Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 Episode 4
“No Win Scenario”
Star Trek: Picard places the Titan in an impossible situation forcing the crew to prepare for death in their own way.
I’ve mentioned repeatedly in various reviews that modern Star Trek has a frustrating obsession with The Wrath of Khan. It is a great film and certainly a favourite among fans of the franchise but the constant emulation of things within that film is unnecessary. Most of that emulation betrays a lack of understanding of why that film works as the adaptations are largely superficial. This season opened with a nod to The Wrath of Khan, has built its early episodes around a starship battle in a nebula and now the concept of the no-win scenario comes into the mix.
In The Wrath of Khan, the “Kobayashi Maru” was introduced as a test that command track cadets have to take to put them in the position of commanding a ship in the midst of a situation that has no escape. It’s a test of character that challenges the cadet to maintain their calm in an unwinnable situation while teaching the lesson that facing death is something every captain will have to do at some point in their career. They come away from the test having failed to save the ship but hopefully understanding how to accept that defeat and perform at their best in spite of the circumstances.
This episode takes the idea and adds another item to the list of superficial “The Wrath of Khan” adaptations. The title is “No Win Scenario” but the episode doesn’t actually contain one. At the end of the episode the Titan is saved and nothing is sacrificed or lost in order to achieve that. It is established as a hopeless situation with no escape until a plan is formulated that makes use of a quirk of their surroundings to save the ship and everyone on it. Placing characters in a situation with everything they need to solve it surrounding is a common practice in writing and can be a great display of character intelligence or resourcefulness to recognise the value of what is around them. To an extent that happens here and the solution is seeded in the previous episode so doesn’t entirely come out of nowhere but it plays as being a little too convenient.
The energy was present in the previous episode but drifted by without comment so was a detail that was signposted as something that would be important later without directly pointing to it. That’s a good start but the ramping up is jarring because it unnaturally escalates from being a semi-subtle background detail to exactly what they need to escape. The information coming from Crusher makes sense. Her perspective as a Doctor allows her to recognise that the intervals between the energy pulses are comparable to labour contractions which points to a birth being in progress. It makes her a meaningful part of the story rather than defining her by the complications created by her decision to keep Jack a secret from Picard
Notably, the solution is easy to follow and mostly bereft of meaningless technobabble. It’s easy to understand that the Titan can use the energy to supply a boost and escape the nebula. It’s likened to riding a wave and the notion is supported visually when the plan is carried out. It’s simple, elegant and visually impressive when it happens so from a spectacle point of view the episode delivers and the action climax is genuinely exciting. The simplicity is in its favour and the crowd-pleasing beats contained within such as Riker smashing an asteroid into Vadic’s ship completely land.
Part of what makes the action climax work as well as it does is because the sequence starts off tense and builds to a crescendo that is both fitting and satisfying. Early on it’s about slow and deliberate manoeuvres to get the Titan into position before shattering that tension when the wave hits and victory is in their grasp. Picard taking command of the ship due to his direct experience of what they’re attempting works brilliantly. It’s immensely satisfying to see Picard sitting in the Captain’s chair of a Federation starship confidently giving orders and demonstrating his knowledge, even if he does say embarrassing -for Picard- phrases like “gun it”. The fanfare as he takes the chair is justified because Picard proves that’s exactly where he should be after the fact. It’s fanservice but substantial fanservice.
The supposed no-win scenario is connected to an event in Picard’s past that he is asked to recount in a flashback. He is approached by Starfleet officers when having a pub lunch and asked to tell a few stories about his glory days. He references “Darmok” because it’s a well-known fan-favourite episode but he also references a scenario that predates the timeline of The Next Generation. The situation involved him and the original Jack Crusher navigating a powerless shuttle to get back to the Stargazer. The details are fleshed out through a combination of the flashback and his conversation with Jack. The latter provides more context that draws attention to Picard’s youthful recklessness which offers a reasonable counter to the idolised legend the young officers see in the flashback. It’s easy to fall into the trap of regarding past exploits of iconic characters as being heroic legends so Picard telling his son that he and Jack borrowed a shuttle so they could spend the night with willing women. It humanises Picard in Jack’s eyes and tells him that there’s more to his father than history states. Something he may have known on some level but the direct evidence makes it real.
Picard’s story in both the flashback and present-day connects directly to the crisis at hand. It’s far too neat a connection but Picard being the best person to take the lead is at least well-established and acts as a sort of reclaimed youth for him as he gets to dust off old skills, command a starship again and direct some old school starship movement. It shows that Picard is still useful and still has a place in this world while highlighting that younger characters aren’t automatically incompetent in the presence of older experienced ones. Sidney La Forge and Jack are the only younger characters who contribute meaningfully to the sequence but the idea of “The Next Generation” is showcased through them. Putting Jack in the same position his namesake was all those years ago is very on the nose but it doesn’t detract from how effective the sequence is overall. It actually compliments the idea that Picard is getting to relive his glory days and prove that he still has plenty to give. More practical examples like this would benefit the show greatly especially when they’re used in sequences that are well crafted as the action climax.
The sequence concludes with a monologue from Picard taking the form of advice to the young officers in the flashback that they are only as good as the crew that surrounds them. He states that the crew become a part of them and complete them to together accomplish things they could never do alone. It’s a thoughtful and poetic way of describing the ethos of Starfleet as an organisation. Prior iterations of the franchise have championed the idea of being part of a crew and relying on one another to accomplish greatness. The Federation itself is founded on the idea that it’s better to be together than apart and that the whole is better than the sum of its parts. That’s what Picard is getting at when advising the young officers. From the point of view of the storytelling session as his pub lunch gets cold he is conveying this so passionately because he knows that in order to succeed in Starfleet they will need to live, breathe and fully submit to this philosophy otherwise they’ll never come close to living up to their potential.
Another purpose of the flashback is to deliver the reveal that Jack was party to that storytelling session without making himself known. It isn’t explicitly stated but there’s a strong implication that he decided to seek out his father and opted not to approach him when Picard answers his question about having a real family with the confident declaration that Starfleet was the only family he ever needed. For Jack, this is devastating as he likely sees this as a rejection of him personally and may have resulted in him concluding that revealing himself to Picard would only end in a direct rejection. Ed Speelers plays the reaction wonderfully. Jack appears to be working hard to remain composed as his father tells him that he doesn’t want or need him. The applause from the young officers who have fully bought into the idea of how great Starfleet is while Jack is destroyed by what he has heard. The use of the term “real family” suggests that Jack had an idea of what a family should be and had a fantasy of the family he would like to have, something that may have been destroyed by Picard’s words. It does set up a potential arc ending with Jack getting what he wants from Picard after rediscovering that he wants it but equally it could end with him defining his relationship with Picard on his own terms. It’s possible he could come to understand what Picard meant by Starfleet being a family to him.
Their conversation as they wait for death feeds into Jack’s views on family and how hardened he has become in the years since hearing Picard reject the notion of what he considers to be a “real family”. One thing the hopeless situation provides is time to contemplate the inevitable and Picard -after some urging from Riker- chooses to spend it getting to know his son. Jack is confused but happy to go along with it as the holodeck is as good a place to die as any. Their scenes together are good and stand out as the first meaningful contact they’ve had since meeting in the first episode of the season. There’s an undercurrent of awkwardness to their interactions that is perfectly natural given the circumstances and a strong sense of plenty that isn’t being said between them.
Up until this point, Jack has largely been a plot device. He represents the life Picard could have had and a secret that was kept from him for over twenty years but this episode works to flesh him out through this conversation. There are smaller details peppered in such as not being a fan of wine which is an immediate difference between them. One thing Picard wants to know is why Jack chose not to know him but it isn’t something he’s prepared to talk about. This becomes clear later in the episode as mentioned above and perhaps forms the basis of how Jack is now. He talks about how he is used to being alone and doesn’t feel the need for the connection Picard is offering but Picard admits that he does so the conversation is revealed to be more for Picard’s benefit than Jack’s.
This makes sense given what Picard has recently learned. It’s natural that he would feel that he has missed out on so much in life because he has a son that he doesn’t know and when faced with his rapidly approaching demise there isn’t time to make up for that. In his final hours, he’s reaching out to Jack to make any kind of connection so that he doesn’t die with no relationship with his son. Admitting that he needs it is an impressive display of vulnerability and extends an olive branch for Jack to do the same if he feels inclined. One thing that’s consistent about Jack is that he appears to take everything in his stride and doesn’t betray any strong feelings except where his mother is concerned. He doesn’t accept Picard’s invitation to make that meaningful connection so it’s something that remains in the air between them that can develop.
The goal of their conversation is for them to get to know one another and part of that involves Jack understanding how others see Picard. Shaw provides a very particular perspective when he recounts his experience of being involved in the battle of Wolf 359. Picard as Locutus was responsible for a lot of deaths that day and has had to live with knowing that ever since. He was previously confronted with a survivor when he met Benjamin Sisko in “Emissary”. Sisko exhibited thinly concealed resentment brought on by losing his wife as well as many of the officers he served with in the battle but he retained a professional attitude because Picard was his superior officer and he likely understood on a rational level that Picard wasn’t at fault because he wasn’t in control of his actions while assimilated by the Borg.
Shaw is far less forgiving and has no problem making Picard aware of it. He has a strong case of survivor’s guilt and has never managed to process it effectively which results in the less than cordial man he currently is. Shaw’s story is excellently delivered by Todd Stashwick who paints a very visceral picture of what Shaw experienced that day through his performance. His description makes clear how awful it would have been to be on any ship on that day. This adds to the idea of Wolf 359 as a monumental event that affected people in profound ways. The closest analogue in our world would probably be 9/11 though “The Best of Both Worlds” aired eleven years before that real-world event. Wolf 359 started a seismic shift in the way the Federation approached many things and resulted in citizens feeling far less safe than they did previously. Stories like Shaw’s would spread like wildfire and people would have reason to live in fear of the next Borg invasion that could come at any time.
In fairness to this episode, it’s surprising that Picard hasn’t encountered more Wolf 359 survivors or people who lost someone on that day who would bear animosity towards him because of his involvement but what appears here is a retread of Sisko’s connection with Picard only with less nuance to it. In “Emissary” Sisko’s discomfort with having to be in the same room as Picard and answer to him made for an immensely tense conversation as Sisko fought to maintain his professionalism under personally difficult circumstances. Shaw does no such thing and even behaves in a way that no Captain ever should when in front of their crew. He holds court with his harrowing tale of accidental survival before asking for forgiveness from the horrified officers in attendance. The line “at some point, asshole became a substitute for charm” indicates that the experience broke him and changed him on a fundamental level which makes sense given the severity of the event being described but as a Captain, he should know to be someone the crew looks to for support in times of crisis.
In order to have this emotional moment for Todd Stashwick to play, the integrity of the character as a professional in command of a starship is thrown out. This could have been achieved in ways that don’t compromise the professionalism the character should have to be in the position he’s in. It’s another example of deliberately writing Shaw as an antagonist so that Picard and Riker look better by comparison. There’s no trust in the audience to develop their own take on the situation and it means that Shaw suffers as a result.
Shaw is also used to help locate the Changeling infiltrator. He gives Seven a crash course in dealing with them and points her in the direction of what to look for. Presumably, he has experience dealing with Changelings during the Dominion War and Seven feels that as Captain his familiarity with the crew makes him better able to sniff out someone who doesn’t belong. He isn’t much use where the latter is concerned as the only advice he has is to ask questions that people should know the answers to in order to test them. It’s not a foolproof method as a Changeling could get the information in other ways but it’s a place to start. The most practical advice he gives is to find the Changeling’s pot as they need to regenerate in their liquid state eventually and will always use a pot to do that according to Shaw.
This is another example of empty fanservice that makes absolutely no sense when scrutinised. In Deep Space Nine, the Changeling character Odo regenerated in a bucket in the early seasons and transitioned away from it when he learned more about his origins. There was never any detail on what other Changelings do but it was clearly something unique to Odo that was a crutch of sorts that he eventually no longer needed. This episode leans heavily into the bucket idea and even uses a similar design for the Changeling infiltrator’s bucket as if it was a standardised object given to all Changelings who leave the great link. It’s an absurd notion and completely ridiculous when considering the Changeling’s need to go undetected. If a receptacle of some sort was needed then anything the liquid form of the Changeling could fit inside would do meaning there would be countless available options that wouldn’t give them away. It ends up being a pointless diversion as Seven never gets the chance to make use of the residue before the Changeling itself vapourises it further indicating that it shouldn’t have been needed in the first place. The pot/bucket simply exists as a reference point because fans will recognise that Odo used a similar-looking bucket to regenerate in and the episode treating it seriously as something to look for when knowing a Changeling is present is ludicrous.
The episode delivers a wide range of content where Riker is concerned.. It’s disappointing that his conflict with Picard is neatly resolved with no drama, especially after Riker’s declaration that he killed them all with his suggestion was so dramatically deployed. The aftermath of that declaration receives almost no attention and is waved away with barely a line of dialogue. This speaks to a larger problem with this show, Star Trek and wider media in general. Conflicts don’t play out in natural ways with the thrust of them being a single dramatic outburst or short conversation before being quickly forgotten. Relationships don’t change and evolve based on how those conflicts impact them nor is any real debate had about the point of disagreement. Picard and Riker differed on their views on strategy in the previous episode, Picard’s suggestion crippled the ship and it’s back to as if it never happened with a very quick dialogue exchange. It removes depth and drama from character dynamics and makes everything so weightless because the conflicts have no impact.
Pushing aside their disagreement does allow for some excellent introspection on Riker’s part. He admits that Picard was right about Riker’s judgement being impaired after the loss of his son. The show has been getting at the idea of Riker having no fight left in him after such a defining loss and now he has come to realise this perhaps when it’s too late to do anything about it. He talks about the strain put on his relationship with Deanna because she couldn’t deal with him feeling nothing after losing their son. The implication is that he retreated into himself and buried his feelings so far down that he wasn’t aware he had them and they were undetectable by Deanna’s empathic ability. Riker admits that he is currently on the Titan because he was running away from the reality of death and the constant reminder of it when around his family only to find himself directly confronted with it once again in the current situation.
His issue comes from a deep-seated doubt about what is beyond death. He mentions that he has seen so much in the universe but never any evidence that there is an afterlife of any kind. If no such thing exists then that means everything his son was is lost forever. Losing a child is a deeply personal loss as it’s unnatural for a parent to outlive a child so Riker struggles with still being alive when his son isn’t and can’t find comfort in the belief that he has gone to a better place. If there is nothing beyond death then he will never see his son again. He is majorly lacking something to motivate him to continue fighting and the root of it is the loss of his son.
Riker spends much of the episode with a fatalist attitude that he has to be talked out of. He states early on that this is the end and seems to have accepted that as an unalterable fact. This changes when Picard, Beverly and Jack come to him with an insane plan that might allow them to escape their current predicament. He’s dismissive of it at first and pokes holes in everything he’s told but eventually comes around to the idea when Picard and Crusher remind him of the good old days and all that they accomplished together. Beverly urges him to join them in doing what they’ve learned to be great at and Picard reminds him that it isn’t the first situation like this they have dealt with and if it’s the end then they should face it applying their skills to try and solve the problem. Their collective efforts convince Riker and he joins in on formulating the plan. It’s a great reversal of tone from despairing to hopeful when all three veterans are on the same page and working to the best of their ability to survive what seems impossible. Riker’s speech to the crew assuring them that they’ll get through this if they work together is confident and motivating.
It’s an important episode for Riker as he finds a zest for life he thought he lost. Playing his part in escaping what he believed to be certain death is clearly exhilarating and witnessing a birth is a powerful reminder of the infinite beauty that exists in the universe. The experience is enough to help him realise where his issues are coming from and what he needs to do to fix them.
This episode contained many shortcomings but it’s the strongest episode of the season so far as it centres around a specific problem that the characters can work together to solve. The ongoing plot is put on a back burner and the focus almost fully shifts to escaping the hopeless situation. As mentioned earlier there’s no cost to it but the presentation of everything that occurs to overcome the problem is impressive and exciting. Picard’s log at the end of the episode serves as a reminder that things are far from over and there’s a reprise of Jack’s mysterious visions to indicate that the next episode will likely return to the ongoing story. However brief, this diversion was refreshing and shows the potential the show has to deliver greatness even if it fumbles in places.
Verdict
A strong episode that has veteran characters working together to deal with a singular crisis that plays to their strengths and delivers an impressive action climax. The episode presents the idea of a no-win scenario as both its title and concept but doesn’t actually follow through on the idea. Nothing is lost or sacrificed in escaping the situation. It almost doesn’t matter because the episode deals with the crisis so well. The solution is easy to follow and mostly bereft of meaningless technobabble. It’s simple, elegant and visually impressive when it happens so from a spectacle point of view the episode delivers and the action climax is genuinely exciting. The simplicity is in its favour and the crowd-pleasing beats contained within such as Riker smashing an asteroid into Vadic’s ship completely land. Part of what makes the action climax work as well as it does is because the sequence starts off tense and builds to a crescendo that is both fitting and satisfying. Early on it’s about slow and deliberate manoeuvres to get the Titan into position before shattering that tension when the wave hits and victory is in their grasp. Picard taking command of the ship due to his direct experience of what they’re attempting works brilliantly. The supposed no-win scenario is connected to an event in Picard’s past recounted in a flashback. The details are fleshed out through a combination of the flashback and his conversation with Jack. The latter provides more context that draws attention to Picard’s youthful recklessness which offers a reasonable counter to the idolised legend the young officers see in the flashback. It humanises Picard in Jack’s eyes and tells him that there’s more to his father than history states. The connection between the story told in the flashback and the present day circumstances is too neat but Picard being the best person to take the lead is at least well-established and acts as a sort of reclaimed youth for him as he gets to dust off old skills, command a starship again and direct some old school starship movement. It shows that Picard is still useful and still has a place in this world while highlighting that younger characters aren’t automatically incompetent in the presence of older experienced ones. Jack taking the place of his namesake actually compliments the idea that Picard is getting to relive his glory days and prove that he still has plenty to give. More practical examples like this would benefit the show greatly especially when they’re used in sequences that are well crafted as the action climax. The sequence concludes with a monologue from Picard taking the form of advice to the young officers in the flashback that they are only as good as the crew that surrounds them. From the point of view of the storytelling session as his pub lunch gets cold he is conveying this so passionately because he knows that in order to succeed in Starfleet they will need to live, breathe and fully submit to this philosophy otherwise they’ll never come close to living up to their potential. Another purpose of the flashback is to deliver the reveal that Jack was party to that storytelling session without making himself known. Jack hears Picard say that Starfleet is the only family he has ever needed. For Jack, this is devastating as he likely sees this as a rejection of him personally and may have resulted in him concluding that revealing himself to Picard would only end in a direct rejection. The use of the term “real family” suggests that Jack had an idea of what a family should be and had a fantasy of the family he would like to have, something that may have been destroyed by Picard’s words. Their conversation as they wait for death feeds into Jack’s views on family and how hardened he has become in the years since hearing Picard reject the notion of what he considers to be a “real family”. There’s an undercurrent of awkwardness to their interactions that is perfectly natural given the circumstances and a strong sense of plenty that isn’t being said between them. Jack won’t open up about choosing not to know his father but he does talk about being used to being alone and doesn’t feel the need for the connection Picard is offering. Picard admits that he does so the conversation is revealed to be more for Picard’s benefit than Jack’s.
Shaw provides a very particular perspective when he recounts his experience of being involved in the battle of Wolf 359. He was previously confronted with a survivor when he met Benjamin Sisko in “Emissary”. Shaw is far less forgiving and has no problem making Picard aware of it. He has a strong case of survivor’s guilt and has never managed to process it effectively which results in the less than cordial man he currently is. Shaw’s story is excellently delivered by Todd Stashwick who paints a very visceral picture of what Shaw experienced that day through his performance. In fairness to this episode, it’s surprising that Picard hasn’t encountered more Wolf 359 survivors or people who lost someone on that day who would bear animosity towards him because of his involvement but what appears here is a retread of Sisko’s connection with Picard only with less nuance to it. Shaw behaves in a way that no Captain ever should when in front of their crew. He holds court with his harrowing tale of accidental survival before asking for forgiveness from the horrified officers in attendance. The line “at some point, asshole became a substitute for charm” indicates that the experience broke him and changed him on a fundamental level which makes sense given the severity of the event being described but as a Captain, he should know to be someone the crew looks to for support in times of crisis. Shaw is also used to help locate the Changeling infiltrator. He gives Seven a crash course in dealing with them and points her in the direction of what to look for. The most practical advice he gives is to find the Changeling’s pot as they need to regenerate in their liquid state eventually and will always use a pot to do that according to Shaw. This is another example of empty fanservice that makes absolutely no sense when scrutinised. The pot/bucket simply exists as a reference point because fans will recognise that Odo used a similar-looking bucket to regenerate in and the episode treating it seriously as something to look for when knowing a Changeling is present is ludicrous. The episode delivers a wide range of content where Riker is concerned.. It’s disappointing that his conflict with Picard is neatly resolved with no drama. It removes depth and drama from character dynamics and makes everything so weightless because the conflicts have no impact. Pushing aside their disagreement does allow for some excellent introspection on Riker’s part. He admits that Picard was right about Riker’s judgement being impaired after the loss of his son. The show has been getting at the idea of Riker having no fight left in him after such a defining loss and now he has come to realise this perhaps when it’s too late to do anything about it. Riker admits that he is currently on the Titan because he was running away from the reality of death and the constant reminder of it when around his family only to find himself directly confronted with it once again in the current situation. His issue comes from a deep-seated doubt about what is beyond death. He mentions that he has seen so much in the universe but never any evidence that there is an afterlife of any kind. He is majorly lacking something to motivate him to continue fighting and the root of it is the loss of his son. Riker spends much of the episode with a fatalist attitude that he has to be talked out of. Once he is he contributes to solving the problem. It’s a great reversal of tone from despairing to hopeful when all three veterans are on the same page and working to the best of their ability to survive what seems impossible. Riker’s speech to the crew assuring them that they’ll get through this if they work together is confident and motivating. It’s an important episode for Riker as he finds a zest for life he thought he lost. This episode contained many shortcomings but it’s the strongest episode of the season so far as it centres around a specific problem that the characters can work together to solve. Picard’s log at the end of the episode serves as a reminder that things are far from over and there’s a reprise of Jack’s mysterious visions to indicate that the next episode will likely return to the ongoing story. However brief, this diversion was refreshing and shows the potential the show has to deliver greatness even if it fumbles in places.
Overall
-
8/10
Summary
Kneel Before…
- an easy-to-follow solution to the problem
- a genuinely exciting action climax
- Picard taking the Captain’s chair and the accompanying fanfare
- Picard confidently giving orders and demonstrating his experience
- connecting the story in the flashback to the present day to establish Picard’s experience
- Picard’s monologue about the value of a crew that works well together
- Jack being devastated by feeling rejected by Picard
- the undercurrent of awkwardness to Picard and Jack’s conversation
- Todd Stashwick’s performance delivering Shaw’s take of survival
- exploring Riker’s feelings about the loss of his son
- showing growth for him as he regains his zest for life
- Riker’s speech to the crew being confident and motivating
Rise Against…
- nothing sacrificed or lost in the no-win scenario
- Shaw’s Wolf 359 experience being a retread of Sisko’s with less nuance
- Shaw behaving counter to how a Captain should in front of his crew
- the Changeling pot/bucket being nothing more than empty fanservice
- neatly resolving the Picard/Riker conflict
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[…] unintelligent, likely nerfed by the plot force so that Jack could survive the encounter. In “No Win Scenario” it was made canon that all Changelings use buckets of a similar design to the one used by […]