Star Trek Picard ep 3 and 4 – about the same
Star Trek Picard has a new and better pace and tone, which is not a bad thing. There’s a lot to improve on from season one and it shows in season two; there’s better character writing, and better writing overall. The one thing that’s still leftover is that cynical, self-deprecating Alex Kurtsman writing, but you can hardly get away from it because he’s the showrunner. Too bad. That’s why we have a Picard who feels bad about having no girlfriend, and a Juradi as a woman so alone she starts considering joining the Borg collective to find some friends. That’s where we’re at right now, folks.
Kurtsman obviously wrote all of Q’s dialogue, which is not as clever as it sounds. Q creates a new present state for Picard and his pals, and Kurtsman cherry picks a lot of the best Star Trek crap, throwing it into episodes 3 and 4. After Picard escapes episode 2, they time travel by summoning the power of Star Trek 4, and visit the dark past of Earth of the 21st century. Kurtsman can’t help but write with a dark tone, but this time he’s a little more clever about it, hiding his “new” dark tone in the time travel plot and his criticisms of the 21st century. Not only are those things dark, but they are played very seriously and there aren’t any breaks, not even when Q makes an appearance, who has been in many lighthearted episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation. In fact, I can’t remember ANY lighthearted moments in this season so far, except for maybe some dialogue quips.
Raffi gets mad. She calls Picard a terrible leader and yells at him. She makes her own plans once they’re back in the past and leaves the ship in a huff. This attitude continues through her every appearance, and I can’t figure out why she’s so mad at Picard. This fake-drama really makes no sense to me, since she’s a training military officer, and she’s got a new assignment for this season of Picard, as a leader on board the Excelsior. I guess Kurtsman has to have drama, so Raffi is the designated angry one this season. Raffi and Seven take a detour to rescue Rios, who is stuck in Kurtsman’s criticism of immigration and health care. Kurtsman crams a LOT into episode 3 where there are more references and critiques than I’ve ever seen before, including those in the “New Guinan” scene where Picard visits the 10 Forward of the past. The “New Guinan” goes on a rant about how bad the Earth is, before deciding to leave in a huff. It’s clear this is not the friendly and patient bartender we know.
Overall, episode 3 and 4 are mostly sidetracked by Kurtsman dialogue and other real world issues. At this point, I’m not sure what he’s trying to say, and I’m not sure if the show will ever say anything. Kurtsman and company believe that it’s enough to just show some of these meaningful real world issues, but that’s really never been enough for any past Star Trek. The good thing is that Santiago Cabrera is a really good actor as Rios and he has some great lines, so that’s entertaining, at least. Picard finds the Watcher at the end of episode 4 and more questions. Hopefully, we can have some entertaining answers.
