Picard – Watcher Review

A sign of a good episode (at least within a serialized drama) is that it answers some questions while creating more – and with those new questions, creating a desire to find the answers. While not a ton happened within “Watcher” (outside of meeting at least the physical representation of Picard’s Watcher – more on that in a moment), the episode did a great job of pushing the story further down the road, providing key character beats, and fleshing out just how important Jean-Luc Picard is to the fate of the universe – presumably even if Q isn’t messing with his existence.

And let’s talk a bit about the concept of a Watcher dedicated to looking over a single key individual in the universe. Despite Guinan’s eye roll at the character seeing herself (itself?) as a guardian angel of sorts, it’s interesting that Picard has one assigned to him. Sure, throughout his time in Trek we’ve seen how important he is to key moments in his current universal timeline (Locutus, the Nexus), but this also provides us with the best explanation yet as to just why Q is so fascinated with him. If Picard is such a lynch pin in the fabric of the universal timeline, of course Q would want to prod and pick at him to see just what makes him (and, by extension, humanity) so crucial. If Picard is important enough to warrant a Watcher assigned to him, there has to be a reason he was deemed so extraordinary. I love that this small fact helps flesh out Q’s motivations even more. And the choice to make the Watcher appear as Laris? That’s an interesting one. I’m guessing it’s a case of “I will appear in a form that you recognize” and not one of “Laris has been the Watcher” all along, which would feel like a major cheat for the series.

And then there’s Q, who appears in another end of episode tag this week – sitting, reading the paper, attempting to mess with a woman sitting a few tables away. Only his snap won’t work. Curious. Now, is this because he’s changed the timeline too much? Is it because of his mental deterioration that was hinted at in the second episode? Or is there something preventing him from taking action for some other reason? No matter the reason, it’s wholly troubling that the omnipotent being that got the universe into this mess appears to lack the means to, well, be omnipotent now. I had been worried that the series would tease Q’s issues and then drop them, but it appears they are going to lean into this arc a bit deeper, which is delightful. It means more John de Lancie – always a great thing – and adds another layer of complexity to the story – tricky, especially with time travel and timelines, but still fun.

The other big story point this week was the continued bonding of Jurati and the Borg Queen. I continue to be amazed that the series has taken one of their weakest characters from season one and completely reinvented her as someone I love watching. Tons of credit, of course, goes to Allison Pill (Jurati) and Annie Wersching (the Borg Queen) for their layered work in their scenes, but massive kudos to the writers for taking a step back and resisting the urge to continue trying to make Jurati the show’s comic relief. Leaning into her intelligence and problem solving skills while making sure her social insecurities continue has made the character both a worthy adversary for the Queen as well as a potential victim. Watching the Queen pick at Jurati, trying to find the best way to break her and get her over to her side is like watching a chess match where the prize for winning is either avoiding assimilation or getting assimilated. It’s a fun set of scenes to watch.

So, nearing the season’s halfway point, there are still a number of big questions lingering for the series to address – most importantly what the key moment in the timeline they need to preserve is, and why Q made that particular change. I continue to be eager to see just where everything ends up – and if everyone makes it back to the 24th century.

Final Thoughts:

— While I suspect Next Generation addressed the issue of a Frenchman speaking with an English accent at some point, I appreciated this particular bit of information regarding the history of the Picard family. Having them head to England during World War II, abandoning their chateau for generations, makes a ton of sense and explains Jean-Luc’s heritage and accent perfectly.

— Always a fan of a heist, and it should be fun to watch Seven and Raffi attempt to free Rios next week – especially as Seven is without all her Borg abilities, which evens the odds a bit. I am a bit confused at how they’re writing Seven this time around – at times she’s a fish out of water with her humanity and at others she’s perfectly fine and “normal.” I get the feeling the writers didn’t want to have to do a ton of heavy lifting with that aspect of the character and are being less stringent about her personality quirks.