Picard 2x06 - 'Two of One' ~~ { ** Spoilers Within ** }

ilovesmybrick

Picard 2x06 - 'Two of One' ~~ { ** 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

I'll skip to the end to a bit that has the potential to annoy me. It looks like a setup for one of those "wandering around someones subconcious" episodes. Never like those and I really hope that's something they'll waste one of the last four episodes on.

I think the reveal that Soji (or whatever her name is here) was bred as a genetic experiment could have been revealed a bit earlier, and it's frankly unbelievable that this would be the first time she googles her father.

I like parts of the episode, but I don't think it gelled at all for me. I like Rios and his fascination with the matches. Jurati submitting herself to the Borg queen, which has always the Queen has sought, submission rather than assimilation, was interesting, though go away with the singing, and an inspirational Picard speech. It was a bit of a leap to think that a man could get hit by a car, outside a large fancy ball, and they could sneak him away to an illegal doctor rather than be surrounded by ambulances. The setup for that needed a bit more thought.

Overall it was grand, not great, not bad. Probably an episode that works better if you're bingeing through the series. Though that entirely depends on the next episode. While I think the red letter media guys are a bit harsh, the episode really did support their point that there are too many moving parts for the protagonists. The Borg Queen, Q, Soong, future Borg Queen. If they do spend the next episode in Picards head that only leaves three episodes to fix the Jurati/Queen situation, get Renee Picard into space, fix the Soji/Soong situation, work out the Q problem and what's wrong with him, fix the timeline, and deal with future Borg Queen. The series has been quite strong to date, I just hope they stick the landing.

sioda

Not the best episode tbh still very watchable though.

Loved the resuscitation scene he's had transplants all of them 🤣 and the poor defibrillator.

Alison Pill wow never knew she could sing loved the comment about the dress. It plays right back to BSG 6's attire when she is in Baltars head.

How did Laris know about a mind meld?

corkie

@sioda

How did Laris know about a mind meld?

Tallinn as 'The Watcher' not 'Laris', think she was referring to the method she used to control people in earlier episode and not 'Mind Meld'. Even when referring to it as such. 'Jury rigged mind meld'

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Two_of_One_%28episode%29

Spear

Again a decent enough episode. All the individual plot threads keep steadily advancing.

The song was a cheesy story beat though. But at least it's made more palatable by the nasty sting in the tail when the queen shows her hand.

There's another plot point that seems to be hinted at yet, which is what really happened to Picard's mother. It looks like that's being queued up as the big reveal for next week.

ilovesmybrick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894487#Comment_118894487

Yeah, the Picards mother thing I'm really curious about. I paused during the flashback and it looks like she was dragged away by some form of vampire or zombie? My guess is that the zombie, or whatever it was, was actually some medical professional taking his mother for psychiatric care. He did mention in this episode that she also suffered from some form of depression.

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894769#Comment_118894769

I presume his imagination/childhood memory is turning into something more supernatural. But this is probably masking something else traumatic, maybe suicide or murder by the father?

c.p.w.g.w

Are ye guys watching this on prime...no new episode showing for me on prime

Stark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894892#Comment_118894892

Usually appears on Prime about midday Friday. Seems to be a lot of Americans/people with American cousins posting here :pac:

ilovesmybrick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894921#Comment_118894921

The American cousin is fantastic, the VHS was in the post by 7:30!

Slydice

Well... Los Angeles is getting assimilated.. which is only fair given the lack of assimilation so far.

Last episode I started getting inklings that this isn't really about Picards ancestor. Soong certainly seems to be taking a lot of space in the season already given his role at the moment and his statue in the future. Not sure exactly where they are going with it. Androids/AI yeah maybe but also maybe on Eugenics either. I dunno.

Holodeck at the back of my mind the whole time too.

On a side note, all the ladies at the ball were distractingly gorgeous!

eadrom

I liked that. Slow enough in terms of plot progression but I thought the character moments were pretty good.

I'm a bit conflicted with the Borgs Queen being the main source of fun in these episodes but I'm warming to it. Was enjoyable enough.

I think I just liked this one for having less going on, too. Most of the characters are actually interesting enough to spend some time with.

fritzelly

I'm struggling to see what the point of that very short episode was - was pretty bored the whole way thru it.

CastorTroy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118893461#Comment_118893461

"Laris" also spoke Romulan at one point according to the subtitles I had on. So I guess if she knows that then she knows what a mind meld is.

AMKC

Not a great episode and it looks like next week's episode will not be so great either. It was doing good up to this. Hopefully the last three episodes will be better.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118895234#Comment_118895234

On a side note, all the ladies at the ball were distractingly gorgeous!

I couldnt stop noticing this. Was glad Jurati pointed it out a bit.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896446#Comment_118896446

I really liked this one but am very worried about "entering the mind" episodes. Always tedious in TV and computer games.

pah

Fans - we don't want crazy stupid action stuff this is Picard, the diplomat, the speaker, we want to know how his mind works.

Writers - mmm'kay

Evade

Bit of an eh episode again this week. Picard's advice to Renée was very Picard like though which was nice and Harvey-Queen is interesting but you have to wonder why not just assimilate Jurati and get it over with. Rios commenting that he had a real cigar hints that the ones he has in the future might be some kind of synthabacco. I still feel that a lot of the events in episodes 3-6 have been padded out to make it to ten episodes.

I'm predicting that the doctor and Kore will be brought to the future with the rest of the crew in the finale.

mewso

Really poor stuff if you ask me. Lots of what appeared to be audio inserted after the fact with Tallinn saying certain lines while her back was to the camera - "then we won't have to worry about the cameras" just in case we forgot last episodes setup, "at least we got Rene to quarantine" - during a conversation about where Jurati was and so on.

Lots of silly moments:-

The classic scan of ID works just in the nick of time done terribly.

Jurati has a band ready to go. Hmmm.

"It'll be quicker to get back going outside" - we may have been in the lobby of the building but we need to go outside so you can get hit by a car.

The doctor saying "Everybody out" was so badly delivered I almost laughed.

Security just wanted to block off Picard? I mean if they were trying to kick him out it shouldn't taken more than a couple of seconds.

This show is on a serious slide.

Spear

I would quibble a little on the security thing. As the security holding Jurati commented, they could be wealthy and sue-happy, and hence they're reluctant to lay hands on an attendee.

The ID thing was a tired trope, but the details on the ID were all easter eggs, such as Santiago Cabreros real birth date, and references to past Trek actors.

Rawr

It was alright, but about on par with the last one. I would like them to get to the damned point with Picard’s mother in the next one (getting a little sick of the flashback tease).

One thing that stuck in my mind this time was how effectively menacing Brent Spiner can be when he’s going for that. He’d make for a great primary villain if they had gone that way. If I were to re-do this season, I’d have been tempted to keep them in the Earth Confederation, and have Spiner play some kind of despotic Emperor of the Humans. You could even have him as a corrupted evil Data, who attained his humanity (aging and all) and went further to claim the universe for his beloved species. Evil, but also kind of good and justified in his own head. You could then have Picard having to come to terms with fighting someone he once knew as an honorable defender of people etc…

That’s what went through my mind watching this one.

Stark

Spiner played a villain of sort in Season 4 of Enterprise (yet another Soong ancestor) and was brilliant at it. Menacing and frightening while at the same time displaying regret and empathy over his actions.

TheValeyard

I enjoyed it.

Was fast spaced and enjoyed Picard pep talk.

Borg Queen was cool and was getting resident evil vibes at the end with the red dress (Red Queen in the Hive under Raccoon city)

Matches were funny. Characters felt alive.

Raffi is still annoying and just plain unlikeable.

Into the mind of Picard, may we see some Ent-D, Stargazer?

Needs more Q

TheValeyard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118900041#Comment_118900041

Yeah and the way they finished the story arc was good. Soong believing humans could not be saved, but maybe articifical life could be the way forward.

TheValeyard

Q are the humans of the Confederation Augments?

The_Wanderer

Overall I enjoyed the ep. and how worst can it get as the "new" Borg Queen walks down a street in LA. Brilliant.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118900748#Comment_118900748

If they were that would mean the main cast have augment bodies now and they, so far, haven't shown any of the typical enhanced abilities.

Brian?

I didn’t feel it at all. Non specific dislike.

Except for the song, I hated that.

Johnny Storm

About the best I can say is that I enjoyed this one more than the previous two episodes. Fingers crossed for next week.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118901687#Comment_118901687

You'll love this then... original video for Shadows of the Night, complete with Bill Paxton as a Nazi in a bonkers concept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZInRE-KryGA

breezy1985

Saw this gem on another site

When Jurati finally got free and put the usb into the computer, she put it in on the first try. Every one knows it only works on the third try. Is this some new Borg superpower, or a massive plot hole?

is_that_so

Not mad about this, two episodes at a gala and still not quite done. If it was episode 2 you'd say fine but just 4 to go now. Loved the song though, random as it was! Great pipes!

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118906669#Comment_118906669

Surprised to hear it was actually Pill. Getting a bit bored with the 21st century now too. It's a pity we got so little of the upsidedown world (although it makes sense as they could have never held that cover) or the Stargazer.

CastorTroy

So according to this and other shows involving time travel, I have ancestors that look exactly like me? I do find it funny that Noonian Soong's ancestor, multiple generations removed looks like him but a younger Guinan doesn't look like a younger Guinan.

flazio

Clearly you're all forgetting she was in a band called Ba'bomb back in the day. Think she was the drummer.

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118907288#Comment_118907288

He is a geneticist he could have altered himself to essentially have his offspring all be clones of himself

a_squirrelman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118907288#Comment_118907288

As Brent Spiner tweeted recently (I'm too lazy to search for it) it's because he played them. Young Guinan looks different because it ain't Whoopi. People get awfully hung up on this :D

Evade

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118908121#Comment_118908121

I don't think that's really the issue, it's not new for an actor to play their main characters ancestor, Picard seemingly recognising him was very out of place.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118907350#Comment_118907350

We are 'Sex Bob-Omb'

One, two, three, four

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118908293#Comment_118908293

Whoops, must have been watching the pre watershed version. 😶

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118908246#Comment_118908246

I think it would have been fun to tweak his look just a little bit. Enough so that he was clearly a Soong, but not exactly like Data. Picard would look at him and still react, but more "Wow you look really familiar", rather that the, "Data, is that you?" look he gave him.

If you look at old photos, it is often scary how much people can look like their ancestors, sometimes nearly exactly the same. And at the same time, it's really common in all sci-fi to have the same people play their character's ancestors or descendants. So hardly something we can whinge about now :D

Look at Romulan Tasha, for christ's sake.

mewso

This Soong would want to hurry up and have a biological child soon. Otherwise how will he have any proper descendants at all.

pixelburp

Caught the Episode and the manner in which this show tries to trip over its own feet is crazy. It has a simple, pretty compelling threat and set of stakes: the Borg Queen loose in LA! Just do that. No, no, let's concentrate on that stupid gala plot, and the mid-season crowbar of Yet Another Soong into the mix. There's too much going on here and half of it a bit limp. Officially past the halfway point and the show has become a tedious obligation.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932481#Comment_118932481

With niftier editing this could be wrapped up in a 2 hour movie... so many ideas these days being stretched way beyond the material.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932490#Comment_118932490

There's so much fat on this show it's unreal. Introducing a completely extraneous set of characters 50% through your story - and ending the episode on their personal drama - is so inept and slapdash it boggles the mind. And the short shrift given to the literal temporal hinge around which the future depends, is itself also baffling. It's like there are 6 different writers or producers all doing their own thing.

This is a terrible television show.

paulieeye

This was the worst episode of the lot so far. Everything is so badly written anyway but this episode was the worst. They just cant get the tone of anything right, is it a jokey caper or serious world ending business?? Why am I even still watching it? I dont know the answer to any of these questions