“Two Of One”

Star Trek: Picard slowly approaches the moment of truth where the timeline could be irreversibly altered.

I’ve mentioned before that this season seems to be spinning out a story that could be told in far less time and be more satisfying as a result. Narrative progression is only one piece of a storytelling puzzle as characterisation is equally important. There is a distinct imbalance this season with significant focus on characterisation as the narrative stagnates to make room for the abundance of introspection. The episodes could be better paced to service both while making the characterisation progress in step with the story rather than halting one in order to provide the other.

The focus in this episode is twofold with very slight forward momentum in the plot. Every character is playing a part in ensuring doesn’t give into her self-doubt and enters quarantine prior to the Europa mission. She is visibly struggling with the responsibility placed on her and is very much on the brink of giving up. Q manipulates her from afar via text message while her anxiety/depression does the rest. Tallinn makes observations as to the likelihood of Renée taking her place in history in an attempt to raise the stakes. It doesn’t quite work as the objective is already very well established. The whole episode is oddly lacking in stakes despite the supposed urgency associated with the mission at hand. Pacing issues within the season make relatively simple plots like ensuring Renée goes into quarantine appear drawn out and far less urgent than they need to be.

Tallinn takes on something of a far away mother figure who genuinely cares about Renée beyond the parameters of her mission. Her code prevents her from making direct contact but she has cultivated a genuine affection for Renée that would seem to go beyond the boundaries of her mission. Much of this is implied as the details of the restrictions placed on her are never fleshed out but Orla Brady’s performance highlights how conflicted Tallinn is over how she should be and there’s the suggestion of regret. It’s analogous to a mother struggling with the prospect of a child moving away to pursue their own ambitions. Added concern comes from Renée’s mental health problems which contributes to Tallinn’s concern over letting go. Picard picks up on this and assures Tallinn that she has done a good job but that job is now complete and Renée has to stand on her own from here. It’s a difficult truth to accept but a necessary one.

There are parallels to be drawn between Tallinn and Picard who have chosen their own versions of a life of solitude. Tallinn references having difficulty relating to others presumably because her role prevents her from forming any sort of connection. She is a figure who operates in the shadows and observes history without ever being a part of it. Such a commitment would naturally lead to a very lonely existence where Tallinn has no meaningful connections. It’s a crooked mirror of Picard’s similar choice to not forge any meaningful romantic connections. He understands keeping other people at a distance even if their reasoning and methods are very different. Picard still has a lot of profound connections in his life so sees Tallinn’s life as one not fully lived but equally he can relate to making sacrifices in pursuit of a particular calling. More exploration of the reasoning behind Tallinn being in her current role would help develop this idea and add texture to her character but for now the suggestion of this parallel is interesting by itself even if it doesn’t go beyond the surface level connection.

Renée receives more attention and a little more development as a character. Picard’s conversation with her where he helps her contextualise her anxiety over taking her place on the mission is very strong. He tells her that fear is a very natural state because it signifies intelligence and an awareness of the risks with the true test of a person being in their ability to overcome it. He uses “look up” as a distraction just as his mother did in the flashback. The purpose is for Renée to divert her attention in another direction in order to push aside her fear. It encourages her to lean into one of her strengths; in this case her knowledge of the model ship above them. It serves as a reminder that she has done the studying and training to be prepared for the mission she doubts that she is ready for. Picard compliments her and points out how impressive an individual she is much as she might not feel that way. It’s an effective strategy and may serve as the origin of his mother eventually using that to comfort him

Their interactions contain some of the frustrating hallmarks of descendants travelling back in time such as an innate familiarity that the ancestor can’t explain along with effortless kinship and trust. It acts as narrative shorthand to get to the meat of the conversation as quickly as possible rather than spending time for that trust to be earned. It’s good in that it gets to the point but also misses an opportunity to show that rapport being built organically. One of Picard’s strengths as a character is finding an angle to relate to someone else which is what he does here but corners are cut to get there due to the ancestral familiarity trope.

Picard ending up in a coma due to Soong running him over when trying to get to Renée very clearly sets up an opportunity for him to explore and deal with his unresolved feelings. Tallinn offers to use her tech to enter his mind to guide him back to consciousness. At the very least this will likely flesh out the mysterious trauma themed memory involving his mother though might also cover the root of his decision to not forge a meaningful romantic connection. His feelings for Laris will almost certainly come into it while Tallinn roams his memories and presumably encounters a manifestation of her. The mind trip is overused in modern science fiction but can often act as an economic way to provide a detailed exploration of deeply ingrained emotional issues. The drawback is that it tends to bring them to the surface in a really overt way rather than thread them throughout a longer period of time. In this case the approach has been to periodically reference the unresolved issues before forcing a situation where Picard has to confront them in order for the plot to progress. It’s more than a  little clumsy even if it technically accomplishes the necessary coverage.

Soong’s role changes significantly in this episode. The previous one painted him in a sympathetic light due to his tireless determination to save his daughter’s life but this outing damns him through details. Kore discovers a series of videos detailing Soong’s attempts to create a daughter. Each of his prior attempts die due to imperfections in the process he was following. She is notable in that she is his final attempt which suggests some semblance of ethical boundaries in that even he has his limits. It doesn’t begin to forgive all the lives he created in the name of scientific advancement but there’s a glimmer of personal limits in there. The time has yet to come where Kore confronts him with her findings but for now it’s unclear whether Soong created a series of daughters out a genuine desire to have an offspring to love or if it was motivated by being desperate not to be alone. It could also be entirely science based with no emotional recognition of the lives he was creating as a trial and error approach to advancing genetic research. The previous episode showed genuine affection for Kore but it’s possible she is unique in that she lived longer and a connection formed naturally or his ambition may consistently overpower his morality and he sees his own emotional distress as necessary collateral damage in the name of progress. There isn’t enough information to draw any definitive conclusion but the reframing of Soong as a morally bankrupt character is interesting even though it comes as no surprise.

Whether intentional or not, this invites comparisons to The Next Generation episode “The Offspring” where Data creates an android daughter. In that episode  Data’s motivation for creating a daughter was innocent and didn’t factor in the wider implications of what he was doing which presented a fascinating moral debate to carry the episode. Those motivations were explored and fed into what the episode was saying about the rights of individuals to reproduce. Soong’s motivation for creating a daughter remains unknown though there’s a sinister edge to Brent Spiner’s performance suggesting that he’s doing this for less than altruistic reasons. It may end up being explored in detail and create a compelling moral debate in the coming episodes but given the lack of complexity to other ideas it seems likely this will be a notion that the show glances at without covering in detail.

There is some interesting focus on the emotional impact of the discovery where Kore is concerned. Like Soji in the previous season she realises that everything she believes about her life is a lie which shatters her world view and calls her sense of self into question. As far as she knows she’s little more than a failed laboratory experiment created to further research. This sets up a similar arc for Kore where she is challenged to find her own identity and understand that her origins don’t place any less value on who she is as a person. Soji came to realise that she has as much right to exist as anyone regardless of the circumstances of her creation so a similar emotional journey could be in order for Kore. So far Kore is more of a subject than a character so there is tragedy associated with the circumstances surrounding her but almost nothing is known about her as a person. It’s another element that spending more time in the past could develop but the content itself remains surface level.

The Borg Queen/Jurati connection remains the most interesting aspect of the show at this point. Merging them into a single being offers plenty of opportunity for Jurati’s resolve to be tested. The Borg Queen has moved away from manipulation through praise and has transitioned to presenting herself as a solution to certain problems. Her first offer is to provide the strength to escape handcuffs and other examples include shutting down the power in order to divert attention way from the others. These assists are ultimately meaningless to the Borg Queen as they don’t negatively impact her plan in any way while furthering the control she can exert on Jurati. She is willingly surrendering her body to the Borg Queen to solve these problems which in turn increases the hold on her. Jurati must be aware of this but is overcome by desperation in the moment which reveals a weakness.

Annie Wershing’s Borg Queen is constantly engaging. Little details such as encouraging Jurati to experience strong feelings so that she can enjoy the chemical hit that comes with them and the persistent gloating as everything goes according to her plan are great touches and the dynamic created between Annie Wershing and Alison Pill is endlessly watchable. Jurati’s decline does seem too rapid; the episode may have been better served with more time spent exploring the conflict and Jurati’s ongoing difficulty resisting. There are a couple of examples of tipping points before Jurati appears to be completely overcome. It makes for a striking cliffhanger with the visual of Jurati’s billowing red dress ramping up the danger.

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Verdict

A good episode that contains some strong character beats while setting up compelling arcs and details around certain characters. The focus of the episode is ensuring Renée doesn’t give into her self-doubt and enters quarantine prior to the Europa mission. She is visibly struggling with the responsibility place on her and is on the brink of giving up. Q manipulates her from afar via text message while her anxiety/depression does the rest. Tallinn makes observations as to the likelihood of Renée taking her place in history in an attempt to raise the stakes. It doesn’t quite work as the objective is already very well established. The lack of stakes extends to the rest of the episode largely prompted by the pacing issues within the season. Everything is far less urgent than it needs to be. Tallinn as a far away mother figure who genuinely cares about Renée works really well. Orla Brady plays Tallinn as conflicted over how she should be along with the suggestion of regret brilliantly. It’s analogous to a mother struggling with the prospect of a child moving away to pursue their own ambitions. Added concern comes from Renée’s mental health problems which contributes to Tallinn’s concern over letting go. Picard picks up on this and assures her that she’s done a good job but it is now complete and she has to let Renée stand on her own from here. It’s a difficult truth to accept but a necessary one. There are parallels to be drawn between Tallinn and Picard who have chosen their own versions of a life of solitude. Tallinn references having difficult relating to others presumably because of her role. She is presented as a lonely person with no meaningful connections. This acts as a crooked mirror of Picard’s choice not to forge any meaningful romantic connections. He understands keeping others at a distance even if their reasoning and methods are different. Picard still has a lot of profound connections in his life so sees Tallinn’s life as one not fully lived but equally he can relate to making sacrifices in pursuit of a particular calling. The connection is very surface level but interesting nonetheless. Renée receives more attention and a little more development as a character. Picard’s conversation with her where he helps her contextualise her anxiety is very strong. He tells her that fear is a natural state that signifies intelligence and awareness of the risks with the true test of a person being in their ability to overcome it. He uses “look up” as a distraction and an obvious callback to his own childhood. Their interactions contain some of the frustrating hallmarks of interacting with ancestors such as an innate familiarity that the ancestor can’t explain along with effortless kinship and trust. It acts as narrative shorthand to get to the meat of the conversation quickly but misses the opportunity to show the rapport being built organically. Picard ending up in a coma sets up an opportunity to explore and deal with his unresolved feelings. It’s a clumsy development that leans on the tired mind trip trope that is overused in modern science fiction. It allows the plot to progress but does so in a less than organic way.

Soong’s role changes significantly in this episode. The previously established sympathetic light gives way to something more sinister when Kore discovers that she has been lied to about her origins. There is some nuance to be found such as Soong making Kore the final attempt which suggests he has limits even though his actions are morally questionable. Soong’s motivation is unclear at this point with limited information to draw a definitive conclusion but the reframing of Soong as a morally bankrupt character is interesting even if it comes as no surprise. There is a sinister edge to Brent Spiner’s performance suggesting that he’s doing this for less than altruistic reasons. There is some interesting focus on the emotional impact of the discovery where Kore is concerned. Her realisation that everything she believes about her life to be a lie comes across well and sets up an arc where she is challenged to find her own identity regardless of the circumstances of her creation. Kore is more of a subject than a character so there is a tragedy associated with the circumstances surrounding her but almost nothing is known about her as a person. It’s another element that could receive more development but the content itself remains surface level. The Borg Queen/Jurati dynamic remains the most interesting aspect of the show. Merging them into a single being offers plenty of opportunity for Jurati’s resolve to be tested. The Borg Queen has moved away from manipulation through praise and has transitioned to presenting herself as a solution to certain problems. She provides assists that are ultimately meaningless as they don’t negatively impact the Borg Queen’s plan in any way while furthering the control she can exert on Jurati. She willingly surrenders to solve the problems which in turn increases the Borg Queen’s hold on her. Jurati is overcome by desperation which reveals a weakness. The cliffhanger ending is striking with the visual of Jurati’s billowing red dress ramping up the danger of her being overcome by the Borg Queen.

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