“Seventeen Seconds”

Star Trek: Picard starts to illuminate the mysterious threat as Picard deals with the recent discovery that he has a son.

The introduction of a previously unknown child has been a trope of all fiction for a very long time. It’s an easy source of drama as it’s widely accepted that having a child is one of the most significant life-changing events that can happen so the idea of a character encountering a child they never knew they had is a clear starting point for all sorts of stories. It’s also overused to the point of cliché so audiences will be forgiven for rolling their eyes when it’s deployed. Indeed, the oft-emulated Wrath of Khan features Kirk dealing with being a father though in that case, he knew about his son but choices were made that meant he was never part of David’s life.

In this case, Picard -like most Starfleet Captains- was fully committed to his career and let his personal life fall by the wayside. In Generations, he talks about being comforted by knowing that the family would continue through his nephew and feeling that his existence absolved him from his responsibility to carry on the family line. Unfortunately, his brother and nephew were lost in a fire which left Picard as the last member of his family standing. In the first episode of this season, he states that he doesn’t need a legacy so seems to have made peace with the family ending with him.

Picard’s feelings on the continuity of his family as he gets older could be an interesting thread to explore and that may yet come as he starts to define his relationship with Jack. The previous season featured an ancestor who made an important discovery that ended up being instrumental in solving the climate crisis and in Generations he lists ancestors with impressive historical accomplishments. If he were to have descendants, Jean Luc Picard would likely be spoken about with pride because of all he accomplished in his life. Picard’s declaration that he doesn’t need a legacy was a clunky line of dialogue setting up his coming to learn that he actually has one. There’s definitely something in there that can be explored as Jack is a son that Picard didn’t know about and had no hand in raising. It makes his legacy an unpredictable one and one that he hasn’t had the opportunity to cultivate.

He’s initially very angry with Beverly for keeping Jack’s existence from him. Beverly’s justification is that any time she wanted to tell him happened to be when an attempt on Picard’s life was made, leading her to the conclusion that there would never be a point where having a child around him would be safe. Added to that is knowing that Picard constantly talked about never wanting to have a family because he was afraid he’d end up like his own father. Picard is furious that Beverly made the choice for him and accuses her of using what he told her in confidence to justify cutting him out of what he considers to be the most important decision in his life. His point is she didn’t even give him the chance to react in any way and that there’s no way of knowing what decision he might have made. The implication is that he might have turned his back on Starfleet and focused on fatherhood but there’s no way of knowing as he wasn’t consulted.

There’s a large “road not taken” type question underneath this conversation. Picard has no idea how he would have reacted had he been told that he had fathered a child so he is faced with the prospect of decades of his life that could have played out very differently. He laments having no idea how he would have been as a husband and father though is certain that he would never have become his own father and is upset that he could have learned that so much earlier. It’s curious that Picard would say this considering he gained a deeper understanding of his father in the previous season and reevaluated some of his held assumptions about him. It would seem relevant considering he is now wondering what he would have been like as a father had he been given the opportunity.

The notion of Picard constantly having a target on his back is an extreme one. It’s true that his life was often in danger due to the path in life he had chosen but those were anomalous events among missions that were otherwise mundane and routine. Many episodes of The Next Generation didn’t contain any direct life-threatening circumstances. Beverly talks as if Picard has an endless list of enemies and faces constant attempts on his life. In fairness, this may be the case since Nemesis but there isn’t a lot of evidence pointing to this being accurate. It’s possible that Beverly may have reached that conclusion based on a relatively small concentrated sample size of events and decided in favour of protecting her child but that does her a disservice as a character.

Furthermore, what doesn’t come into the conversation is that Beverly had Wesley on the Enterprise and never seemed to be swayed from that decision despite the frequent danger he was placed in because of where he was. The same applies to many other parents which further supports the conclusion that the danger was the exception rather than the norm. People change and perspectives shift so perhaps she would have acted differently if she could have the time over again but her chosen life of delivering aid to those who need it regardless of what the law says placed Jack in frequent danger and she seems to have accepted that so there’s a great deal of hypocrisy on Beverly’s part when analysed, none of which comes into play in this episode.

An important perspective also left out is that of Riker. He does weigh in on the situation overall but he was a Captain with a newborn child on his ship. The flashback in this episode features him talking to Picard not long after the birth of his son about his experience of becoming a father. Riker will have a working understanding of how it feels to have a child on a starship when the ship is in danger or his life is directly threatened. In the flashback, he talks about there being a complication during the birth and how endless the seventeen-second turbolift trip to sickbay felt as he imagined losing his son before even having the chance to meet him. He doesn’t talk about what life on the ship was like after his son was born and if that affected the way he approaches command. Picard is considering how his life may have played out had he known about Jack before he was born so Riker’s input on whether it’s possible to have a family and career as a Starfleet Captain may have made for an interesting addition to Picard’s considerations.

Riker does provide a valuable perspective in other ways. He comes from the point of view of losing his son and will never stop grieving for that loss so makes it clear to Picard that that precious time with a child is worth not giving up on. Picard sees the situation as irreparable but Riker wants him to understand that it isn’t because they are both still alive and can therefore have meaningful time together. He’s almost frantic in trying to get Picard to realise that which says a lot about the current state of Riker’s grief.

This is furthered through evidence that Riker has no fight left in him following the loss of a child. The idea is introduced through Riker taking command of the Titan after Shaw is injured and immediately adopting a defensive/evasive strategy while Picard repeatedly insists that the best option is to fight back. The intent is to draw attention to Riker being unnecessarily cautious and failing to recognise the best strategy to get them out of the situation while Picard constantly urges him to approach the situation more aggressively.

Their disagreement doesn’t work because Riker isn’t wrong in his assessment of the situation. They’re facing an opponent that outclasses them in every respect so the smartest strategy is to hide until the warp drive is repaired. Directly engaging Vadek makes further loss of life a near certainty so staying hidden is the best way to increase the likelihood of everyone surviving long enough to escape. Picard keeps insisting that fighting is the best course of action and justifies it through vague utterances of the element of surprise being on their side. He has no actual plan which weakens his argument and fails to establish the idea that Riker’s grief has prompted him to be afraid to fight. Riker appears to be acting in the best interests of the crew and is carefully considering his approach to the threat they’re currently facing.

It could be argued that Picard is as motivated by fear as Riker is. He has a son on board the Titan and wants to protect him which leads him to misjudge the situation and look to present a show of force, perhaps out of some sort of misplaced protective parental instinct. It is dramatically compelling to see Picard and Riker on opposite sides and disagreeing so passionately on an issue as it highlights that they have different command styles while adding depth to their relationship since they don’t always see eye to eye.

Picard and Riker being at odds with each other about what the best strategy is goes a long way towards adding weight to the danger surrounding the characters. The actual cat-and-mouse style space battle that fills the Titan set scenes -and stretches into the next based on the ending- isn’t all that interesting because no effort is made to make it more interesting. Vadek remains a bland antagonist -albeit a well-performed one- who is so shrouded in mystery that it completely defines her at this point. Starting an antagonist on a mysterious note isn’t a bad thing but it does limit what can be done with the character until more information is revealed. Vadek is a distant threat until the point she needs to be an immediate threat and that’s all her contribution amounts to. Amanda Plummer clearly delights in playing the role and there’s something infectious about the glee Vadek exhibits when the Titan presents and kind of challenge but her being a source of mystery means that the scenes on the Titan need to do the heavy lifting in creating conflict.

The episode could go deeper into this by exploring the idea that Riker so vehemently disagrees with someone who taught him so much about command but there seems to be a reluctance to have them fully in conflict outside of the overly dramatic display from Riker when he demands Picard leave the bridge because he’s just killed them. It’s positioned as a shock for the audience to witness Riker talk to Picard like that as they process Picard failing so fundamentally but it doesn’t land because the conflict wasn’t fleshed out beyond their surface-level disagreement on how best to proceed.

Intrigue is created by the discovery of sabotage and the subsequent reveal of a Changeling infiltrator causing the Titan to vent something that leads Vadek to it. Wondering why a Changeling is aboard the Titan and what they have to do with the larger plot that is slowly being revealed is where the intrigue comes from as well as creating a threat that is difficult to find let alone stop.

The Changeling doesn’t live up to its potential. It’s a brutish antagonist that presents a physical challenge to Jack as he tries to undo the sabotage but it doesn’t act in intelligent ways. Instead of killing Jack instantly by transforming into any number of things that could inflict lethal damage on him, it simply throws him across the room, strangles, removes his mask and leaves him for dead. It’s an example of a villain behaving illogically in order to suit the plot. As such, Jack survives and its plan is foiled for now which wouldn’t be the case if it used its innate abilities. Changelings should be surgical and only reveal themselves when there is no other option which was far from the case here.

Jack being near death rather than outright killed exists to enable a payoff set up by Riker talking about a turbolift journey that felt endless. Picard experiences that when learning that Jack is in a critical condition and he journeys to Sickbay contemplating the possibility of losing his son before ever getting the chance to know him. It’s a reasonable payoff that Patrick Stewart plays brilliantly. His performance adds to the season’s growing list of impressive wordless moments that allow the actors to show their ability to truly inhabit their characters.

There is another purpose to Jack being near death; introducing a mystery relating to him specifically. He sees strange red tendrils and a red door while hearing cryptic instructions about connecting the branches. There isn’t enough information to formulate any kind of theory at this point but Beverly must surely be frustrated by her children having connections to cosmic forces. It’s obvious Jack’s vision will be connected to the ongoing plot but it isn’t yet clear what that connection will be.

The Changeling plot is explained to some extent in the Worf and Raffi scenes but it’s done in a very clunky way. Worf reels off lots of exposition about an offshoot group of Changelings who don’t accept the end of the Dominion War working to destroy the Federation. It accomplishes the task of providing the necessary information but there’s nothing interesting about the delivery. Michael Dorn conveys it with authority in his voice but finding a way to show rather than tell the audience would have been preferable.

Worf and Raffi are an engaging pairing and Michael Dorn is on top form in his return to the Star Trek character with the most appearances. He has changed in the years since his last appearance to someone who is more considered when it comes to deploying violence. He admits that he used to be violent and savage but has taken steps to learn how to control his temper.

A parallel is drawn between him and Raffi as she is characterised as struggling to suppress her violent impulses. This places Worf in a mentor role as he understands how she feels and is trying to help her deal with it. Positioning her as the unstable one and Worf as the balanced one feeds into the excellent good cop/bad cop routine with Worf serving as the good cop. It’s used to explore how Raffi feels now after her recent drug use driven by the erroneous assumption that their prisoner is dealing with a similar withdrawal. The reality is that the prisoner is a Changeling that has been holding its shape for too long but prior to that reveal, it was an impressively character-driven way for Raffi to work through her feelings about being under the influence of a drug after trying to turn her back on that part of her life. Michelle Hurd’s performance is strong and it’s a compelling emotional state to put Raffi in that creates tangible stakes for her. Self-control is her greatest enemy at this point as she could be consumed by the addiction she has fought to defeat.

Worf doesn’t fare quite as well as he clunkily outlines his current philosophy as part of this interrogation. It’s intended to further highlight how he is the opposite of Raffi and can therefore teach her a lot about how to find balance in her life but the writing isn’t strong enough to make this come across as naturally as it needs to. It’s another instance of Michael Dorn being saddled with expository dialogue that does little more than fill the audience in on information. It especially stands out because of the emotional weight attached to Raffi in the same part of the episode.

The Worf/Raffi plot is an example of what this show could be. It contains a mixture of new and legacy characters working together to solve a problem. The situation suits both characters as Worf has the legacy knowledge and experience whereas Raffi is the emotional focus of the plot they are involved in. Worf in his role as a contractor for Starfleet Intelligence is a great example of moving a character into a place that makes sense for them while being different to what they were doing when they were last seen. Shades of this sort of storytelling could be seen in season 1 but the show ultimately fumbled the payoff of what was being set up. That could still happen here but the Worf/Raffi plot is more interesting than the Titan plot because it’s less consumed by nostalgia. Referencing the Changelings and explaining what they are through Worf’s prior association with Odo in Deep Space Nine threatens to stray into being nostalgic for the sake of being nostalgic territory but the benefit of his experience to establish context is a strong start -despite the clunky delivery of the information- and creates potential for the show to expand this narrative in its unique way while keeping the emotional perspective on Raffi.

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 Verdict

A good episode that enhances the external action by creating interesting conflicts onboard the Titan while making Raffi and Worf an engaging pairing. Picard is rightfully angry with Beverly for not telling him about Jack and her justification for keeping it from him is flimsy at best. This creates a compelling point of conflict between them that ties into Picard’s complicated feelings about his own lineage and lack of legacy. There’s a large “road not taken” type question underneath their conversation as Picard was never given the opportunity to make a decision on how to live his life knowing he had a child. Beverly talking about Picard having a constant target on his back is overly extreme. His life was often in danger as was everyone else on board the Enterprise but never to the extent of him being constantly in life-threatening danger. Furthermore, Beverly serving on the Enterprise while Wesley was aboard doesn’t come into the conversation even though she clearly made a choice to accept that he would be at risk by her deciding to remain there. The same applies to many other parents which further supports the conclusion that the danger was the exception rather than the norm. She also placed Jack in frequent danger and she seems to have accepted that so there’s a great deal of hypocrisy on Beverly’s part when analysed, none of which comes into play in this episode. Riker’s perspective also doesn’t come into play despite how important it is with him once being a Captain who had a newborn on the ship he commanded. He does provide a valuable perspective when it comes to Picard’s assessment of the situation surrounding Jack. Picard sees the situation as irreparable but Riker urges him not to waste the time he has. This comes from the experience of losing his son and all the time he would have had to spend with him. He’s almost frantic in trying to get Picard to realise that which says a lot about the current state of Riker’s grief. This is furthered through evidence that Riker has no fight left in him following the loss of a child. The idea is introduced through Riker adopting a defensive strategy while Picard repeatedly insists that fighting back is the best option. The disagreement doesn’t work because Riker isn’t wrong and Picard has no actual plan. It could be argued that Picard is as motivated by fear as Riker is but it doesn’t come across strongly. Picard and Riker being at odds with each other about what the best strategy is goes a long way towards adding weight to the danger surrounding the characters. The actual cat-and-mouse style space battle that fills the Titan set scenes -and stretches into the next based on the ending- isn’t all that interesting because no effort is made to make it more interesting. Vadek remains a bland antagonist -albeit a well-performed one- who is so shrouded in mystery that it completely defines her at this point. Her being a source of mystery limits her by preventing her from developing. This means that the scenes on the Titan need to do the heavy lifting in creating conflict. The episode could go deeper into this by exploring the idea that Riker so vehemently disagrees with someone who taught him so much about command but there seems to be a reluctance to have them fully in conflict.

Intrigue is created by the discovery of sabotage and the subsequent reveal of a Changeling infiltrator. The Changeling doesn’t live up to its potential. It’s a brutish antagonist that presents a physical challenge to Jack as he tries to undo the sabotage but it doesn’t act in intelligent ways. Jack being near death rather than outright killed exists to enable a payoff set up by Riker talking about a turbolift journey that felt endless. Picard experiences that when learning that Jack is in a critical condition and he journeys to Sickbay contemplating the possibility of losing his son before ever getting the chance to know him. It’s a reasonable payoff that Patrick Stewart plays brilliantly. His performance adds to the season’s growing list of impressive wordless moments that allow the actors to show their ability to truly inhabit their characters. There is another purpose to Jack being near death; introducing a mystery relating to him specifically. He sees strange red tendrils and a red door while hearing cryptic instructions about connecting the branches. There isn’t enough information to formulate any kind of theory at this point. The Changeling plot is explained to some extent in the Worf and Raffi scenes but it’s done in a very clunky way with Worf reeling off a lot of exposition. Worf and Raffi are an engaging pairing and Michael Dorn is on top form. A parallel is drawn between him and Raffi as she is characterised as struggling to suppress her violent impulses. This places Worf in a mentor role as he understands how she feels and is trying to help her deal with it. This parallel feeds into the excellent good cop/bad cop routine with Worf serving as the good cop. It’s used to explore how Raffi feels now after her recent drug use. it was an impressively character-driven way for Raffi to work through her feelings about being under the influence of a drug after trying to turn her back on that part of her life. Michelle Hurd’s performance is strong and it’s a compelling emotional state to put Raffi in that creates tangible stakes for her. Worf doesn’t fare quite as well as he clunkily outlines his current philosophy as part of this interrogation. It’s intended to further highlight how he is the opposite of Raffi and can therefore teach her a lot about how to find balance in her life but the writing isn’t strong enough to make this come across as naturally as it needs to. The Worf/Raffi plot is an example of what this show could be. It’s more interesting because it’s less consumed by nostalgia. There is potential for the show to expand this narrative in its unique way while keeping the emotional perspective on Raffi.

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