This title makes no sense. Anyway I kinda feel like I should do something other than rant random nonsense about Picard, but if I don’t do it now I’ll forget the context, so I’m just gonna.
So first off, I hate that they killed of Zhaban. I did not even pick up on the fact he and Laris were spouses, and the only reason to kill him off, off screen, during the time between seasons, is to open up Laris as a potential love interest for Picard. I don’t hate that idea - as I mentioned before, I liked his Romulan buddies and hoped we would learn more about them - but instead we learned nothing about them for all of Season 1, and then Zhaban died just so Picard can have a shot at his widow. Why was he even introduced then? Surely he wasn’t created just to be killed off screen without us learning a damn thing about him. This definitely stinks of plans being scrapped and rewritten - or in theory that there was no plan at all, but honestly it feels more likely they had intended to have him play some role, either last season or this one, it was written out, and now they have decided to just kill him off to free Laris up as a love interest, and since they were actually one of he most intriguing mysteries last season, and one that never got addressed, it sucks and I hate it.
This isn’t really important, but why is child Picard dressed like a Victorian orphan? I mean honestly thats probably not the right time period, but he definitely looks decidedly old timey, as if he is supposed to be from Patrick Stewart’s childhood not Picard’s. He was born in 2305, not 1905. I honestly kind of feel like he’s been shown like this in other flashbacks during TNG so I’m not even saying it’s inconsistent, it’s its just weird and funny.
A complaint I have that does matter though is Picard’s speech for Elnor’s acceptance into Starfleet Academy. Its all about learning from our mistakes and second chances and how we have to be willing to forgive others and move on. And like, that’s all well and good, but in the context of his adoptive son Elnor who, let’s be honest, is too good for this world, it comes off as extremely racist. He doesn’t need a second chance, he needs a first chance. You need a second chance, Picard, to make up for abandoning him, something for which he appears to have mysteriously forgave you off screen, like Zhaban’s death. Can you imagine if like the first time a Russian was inducted into the US Military after the cold war they gave a speech to all the recruits about everyone should be nice to the pinko and not distrust him even though his race has never been trustworthy in the past? I mean honestly I could see that happening but those words should not be coming out of Picard’s mouth. I don’t think the writers really thought too much about the specifics and implications and merely about “a traditional Starfleet enemy joining Starfleet is a big deal, Picard needs to make a speech addressing it!” But it comes off incredibly racist, big thumbs down from me.
Speaking of which, why is Picard Chancellor of Starfleet Academy? He was not last season. In fact he was largely estranged from Starfleet. Although they did come to aid him in saving the synthetics last season, and lifted the synthetics ban, this seems like a quick turnaround for him to be back in their good graces after all the bridges he burned, and unclear why he is okay with coming back when this is still the same government who abandoned the Romulans to a supernova. But more importantly, Picard does not seem like he would want to be a teacher? He hates kids. And while sure, Starfleet Academy is more college aged (maybe? Its actually never been super clear to me since Wesley and Nog both appeared to join as babbies, but Nog was short and Wes was a prodigy) than kids, it still feels to me like a job based entirely around connecting to others wouldn’t fit him. But hell, thats also what command should be about too, so whatever, I guess. Just feels like they made him Chancellor because he is old and that seems like the obvious job for an old retired starship captain with great prestige to take.
Honestly it kinda feels like most of the characters are doing out of character things now. Rios went back to Starfleet. Really? And they took him back? Jurati didn’t get any jail time? So everyone was being mean to her when it wasn’t her fault? Or does Starfleet just not care about murder? Its still unclear to me exactly what Oh did to her and how much agency she had. And why did Elnor join Starfleet? Is Starfleet a lost cause? This whole first episode honestly feels like they got tired of everything from Season 1 and rebooted the whole damn show. Which is ironic, because thats exactly what happens at the end of the episode when Q shows up and fucks up the timeline, as if it were not already fucked up.
This doesn’t matter, but the Stargazer is a fucking hideous ship design. It’s so much less sleek than most Star Trek ships. But you know what isn’t hideous? Whoopi Goldberg, she’s aged great, Which makes the fact they felt the need for her to call attention to the fact she made herself age like a human weird as fuck, because she really doesn’t look that much older. They could have just said nothing and honestly I would have wondered if they digitally de-aged her. As it is it calls attention to it in the weirdest, most awkward way. When Q does the same thing, but instantly with magic, he sells it better, and he does look much more drastically different, so I am not as annoyed at that, although to be honest, I kinda think its unnecessary with either. Its a TV show, we know people age, no one wants these roles recast, I don’t really think they need to explain it away, but whatever.
I do wonder why they feel the need to make Picard’s personality trauma sourced, though. He definitely never came across as a tortured soul in TNG. He did in S1 of Picard, but exclusively due to the last fourteen years where Starfleet rotted and he dithered, not because of anything in his youth. I was fine with that, but making him have trauma in his youth that makes it hard for him to connect with others just feels so unnecessary. Especially because like, he did connect with others in TNG - he warmed to Wesley over time, he warmed to Data and Worf and Riker, he flirted a lot with Beverly, he slept with that archaeologist woman - he’s not an island. He’s not even awkward. He’s just professional and a workaholic. Honestly I know a lot of people identify him as autistic, and thats not something I ever really saw in him in TNG, but I can see it in Picard Season 1 when they keep bringing up his difficulty expressing his emotions - but now in Season 2 they are making it about trauma instead. It just feels unnecessary. Like, I’ll give them a chance to tell the story they want to tell, but I am skeptical of the path they are taking.
I was not a big fan of Picard Season 1. When I first watched Discovery Season 1, I was too mad to immediately watch season 2 and had to wait a year before doing so. Picard Season 1 was not that frustrating, but before starting Season 2 I actually had the thought, “Do I even want to watch any more? Do I care what happens?” I however forced myself to start the episode because although I honestly did not really care about the story they were telling, I do care about Star Trek, and I want to be able to say I have watched it all and be able to share what I think about it, even if those thoughts are negative. So I continued on. But it kinda seems like whoever is writing Season 2 also didn’t care about the story that was told in Season 1 and so just tossed it in the trash - and in some ways thats even worse than me not caring about it. This is definitely not a strong footing for a new season. I hope it gets better.
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