David Newgreen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
4thofeleven) wrote2022-05-05 12:13 am
4thofeleven) wrote2022-05-05 12:13 am
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Star Trek Picard: 2x09 (Hide and Seek)
In which a new culture is born.
So let's start off with the elephant in the room – Picard's storyline. Because as I said last week, it's dealing with some really regressive tropes and I don't think the writers were being very careful about what they were writing. The handling of mental illness is positively antediluvian, and what we're meant to make of this story is unclear.
Because, let's be clear – Picard's father is the villain of this story. He's the one who dealt with a depressive wife by locking her away until she stopped being crazy, and apparently did nothing to explain the situation to his young son. And yet this episode seems to largely let him off the hook; he's presented largely as gruff but well-meaning. Meanwhile, Picard's mother is an almost text-book fridging – existing purely to provide angst to a male protagonist. Add to that that there's an uncomfortable parallel between the various storylines, in that Picard's mother begs to be let free in the same story where the Borg Queen is trying to free herself, with each of them leading, respectively, Picard and Soong down destructive paths. I don't think there was meant to be a parallel between the two of them as manipulative villains, but the symmetry exists nonetheless.
And, fundamentally, I think the problem is that this story hasn't been given enough time to properly breath and it lacks the depth necessary to overcome its troubling elements. For a show called “Picard”, Jean-Luc is frequently the least interesting character, and in this episode in particular, his story feels very much like the B plot.
I'm not opposed to doing a story about Picard facing and overcoming an old tragedy – and I think some of what we got actually does a lot to retroactively inform his character; one wonders if his unwitting role in his mother's death is a factor in his far stricter approach to the Prime Directive and the importance of non-interference compared to other captains.
But the execution is just sub-par at best and offensive at worst. I found it a real black mark on an otherwise entertaining season.
And it's such a shame, because the rest of this episode was excellent, and if this is the Borg's swan song – as well it might be – it's an excellent note to go out on. Way back in Q-Who, Guinan suggested that maybe, someday, it might be possible to establish a relationship with the Borg, but until now, that's never been seriously presented as an option. Oh, there's been understanding established with individual drones, but that's not exactly the same thing; Hugh and Seven and the rest could only reach out to humanity by abandoning the Hive. But now, finally, someone reaches out to the Queen herself and achieves some form of synthesis.
The idea that the Borg were created out of loneliness feels appropriate; it's a word that's been used over and over by drones disconnected from the Collective, and while neither the Queen nor Picard use that specific word in First Contact, it's clearly implied by their discussion of her wish for a true counterpart. And now, at last, Jurati has succeeded where Locutus failed – becoming a part of the Collective while challenging the Queen, serving as a true equal that bridges that gap that always seemed so insurmountable. And the idea that now there will be a more benevolent version of the Borg out there, one that invites rather than assimilates, is a wonderful addition to the setting.
(Can we have at least a Short Trek of Jurati and the Queen's long voyage back to the Delta Quadrant, as they squabble over the rules for their new collective? My favourite trope is villains trying to reform while having no idea how to actually behave in a moral fashion...)
So let's start off with the elephant in the room – Picard's storyline. Because as I said last week, it's dealing with some really regressive tropes and I don't think the writers were being very careful about what they were writing. The handling of mental illness is positively antediluvian, and what we're meant to make of this story is unclear.
Because, let's be clear – Picard's father is the villain of this story. He's the one who dealt with a depressive wife by locking her away until she stopped being crazy, and apparently did nothing to explain the situation to his young son. And yet this episode seems to largely let him off the hook; he's presented largely as gruff but well-meaning. Meanwhile, Picard's mother is an almost text-book fridging – existing purely to provide angst to a male protagonist. Add to that that there's an uncomfortable parallel between the various storylines, in that Picard's mother begs to be let free in the same story where the Borg Queen is trying to free herself, with each of them leading, respectively, Picard and Soong down destructive paths. I don't think there was meant to be a parallel between the two of them as manipulative villains, but the symmetry exists nonetheless.
And, fundamentally, I think the problem is that this story hasn't been given enough time to properly breath and it lacks the depth necessary to overcome its troubling elements. For a show called “Picard”, Jean-Luc is frequently the least interesting character, and in this episode in particular, his story feels very much like the B plot.
I'm not opposed to doing a story about Picard facing and overcoming an old tragedy – and I think some of what we got actually does a lot to retroactively inform his character; one wonders if his unwitting role in his mother's death is a factor in his far stricter approach to the Prime Directive and the importance of non-interference compared to other captains.
But the execution is just sub-par at best and offensive at worst. I found it a real black mark on an otherwise entertaining season.
And it's such a shame, because the rest of this episode was excellent, and if this is the Borg's swan song – as well it might be – it's an excellent note to go out on. Way back in Q-Who, Guinan suggested that maybe, someday, it might be possible to establish a relationship with the Borg, but until now, that's never been seriously presented as an option. Oh, there's been understanding established with individual drones, but that's not exactly the same thing; Hugh and Seven and the rest could only reach out to humanity by abandoning the Hive. But now, finally, someone reaches out to the Queen herself and achieves some form of synthesis.
The idea that the Borg were created out of loneliness feels appropriate; it's a word that's been used over and over by drones disconnected from the Collective, and while neither the Queen nor Picard use that specific word in First Contact, it's clearly implied by their discussion of her wish for a true counterpart. And now, at last, Jurati has succeeded where Locutus failed – becoming a part of the Collective while challenging the Queen, serving as a true equal that bridges that gap that always seemed so insurmountable. And the idea that now there will be a more benevolent version of the Borg out there, one that invites rather than assimilates, is a wonderful addition to the setting.
(Can we have at least a Short Trek of Jurati and the Queen's long voyage back to the Delta Quadrant, as they squabble over the rules for their new collective? My favourite trope is villains trying to reform while having no idea how to actually behave in a moral fashion...)