Ok so Episode 7.

Spoilers etc. fair warning.

No Raffi? C’mon why? Ugh!

Actually no in all seriousness it doesn’t make sense. The changelings have a plot re: frontier day and they are running out of time. Rather than focus on the fight they instead are searching for Riker. Like no offence but is that really a priority?

I am especially aghast to be honest because when they enacted the plan and for Vadic off her ship (when they knew Riker was on the shrike as that’s where his code came from) they didn’t send an away team to rescue him? Like did they just forget?

I am sick of this Data/Lore plot as it is sucking up airtime and I can’t see how it’s relevant. When Geordi was explaining again about the personality partitions, I was just like “this is taking too long, unless this becomes super important” but it feels like it was just there so Lore could take the ship which was mega convenient for the bad guys and thus stupid. Vadic having a contingency which explained why they were so confident – that made sense. Winning through luck because Lore had a moment of fun? That was not foreseeable. I repeat what I said last week. Data has died twice, let him go. I love the character don’t get me wrong but enough is enough.

Tuvok guest appearance (well as a changeling) was unexpected! I didn’t know any Voyager alums were appearing so that was cool. I liked how Seven tricked him into revealing he wasn’t Tuvok but otherwise… “they are not taking the bridge” and then 2 seconds later… 🤦‍♂️

A pet peeve of mine is when a character is brilliant, and the writers dumb them down, so other characters can also look good/the villain can win etc. It is lazy storytelling to build a character up at the expense of another. I see it all the time and ugh it is aggravating. Seven is so much better than this. Not just Seven either. I get it that the ‘heroes’ are who we are following but it is just not realistic that they are the only ones who know about the changelings and are doing something. They name dropped Janeway again and if she isn’t replaced with a changeling and thus in a cage masterminding an escape, I am going to be pissed if she doesn’t play a role in the ‘final battle’ so to speak. She doesn’t have to appear but if there isn’t a mention of her being badass well… jumping and sharks come to mind.

StarFleet making these changelings like Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t shock me. I have a always seen the darker side. The ideals of the institution are admirable but it’s made up of people, and people aren’t perfect. They get scared or selfish and they make choices. Beverley somehow forgetting she iced two invaders in the opening episode with her “I am considering not following do no harm oath” was a bit like ship has sailed on that one. Honestly though the whole “wrestling with the morality” plot point would be really good if they spent more than 2 seconds on it. They aren’t spending their limited time budget wisely. Some episodes feel like filler as they didn’t have enough plot to stretch, others are just too rushed and not spending enough time on the points that matter.

So Picard’s brain issue, which Jack inherited, isn’t actually that and Jack is now telepathic. Random evolution seems unlikely but all I can think is Q did something given his fondness for Picard. Although Vadic saying “he was never really yours” to Beverley is giving me Anakin vibes. Like is Jack actually Picard’s son or somehow created to enhance whatever is going on with him? As a Stargate fan I snigger about ATA gene but honestly I have no idea. How have people not noticed the red eyes thing though?

I am reasonably sure that they are wrong that they want Jack’s blood to animate Picard’s body. But given the deadline of Frontier Day… I just don’t know and there are what three episodes left? The pacing is worrying. The cast too big to do anyone justice. I really have no clue why they wrote Rios out just to being in Shaw. I had thought they wrote out the new characters to bring back the old TNG crowd, but then they invented more characters? Logic not found.

Honestly I am at the stage where I just want to know what the canon is so I can fix it more accurately in my head. 

Next week really needs more Raffi. Somehow they will have to retake the Titan. Maybe Raffi saves the day? I know, never happening but I can dream. I missed her this week 🙁