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

[Francois Caron]

It was good, but I wouldn't call it extraordinary. At least the storyline was mostly consistent with just a few annoyances such as how so few people can operate such a massive ship in battle without a proper crew to deal with damage control.

Can we now get new stories with a new ship and crew without living in the past? When is Lower Decks coming back?

 

[Jason_V]

When is Lower Decks coming back?

Mid-year, from what I remember. My guess would be after Strange New Worlds wraps up.

 

[Sam Favate]

When is Lower Decks coming back?

It usually runs from August-September. That seems consistent for this year as well. The previous season's blu-ray comes out next Tuesday 4/25.

BTW, I thought Picard did a very good job of honoring the past but not dwelling on it. The new characters introduced this season were great: Shaw and his bridge crew, for example. It's also refreshing that it was the old people who saved the day. Usually we see everyone under 25 having all the answers. I don't think there's a person on Discovery over 30 (I'm exaggerating but...).

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Season 3 soundtrack is out today!

And it's such a wonderful listen. I have been humming that Titan theme all day! So, so good.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

I adored the finale. Felt like Matalas and team nailed the landing. Emotionally rich, meaningful moments that were written for fans with love and care. The action was splendid (fist pumpingly good) and the humor a delight ("Do you even hear yourself?"). The story beats, pacing, and storytelling were all wonderfully woven together. Oh, and the music. It was, um, music to my ears

I probably wouldn't have made the same choice for the mid-credit scene, but what the heck, I can make it work with everything else. Would have liked it to be USS Picard rather than the Enterprise, but I have no problem accepting what we saw there. Minor things in the grand, GRAND scheme of things from this endlessly delightful season. It was a near perfect season and that's tough to do, tougher in the Trek universe where decades of content and entrenched loves and expectations have been built up.

For this fan, I loved every second of it - it made me laugh, cry, feel tense, lured by the drama, thrilled at the action and visual effects, and it seemed to be written to appeal to who I am having loved ST: TNG since 1987. As @Josh Steinberg said, I'm so grateful we got to see this at all as it was not something I ever expected to see.

For my money, give Matalas a blank check to make more of this kind of exhilarating television, because I will be there for every step of that journey (and let's get that Star Trek: Legacy show greenlit already!).

 

[TonyD]

Thinking more on the renaming.
While I expected it to be Picard, if they were going to rename it they should have called it after Shaw who Died a hero and christened a new ship after Picard.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For my money, give Matalas a blank check to make more of this kind of exhilarating television, because I will be there for every step of that journey (and let's get that Star Trek: Legacy show greenlit already!).

I see all is forgiven amongst those who were underwhelmed with season two

I have no idea what the actual situation is, but my guess is that either Paramount and/or Alex Kurtzman weren’t as enthused by that idea when he presented it to them. If they were in active contract negotiations, you can bet that Matalas would be radio silence rather than trying to drum up support. But this season of Picard also clearly overperformed relative to expectations, and became the first Paramount+ Trek show to crack the top ten most viewed streaming chart, and you’d think that would count for something. Paramount and Kurtzman had no intention or desire to make a Pike show after season 2 of Discovery, and now we have Strange New Worlds. Whatever their plans and desires are, they have been responsive to their audience before and realistic about meeting them where they are, so I really do believe when the dust settles from all of this that there’s a greater than zero chance we’ll get a 25th century Trek show.

The other day, Kurtzman was interviewed about what he’s calling “phase 2” of this new Trek, eagerly talking up the forthcoming Starfleet Academy show and the Section 31 movie. I think both of those properties will find their audience, but I don’t think either’s audience will be as large or passionate as the audience that Picard has harnessed.

One thing I took note of in the finale: there’s a title card indicating that a year of in-universe time passes between when the crew wrap up their final battle against the Borg, and when Enterprise-D is decommissioned at the museum base. That was almost more exciting to me than the end credits tease, because it’s like they slipped a space right into the timeline for this crew to be together for another adventure. With Paramount+ saying they want to make original Trek movies for the service in addition to series, and with the cast having previously expressed interest in doing another TNG movie after working together this season, it looks to me like Matalas built a back door for where such a project could slip in.

If you ask me, I’d love another go-around with this crew, but I’d also love for them to tackle a more science-based obstacle than one of outright villainy. So many of my favorite Trek episodes aren’t about the crew fighting an evil villain but rather trying to work their way out of a mysterious situation, either nature or a new species that they don’t know how to communicate with. Cause and Effect, Clues, Where Silence Has Lease, Phantasms, etc., I’d love to see one more mission like that.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I loved the finale, but have a couple of questions.

Borg historically leave you alone until you screw with them. The minute Picard starts pulling tubes out of Jack, why didn't Borg come to stop him? Why no Borg guarding the Queen?

It is made obvious through the course of the season that shape shifters have taken over a lot of ships. After the plug gets pulled on the assimilated young crews, why weren't those shape shifters still in control of the ships? It wasn't until later that Beverly developed a way to detect them.

Honestly, I resented the mid-credit sequence. It ruined the lovely taste I had just spent all season developing in my mouth. The only thing the season two writers did that I respected was kill Q and have those wonderful scenes between him and Picard at the end. Unless I completely expunge that mid-credit scene from my existence, those singular moments I adored about season two have been forever ruined. And why? To be like the MCU?

The three seasons of Picard reminded me a bit of the oil-versus-water problem with the Star Wars sequel trilogy: neither director really respected the film preceding theirs; the trilogy didn't jibe well, which proved detrimental for this fan. The problem was less catastrophic with the three seasons of Picard, but discord between the seasons is there, IMO.

All that said, this was the best season of Trek produced in the 21st century, IMO. Grateful to have it. Look forward to watching it again.

 

[DaveF]

I loved the finale, but have a couple of questions.

Borg historically leave you alone until you screw with them. The minute Picard starts pulling tubes out of Jack, why didn't Borg come to stop him? Why no Borg guarding the Queen?

The drones were almost all dead, and seemingly with just the few guarding the core processor.

(Also, plot advancement. Picard's story wasn't fighting but emoting. The fighting was Worf and Riker's story.)

 

[TonyD]

Wait, no one even mentioned 7 and what her order was going to be to get the G headed out of dock.

 

[joshEH]

Honestly, I resented the mid-credit sequence. It ruined the lovely taste I had just spent all season developing in my mouth. The only thing the season two writers did that I respected was kill Q and have those wonderful scenes between him and Picard at the end. Unless I completely expunge that mid-credit scene from my existence, those singular moments I adored about season two have been forever ruined. And why? To be like the MCU?

Q's appearance here doesn't negate Season 2. This Q is from earlier in Q's timeline than Season 2-Q.

Q did die in Season 2, with Picard there for him at the end. But that Q evidently already did whatever this Q is about to do.

 

[TonyD]

Q's appearance here doesn't negate Season 2. This Q is from earlier in Q's timeline than Season 2-Q.

Q did die in Season 2, with Picard there for him at the end. But that Q evidently already did whatever this Q is about to do.

Explain please?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Q doesn’t experience time as a linear construct. He can move through time at will, as we’ve seen in TNG many times. What other me is saying is that when we see Q at the end of season 3, that is earlier in Q’s life than when we see Q in season 2.

 

[TonyD]

Did he look younger too?

 

[Museum Pieces]

Did he look younger too?

Not young enough for me to "get it," and even if I did, I still call bullshit.

A rose is beautiful for the very reason that it will soon wilt and die. Our love for the ones we hold dear is precious for the very same reason: our time together is finite. Picard's last two scenes with Q in season two moved me for that very reason.

It doesn't matter that this Q is younger. Even if he is, and everything people are saying to explain it away is right, I still have to ask:

WHY DO IT? To pitch a show that may never happen? Ugh. The series ended beautifully. Get off stage already.

Luckily when I rewatch Picard season three from this day forward I can stop watching the last episode before this unfortunate scene begins.

 

[JimmyO]

Q doesn’t experience time as a linear construct. He can move through time at will, as we’ve seen in TNG many times. What other me is saying is that when we see Q at the end of season 3, that is earlier in Q’s life than when we see Q in season 2.

That's a bit of a hard sell, to me.

How can Q at the end of S3 be earlier in Q's life, when he literally admits to Jack that he was aware that everyone thought he was dead. His death, was an event for the older Q. Are you saying that after he died, he could continue to jump back and forth in time? His death was not his complete and total end? Ehh.

It's cheap and takes away the weight of his death. But then again, science fiction is rife with examples of cherished characters dying, mostly for emotional effect, only to return to life.

 

[TonyD]

What happened to his son Q2?

Should have used him.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

How can Q at the end of S3 be earlier in Q's life, when he literally admits to Jack that he was aware that everyone thought he was dead. His death, was an event for the older Q. Are you saying that after he died, he could continue to jump back and forth in time? His death was not his complete and total end? Ehh.

That’s not at all what I’m saying. When he died, he died. The “younger” Q we see at the end of season 3 is aware that his death occurred in what is “the past” for Jack. From Q’s point of view, it hasn’t happened yet.

 

[joshEH]

^ This. Again, it's a "younger" Q we saw in that post-credits scene, one who knows his death is still yet to come in the future, but who still has some time remaining. From his point of view, the events of Season 2 haven't even happened yet.

 

[DaveF]

Star Trek: Picard used sci-fi Soap Opera storytelling to kill off a character and bring them back.

Is it clever storytelling or a hack retcon to fix a bad writing choice from a bad season?

Depends on whether you think Season 2 was a story worth preserving. Depends on whether you want consequences in stories or prefer the reset button Star Trek episodes are known for. Depends on whether you want to feel good from TV or feel challenged from your TV.

I think the seasonal resurrection of Data is more egregious, as the closing 20 minutes of Picard Season 1 is the best 20 minutes of any of the new Treks.

But it’s Data and I can’t get enough of the character so I grumble about Season 2 because that was a bad season and bad use of Brent Spiner but Season 3 had great Data moments so I go along with it.

As for Q in S3: it was cheap and it undercut season 2’s theme. But Picard is so uneven that this is par for the course. I’m possibly more frustrated by undercutting ending a strong conclusion with Matalas’ wishcasting a new show that apparently won’t exist.