Picard 2x01 - 'The Star Gazer' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** }

ilovesmybrick

Picard 2x01 - 'The Star Gazer' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** }

Warning: This thread will contain spoilers for the episode. Spoiler tags will not be used, so if you don't want to be spoiled read no further.

ilovesmybrick

Now, I'll preface this with saying that I was looking forward to Picard as it was, but I really enjoyed that episode. Yeah, some of the emotional beats were a bit clunky, but I think they work in the context of what we know about Picard previously, don't work so much in terms of the other character relationships but I'm happy to ignore that..For now.

Visually it looked great, initially I was a bit peeved at the start when it was obvious that this was a Borg incursion, but based on the limited amount we see they seem to have recaptured the inherent menace of the Borg. I wonder if this related to unimatrix zero. Fleet looked great, and I think I quite like the new Stargazer. I do wonder if that's the original Excelsior they're talking about, or an Excelsior-A. A century would be a long, long time for the prototype of that class to still be in service (went back and paused, yup, it looks like an original).

I think the de-ageing/ageing up of Q was a pretty neat little sidestep, less clunky than the explanation for Guinan at least. At least this first episode has me hooked. Now I need to steel myself to endure the next episode of Discovery...

Also, Slainte!

eadrom

Oh, wow! I thought that was great!

A proper ship!!!

Spoiler Warning

THE STARGAZER!!!

It looked fantastic. Uniforms and everything looked great. And a whole fleet of proper starships at the end. I get the impression they were taking notes from the season 1 feedback onboard, not just about the starships, and the actors seemed a lot more settled in their roles too. I enjoyed the lab-coat lady's throw away line about not technically being responsible for murdering that guy in Season 1.

Story is fine and interesting so far. Enjoyed how it was presented, Borg felt like a threat for the first time in a long while, and I like that the promo-clip they released was actually the very first scene.

Spoiler Warning

I love that I didn't know the Stargazer was going to be in this. That reveal was great. When it was obviously something, I was expecting the Enterprise and not sure I would have liked that. Stargazer is a good choice though.

Could probably have done without Guinan but it was fine.

Really had a lot, including a general tone, which I thought most of season 1 was missing. I really hope the rest of the season holds up! It could easily not, considering they've just shifted dimensions and/or time from where they were.

Agent Coulson

Orla Brady hitting on him and he runs away.

Very disappointed in Jean-Luc

breezy1985

Loved it. Have to laugh at more new uniforms but man I do love the new ones. Loved pretty much everything about it except the look of the Borg Queen which was just generic looking and the mask is clearly hiding an "OMG" big reveal. Probably God Emperor Burnham 🤣

_Kaiser_

So against my better judgement after the mess that was season one, I decided to watch this tonight...

And wow. It actually feels like what it should have been originally. The proper starships (love the new Stargazer), the dramatic toning down of the massive flaws in the supporting cast, and Picard actually seemed like Picard! Even Seven being on that ship without any other humans about and independent felt like a more organic move given her trepidation around life on Earth in Voyager and how it might have turned out given (as she says in this episode), Starfleet still fears the Borg.

John deLancie of course is always fantastic as Q. Even in the brief scene, he was played perfectly.

I'm not just pleasantly surprised, I'm shocked!! My one fear is it'll go rapidly downhill after the first episode - we've been here before with this show.. But, I am very impressed with what I've seen tonight.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728487#Comment_118728487

You've been here before not "we've" don't be speaking for the rest of us

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728581#Comment_118728581

I'm sorry, who are you now?

This is a discussion thread. Opinions may differ but that's not only to be expected, it's healthy and to be encouraged. There's probably a "Picard (positive reviews only)" thread opportunity if you want to create one.

If you enjoyed season one then that's great (honestly) however the general reaction was that it could have been a LOT better to say the least. Thankfully, season 2 seems to have taken note of some of the feedback (as was suggested above) which is definitely a good thing.

TheValeyard

Really liked it. Finally some ships!!!

Uniforms are good. Plot is fine, Q is always good.

Picard definitely sounds old.

Borg Queen helmet thing seems pointless.

Why is the not the Stargazer - A, since it's a new ship?

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728848#Comment_118728848

Edit, refit, but Discovery got a name change?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728848#Comment_118728848

Trek always had ships of the same name with new registrations. None of the many Defiants had an A or B.

I think only 1701 got letters (until 32nd century Discovery but fk Discovery)

pah

That wasn't bad at all. Could have done without fat old Guinan and her bullsh1t excuse for looking older.

I hope that flashback isn't what it looks like.

Picard never opened his heart to love because his mother was murdered by home invaders? I really don't need Picard to have this tragic backstory crap the ST writers are weaving into all the Discovery characters. It's unnecessary.

Optimus Prime

I figured that was his father and he was abusive unless I read it wrong. Loved that ep. Best episode of the new treks. Wasn’t Expecting much after season one

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729007#Comment_118729007

Why would you have home invaders in the age of replication and abundance. Unless his family were into some shady sht but ya it's a bit much and him never marrying cause of the job is enough you don't need a tragic story.

I loved seeing Guinan again.

eadrom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729039#Comment_118729039

Yeah, abusive father is what I thought. Will be surprised if that's not it. Patrick Stewart has spoken about his own abusive father and has supported women's shelters and charities for years.

I wasn't happy with the blurring of the lines between Patrick Stewart and Picard in season 1 but I'm actually, potentially and after seeing this strong first episode, okay with this one. It's a new and heavy topic for Star Trek and I'll be interested to see how they do it.

AllForIt

Poor Guinan has turned into a fat alcoholic lol

Maybe because noone listens to her wise words anymore...hehe

TheValeyard

This is me just nitpicking.

But I really think those science ships should have carpet.

ilovesmybrick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729426#Comment_118729426

Or at least not be so glossy. It would be like a slip and slide in battles!

FutureGuy

What a turnaround from season 1. Night and day. They have rebooted the aesthetic, the ships, the setting, the characters (Jurati instantly more likeable, Picard actually acts like Picard and not Stewart). I think the beauty shot of the Stargazer basically screamed "we listened, we understand".

With Discovery also being great this week (and Prodigy, SNW and LD all coming this year), I have so much excitement for Star Trek.

Literally, what a difference a year makes.

_Kaiser_

One thing I don't get...

Why did Picard have to activate the auto-destruct sequence? Couldn't it's captain have done that?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729633#Comment_118729633

I hate the high polished floors this era of Trek uses. It looks like the floor is made of the same stuff as the computers.

pah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729089#Comment_118729089

What about Raffi living in a trailer and complaining about Picard in his "Fine Chateau" in Season 1.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118730662#Comment_118730662

Ya that scene is daft. In my head I'll just put it down to Raffi being off her box at the time.

The other weird bit is that we know Picards mother lived to old age so what is the tragedy if not her death.

eadrom

Just started watching this a second time. God I hope they maintain some of this quality throughout the season. Really feels like I'm watching Jean-Luc Picard again, and 24th (or is it 25th?) century Star Trek again, in a way that season 1 never really did.

Stewart seemed a little "too old" in the scene talking to Elnor at Starfleet Academy, but Elnor is a bit of a charisma vacuum anyway so that didn't help either. Apart from that he was great. Having an active role in Starfleet from the outset and stepping into an authoritative role on the Stargazer like it's second nature, as it should be, rather than the shopping-bag, giddy-grampa grin, and smiling nods from everyone when he was allowed to say "engage" in season 1.

And I can't get over the ships, uniforms, sets, and overall tone. Like, what the hell have they been playing at for the last few years?! What in the world was that fleet of nonsense ships at the end of season 1?? DO MORE OF THIS INSTEAD!! If they don't have more planned for this timeline now, they're crazy.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118730920#Comment_118730920

The fleet of nonsense was because they had to do it in like a week or two because of a late script change and couldn't get more CGI ships done in time.

Man Elnor really is a charisma vacuum. He is so wooden I keep getting surprised when people point out he is Romulan and not Vulcan.

eadrom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118730974#Comment_118730974

Any idea what the original intention was for the end of the season?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118731126#Comment_118731126

Don't remember but I think it might have just been a single ship or something.

They couldn't use older CGI because of different definition levels and ownership issues iirc.

Spear

It was a good opener, addressed the passage of time, updated just about every thread. And casually offed Zhaban.

A few of the elements almost seemed like an apology or rowback on some of the elements of season 1. The Rafi/Seven relationship is as suddenly curtailed as it was introduced. The Starfleet task force seems to almost be making up for the copy and paste antics of the season finale.

There's plenty of lore references, with them being well used in the episodes themes, such as the stargazer callbacks.

Hopefully it'll remain this consistent for the rest.

AMKC

Well after watching that first episode and I must say it was really good certainly no cost cutting. Even some backstop and a little character development. Strange the way they done it do but I think after a 2nd watch it will make more sense. I hope it can keep up the good work for the rest of the season. Of course nothing hard about identifying the villain

SPOILER WARNING

Spoiler Warning

Talk about a weird Borq Queen. I wonder is she from the future and why she really needed Picard?

I guess we will find out in the next episodes.

Also I love how it's like a fresh start over. You do not need to have seen season 1 to see this one but it can help with some things. It had a very Star-Trek 2009 vibe off it.

I was not mad on the Queen. I know they had to do something different but she reminded me of a Sheliac. I wonder did the Borg assimilate them.

They had to be from the future. The Queens plan would have worked had she not looked for Picard.

I hate the pew pew phasers. Taken straight out of ST09. Another thing I think is gas is Picard saying its a fine ship when all he has seen is the outside of it, a hanger and a corridor. Would have been far better if he said that on the bridge. That would have made more sense.

ilovesmybrick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118732376#Comment_118732376

Sheliac is a good call. I was thinking either Unimatrix Zero since they seem to be more individualistic Borg ( I know that sounds weird, but the communicating in multiple languages at once, unless they're retconning the Borg, implies to me that they're more individualistic). The ship also reminded me of the liberated drones in Descent. Maybe the remnants of the collective collapsing or something? I'm not gone on her design either, even though the cogs working on the face mask were a cool visual effect. I'm going to guess that this is a different type of queen, who when the mask drops turns out to be 7 or Jurati and it ties into the going back to the past. Based on the trailers I'm guessing Jurati, I hope not, but at least, with absolutely no other information, it makes sense to me.

I'm not too annoyed by the pew pew phasers, though that being said it could be because I watched Discovery after and the design of those phasers is just so bad. Personally all phasers should be modelled after the Bajoran ones-if the phaser runs out of charge they can still be a decent knuckle duster!

Rawr

Now that was a good bit of Trek. I am quite glad. Although I am torn a little; they did this to us last time too…but I pretty much enjoyed that entire first episode as opposed to about half of the season 1 opener.

The Guinan bit was OK character development wise, although a bit fan-servicey in the grand scheme of it. If they bring her back in this alternative reality it might be worth it.

The only negative I feel was Alison Pill’s character, I just can’t stand her. At least they finally address the Maddox murder, but beyond that I just can’t gel with her. Maybe they make her into a new Borg Queen later, she’d work better as a villain I feel.

In summary, there is hope. They did a piss-poor job with the trailers and the final product was miles better. I look forward to next week.

I only watched the trailer today and was seriously unimpressed. Looked Like Star Trek Picard: The Voyage Home - in serial form. Have downloaded it and will watch it tonight and post my thoughts on here.

pixelburp

That was ... all right actually. To the extent I'd call it enjoyable overall. Plenty of runway to foul everything up, not least with the central mystery, but as first episodes go - and Trek in general at the minute - it impressed. As others have said it also felt like an attempt to reset the bollix that was the back half of Season 1; characters adjusted enough to put them in a better place than when we saw them last.

I still suspect that episode was the showy pitch, and the bulk of subsequent episodes will be that Los Angeles 2020s material we saw in the trailer - so I'm staying sceptical.

Oh and Akiva Goldsmans dialogue was fúcking woeful in places. I like the idea of Picard exploring his life without life - but ye gods some of the lines spoken around were vomit inducing rubbish no sapient creature would ever utter in reality.

AMKC

I actually thought in the middle of it with the green anomoly that it was very like Star Trek 2009 and certainly felt like that especially when the Borg ship came true too. I like the episode but it definitely felt a wee bit JJ Trek with some prime Trek too like decent looking ships at least on the outside anyway.

I loved how everyone from Starfleet could just beam up to there ship like that no need for shuttles anymore.

Johnny Storm

My expectations were very low but I did enjoy this episode. Fingers crossed for the next one.

Well, I really enjoyed that. Not really looking forward to the time travel aspect though.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728848#Comment_118728848

Different registry number or the same?

I'm kinda shocked, I really enjoyed that.

So much so that I was pissed to remember that it's a weekly drop

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118734885#Comment_118734885

Would have been nice to get 2 episodes to start

Slydice

Oh I like this! Was honestly saying something like F*** me dude, what do you want this time!?!?

Before that, I was thinking the whole thing was getting awful complicated and gonna be a huge mystery to unpack.

The Borg encounter was cool. I'm guessing that's some armour around the Queen. Maybe she's in some kind of a battle/assimilation suit.

Then at the end I was like.. that's definitely the Mirror Universe. It's all weapsons and dark.. and the slave androids and the planet needs a shield.

and I liked that Laris meant A New Day. Not sure if a show had explained that before. Laris seems awful familiar as a name.

.. watches preview of the season to come..

Oooohhh.. it's a time thing.. yeah also makes sense.

All those skulls! Reminds me of the Hirogen.

New Borg Queen is fine. Would love a cameo from Alice Krige!

pixelburp

Just so it's not me thinking it but ... the "borg queen" we met is absolutely Picard's mother, right?

The "look at the stars" line had Picard briefly in the shock of recognition, while it seems clear there's some kind of mystery behind Jean Luc's mother we'll visit over the episodes.

We know time travel plays a huge part; if it weren't obvious from the trailer the script made pains to reference TIME throughout. Maybe these Borg are some kind of alternative universe version, lead - somehow - by Mama Picard.

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737058#Comment_118737058

Sounds like a possiblity and maybe because I'm just fresh from the episode, I'm all like.. Yes.. and more.. even more twists please! 😁

Slydice

Oh!

Almost forgot to check but .. Nice! A shout out to the Deltans!

I wasn't sure.. but I was all like.. those folks on Raritan IV remind me an awful lot of Ilia from Star Trek The Motion Picture

This wiki says they are Deltans! 🙂

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Raritan_IV

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737021#Comment_118737021

It's not "the mirror universe" as in the one Trek keeps visiting but it is similar.

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737105#Comment_118737105

Cool, thanks for reminding me of the second part of my post 😁😂🤣

eadrom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737058#Comment_118737058

The Borg would know about his mother and his thoughts towards her from his time as Locutus too. Could be that.

Or could be Q.

TheValeyard

Once it's not time travel shenanigans and its Seven under that Borg Queen suit.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737683#Comment_118737683

It's gonna be Sarah Silverman under the suit

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118737111#Comment_118737111

Ah this was a bit unfair..

I'd agree. One big thought I had watching the season preview was how the red drapped banners in the big hall looking room reminded me of the post World War III (2026-2053 on wiki) courtroom. The one he brought Picard to for the trial. I was thinking there must be some changes made to the timeline to fit that feel of the planet into the future.. or he could just be bringing him back there again.

a_squirrelman

I really enjoyed that, it looked amazing, I loved the look into Picard's past and the Stargazer. I'm still not fond of Elnor or Agnes and while I like Rios I find it grating seeing a starship captain with a cigar on the bridge.

Looking forward to episode 2.

EDIT: Seeing Q was awesome and I loved the click of the fingers aging. It was pretty cool to see Guinan too and the few people here commenting on her weight should cop on. Not very Starfleet.

pixelburp

I appreciated they didn't try to re-engineer Q's little "bing" special effect when he changed himself. Was a nice touch towards the original, simple but effective, bit of FX. Even the de-aged effect wasn't too bad; shot in the distance and too brief for the uncanny valley to take hold.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118740244#Comment_118740244

It was a bit cheesy but I like the idea of a captain showing some affectation and uniqueness beyond a generic Starfleet captain