Paramount+ Star Trek: Picard - Season Three (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Agreed with the other posts that Dominion was a gripping chapter.

This has been a very well done season as each chapter has had surprises and a roller coaster of situations that go bad.

We got to see some more elements of Jack’s unusual abilities. The final lines from Vadic had me wondering again, Beverly seems to have some ability to give birth to children that have unusual abilities. I’m also wondering about her comment that she lost Wesley and will loose Jack. Perhaps Wesley will drop in at some point ( like Dave Bowman did ) and say hi to let her know he’s fine.

There’s been so much happening in these past 7 chapters that it seems like such a long time since the first chapter! I feel like this has been so far, an extremely well done season of all the new Star Trek shows, and I liked Strange New Worlds a lot, but so far Picard has exceeded my expectations with a storyline that is much more engaging then the first two seasons of Picard. I know part of the strong appeal has been the re-introduction of the legacy TNG characters. That has been a large part of the excitement. But they have created a strong story that has cleverly re-introduced an earlier storyline from the earlier Berman era.

I’ve recently started to watch Battlestar Galactica, I’ve seen the first two episodes of the original and the miniseries of the re-imagined. In large part due to Michelle Forbes as she has a role in the re-imagined Galactica that I’m curious to re-see. I have to say this season of Picard has a fresh feel that the 2003 Galactica has. There’s a creepiness that is going on.

Adam, totally agreed about that guest appearance and the subtle bit of acting was very chilling!

Spoiler follows:

One more thought about Dominion; I recall an interview with Brent Spiner at the time of Nemesis. I recall he felt he just could not physically pull off playing Data for much longer as the actor is aging, and Data cannot age like a human can. So they did a clever thing to make it possible with a new body that is based on an older Soong for Spiner to play Data and Lore again. And I was amazed how Spiner can so easily re-create the facial mannerisms of Data.

Three more episodes to go for Picard.

Edit: I forgot to add, the Changlings have shown they will kill. So I hope that Riker and Troi are OK. Perhaps they will help while Vadic is on board the Titan.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

We got to see some more elements of Jack’s unusual abilities. The final lines from Vadic had me wondering again, Beverly seems to have some ability to give birth to children that have unusual abilities. I’m also wondering about her comment that she lost Wesley and will loose Jack.

Maybe it comes naturally to those who are the "sleeping with ghosts" type.

I think her reference was that she "lost" him, in the sense he hasn't been around, since he basically evolved forward. Given Jack's abilities, she might think he will also be on a different path.

I almost wonder (re: Wesley) if its a non-interference regulation of the "travelers". They only contact when they sense someone with that ability. That could explain it.

 

[TonyD]

What if……

Wesley is the Bad Guy in the Goo!!!

 

[jayembee]

Sheldon Cooper: "WHEA....TON!!!!!!"

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I almost wonder (re: Wesley) if its a non-interference regulation of the "travelers". They only contact when they sense someone with that ability.

I don’t believe that’s the case. When we first met the original Traveler on TNG, he was serving as an assistant to a Starfleet engineer who was conducting warp drive research. This engineer had no ability and wasn’t aware that the Traveler did either. Meeting Wesley that first time was a happy accident.

 

[Francois Caron]

Man, that is one thoroughly pissed-off changeling!

 

[Jason_V]

Ya know, I’ve been trying to figure out how Vadic’s mission ties to the end of DS9…specifically in that Odo went back to the Link and provided the cure. It makes sense there were POW Changelings, I guess, and they were experimented on. It’s another darkening of the “never wrong” Starfleet I don’t have a problem with, but I suspect people will over time.

Some of the Changelings were radicalized, got it. But they’re playing an awful long game to get revenge. Kudos to them, I guess, for having patience…?

The Geordi/Data scene was beyond epic…it had me tearing up. I could have watched Burton and Spiner go for another few minutes. Riveting stuff.

Jack controlling Sidney during their fight felt like a video game to me, and that’s not a slam. I am truly into what the endgame is now. I don’t believe the Changelings started this plot decades ago to get to this point and destroy the Federation on Frontier Day. Again, seems like an extreme long game. Something else is happening.

Amanda Plummer knocks its out of the park again this week. She is amazing to watch. Really, the acting in this season all around has been superb.

 

[Nelson Au]

Jason, I’m wondering about the endgame too. It’s interesting that Vadic took the form of the woman who was tormenting her.

i was curious and checked Salome Jens status. Her last role was in 2014. Her return is probably too obvious, but given all the characters we’ve seen so far, I could not help but wonder. And since Vadic appears to be from a splinter separate group, there’s not likely a connection to the Founders.

It’s been two years since I last watched DS9, I might have to re-view the last few episodes and the finale to remind myself of the key players.

 

[Jason_V]

i was curious and checked Salome Jens status. Her last role was in 2014. Her return is probably too obvious, but given all the characters we’ve seen so far, I could not help but wonder. And since Vadic appears to be from a splinter separate group, there’s not likely a connection to the Founders.

I had the same thought! It would be a great surprise is she came back and had masterminded this in the long run. (Side note: I would have guessed Odo would have shown up, but since Rene has passed, I don’t think that’s in the cards. And rightfully so…I don’t want or need a CGI imitation.)

Logically, the person behind all this has to be someone we know. The Big Bad usually is. You don’t introduce a new character this late in the story and expect the audience to buy that person is the mastermind. Therefore, the face Vadic talks to is someone we know from some series.

There are lots of possibilities…just, heaven help us, I don’t need to see the Borg this season.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

A wild guess, but spoilerized in case you don’t wanna hear it

Spoiler

Dr. Crusher has seemed somehow “off” this whole season. It could simply be a matter of McFadden playing the role differently given the time that’s passed and the circumstances the character has gone through, but part of me wonders if it’s something more than that. I’m a little suspicious that she has some idea of what’s actually going on with Jack that she’s keeping to herself. I can’t help but wonder if she made a deal with the proverbial devil at some point, and now that’s coming back to haunt everyone. I do hope I’m wrong.

 

[TonyD]

Sure but who is the proverbial devil?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Sure but who is the proverbial devil?

Spoiler

The Changelings. Whoever could give Beverly whatever the thing she needed. Perhaps Jack’s life was in danger, she made a deal that saved him, but he came back weird. I don’t think we need to be completely familiar with whoever it is, if one of our heroes is collaborating with them - that’s a big enough connection that it wouldn’t then need to be someone else we knew.

 

[TonyD]

That’s plausible for sure.
I need Someone specific, a former character to be it. That’s me though.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That’s plausible for sure.
I need Someone specific, a former character to be it. That’s me though.

I get that. I’m having such a great time that I’m good with wherever it goes as long as it continues to happen at the high standard all of the other episodes have been at. I can’t believe it’s almost over already.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit from the artist responsible for this season's LCARS:

 

[AcesHighStudios]

I'm not putting this in a spoiler since I have no idea what I am talking about and am merely speculating as to possibilities. Since so much of this season's storyline comes from DS9, Jack Crusher's red eyes remind me of pah-wraiths. If so, is it possible that, as someone possessed by a pan-wraith, our big baddie, who is now clearly not a changeling, survived what we though was his death and is Gul Dukat? Is that too obvious? too hokey?

 

[Nelson Au]

Mike, that’s an interesting theory as Jack’s red eyes had me scratching my head.

My thinking is from what we have been told, this is purely a revenge story where a group of Changelings have a grudge against the Federation. i had been thinking about whether Sisko has any potential involvement, but the evidence seems to focus on the Changelings and without any direct connection to Bajor.

Now you have me wondering if the waterfalls where Picard and Beverly had their vacation was the source of the alien or powers that were transferred to the egg that produced Jack.

I had not recalled the planet where Picard and Beverly had their last vacation together. The planet was Casperia Prime and known as a rival to Risa as a wonderful vacation spot with waterfalls. I am not as well versed in the minutia of DS9. So in looking this up, it was where Jadzia was going to have her Honeymoon with Worf and Dr. Bashir was going to have Shore Leave there but was kidnapped by Luther Sloan. So there seems to be some connection to DS9.

So your theory of the Pah Wraiths may have a connection! Maybe they joined forces with the Changelings. Or maybe there is a connection with the Wormhole beings too? Right now I’m thinking anything is possible.

 

[Sam Favate]

I very much doubt the antagonist will be or will be related to Gul Dukat, since he was specific to DS9 and to Capt. Sisko. He just doesn’t fit in a story about Picard and the TNG crew. That said, I’d love to see Dukat return.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I was about to say something similar. The showrunners have to be aware that their primary audience for Picard is TNG fans, and there isn’t 100% overlap between those who liked TNG and those who liked DS9 and Voyager. Whenever they’ve brought in characters or elements from those non-TNG shows, they’ve done so in a way that didn’t penalize TNG fans who didn’t have the knowledge base of the other shows. I can’t imagine that they would have crafted a conclusion that in order to work from both a plotting and emotional viewpoint, relies on having a big reveal that half the audience wouldn’t understand or have a reaction to.

 

[Sam Favate]

Also, having a story where the primary villain relates to something from DS9 or Voyager would be better suited to the proposed Legacy series, where the younger crew would be free to interact with stories from Trek’s vast past.