After last week’s episode of Star Trek: Picard, I said that the series would live and die on the ability of the cast to perform at the same high level as Patrick Stewart. “The End is the Beginning” once again drove this point home, as every actor who shared a scene with Stewart rose to the occasion . . . and nearly every scene that didn’t involve Stewart felt like it was taking place in a completely different series – or rather, came across as far more artificial and forced than the main Picard action.
There’s a trap that many actors fall into when working in the realm of fantasy and sci-fi: they often try to augment their performance in response to playing in a fantastical world. If they’re playing an alien, the tendency is to either rachet the performance up to 11 or to flatten everything out to counteract the alien nature of the character. The key to tackling an alien species (unless that particular alien species requires one of those two techniques – think Neelix on Voyager for the ratcheting it up to 11 side of things) is almost always to treat the character like any other human character. Which is advice I wish someone had offered to Harry Treadaway before he tackled Narek. Oof. The lack of personality from an actor that absolutely has the chops to take on a morally conflicted Romulan spy has been shocking in these initial episodes. I have begun hoping that Soji already knows all about his mission and is simply playing him to keep him close as a means to explain why such a vibrant character could be attracted to such a dull one.
Only adding to the Narek is problem is that the entire “Romulan spies in Starfleet” arc has begun to play out like a bad pulp spy novel, leaning into the worst tendencies of old Star Trek. Now, this wouldn’t be a problem if the other aspects of the series were leaning into the same pulp sensibility. But when you have the Picard portion of the story playing out in a more grounded humanistic take on depression, survivor’s guilt, and justified anger in the face of clear bureaucratic corruption from the universe’s largest governing body, well, things that don’t fit in that same mold play as glib and laughable. There needs to be tonal consistency throughout the story, which stems from the combination of a writing staff that doesn’t quite know what it wants from the espionage side of this story and a director* that hasn’t teased out the correct nuance from their performers. It’s something that can be course corrected as the series continues (considering the stunning turnaround in Star Trek: Discovery from season one to two, it’s clear now that a shaky and unfocused beginning from a Trek series is not the kiss of death), but it needs to happen soon in order to ensure that the remaining portions of the first season can adequately lay the groundwork for the forthcoming second.
*The initial three episodes all shared the same director – Hanelle Culpepper – who did an excellent job with every moment that included Stewart. The next two episodes were helmed by Jonathan Frakes (who Next Generation fans will remember as Commander William Riker), who has years of experience as a Trek director. It will be interesting to see if things change with a different director taking charge, or if the source of the imbalance in the story is rooted firmly in the writing.
From a plot perspective, we were finally handed the two major remaining keys to this season’s arc: why Soji is important and what about Starfleet’s reaction to the Mars attack created the deep chasm between Picard and his former employers. The answer to the second key was exactly what everyone probably deduced from the breadcrumbs we had already been offered: as soon as Mars was attacked, the Romulan rescue mission was called off, and when Picard tried to play his trump card, Starfleet called his bluff. Quite the unfortunate end to such a storied career. But Picard has always been a man who stood on principles above all else. It’s the Soji reveal that offers the most possibilities – and also the most potential pitfalls – to the story.
The concept of the “magic girl” within sci-fi and fantasy is a well-trod archetype. Hell, Witcher just played out a similar set-up in its first season – everyone wants to get their hands on the magic girl who can be used for good or ill, depending upon who controls her. The plot point is at its best when the story imbues the character with knowledge of her own power early, giving her agency that allows her to shape the story to her own design rather than simply being a pawn in a game among power players. Considering the series has already shown us just how complex and layered Dahj could be with a single episode of screen time, I have high hopes for how Soji will be treated moving forward. My main worry with this aspect of the storytelling is that it appears the writers intend to leave her with Narek while she discovers her powers, making the growth of the character dependent on that singular relationship. That’s troubling for a couple reasons.
First, the writers have done a poor job of providing us any real character development for Narek. Dahj worked so well because she interacted with several richly drawn characters in her brief time on the series: Picard, Laris, Zhaban. Heck, even her red shirt of a boyfriend had a clear personality and there was an obvious warmth between them. Soji’s scenes with Hugh this week allowed Isa Birones the chance to play off an interesting performance from Jonathan Del Arco (reprising his character from Next Generation). Those scene allowed us a deeper look into the personality of Soji, who is distinctly different from her identical twin in several ways. The more we get to see Soji challenged personally and professionally, the more we will come to know the character and care about her fate. I can’t help but wish that Soji were already working with Picard to discover just what her role is in this growing mystery surrounding synthetics rather than toiling away with the Romulans.
The other problem with putting Soji alongside Narek (and, by extension, his sister and the Romulan Zhat Vash) is that it sets up only one way this portion of the arc ends: There’s a firefight/escape that gets her under Picard’s control. Whether that means Narek goes deep undercover (which I suspect is how it will fall out) as a crew member on Picard’s ship following the rescue or if Narek reveals his true allegiance (highly unlikely if the writers want the Romulan arc to continue into season two and want Treadaway to continue on the series), the season doesn’t end without Soji getting onto Picard’s ship.
As for what her being “the Destroyer” prophesied by the Romulan philosopher means, well, I honestly don’t really care all that much. The “magic girl” trope works best when the girl is in on her powers and her role in the story earlier rather than later, but it also works best when her magical role in the story isn’t the purpose of the tale. When you bring in fate and prophesy, you remove the agency of all the characters, not just the one tasked with the magical future. And that hurts the story. So, my hope is that whatever prophecy Soji has been implicated in doesn’t really matter all that much to the greater story the series is trying to tell. In the grand history of Trek, the best stories it told were the ones that were deeply rooted in the humanity (a general term encompassing all the alien species at play, not just the humans) of the characters, not the ones that relied on crazy machinations outside their control.
Final Thoughts:
— I liked Rios far more than I thought I would. The devil-may-care pilot is another archetype that has been done far more times than necessary, but Santiago Cabrera imbued him with just enough darkness to temper the façade he wears – this is a guy who has seen some shit and hasn’t dealt with it. Much like Picard.
— On the other hand, I hated what Cabrera did with the ENH character. When you have an actual character with an actual Irish brogue on the series (that would be Orla Brady’s Laris), having an actor attempt a horrifically bad Irish accent pulls you completely out of the story and, frankly, turned that scene into a joke. Let’s hope we never see that character again. You can get levity into a serious tale like this one organically, without resorting to awful impressions and random clown characters.
— Well, there was an attack on Chateau Picard a bit sooner than expected, but wow. Laris and Zhaban were far more skilled than even I anticipated. A really great action sequence. And a great moment for Alison Pill’s Jurati, a character that has largely been neglected beyond the most cursory introduction so far. We know she’s not a skilled combatant like her fellow crew members, but we also know that she can hold her own when necessary – and that she has a sense of loyalty to Picard. I will say that I wasn’t excited at the idea of more Zhat Vash teams descending on the Chateau, as I don’t want to lose either Laris or Zhaban at this stage in the game. Hell, I wish both ended up on the ship with Picard. They’ve more than proven their worth at this point.
— I’m glad someone called out Picard for basically telling Starfleet his entire plan, and that his choice had clear, negative consequences. That let’s me know that the writers recognize that Picard isn’t at the top of his game (a point that appears to be crucial to the heart of the story – if this is the Picard we know, he could solve this quickly and decisively), and it also indicates that there might be more slip-ups before all is said and done, which adds a layer of suspense to a story that will have difficulty putting stakes to a mission led by a character we know won’t die before the end of the season (by the end of the series, however, all bets will really be off on Picard’s fate).
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