Picard Episode Six

You have got to be kidding me.

(Derogatory)

That is all.

Ok no that’s not all but for fucks sake and yes I swore and yes I don’t do that often but UGH!!

Picture this.

Why?!? *bangs head against the wall* (repeat, repeat, repeat). Bang, bang, bang.

I have a great deal of affection for fanfic so I am not going to give this show the compliment of saying it’s a shitty fanfic. It is just shitty.

Ok I will stop ranting and make a point I promise.

First off the end because that is what pushed me over the edge. DEANNA TROI IS WORTH MORE THAN BEING SOME KIND OF SUBORDINATE BARGAINING CHIP TO CONTROL RIKER. SHE IS BRILLIANT AND BRAVE AND AMAZING AS AN INDIVIDUAL.

Ahem.

Seriously. Not once. Not ONCE! In this whole goddamn show has Deanna been allowed her own contribution. She is wife. She is mother. Well dammit she is more. She isn’t just an extension of Riker to soothe his ego or give him pain. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it so much. I want it to die in the fire of a thousand suns.

You know what would have been cool? Riker is heading out to do his Lone Ranger hero thing. Picard is late. Suddenly they are swept up in a transport beam. It’s a ship. It’s Troi. “I knew you’d get in trouble without me” and so she came to save him. No trouble with changelings on her ship. Being an empath she can sense when people aren’t who they say they are – boom. Yes it is still far more Riker centric than I would prefer but it gives Troi a hero moment, it positions her to have an essential and proactive role in the story. Instead she’s just a damsel in distress and she is better than that.

Geordi looking out for his family was nice. As was the fact that he didn’t defer to Picard. Felt like he had grown and made a life for himself in the intervening decades which after my post earlier today was much needed. 

Why the hell now Klingons are in StarFleet do they not have their cloaking tech? Like I am confused. How could a ship from Kirk’s era which is what well over a hundred years? Have superior tech. I mean that whole “ship museum” was nothing but fan service with the Defiant, Kirk’s Enterprise etc. it was very clunky and so I didn’t get the feels from it they probably hoped for.

Which brings me to Seven. *sighs forever* I got to be honest it was a gifset of the “Voyager was my family and now…” that tipped me over the edge into that ramble earlier. 20 years and that’s what they go with. They basically couldn’t have put it any clearer than if it was in neon lights that they have no idea. I’m sure some of it is that they don’t want to commit themselves to anything that they might want to change later. Like Prodigy has picked up some of Voyager’s future/present with Chakotay and Admiral Janeway. Maybe they aren’t allowed to say anything. But seriously that was the best they could do?

I mean sure you can rationalise it away that Seven was talking to a veritable stranger and she’s not someone to pour her heart out anyway. She could be very honest and over share about some things on Voyager but not about anything that made her vulnerable and feelings are definitely that. But all that makes me think is if they wanted Seven to have a moment referencing Voyager then why pair her with Jack? Why not run the scene differently?

Raffi. It would seem the throwaway ‘breakup’ line isn’t a lie. You know what I think the problem is? Out of universe for a second. It’s a known fact I think? That season 2 and 3 were developed concurrently as they were filmed back to back. Now if I had been the head writer/person in charge I would have written a series arc. All the huge plot points (like Seven and Raffi affirming their relationship in the season 2 finale) would have been written down. That way season 3 could have still built on it. Instead I think they wrote them completely bloody separately, and did it linearly so nothing that happened later in season 2 will count because season 3 knew nothing about it. That’s why Saffi is so marginalised and a dropped line here and there only, as details can be added, but the general plot can’t shift.

I am pissed about this to be honest. Trek is a huge franchise. I know I shouldn’t be surprised with Star Wars “maybe we should have had a plan” sequel trilogy but for fucks sake. I take better care with my fanfic than that. How come professionals don’t?

Anyway in universe I suspect that Seven and Raffi are suffering from the in universe Grissom and Sarra problem. I didn’t care to ship them but I watched CSI and so I know the score. The characters got together, the actors left the show – happy days. One actor (Sarra) wanted to return but Grissom’s actor didn’t. They wrote the characters being long distance but then after a while, rather than just saying Grissom was there and referring to him like “bbq last weekend” etc. and him just not being on screen (which would have been fine), they split them up. Sorry I was talking in universe reason wasn’t I? Well it was fairly dumb because the characters only split up due to out of universe writers-fuckery (the same as Saffi) and it basically boiled down to them not talking to each other. Grissom thought he should give Sarra her freedom, Sarra didn’t argue as she thought Grissom wanted his freedom. The two idiots still loved one another and never said a damn word. This is very on brand for Saffi to be honest. Although I would have hoped that they had evolved from season 2 but I guess life can be two steps forward, one step back.

I will die on this hill that Seven and Raffi love each other deeply. Raffi was clearly looking at Seven in their two brief interactions, hoping to see something, and Seven was even more locked down and minimalist than normal. It was like Voyager levels of communication. Clear sign of retreat.

You know what I have more to say about Seven for a second. What the fuck writers??? Seven is brilliant, badass, probably the most competent character in the room almost all the time and yet she has been reduced to standing/sitting in the corner most episodes saying things like “get us out of here” or looking at other characters. Hunting the changeling was like the only thing she has done this season and she had to go to Shaw for help because somehow the “species number” all known Borg encyclopaedia didn’t have a clue.

Ok actually I see the pattern. Women just need saving don’t they? Excuse me while I puke. Even Raffi who feels like she’s had the most agency/the most to do of any female character this season had to be rescued by Worf and has pretty much been the background “what do we do now?” character since, as Worf took the lead.

I am seriously trying to find the nuggets of gold. So many characters I love but look at what they are doing to them! I wanted to see more Seven and Raffi but seriously I am asking the “at what cost?” question because this is not really worth it.

It would seem that Jack Crushers weird violent dreams are about Picard’s brain issue that killed him at the end of season 1. So so weird. To have made such a thing of it and then that. I am hoping that they think it’s that but it’s actually important but I’m not holding my breath.

Daystrom appears to have Kirk’s body. Why? They brought back Data AGAIN. Why? Like I thought a big point of season 1 was Picard saying goodbye. Honestly the writers are just repeating themselves. Let him go already.

Picard’s body at Daystrom makes some sense given he was Borg and then stripped of that but presumably something remained. I am guessing that’s why the changelings wanted him, although to what end I don’t know. Having not seen the Dominion War yet as I’m not that far into DS9 I don’t know about this bio-weapon that Starfleet apparently used. Maybe the changelings are looking for something related to that? I really don’t care to be honest.

Usually with these nostalgia trips I get sucked in. I have to work hard to stay objective and analyse properly. In the end I usually say there was more style than substance but I am swept along for the ride, so the style was good at least. With this it’s like there is neither style nor substance. I am just watching with this disbelief that it’s this bad. I wish I had the spoons to pound out some fix-it fic. I haven’t seen a show that needed it so badly since the defying logic of Once Upon a Time.

More than anything I am disappointed. I love Trek. I love the world. I love the characters. I am primed to love this and the fact that I am more watching at this point to see how bad it gets is… impressive really. I mean is it me, or is the writing really that bad? I doubt myself a little bit. I don’t like judging stuff. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, I shouldn’t claim I can do better. But it is bad right? It feels bad.

Oh let next week be better. Please.

#not a positive post I am afraid more than a little ranty