a place
“Pretend the dinner table is the Ready Room.” That’s one way to make Picard feel like he is not intruding on old friends (who by the way are more than happy to have him in their home. His arrival on Nepenthe leads him right into the path of Kestra, the daughter of Riker and Troi who though distrusting at first, decides that leading the famed captain to her parents will probably be okay.
To recap, Soji has just left the Artifact where she was lied to, manipulated, and told that she was not a real human. Just existing is in direct contrast to everything that she has just discovered. Who can she trust? A man who claims to know and love the android who was her “father”? The woman, who has a heart of gold, but senses immediately that this “girl” is not a girl at all? Or the man who just wants everyone to lay down their intentions on the table and treat the situation for what it is — Picard is in over his head and doesn’t know what to do next?
Turns out, for now, none of the above will do. Kestra, on the other hand, has the natural curiosity of a child that is not only appealing to Soji, but the perfect test subject to air her most ridiculous thoughts and questions. Kestra is fascinated by made up worlds and languages (especially those made by her brother). How could she not be fascinated with an android who sees their world as entirely made up?
Their conversations rival Picard and Riker’s for the best of the episode. Though not a high-stakes, and involving much more mucus, the bond that forms between them highlights everything that Soji has lost through becoming self-aware. She was treated like a puzzle to be solved, not a human whose mind was prized. And although people cared enough to make sure she was not left for dead, she has not figured out if this crowd of people wish to deconstruct her further or build her back up.
By answering Kestra’s questions and watching how she navigates being the smallest voice in the room with such a forceful nature, it does visibly brighten her mood. I believe that Soji is much more comfortable going off with Picard knowing that he believes in something that will help her. She may not be out of danger, she may not get the answers that she wants, but Picard is going to lead her down the path that Maddox tred and take her one step closer to “home.”
Stop being the hero, Picard
Picard has a hero complex. There is no denying that. He is the person people call upon, he is the one who helps. And after years of isolation, it looks like he is a bit of practice recognizing what that looks like. It looks like him standing at the helm with a team of people behind him. Those who choose to stick by him mission after mission. And though some come and go, some are assigned and contracted, there are those who are always in his corner should he ever give the signal for action.
Naturally, Will — after covering Picard in flour — decides that he is not going to waste any time on an act. Picard needs help and he needs to ask for it. Riker lays it all out on the table for Picard who takes each point with a sip of wine. There is a teenage girl who needs help and Picard is not a young strapping man about town anymore. He is set in his ways, he thinks he knows best, but in this situation, there is no knowing best. There is only not-knowing.
Troi sits down with Soji for a bit in the garden. There is no right way to talk to a girl who just found out she is an android and Troi navigates the landmines of their conversation as best as she can. Ultimately, it is Picard that sets Soji off trying to play a joke instead of just saying, “Dinner is served.” Troi points out that this girl is recovering from severe trauma — she has no identity, no place in the world, and joking about their entire situation being another elaborate plan to deceive her is not the way to approach a child who is hurting. Because that is what she is, a scared child.
As their visit extends, it is the final hike out to the lake that cements the next steps for Picard whether he realizes it or not. He speaks to Will openly about his new “crew” of sorts. They may have more baggage than the entirety of the fleet of people that Picard has worked with in the past, but they need each other. Even if Rios is hot and bothered by Jean-Luc asking for his ETA every five minutes.
Picard may be on his way off planet, but he leaves with a sense that his home is never far from his mind. It is scattered across the galaxy. Riker and Troi may never share a meal or a conversation with Jean-Luc again, but they have that connection that runs deeper than any annual obligation to see one another.
Rules must be followed
Narissa and Hugh face off after the escape of Picard. With literally nowhere to go, Hugh is taken by Narissa and answers are demanded for not only the escape, but the four dead guards left in the wings of Sector 11. As punishment, Narissa cannot kill Hugh as he is a member of the Federation and a treaty prevents her from doing so. But she can kill the XBs at point blank range. And she does — she kills several of them.
Hugh stands his ground and refuses to give up Picard’s location and the means of his escape. Hugh is distraught and it is a gut-wrenching moment to watch him helplessly sit there and take the abuse. But Elnor does not lie low for long and comes to the aid of his new “worthy cause.”
As we learned in episode 4, the Zhat Vash are not huge fans of the Qoway Milat. And even though Narissa understands that Elnor is not a true “sister” he does have their training and they fight without phasers. But knives can be just as deadly especially if you are trained in the art of deception as well as Narissa. She swiftly plants one in Hugh’s neck.
Hugh’s death was an unexpectedly devastating moment for the series. After only a few episodes, I grew to love the guy. Knowing his past, his connection to Picard as the few who came out of assimilation with most of their humanity intact, it was a hard pill to swallow that his story was cut so short. Before he dies, Hugh passes along the information that will help Elnor at least begin to set things right on the Artifact. But it will involve an Ex Borg.
Seven of Nine will make her return.
Final thoughts on ‘Star Trek: Picard’ 1×07
- Elnor is very much alive much to my enjoyment. I am glad that the “kid” will be able to team up with Seven of Nine, though I suspect that she will not enjoy his company as much.
- In an improvement from all her prior appearances, Narissa felt like a proper villain here. The delivery of the line, “I’m bored,” was fantastic.
- I’m happy Riker and Troi found home. A place where they may not have their son, but they do have each other and the wide variety of worlds he created to immerse themselves in whenever they miss him most.
- Honestly, it’s just rude of Star Trek: Picard to kill Hugh. He was doing good work. He saved so many people, but his life was far from over. I miss him already.
- There is so much left to unpack with Jurati and I hope that the writers are able to take it home. I would also like to take a deeper dive into the images that were flashed around during the mind meld. I think that we will get more insight next week, but I am curious what Jurati felt in that moment.
Star Trek: Picard will release new episodes on CBS All Access in the U.S. on Thursdays, on CTV Sci-Fi channel in Canada on Thursdays, and on Amazon Prime elsewhere on Fridays.
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