Warning: This review contains spoilers.
While watching the final two episodes of this third season of Star Trek: Picard two words kept popping into my head, “full” and “circle.” Time and again these two excellent episodes that have revitalized the Next Generation fandom and in a style that made the original show so great, Star Trek: Picard brought so many stories to a conclusion for the type of satisfying final chapter that many felt the original end of the Star Trek: Next Generation series lacked. As was commented to me by a friend, it was a more genuine ending. There were so many story threads left dangling at the end of previous episodes that it was truly unclear how they were ever going to bring them all together, but kudos to the writers who managed to do so expertly. Whatever they were paid, it was not enough!
There is a sort of karma for me that these two episodes brought the
Star Trek: Next Generation crew’s story full circle. The name of the script my then-writing partner and I submitted to the
Next Generation producers that opened the door for us to become a minuscule part of
Star Trek history was entitled “Full Circle.” Seeing this series take the
Next Generation cast’s saga back to the beginning for closure and having their conclusion become the possible launching pad for the adventures of a new Enterprise and the rebirth of Star Fleet was nothing short of perfection.
Episode 9, “Vox” was the ideal set-up for the show’s epic conclusion. In it we discover that the source of the nightmares haunting Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) behind that red door was the original series’ most feared nemesis, the Borg. They needed him and the Borg code embedded in the brain of Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) body to enact their plan to infiltrate Star Fleet and assimilate the universe. The plan almost works, as their tool, the cold and calculating Vadic takes over the Titan and speeds toward the Frontier Days celebration on Earth. The code begins taking hold changing all the younger crew members including Geordi’s (LeVar Burton) young daughters into Borg clones.
After Vadic, played with an intensely menacing and cruel verve by Amanda Plummer, kills a large portion of the Titan crew and Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick), who earns some redemption by turning command of the Titan to Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in his dying moments showing her the respect she’d already earned and imprisons the remaining crew, who is left to save Starfleet? Of course, the fate of Earth and Starfleet is in the hands of the original
Next Generation crew who escape the Titan in dramatic fashion. Thanks to the engineering genius of Geordi, they find themselves racing to Earth to thwart the Borg’s plans aboard the refurbished version of their old ship, the Enterprise-D. It was so appropriate that the fate of Earth was left in the hands of the original
Next Generation crew race. Like many
Star Trek fans the sight of their old ship emerging from the docking bay at the Starfleet Museum brought both a smile and tears to my eyes.
Then there is the masterpiece that is “The Last Generation”. This could be one of the best episodes in the
Star Trek franchise. It has everything that embodies the qualities of stellar
Star Trek. You have multiple examples of self-sacrifice such as Jack giving himself up to the Borg Queen (played once again by the amazing Alice Krige). You have motion picture-quality space battles. You have the ultimate example of teamwork, whether it be Geordi and Data (Brent Spiner), Picard and Beverly (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn) and Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Seven of Nine and Raffi (Michele Hurd.) You have the return of iconic characters like Shelby (Elizabeth Denehy), Chekov (Walter Koenig), Tuvok (Tim Russ), and even the best-kept cameo secret in that post-credits scene. Most importantly you have a show that respects and honors the elements of what made the original
Next Generation crew great while introducing us to the bright new future of Starfleet.
That action and story-packed final hour brings the whole story full circle. We got not only the oft-debated resolution to Picard and his connection to the Borg but also the answer to the question of Picard and Crusher’s relationship. We see Riker and Troi (Marina Sirtis) finally come to grips with the death of their son. We see Worf easily transitioning from a warrior with brawn to a skilled warrior with his brains by working for Starfleet intelligence. We see Data achieve his greatest wish in becoming more human. We watched Geordi the father grow to understand both his daughters and their roles with Starfleet. We saw the best character arc of the season come to such a glorious conclusion with Seven of Nine becoming a Starfleet Captain, in command of the newest ship of the fleet, the Enterprise G. And finally, it all comes full circle and the
Next Generation saga ends with that magnificent post-credits scene between Jack Crusher and Q (John DeLancie) where he learns that humanity’s test is just beginning much like he told Jack’s father in the
Star Trek: Next Generation pilot.
One of the biggest things that
Star Trek: Picard is going to be remembered for is its attention to the little details of the original crew’s history. However, as good as this season was in that regard, it did poorly in its recognition of the little details from
Star Trek: Picard’s previous seasons. What has become of Laris (Orla Brady) and Elnor (Evan Evagora)? Did this season occur because Agnes (Alison Pill) lost her connection of influence with the Borg queen? Those questions aside, these final episodes and final season of
Star Trek: Picard as a whole, offer a very satisfying ending as perfectly illustrated with the original
Star Trek: Next Generation crew bonding around a table with a competitive poker game. What we are ready for now is the future. Given the fan reaction and the new adventures of Enterprise G, captained now by Seven of Nine, and featuring a crew made up of the new next generation is surely written in the stars.
What are your thoughts on Star Trek: Picard episodes 9 and 10 “Vox” and “The Last Generation”? Share them in the comments below.
