March 19, 2020 - Recap/Review of Star Trek: Picard - Episode 9

 The LaSirena arrives at Soji’s homeworld in a very short amount of time using a chroniton field and they are fascinated by the planet Coppelius. Their relief at finding Soji’s homeworld, however, is short lived because the ship quickly goes into Red Alert Status: Narek has found them and is firing on them without mercy. During the battle, the Borg Cube suddenly arrives and the planet’s defense systems activate at the same time. The Cube, La Sirena, and Narek’s vessel are all pulled into the atmosphere and deactivated before anyone has a chance to respond. In the chaos, Picard passes into a state of unconsciousness and manages to thank everyone for coming before they rush to his aid.

While in unconsciousness, Picard has flashbacks of his mission to the current point and he wakes to Jurati standing over him. La Sirena has no power and Picard is a bit groggy, but Jurati eventually admits that she has discovered Picard’s illness. She breaks down crying and Picard decides to come clean about his illness to the rest of his crew. He expresses his wish to be treated normally despite his illness being terminal with no treatment available; he also cuts to the chase about wanting to know La Sirena’s status. The crew discusses what they might find while exploring the planet and Picard suggests they go for a walk to find out what is there, leaving the crew to deal with their emotions about his revelation. It’s clear that they were all heartbroken at hearing about his terminal illness, but they are respecting his wishes to not coddle him. They immediately see the Cube and Picard rightfully wants to go check on Elnor and Hugh, which the group eventually agrees to do. The planet itself is desert-like and resembles Vulcan somewhat with its landscape, don’t you think?

The crew goes into the Cube carrying much trepidation on their shoulders and quickly come across unassimilated Borg, one of which refers to Picard as Locutus. Elnor shows up shortly however and greets Picard with both an expression of joy and a hug. Seven then arrives and updates Picard on the happenings, including Hugh’s death and Seven’s regeneration of the cube. Raffi and Rios, meanwhile, use the Cube’s scanners to discover that 218 warbirds are on their way to the planet. Soji looks over old memories while Picard shares his condition with Elnor and eventually releases him to help Seven repair the cube, even knowing that their second separation might be their last. Elnor and Seven reluctantly part from Picard’s company.

La Sirena’s crew moves on and eventually comes upon the city where Soji and her ‘siblings’ were born. There are synthetics everywhere, all of them dressed in various types of clothes and doing various activities. Soji is lovingly greeted by a synth named Arcana and Soji is at peace to be home. Arcana recognizes Picard as Data’s captain and is moved enough to begin touching Picard’s wrinkles in pure fascination as to who he is; she also welcomes the entire crew. Soji shares about the Romulans impending arrival and their discussion is interrupted by a Data lookalike, Dr. Altan Soong; he is the son of Data’s creator. Dr. Soong greets the crew and Soji in a fatherly, but commanding manner. Soji apologizes, but Dr. Soong says there is nothing to apologize for. During this discussion, Picard is enjoying some quiet time by himself when he is approached by an android that looks like a cross between Data and Soji; he is brought back to the group and Rios calls her Jana before learning that the android is Sutra, Jana’s sister. Sutra confronts Jurati about the vision she saw and how it led her to end Bruce Maddox. Sutra concludes that the admonition was actually intended for synthetic minds and entreats Jurati to show her through a mind meld. Rios tries to stop it, but Jurati allows it because they deserve to know. Sutra calms Jurati and then initiates the meld in a non-intrusive manner. It is revealed that the organics will eventually percieve the synths as a threat because of their capability and will seek to destroy them. Jurati is traumatized by the meld, but Sutra finds the information fascinating.

After calming herself, Jurati wanders and eventually finds Dr. Soong’s lab. They talk about Bruce Maddox and his intense love for her; Dr. Soong also gives her shame for killing Maddox, as his ideas died with him. He tells her that she owes a great debt and offers her the opportunity to repay it by helping him with his work, transferring minds of Humans into androids. Outside, Sutra and Soji are discussing what to do and Sutra is cynical of La Sirena’s ability to help and willingness to help. Soji does not want to murder anyone and says that La Sirena can take them to safety, but Sutra is insistent that they fight for themselves and their future. Unaware of what Soji and Sutra are discussing, Rios comes across Jurati spending time with Spot II (named after Data’s cat Spot) in Soong’s office; the cat was made. Rios wants to get going and Jurati decides to stay, something that Rios allows. Rios also subtly admits to Jurati that he has feelings for her that go beyond friendship and they share an intimate moment.

Arcana shows Raffi and Picard technology that will help them fix their vessel, but Raffi is immediately skeptical of how helpful it will actually be. Once Arcana leaves Raffi and Picard alone, Raffi becomes emotional, breaks the ‘rules’, and gives Picard a hug that he is clearly taken aback by. Raffi also thanks Picard for everything that he has done for her and admits she loves him. Even though Raffi feels awkward about saying it and reassures Picard he does not have to return the sentiment, Picard does. This exchange leaves me wondering what became of the unspoken love Picard and Beverly Crusher had and if Raffi and Picard were ever more than just Admiral and XO when they worked together? They have been through a lot together and seem very emotionally intimate with each other so I would not be at all surprised if they had more going on between them than we have been shown. Even if they don’t now, I wouldn’t overly mind if they were to end up pursuing some type of romantic relationship. Just because Picard is old does not mean he is dead and now that his passion for adventure is back, perhaps he will also find a passion for other things...or even people. It also appears, by Rios’s comment about a sleepover, that Rios and Jurati have embarked on a sort of intimate relationship.

Picard attempts to call Starfleet for help, but doesn’t seem to be reaching them. Narek, on the other hand, is trapped in a jail cell and attempts to convince Soji that he loved her, but she does not want to hear it. She calls him disgusting, sad, and twisted and is disgusted with herself for pitying him. Arcana seems to have compassion and pity for Narek despite witnessing Soji’s anger. Picard and Soji also have a conversation about the logic of sacrifice and Picard admits he does not like the sound of it, saying that it depends on the person who is holding the knife. Outside, another female synth takes over guarding Narek and quietly frees him from his cell before attempting to seduce him. Soji is becoming overwhelmed by the situation and admits to Picard that his immediate desire to kill him would outweigh her need for his services. They are suddenly interrupted by a scream and Soji quickly finds Soong holding a synth in his arms, a synth who is now dead with an object piercing her eye. Narek runs for his life while Soji weeps over the loss of her ‘sister.’

Everyone gathers and Sutra gives a speech about how the synths will always be feared and that they have just enough time to do something about it. Picard tries to intervene, but Sutra says that the admonition served as a promise to synths. Dr. Soong also theorizes that there are higher forms of synthetic life out there and that the code needed to contact them is hidden in the admonition. Sutra reveals that she and Dr. Soong have designed a beacon to summon this higher life and they can transmit a call for help before the Romulan fleet arrives. Picard wants to know why and Dr. Soong angrily says that they will do this so that no more of his ‘children’ have to die. Dr. Soong and Sutra kick around theories about what the new Federation really is and what their purpose really is. Sutra’s goal is to exterminate all organic life and asks Picard if he and Starfleet are actually any different from the Romulans? Sutra says that banning synthetics was the Federation’s way of banning synthetic’s in advance. Picard realizes that the synths want to wipe out all humanity to protect themselves and he desperately tries to reason with them, promising to serve as an advocate for them to the Federation. Sutra, however, does not want to hear it and orders Picard placed under arrest and incarcerated. Picard tries to get help from Jurati and Soji, but they both take the side of the synths. Meanwhile, the Romulan fleet is nearing Coppelius.

After all that Picard has risked to help her, Soji turns on him and becomes very unlike her father in favor of assuming her role as ‘The Destroyer.’ She doesn’t seem to care about what Picard has done for her and that he risked his very life to help her return to her home. Perhaps she DOES need to die to realize the sacrifices that were made to get her home. Picard’s health was not good when he embarked on this mission and others gave their lives so that Soji could be returned home, but Soji cares more about destruction than gratitude. Jurati, on the other hand, feels like she is repaying a debt by siding with the synths when, in reality, she is throwing Picard’s forgiveness of her betrayal back in his face. She had absolutely no problem killing Maddox for the Federation and now, she has betrayed Picard a second time for the sake of cleaning up the mess she made. Even if she does survive the impending battle, there is no guarantee that Picard will ever forgive her. I’m not sure what Rios and Raffi will do once they discover Jurati’s second betrayal, but I’m sure it will not be pleasant. Rios and Raffi were also skeptical about helping Soji and once they learn of her betrayal, they will most likely do everything they can to rescue Picard from incarceration. Also, what effect will the incarceration have on Picard’s health? Even knowing that Picard is dying, Jurati and Soji chose to betray him anyway. The war that has been brewing all season since Dahj’s murder by Romulan assassins has truly reached its peak.