STP S3 E1: <Insert 45 minute riff from the TNG Soundtrack>
I just finished the first episode of Star Trek Picard season 3 and I keep coming back to the same thought:
The best way to watch season 3 is to fully and wholly forget the first two seasons happened. Just start here. Picard is an old, dottering retired Admiral who forgets things. Riker is an old, aching Captain trying too hard to recapture the fun of his Wild Hogs years. Seven is stuck in Starfleet middle-management hell as XO to a by-the-book wet blanket — Captain Shaw, who is also lowkey racist against ex-Borgs. Also, Raffi has a subplot… we’ll come back to that. But to the point, nothing in this first episode relies on you knowing anything from Seasons 1 and 2. This is a good thing. No, scratch that — this is the best of both worlds.
The Good
Badass Bev! I enjoyed the slo-mo pass over Crusher’s props. That was fun. Then the Dancin’ Doc whipped out a Phaser Shotgun™ and started blasting guys right in their face. From behind a locked bulkhead someone was causing a commotion. “Who is that, her kid?” I asked out loud. (It was — and he’s British for “some reason”…) Crusher’s ship is also very cool looking — kind of a better version of a Steamrunner. These are all good things.
The Bad
I take no pleasure in always including Raffi in the bad column, I really don’t. I like Michelle Hurd and I like characters with drug-addict backstories. But it just doesn’t work in Star Trek Picard. That said, I like the soft reboot they’re doing with her character — despite the painfully obvious setup:
* Ok, she’s an undercover intelligence agent.
* Ok, she’s playing a junkie (which also serves to “mislead” members of the audience who care enough to remember her backstory).
* Ok, she has the USS Van Halen on planet M’Talas. (Did you know the showrunner’s last name is Matalas? Weird coincidence!)
* Ok, she’s speaking with a secret handler with a female voice but conspicuously calls her a warrior for some reason. “Oh, it’s Worf,” I said.
