SPOILERS from the outset.
Another very strong episode, a taut thriller which delivers some surprises, albeit more in terms of unexpected returning characters than plot twists. The big deal in this episode is, of course, the return of Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren, thirty years since her last appearance on TNG: “Pre-emptive Strike.” I had genuinely avoided any spoilers regarding this, and among all the many returning faces given away in the trailers before, seeing Ro again was a true surprise. Playing on the Changeling conspiracy with it, so we kept questioning whether it was really her to begin with, added an extra layer to an already tense reunion.
Forbes and Stewart are electric together, the once protégé confronting the teacher she betrayed. As beautifully done as it is, though, I’m not entirely happy with it. After all, as I said, it was thirty years ago, and it doesn’t seem like Picard to have been nursing this grudge so venomously for so long. He claims to have been planning what he’d say to Ro all that time, yet not once has he mentioned it on screen since the aforementioned episode. Yes, this was right at the end of The Next Generation, and it's not surprising that it wasn’t followed up in the films or previous series of Picard among all the many other elements. Still, while it’s good to finally have some closure on Ro’s story, Picard’s simmering anger with her seems to come out of nowhere. While last week it was Shaw who channelled Sisko, this time it’s Picard, whose attitude to Ro is almost identical to Sisko’s hatred of the other major Maquis turncoat, Eddington.
Yet, it’s hard to be turned off by this, given how exceptional the performances are, and it’s way beyond time Forbes came back to the fold. It’s common enough knowledge that the creators of DS9 originally wanted Ro as a main character, and that Kira was created as a replacement when Forbes said no. As much as I love Nana Visitor, I feel we missed out on an even more powerful dynamic that Forbes would have brought to the series. At least she’s back…
… and then they kill her. I’m not against major character deaths, and Picard is certainly not afraid to bump off legacy characters, but we really needed more time with Ro. I understand that killing her was intended to show that no one is safe, but with this being the last last hurrah for the TNG crew, we already know that major characters can be killed.
After missing out last week, we’re back with Worf and Raffi, and they’re as good together as ever. I loved Kirk Avecedo as the villainous Vulcan Krinn. I understand that he’s another of Matalas’s Twelve Monkeys stalwarts, along with Aaron “Sneed” Stanford, but to me he’s always going to be Charlie from Fringe. The idea of a Vulcan who has become a crime lord because he’s deduced that crime is a logical and unavoidable element of society, so he might as well be the one organising it, is a great one. The fight between Raffi and Worf was fun, an obvious callback to the Kirk-Spock deathmatch in TOS: “Amok Time” (but what it was really missing was that classic TOS fight music). Still, I’m glad that the season’s threads are tying up and that we’re finally moving on from M’Talas Prime.
The Changeling threat gets more interesting, with the revelation that this a new breed of shapeshifter that actively mimics human blood and organs a logical progression of their infiltration techniques (so it seems their new look is deliberately “fleshy,” compared to their translucent old style). Equally intriguing is Jack’s ongoing trouble with alien visions, and his sudden superhero moment where he takes out a whole bunch of shapeshifters. He’s seemingly some kind of sleeper agent, but who or what placed him there? This feels like it might be one mystery too many, but hopefully it’ll all be tied up satisfactorily in the end. My concern is that we’re halfway through the season and the characters are only now finding answers and moving onto new locations. I fear that we’re going to have the same rushed ending issues as the previous two seasons.
Random Thoughts:
Names of interest on Worf’s feed include Morn of Luria (he never shuts up), his one-time associate Larell, Brunt (FCA) and Thadiun Okona (the one whose managed to appear on Lower Decks and Prodigy lately – you know, the guy who’s like what you’d get if you ordered Han Solo from Wish).
New ship alert: the USS Intrepid NCC-79520, apparently Duderstadt-class. I don’t enjoy the constant fan negativity when it comes to new ship designs, but that’s one ugly vessel. It looks like it’s bum’s the wrong way round.
Picard speaks Bajoran, it seems. He offers Ro some Bajoran springwine – she looks like more of a spirit drinker to me.
The mobile holographic emitter, cribbed by the Doctor from the 29th century, is now on the market to intelligence operatives and criminal lowlifes.
Although there hardly seems to be room for yet more legacy characters in the season, it definitely sounds like they’re building to an appearance by Admiral Janeway.
Worst line of the week:
“Is it a new species?”
“No… it’s evolution.”
Christ, Crusher’s always been lumbered with nonsensical pseudoscientific dialogue, but doesn’t she understand that’s what evolution is?
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