This article we’re breaking down the second episode of Picard.
Our mission is to boldy go where no one has before and give out thoughts on the followup and what could be happening in the future.
Throughout this, we’ll be discussing the ins and outs of the second episode’s plot, it’s easter eggs and what we thought of it as a whole.
There will be heavy spoilers here so if you haven’t had a chance to catch the show yet and don’t want to know what happens then I highly suggest that you turn off now.
With that out the way let’s get into our breakdown of Picard Episode 2.
Picard Episode 1 Recap
Just a quick recap of Episode 1. We joined Jean Luc Picard on his French vineyard where he was haunted by visions of Data. Data seemingly died decades prior and this has followed the captain throughout his elder years.
After a massive attack on Mars, synthetics have been outlawed and there is a lot of prejudice towards them in the galaxy.
We discovered that Data had a daughter named Dahj and that she was being hunted by assassins. Though she went to Picard for help, these proved too much and she was killed. However, the lineage of Data is not lost forever and we learned that Dahj had a twin sister who was working on a big Borg cube in space.
Picard Episode 2 Breakdown
Episode 2 picks up 14 years ago on Mars in 2385 amidst the aforementioned Synthetic uprising. We know that the androids that caused the uprising came from the Daystrom Institute. No one has been able to replicate the complexities of Data’s personalities and Dr. Bruce Maddox who was a key player in defining whether he was a person or not failed to accomplish this with his brother.
Anyway on Mars it’s Happy First Contact Day.
First contact day is celebrated on the 5th of April and it marks the time that humans first made their contact with the Vulcans in 2063. The holiday first made its appearance in Star Trek Voyager and since then it has become a minor holiday.
Because of this, most of the staff at the Mars station are off work and the group that we see are operating with a skeleton crew. The primary android we follow is F-8 like…Fate…get it? It seems like humans were always destined to clash with the Robots.
At the station we see a replicator that creates a meal. These are primarily used to synthesize food and it’s inclusion here showcases just how much synthetics are needed in modern-day Starfleet life.
All of a sudden F-8’s eyes switch, almost as if he was uploaded with a program and he goes wild, unleashing the devastating attack.
Containment fails and the planet pretty much gets wiped out with F-8 destroying himself so that he cannot be studied.
‘They Erased Her’
Back in the present with pick up at Chateau Picard and learn that Dahj has been completely erased from any camera footage.
Picards homies talk about Schzack Vash which is a Tal Shi’ar myth that is basically the boogeyman of the federation. These secret police are a big part of Romulan mythology and it’s rumored that these undead soldiers guard secrets so crazy that learning one would break a persons mind.
At Dahj’s flat, they try to use Romulan technology to recreate the attack on her from the assassins that we saw in the first episode. However, the Vash has completely wiped the scene using anti-leptons to scrub everything from any possible surveillance.
The Schzack Vash are basically the Nazis of the Galaxy and they completely hate all forms of synthetic life and wish to wipe it out completely.
This is why there is pretty much no presence of androids in Romulan culture,
Picard is able to track them however due to their need to make the scene look like it hasn’t been surgically removed. Because of Dahj’s similarity to her sister due to the replication they discover that Soji may have seemed to be Dahj at one point and through this they are able to trace her.
Picarding Up The Pace
This investigation really picks up the pace of the show and for people who were complaining last week that the show was a bit slow, I definitely think that they will be swept up here in it as it does a phenomenal job of getting you onboard.
Speaking of Onboard, we join Soji once more onboard the Borg cube that is being built in the vastness of space. We learn that this is in fact an artifact and that it hasn’t been built but rather restored and once it’s back in tip-top shape we can get it going and get Brexit done.
A wealth of races inhabit the craft including Romulans, humans and of course the android Soji. The fact that Soji’s boyfriend who is Romulan is getting so close to the Borg shows that the previous statement on the species’ hate of synthetics may no longer be true.
We do know from last week that there was an event known as the Romulan Supernova in which the planet was destroyed. Picard wanted to rescue those who were stuck there, like a Dunkirk in space and he wished to have help from Starfleet. However, due to the attack on Mars, their attentions lay elsewhere and thus Picard couldn’t help those he so desperately wanted to.
Secrets
The Romulans still keep their secrets closely guarded and Soji has difficulty finding out what’s going on from him. The theme of the episode is very much secrets and keeping things hidden and this is exemplified here. We do get the feeling that everything is being kept under the surface and this is showcased in Picard’s diagnosis in the episode.
We are introduced to Moritz Benayoun an old friend of Picard that served with him on the USS Stargazer.
The two go way back but he has some bad news for Picard. It turns out that though he is in brilliant shape on the surface, Picard is actually suffering from Irumodic Syndrome.
In Star Trek Terms this is an Alzheimers-like condition that causes him to have hallucinations and blanks in his memory. It’s pretty much a death sentence for the character. Picard needs to travel interstellar and Moritz gives him a clean bill of health which will allow him to travel and get to the bottom of the mystery.
We see Picard arrive in San Fran and it also looks like one of the alien crew members from the Borg cube is seen here too. We don’t know for definite but they kinda linger on it for too long for it not to be so I really don’t know. Maybe this shows that those on the cube have moles in Star Fleet or maybe it’s just that they needed someone on set quickly and she’d already had her makeup done.
Starfleet
We see holograms of the Enterprises from over the years and in Picard divulges to another commander that Bruce Maddox has been trying to build a synthetic organic lifeform.
If you checked out my last video you’ll know that we discussed how in the episode Measure Of A Man that Maddox wished to take Data and study him as he did not view him as a person. This conversation hints at the overall conspiracy as a whole and say that he may be working with the Romulans and that Data could also be out there in the galaxy somewhere.
This adds a lot of weight to our theory that Data will be resurrected and his consciousness will be uploaded into his brother B-4. Though this failed in the films I do personally believe that it will be put in place here and this will be a way to bring the character back.
The actor is on board as he’s popping up in dreams so yeah, that’s my theory.
Picard butts heads with the Admiral who pretty much refuses him a crew after his outburst on TV from the last episode in which he criticized Star Fleet.
We hear later in the episode that this is Admiral Clancy and it could be that this is a continuation of Ensign Clancy from The Next Generation. We don’t get it confirmed but the two do know each other.
Picard seems to be going off the deep end a bit and it reminds us of how complex of a character that this depiction is. You kinda get the feeling that Picard can’t really be trusted, especially in light of his diagnosis and I’m so glad they’re taking a mature look at the character rather than just being like ‘everyone loves him, he can do what he wants.’
His request is denied and he returns home defeated.
The Borg Fan Theory
Aboard the Borg Cube we see that Soji is a pretty low ranking worker and this is why her relationship with a Norik, a high ranking official must be kept secret. The Romulans are clearly running the show here and it does sort of depict how things could be going forward.
There is a worry that The Borg may restabilize and may run riot but overall it becomes clear that most of the people coming to the cube are hoping for sanctuary I guess. It’s not clear exactly what but I just wanna bring up a theory that I saw on my last video that I think states how the Borg may be. I did think that they would become the villains of the season but this changed my mind massively.
The comment comes from Kirk001 and says:
I really, really doubt the Borg are the villains of this series–I think they play a role of oppressed peoples here. Previous trailers showed de-borgified drones kept in internment camps. Patrick Stewart was motivated to do the show in response to a Brexit/Trump world, which has had a strong emotional impact on him. Federation/Romulan view of Synths and the Borg in this series appear to be analogous to Western societies interaction with Muslims and the Middle East, with the Synth attack on Mars echoing back to 9/11. I recall reading Seven of Nine has been fighting to help former drones what remained imprisoned by the Federation & Romulans. I suspect the season’s arc will revolve around 3 interrelated parts: 1) finding the truth about Dahj/Soji, 2) liberating imprisoned former drones who have been unjustly held for years without trial under the argument that they’re too dangerous to be freed even if they’re no longer part of the collective, and 3) discovering who has been manipulating the events–artificially triggering a supernova to destroy Romulus, executing a rogue synth attack to give the Federation justification for denying 900 million Romulan refugees relocation assistance, and triggering the ban on creation of artificial life. (#3 seems like something Section 31 Control would do as a way of weakening the Federation to line up with Season 3 of Discovery.)
Are The Borgs The Good Guys?
We see Borgs being harvested in the episode and clearly they are being cultivated for something, rather than being the enemy force throughout. Dahj clearly feels sympathetic towards them and yeah I think it’s clear they’re going one way with the show.
Dr. Agnes arrives at the vineyard with some materials from Maddox’ study and we learn that Maddox probably created Dahj and Soji to look like the painting because it’s what Data left behind and not the other way around. It was theorized that he may have created them then made the painting but this clears it up.
Dahj was accepted at Daystrom and it’s enrolled that her credentials were completely fictional so as we guessed last week, her memories were likely implants. She was likely created by Maddox three years prior to the show and thus her mother could also be a hologram as we theorized.
Picard seems like a lost soul, staring into the Stars and he puts his badge back on and sends a message out into the cosmos.
Starfleet’s Plans
Starfleet aren’t happy though and we see a Vulcan commander talking about how he was hoped to be mothballed. They clearly want his head and to stop him from doing whatever he is going to.
On her desk sits a replica of the Kir’Shara from the enterprise which contains the teachings of Surak.
Picard goes to get a ship and we join Lieutenant Rizzo who has been assigned to track Picard. It is mentioned that she’s messed up a couple of things at Starfleet however, as we see in the finale this was clearly intentional and she is actually a double agent, working with the Romulans. She has been disguised this entire time and has a secret agenda.
They have been manipulating the inner workings of Star Fleet and this is likely how they have remained undetected.
We learn that they are keeping Soji to find the location of a nest of synthetics. Though Dahj has been destroyed there is clearly more of her ilk out there and who knows, there may even be a replica of Data.
Personally I believe that the nest is referring to Madox’s lab in the galaxy and they will be attempting to track this down to wipe out the synthetics and organics in one fell swoop.
It ends the episode on a big cliffhanger and next time it looks like Picard will be getting his ship whilst the net closes in on Soji. It’s really ramping up and I had a lot of fun with this entry as I did the last.
So far Picard has been a blast and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Your Thoughts
Obviously let me know your thoughts on the episode in the comments below and if you enjoyed this video then please give it a thumbs up and make sure you check out our breakdown from last week if you missed it.
If you already checked it out then please watch our breakdown of the new info that we have on Batman which goes over the villains that will be appearing in the movie.
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