It seems as thoughStar Trekis always at its best when its main characters are as off guard as its audience when it comes to just what exactly is going on. Perhaps that’s why the first two episodes ofStar Trek: PicardSeason 2have been so very good so far. They have in fact, been quite a bit better than the series' premiere season. While Season 1 was supposed to be set up as kind of a heist show, it never really found its feet as it also had to introduce several characters the audience didn’t know and never really got filled out in the case of a few of them.
Star Trek: PicardSeason 2Episode 2, titled “Penance” benefits greatly from the fact that the audience knows all the players. The show also managed to fill a few of the characters out by using the old trope of “this is what they’ve been up to between seasons.” That has saved the series time where the showrunners didn’t have to waste time “getting the band back together” in either of the first two episodes and it could jump right into the action. There’s also something to be said for the way the show has jumped into the action. WhilePicardis taking its time getting to the part that everyone really wants to see, which is the crew going back in time, it hasn’t been unnecessarily stalling or having “side quests” for no other reason than to waste time. The pacing so far has been impressive in that regard.
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Fishes Out Of Water
While the bestStar Trekplots are when the crew is trying to solve some crazy mystery, a close second for the best episodes come whenJean Luc Picard and companyare starring in a “fish out of water” plotline. That’s certainly the case in “Penance” when the Stargazer crew all wake up to find themselves in a series of situations that have caused them great confusion.
At least it caused all of them confusion other than Picard, who has been guided by Q to his chateau. Theentity known as Q(still and always gleefully portrayed by John de Lancie) has plucked the gang out of the Stargazer just as it was exploding, effectively saving their lives. However, he didn’t do this for altruistic reasons and it turns out that he might actually have done it specifically to inflict a bit of pain and suffering on his old nemesis and the people Picard cares about. While Q has done this kind of thing in the past, he’s always claimed the point was to teach the Star Fleet captain a lesson. This time around, however, he just seems to be angry and wanting to dole out punishment. Hence the title of this episode.
Q leads Picard on a tour of his house, showing that the version of Jean Luc that exists in the world he’s been transported to is a vile man who has led what’s called The Confederation (not exactly the lightest touch on the name) on a violent conquest of the galaxy. While the tour could have come off as heavy-handed, as he watches slaves avert their eyes when he enters the room and eventually goes to a trophy room full of skulls, it actually works here. Thisolder version of Jean Luc Picardwears his emotions on his sleeve a bit more than Captain Picard did. There is evidence of real pain as he realizes that this world’s version of himself is basically a monster.
The other members don’t have the benefit of being told what’s going on and instead have to figure it out. The reveals of who the show’s main characters are in this new world are done fairly well with each of them discovering their other selves in various ways. The reveals also allow the show to inject a bit of humor that would really only work in this kind ofStar Trekepisode. For the second straight episode, Allison Pill isn’t on screen all that long but when she is, she steals the show as comic relief that manages to avoid being too goofy. There’s also a nice cameo in one of her scenes that is as close to a laugh-out-loud moment as viewers are going to get inPicard.
Danger Is Real
When it comes to a lesser show, writers who are putting together an evil empire that the audience is supposed to root again can often make the mistake of having the villains basically be psychopathic morons. These villains are far too easy to defeat and even easier to fool. The good news here is that in thisepisode of Star Trek: Picard, it feels as though the Star Gazer crew are actually in danger.
There are some characters who seem to really be keeping an eye on the group and that leads to the plot to solve the mystery to be a bit more complicated than “let’s all get together and then get out of here.” The way that the group has to deal with what went onwith the Borgand how they need to try and get back to their own reality all has a sense of urgency and really seems to do a good job of getting the viewer invested in what is going on. There isn’t a roll-of-the-eyes moment when the audience has to wonder how a character could be that stupid and that’s especially rewarded in the final episode’s final scene.
Finally,this season ofStar Trek: Picardhas managed to make sure people want to keep coming back by staging cliffhangers that are actually interesting. Speaking of a sort of perfect pacing, everything has been laid out in a way that getting to the cliffhanger never feels rushed and there’s always a sense of wanting to see what happens next when the credits roll. So far in this season and especially in this episode, there isn’t a great deal to complain about.
New episodes ofStar Trek: Picardare available every Thursday on Paramount Plus.
