#but Picard is already so awkward and he would have mixed feelings

[yourbuerokrat2]

Something that would be funny to happen to Picard would be reverse-adoption by a child he cannot get away from. The Enterprise just comes across a child/childlike being that sees and gets to know Picard and is like 'you are my dad now'. Bonus points if that child is rather clingy.

[tuesdayisfordancing]

Watched about half of 3.4, here are my thoughts only on Jack Jr.:

I really liked the little silent exchange between Beverly and her son where she checks if he’s okay with her leaving him with Picard. The more mature iteration of last episode’s exchange when Picard wanted to talk to her privately. I’m wildly biased but I honestly think these two are playing REALLY well off each other! They’re very physically communicative and protective (reminiscent of some scenes with Wesley also). But let me see them work together more, stop sending one off to solve problems while the other has a Meaningful Talk with Picard. The little glimpse of her quietly analyzing stuff while he muses out loud was interesting! I want more!

Jack’s full body ‘ehhh’ when walking into the holodeck was also great but he is being way too cooperative. Thank god he is still being a little bitchy, but take it up by several notches please. That being said I liked the various awkward moments.

I guess explaining why the holodeck doesn’t cost them needed power is better than not explaining it, as has happened a number of times on other Trek shows, but like. You could simply have not had this scene take place in the holodeck!!! The thematic resonances you are trying to create by doing this are completely unnecessary and honestly the whole “fraught attempt at bonding/conciliation under the shadow of death” vibe would be way better served by being elsewhere. (I do like that Jack is a bit wigged by it though.)

I have VERY mixed feelings about Jack’s “I’m a Cool Brooding Loner��� speech like. Okay FIRST the framing of it as “I’ve been alone - except my mom” with her as like an afterthought does NOT fit the relationship as it’s been presented up til now, and like given everything else about how motherhood, fatherhood, the Family Unit, has been treated in this show it adds to a SUPER icky normative family-values THING that I was not expecting to be this bad in Star Trek. It would fit much better with what’s been presented so far for Jack to say WE’VE only ever needed the two of us, WE’VE always been on the outside that’s how I grew up and how I’m content to be… you could have him switch a little awkwardly to speaking just of himself bc he’s not sure his mother wouldn’t be happier on the inside like she used to be, that would be cool. (Or aggressively continue to speak of them both out of defensiveness against that suspicion!) I HATE that part, I really hate it. I would be much more generous if all this ICK weren’t already present, but it is, so I’m not.

But I do at least love the implication that Jack’s daddy issues aren’t really directed at Picard so much as at All Of Starfleet, thank you that’s one of the things I was strongly hoping for, and it makes a lot of sense where he’s grown up under all these mysterious shadows that his mother doesn’t talk about, from Wesley to the Enterprise crew to his namesake.

…when Picard said perhaps he needed the moment, like a complete fool I had the thought that he might talk about Elnor. I knew he wouldn’t, of course I knew he wouldn’t, but I had the thought anyway. SIGHHHHH.

I am paused to do other things just as they’re about to talk about Jack Crusher (Sr), and I am both excited and trepidatious.

[fractalcloning]

Her explanation, however simplified, overwhelms him and Soji briefly wishes she could take it back. Unfortunately, going back isn't an option. There's something oddly comforting in the way his expression goes inscrutible as he listens, in the silence that stretches before he responds. The fact that Data, despite his impossibly impressive brain can't quite process it all, well, it's awful to think but it makes Soji feel less small and brittle. If it overwhelms him, it makes it hard for her to feel deficient just because it consumed her so thoroughly.

He doesn't have to apologize but he does and, in the same breath suggests something radical, something that hadn't occurred to Soji and, truthfully, probably never would have. Rebuild Dahj? Could they--Soji's mind catches on that but before she can really entertain the possibility, he releases her and moves.

She follows, moving after him unconsciously like she's on a tether. When he abruptly stops and makes his request she's already nodding and moving toward the door. She opens it, ever eager to help, but then the magnitude of what awaits them sets in again. Soji instantly feels like a coward when it does, when she hesitates to step through the door.

She has to lead him, he doesn't know the way. She can't just abandon him to experience this alone--but she's terrified. She's been terrified and looking down the cheerful hall, consumed by fear, is just another facet of her new reality.

She's so scared that Picard will be dead and she will be alone.

Again.

But she isn't alone now.

The realization is jarring and happens in a split second. She glances back at Data, if only to affirm he isn't something she's imagined, and just seeing him there is a huge relief. Soji lets out a sharp breath, steels herself, and crosses the threshold into the hall.

Coppelius Station is beautiful, even tranquil when there is no emergency to disturb the peace. The architecture is a comfortable mix of plate glass, wood, and white walls--the windows let in so much sunlight. Optimism is easy to conjure up in a place like this, but Soji still has trouble feeling anything so positive. Still, she carries forward down the hall, around the corner, and to the main stairs. She strains to listen as they walk, but she can't hear Picard--all she can hear are the distant sounds of kickball, one of the synthetic bluebirds, and Agnes and Alton talking. They're just discussing some nonsense feature of Daystrom's campus and how something like it would look in the plaza--

Wait-- That, of all things, gives Soji a sudden blooming sensation of hope. They wouldn't be having a conversation about a decorative fountain if there was something serious happening? If they were writing eulogies and had to break serious news to everyone? Right?

Soji moves with sudden and renewed energy, her whole posture reverting to something closer to normal, something more alert and alive, as she goes from walking to rushing down the narrow flight of stairs. She's in such a hurry that, when she reaches the landing, she nearly crashes headlong into Agnes. The cyberneticist stumbles back on reflex, clearly startled by Soji's rushing, but Soji catches her by the shoulders before she can move more than a step.

"Woah--! Hey you're looking…uh…terrible actually. Are you--do you need anything? Arcana made cookies--"

Dr. Jurati had been nice, if somewhat awkward around her since they first spoke on La Sirena. Now, as she looks at Soji's tearstained face she wears a polite grimace. That expression only lasts a few seconds, melting away to open shock as Data comes down the stairs after her.

"Oh--" Agnes manages a strangled sound, her attention locked on the resurrected android, and Soji has to lean to break her line of sight. That finally gets her attention and she blinks, awed nearly into a daze, as she refocuses.

"Picard is he--?" Soji asks.

Okay?

Dead?

He isn't standing with them but his body is gone. What did that mean?

"He's uh," Agnes starts and her eyes dart a bit in the middle ground as she searches for the word she wants. Her polite grimace makes a return, but dissolves into an awkward smile as she continues. "I guess sleeping is the closest verb? Not a euphemism though, don't worry. He'll be awake in…."

She glances over her shoulder at Altan who is absolutely not looking at her. With him being no help at all, she returns her gaze to Soji and shrugs a bit.

"Maybe an hour or two, I think? He was slow to imprint, but everything looks nominal. He'll be up and doing crazy old-man stunts by…dinner?" Agnes shot a darting look at Data. "Did you--wait, is that why the computer went down?"

"It what?" Soji asks, horrified.

"Yeah, it's fine," Agnes confirms and waves her hand a little to dismiss Soji's sudden guilty panic. "We weren't using the main, but Seven was. Had to start her compiling over again--it's not important--"

Agnes steps to the side, out of Soji's loose grip, and beams nervously at Data.

"Hi there! If you're looking for the Admiral? He's through there, but not…super talkative yet?" She waves at him quickly and then gestures down the foyer, past the elated Altan Soong, toward the frosted glass double doors.

His daughter’s smile was, irrefutably, one of the most aesthetic phenomena he had ever perceived in his lifetime; her smile far surpassed the beauteous nebulae and exquisite worlds he had visited by, at least, several thousand lightyears — metaphorically speaking, of course. But he had never witnessed anyone smiling up to him in the manner she did; she was beaming, appreciative, grateful of the recognition he had distributed — an accolade solely directed to her address, clearly an unconventional occurrence. The curvature of her lips as she welcomed the felicitous compliment and the scintillation in her bright eyes instantaneously erased any incertitudes regarding whether or not he could abide by his self-established criteria of what constituted a good parent; he was thwacked by the notion, by the confidence that he would do surprisingly well — perhaps he should cease underestimating himself...

More synthetic lifeforms? Twins? His positronic brain almost seemed to reel in anarchy as its processing capabilities quadrupled at this brand new divulgence. Millions of queries formulated within less than a nanosecond, all fighting their way to the foreground of his consciousness; his synthetic tongue burnt red-hot with questions while his subroutines bid him to govern his insatiable inquisitiveness, his unassailable enthusiasm to attain additional information. More androids like him? like her?! His days of contemplating his existence and how to preserve the continuation of his kind had finally reached a cessation — he was no longer a solitary android, he had a family, was a singular unit in a society of multitudinous sentient artificial beings!

His chartreuse eyes phosphoresced with awe, with eagerness to introduce himself to others of his kind. However, the transition of her word choice, the modulation of her inflection, caused his suppressed ecstasy to totter to a loitering pace, almost stationary, as he listened, studiously.

The devastating news she disclosed arrived with more force than he had anticipated. Her twin sister, his other daughter, a facsimile of Soji, had been killed. But why? For what purpose? He failed to conserve the perpetuation of his facial expression of emulated effervescence. The announcement perforated the integrity of the questions he had sculpted in his positronic brain. Evocations of Lal and her deactivation instantaneously responded to the gravitational pull ushering the aforementioned recollections to fulgurate like a fever dream before his eyes. It felt like his tactile sensors were registering an inexplicable force swallowing him up, as if the ground had lost cohesion, spiraling down an abyss; a free fall, like what transpired to the saucer section of the Enterprise-D prior to its imminent obliteration; endless tumbling, no forces available to counteract the attraction the class M planet exercised on the saucer, no invisible wire pulling them back up into the cold embrace of space — and there was no emergency protocol he could have employed to circumvent it. They were powerless, compelled to watch their venerated starship plummet to its annihilation. And, in this exact moment, standing opposite Soji, his eyes locked with hers, digesting the news that threatened to clog his circuitry, he felt powerless once more... If only he had been there to guarantee Dahj’s physical integrity, to protect them both and keep them safe...

However, before he could insert words of sympathy, his condolences, she bashed him with another brick of reality pivoting around to the mortality, the fragility of mankind. The Captain... One of his dearest friends... His mind was inundated with information, and he required a moment to orchestrate and diminish the menagerie that presently undermined the efficiency of his primary systems.

‘I find myself incapable of producing perspicuous sentences,’ he eventually stated truthfully, a silent undercurrent of embarrassment cowered in the depths of his apologetic voice. ‘There are too many variables I do not yet comprehend...’ he trailed off, a ruminative frown rippled his forehead. ‘I am sorry I was not there to protect Dahj, and you. We could try to rebuild her, upload her consciousness into a new synthetic body, like you did me.’

His eyes darted to the stasis chamber he had emerged from several minutes ago.

‘The Captain,’ he said promptly with recalibrated determination, releasing his daughter from his secure embrace, and commenced the computation of his itinerary to what appeared to be the exit of the laboratory. ‘I must see him,’ he said, setting off into the direction of the door, but became stationary 3.6 metres into his impulsively initiated expedition. ‘Soji. Please, bring me to him.’

[auxiliarydetective]

Sentience

“I should have known.”

“Data, you couldn’t have known.”

“You were trapped inside a computer for months.”

“And that ended up saving the Enterprise”, Picard threw in, gently separating the two of them.

It was an awkward silence. Nobody seemed to know what to say. Wesley, Dr Crusher, Deanna, Worf and Commander Riker had formed a half circle which Geordi and Data now joined, leaving Tasha and Captain Picard in its middle. Finally, the captain found his words.

“I’m glad to have you back, Tasha”, he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She could tell he was being very careful, as if she was an illusion, as if any touch would make her disappear, as if she was so overly fragile. Again, silence ruled. This time, Wesley was the first to speak.

“Captain… What’s going to happen now? I mean… we can’t just leave her stuck like this, can we?”

“No”, Picard confirmed. “By all means, she’s just as sentient as Data is and so she should have the same privileges. The same privileges as anyone else on this ship. But we’ve also seen in the past that, should anyone outside this ship learn of Tasha’s sentience, they might try to declare her someone’s property and thereby strip her of her free will.”

“What?”, Tasha gasped.

Immediately, she looked Data straight in the eyes with concern, knowing that this had to be about him.

“Not too long after your… departure… I was put on trial regarding my sentience. Commander Maddox, a cyberneticist, wanted to dismantle and study me.”

Tasha noticed Commander Riker was shifting uncomfortably upon the mention of the incident, though she had no idea why.

“However, my sentience was proven”, Data continued, “by your memory, Tasha. A while later, I managed to create an offspring. A daughter whom I named Lal.” His voice started to shake lightly. The worry in Tasha’s eyes only increased, but it mixed with anger. She knew what to expect. “She was capable of feeling emotions, much like you. Vice Admiral Haftel wanted to separate us to study her, but her emotions caused her to experience a cascade failure. I had to deactivate her.”

“Data… I’m so sorry”, Tasha said quietly. But before she could say anything else, Data vehemently added:

“I will not let the same happen to you.”

“Of course not”, Picard said with a sure nod. “That’s why I am declaring your existence classified information, Tasha, for your own good. Until further notice, I can’t allow anyone outside the ship to know about you. I know it’s moving you from one prison to another, but I think you understand.”

“Fully, sir”, Tasha said, even if her face still showed traces of worry and anger. “I know I’d have more freedom confined to the ship than some laboratory.”

“Geordi”, Riker said, “you were able to take Tasha’s program out of the holodeck and connect her to the ship’s computer without damaging it, right?”

“I think so. There should be no issues at all. Tasha, do you feel different at all?”

“Slightly scattered”, Tasha replied. “I may be here right now physically, but I’m still connected to the computer. It’s like I can always hear it at the back of my head. Definitely something to get used to. But aside from that, nothing’s changed.”

That was a huge understatement. She was having severe difficulties keeping focus. The noise was so loud.

“Do you think you could do the same thing to give her a body that would let her leave the holodeck?”

“Well”, Geordi said slowly, “Maybe. It could get difficult. We already know building an android with a positronic brain wouldn’t work.” He threw a quick glance at Data as if trying to apologize. “In general, it’s practically impossible to turn the data of a hologram into android programming. The least we could do is build her a body and see if she can control it like the computer.”

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea”, Doctor Crusher commented. “Controlling a humanoid body would be a lot more complex than what she just did. We do so many things completely unconsciously all the time, like breathing, blinking, keeping our balance or our heartbeat. Every single one of those things would be something Tasha would have to control manually, or be distracted by if it was preinstalled.” She looked at Tasha knowingly. “Geordi, think about how you have to concentrate really hard and get headaches due to your visor. The same thing would be the case with Tasha, but for every single one of those unconscious actions.”

Tasha’s eyes had sunk to the floor. Deanna tried to catch them and it took her a long while to succeed. She wished she could establish some kind of connection to Tasha. It hurt a little to not be able to really feel her there. But for everyone else, she had to be just like before her death. Even to Deanna, she was at least as human as Data was. It felt weird to talk about her on such a technical level.

“We could attempt to create a mobile emitter that would allow Tasha’s program to run outside of the holodeck”, Data suggested. “It would be difficult, but feasible.”

Geordi stared blankly at him as if trying to say “Don’t make any false promises” but it was too late. Data seized Tasha’s hands.

“I will not stop now. You will be able to walk the Enterprise, as a human would. - Come on, Geordi.”

Geordi sighed quietly as Data was already through the exit and looked at Tasha apologetically. Then he jogged off.

“Don’t overwork yourselves!”, Tasha called after them.

She was already expecting them not to make it. What Data had suggested had to be virtually impossible. But he would keep trying indefinitely and that was what worried her.

“Are you worried they won’t find a way?”, Picard asked. It was almost scary how well he still knew her. “You’ve probably grown up with the principle that you can’t be disappointed if you have no expectations. But I, for one, hope to see you on the bridge soon, Lieutenant.”

With a fatherly smile, he nodded at her, then left, presumably for the bridge. Commander Riker patted Tasha’s shoulder - making her remember how tall he actually was - and followed. Dr Crusher and Wesley left as well. Tasha managed to muster a smile for Worf. One that was even genuine.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant”, she said and reached out with her hand. Worf took it. His grip was as strong as always. Tasha had missed it, she realized, and felt herself apply more strength to their handshake out of instinct.

“Thank you, Lieutenant”, Worf replied. “You were an excellent mentor. If you want to take your position back, it belongs to you.”

“No”, Tasha said promptly. “It’s yours, Worf. You’ve earned it. Even if I’ll be able to leave the holodeck, I won’t take something away that you deserve. Besides, if my existence is supposed to be a secret, I can’t have such an important role.”

Worf nodded and squeezed her hand before letting go. “I shall see you on the bridge, Lieutenant.”

Now, Deanna was the only one left. She stood there for a second. Her eyes gleamed like wet pearls.

“... Deanna?”

Suddenly, she ran at Tasha and fell into her arms, almost knocking her off her feet. But Tasha’s reflexes helped her regain her balance and she held her tight, a bright smile spreading across her face.

“I’ve missed you”, Deanna sobbed, tears of joy and sadness rolling down her face.

“I’ve missed you too”, Tasha said softly. She could feel her insides churning, but she bit her lip, trying not to cry.

They parted, but still held each other’s arms, looking each other straight in the eyes, seeing them closely again for the first time in years.

“Doesn’t it bother you at all that you can’t sense me anymore?”, Tasha asked, even if she could feel her voice shaking.

Deanna chuckled. “Only for a moment. But I’ve never been able to feel Data at any moment and it hasn’t had a single effect on our relationship. Besides, I think I know you well enough to be able to tell how you’re feeling without my empathic abilities, even if I may be out of practice. You’re trying so hard not to seem vulnerable right now, aren’t you?”

Tasha chuckled as way and averted her gaze, a single tear rolling down her face. Deanna was quick to wipe it away.

“I guess you’re right.”

“I can sense you’re struggling with yourself. You’re having an existential crisis.”

“I think I may need counseling.”

“What you need now is sleep, or at least some form of rest. This all has to be so hard on you. Overwhelming even. We’ll talk tomorrow, how does that sound? I’ll be at your quarters at 0900 hours?”

“That sounds great. Until then, I’ll try to figure out how to put myself on standby.”

“I’m sure you’ll have it figured out in no time.”

[celestialholz]

Star Trek: Picard. MON CAPITAINE, HE’S BAAAACK. <3

Well, I am a British idiot without a decent proxy, but it’s Friday and therefore Captain Picard Day officially for my good self, so... about time we got with the damn times and DID SOME REVIEWIN’, mes amis. Spoilers abound, naturally. I’m going blow-by-blow, but also elaborating on some lovely things here and there. Jean-Luc Picard means a lot to me personally, I write about him a lot for those who may not know me, and I’ve been SO excited for this - but does it measure up? Spoiler warning: oh yeah. Hellllll yeah.

Warning: Many crudely-drawn hearts incoming. None of them are mechanical, sadly.

- Okay, first thing: this show is GORGEOUS. Oh my god, seriously. CBS knew they were running a potential gold mine here and spent the damn money to prove it. That sweeping into the Enterprise? The credits? Boston? Jesus, my eyes haven’t been treated so well since Avengers: Endgame. It’s a damn Michelin-starred FEAST. It strikes precisely the right balance of feeling gloriously alive and futuristic whilst having the vineyard be oh-so-current, and thus retro for the era. 1701 out of ten, boys. <3

- Data. Picard. Poker. My soul aches. This immediate rich banter is just... *pinch emoji* Ten Forward, man. TEN FORWARD.

- Give me the dog. Just give me him. I love Will, super stoked to see him again, but THIS is my new Number One. Shaped like a goddamn friend.

- Boston, huh? Jesus. Immediate action, immediate knowledge without any knowledge at all of who this chick is. Great writing. <3

- Credits! Already said they’re visually lovely, but the music is also surprisingly effective. Has this contrast of giving us quaint vibes mixed with 24th century tech; the real message of this show, laid out right there.

- Romulans! In the vineyard! Picard said alien rights! Love him. <3 This whole thing feels so very him - he can’t ever quite be stagnant, even back home. He’s out here being forward-thinking and socially progressive as fuck.

- He has a found family again. Of course he does. God, you can truly tell Patrick Stewart exec-produced this. <3

- Decaf earl grey. “You’re getting old, Johnny.” (Don’t drink decaf earl grey if you can help it, guys. It’s fucking terrible. I’m sure he knows this. Bless him.)

- Journalist? She’s going to be an arse, isn’t she?

- ... Oh yeah. And a prejudiced one, too! Lovely. /end British sarcasm I love that layering of this against “Romulan lives -” “Lives.” This new universe feels so deliciously alive at every turn; visually, socially, culturally... this is the vibe I WANTED from a sequel. Beautiful. <3

- Picard, here, in this scene. Just dear GOD. This is why this character is so enduring - he’s kind, warm, soulful, deeply intelligent, principled as all hell, and he’s become so embittered by this horrendous miscarriage of justice... the utopia’s failing, folks, and it’s a delight. Patrick sells the absolute shit out of this whole thing like the absolute asset he’s always been to this franchise, and just the CARE that has gone into his portrayal? I’m in love. Just give me fucking ALL of it. He feels so very him whilst also being richer and a touch bolder and christ, all these things Patrick’s said about loving Picard and wanting to portray him faithfully shine here so very clearly. Flawless. <333333 

- Oh, and all of that, but also THROWBACK THURSDAY. <3 These flashbacks will murder me, I’m certain of it. Retro and new in perfect harmony.

- Oh, here’s the kid! And hang on, an intriguing quote... “You just wave your hand and it all goes away”? Can we just... step back and think about what that’s a reference to, because fuck, dude, I MAY JUST HAVE TO WATCH TAPESTRY AGAIN. (Hardly a chore, let’s be real. I’m a Q stan, leave me be. It’s likely not a reference of course, but for the love of the Continuum, give me De Lancie. This shit already can’t improve so far, just LET IT IMPROVE ANYWAY.) 

- This interview-on-a-random-screen thing is great, too; I love the dichotomy of it. Picard’s out here being principled and wonderful, solely for our eyes and the girl’s. It’s literally background info at this point and it’s a lovely little aside to how Picard’s just been here the whole time, abiding by what he believes in without any real fuss. 

- ... That lovely little vineyard confrontation. Yes, yes, yes. Dad vibes without being a dad. I so didn’t want him to be a dad, it’s so painfully out of character, and I’m so glad they went with ‘lovely old uncle’ instead. <3 This whole scene just again pitches Picard amazingly.

- Can I have that firepit, Jean-Luc? Thanks, Captain.

- ... Hold the entire galaxy’s collection of phones: IS THIS CHICK LAL?! How the hell would that even work?! Bro...

- This nostalgia suite thing in the archives? Incredible. The banner? He hated that shit, we all know this, but it meant something to him deep down, that those children had his respect and admiration, that he felt so inspiring to others... how very telling that it’s one of the things he chose to keep. <3 Parallels not-Lal and this whole mini-arc thing wonderfully.

- ... Is her name supposed to sound like Vash’s? Is that a coincidence? Anyway, she’s not Lal, which makes much more sense, but she is... Data’s daughter? When the sodding hell did that happen? Oh, I really don’t care, honestly. It’s beautiful. All these Data flashbacks continue to kill me, and just for the love of it, let’s chuck some Captain in there, uniform and all! Gaaah. Who gave Patrick Stewart the right to still be this attractive, good lord above. Brent out here absolutely nailing this naive joy we loved so much back in the day, too... <333

- That chat about Dajh (possibly? The sweet and misguided android chick, giving me major Amanda Rogers vibes - I was too excited to look up the spelling, do forgive me) and her connection to Data, and what it means to Picard? Lovely. Absolutely adorable.

- ... And we come to my only minor gripe with all of this joy - why in the name of all positrons was Dajh introduced and then more or less immediately blown to tiny android pieces? Can’t help but feel the potential she had was wasted. I understand that we needed a Picard catalyst to get him back in the game, but I feel as though she’d have done that whilst still being alive. Although, I’m not going to be too harsh on it... “I haven’t been living, I’ve been waiting to die” is a thousand percent the quote of 2020 twenty-three days in and I just about screamed. I’ve got Tapestry vibes again, my god. This man is such a legend. <333333

-  I was becoming rather invested in dear Dajh, though, and I know we have her identical twin elsewhere (more on that shortly) but that’s sort of like giving me Lore and expecting me to be fine without Data. Speaking of which... 

- B-4. In a drawer. Near a door? Well, probably about thirty metres away from one. Love it. And a Maddox namedrop at the same time as something of an explanation! Actually really enjoyed this tie-in to old lore (pun fully intended, folks) whilst being coherent in its own right. God, I’d love to see a non-Trekkie watch this, they’d be so fucking baffled...

- Okay, even with all I’ve said about the visuals, that segway from neuron necklace to space was spectacular. I’m never going to need an eye test again. <3

- Nice guy Romulan. Awww. Someone hug his awkward soul. Dajh’s twin looks immediately less interesting (as evidenced by the fact I’ve forgotten her name - it definitely starts with ‘S’) but I’m definitely reserving judgement for now, I’m sure she’ll be as great as the rest of this show.

- ... That’s a cube, isn’t it?

- IT’S A CUBE. WITH ROMULANS. WHO AREN’T ASSIMILATED. Did they steal it? How the hell did they steal it? Do they have an alliance? What the fuck is happening? Picard did not sign back up two minutes ago for this shit guys!

... Well, basically, tl;dr? Modern, socially developed, stunning; retro in flawless contrast, with an even richer and more nuanced main character than ever who still feels so very himself, which is all I ever wanted. Fucking fantastic. Is it Friday again yet? Can your esteemed reviewer hit up a proxy next week and not die in anticipation of whatever the shit that ending was being perhaps explained a little more?

To be continued...

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S5 Watchthrough Episodes 14-17

(Trigger Warning: The episode Ethics contains the theme of suicide. While I will try to not go too in-depth, as it is part of the episode I will be discussing it. If this topic makes you uncomfortable or is triggering to you even in the slightest, please skip the section of the watchthrough. Thank you)

Conundrum: So we have us an amnesia episode. Who’s the poor individual who gets hit with it? Everyone! Yes, some weird scan thingy causes everyone to lose their memories. They still know how to perform their jobs and all that, but otherwise, they remember zilch. I’m kind of mixed on how they did it. Overall, they are intelligent and calm about the situation, which on the one hand feels unrealistic. You’d expect far more panic and tension if you suddenly found yourself on a ship among people you don’t know. On the other hand at this point even without their memories, they’re probably used to weirdness like this (the S4 episode Clues had a similar thing happen) and it’s kind of refreshing to see people handle a situation without becoming paranoid assholes. Also… they make some kind of awkward Troi/Riker/Ro love triangle. Troi has some familiarity with Riker due to their past, which makes sense… but why add Ro to the mix? The only time they really interacted outside this episode was Ro’s intro, where Riker was a hypocritical asshole who made her take her earring off. They really don’t seem to agree and I guess the writers went ‘well they argue… so it must be love’! Which… no, going with this with Ro makes zero sense and it really makes it feel like Riker is playing both women, which both feel OOC for him, and even taking amnesia into account makes him look worst. Why does S5 want me to hate Riker? Otherwise, it was fine. Just kind of eh. Again we kinda sorta did this plot already (differently but still) and it doesn’t become hard to figure out who the one behind this is when you realize that they’re the only one getting prominent screentime who isn’t a pre-established character. Still, it’s just alright, but yeah that love triangle nonsense, while by no means the worst I’ve ever seen, really was unnecessary. 2.5/5.

Power Play: In this one, Troi, Data, and O’Brein get posessed on an Away Mission (Riker almost did as well, but it flew away before it could posess him). They take Ten-Forward hostage which includes Worf and Keiko, and later Picard. This had to be fun for Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Colm Meaney since they ge to act all evil… though Spiner’s already done it with Lore, but still XD So it was fine. It was tense and had some disturbing moments like Posessed!O’Brein forcing himself on Keiko. Dear God I hope the Enteprise has a counselor (aside from Troi since she was partially involved in this) cause neither of them deserved that. It was also scary to see Data acting like… well, Lore pretty much. Seeing Riker, Crusher, Geordi, and Ro trying to figure out how to save them without anyone getting killed was also interesting, it’s the first time we’ve seen a hostage situation like this in a ST show (Space Seed in TOS kinda counts, but that was an entirely different scenario and was more ‘hostile takeover’ than ‘hostage situation’). That’s honestly all I’ve got/ IDK, S5 has just been painfully average thus far where none of the episodes have been particularly bad, but only like… three so far (Ensign Ro, Disaster, Unification) have kept me interested. Maybe that’ll change here soon bu it’s just like ‘…it’s fine but I feel nothing otherwise’. 3/5.

Ethics: I again point to the trigger warning above. The episode contains the theme of suicide (though it is NOT carried out) so if this topic at all is uncomfortable/triggery, please skip this section. So what happened? An accident has left Worf paralyzed. Crusher has called in a neurologist while Worf, believing that he can no longer be a warrior in his condition, wants to be killed. Needless to say, we’re dealing with some heavy stuff in this one. We kind of have a similar thing going on as in Half a Life where Worf wants to die as according to his Klingon beliefs, his life is over since he is paralyzed. He asks Riker to help commit it as he’s his friend and naturally Riker is appalled at this. Picard breaks it down for Riker and that while we don’t understand it we should respect it… but again we’re talking about assisted suicide. I get what Picard is saying but just… no. The episode makes it clear that we’re supposed to be conflicted, however, and in the end, Worf decides against it due to both an experimental procedure and because Riker uncovered that Alexander would be the one who’d have to assist in the suicide if Worf did it. Needless to say, Worf ain’t letting that happen. It does make Worf’s feelings clear, however. His anger, his fear, it’s very hard to watch Worf in such a state. The neurologist, Dr. Russell, offers him a procedure that may work… but it’s a procedure that is still in the experimental stage and turned down by Starfleet Medical. Needless to say, Crusher’s not exactly happy with the idea of using a medically untested procedure on one of her patients… but to be fair, Worf has refused all other treatment and the use of implants and with suicide the only other option, I can see why Russell would be willing to offer. But at the same time, it does come across her just using this as an excuse to use said treatment which also has plenty of risks on said patients life/further well-being, and Crusher telling her off repeatedly is very satisfying especially at the end when Worf almost died due to her, and she seemed more concerned with noting it than what her actions caused and said that Crusher was jealous. Yeah, Russell sucks. It does bring up a lot of medically ethical questions, however: is it right to use an experimental procedure on a patient when all other options have been turned away or are available? Especially when said patient is suicidal or when it comes to said patient's beliefs? I side with Crusher at the end of the day especially since Worf is very lucky to have survived/recovered his mobility afterward, but the questions are still ones to point out. Then there’s poor Alexander whose on the verge of losing his father and Worf not wanting him to see him like he is and… God yeah. Just as I complain about the lack of impactful episodes, this one comes in. It’s a very tough episode with everything going on with Worf, the theme of medical ethics, and it’s heavy on the emotions. IDK how well I can say that the episode portrays it, but it certainly hit hard and brings up a lot of questions for the viewers. It certainly reaffirms how much I love Crusher XD 4/5.

The Outcast: /sighs/ Okay… how to go about talking about this one? In this episode, we meet a species of aliens that don’t use gender identity, and if they show signs of identifying as male or female, they undergo ‘treatment’. One of these individuals is Soren, who identifies as female and falls in love with Riker. So… there are many things that this can be associated with, but this was made as a gay rights episode. Now… let us remember when this was made. S5 was airing during the early ’90s. This was not a good time for gay individuals. We were very much anti-LGBT+ in those times and the AIDS epidemic where they were scapegoated as a public menace still being rampant didn’t help. In many ways, doing this episode was a bold move and I can respect them for at least is trying to tackle the topic seriously. If there’s any franchise that you’d expect to tackle these kinds of issues it would be this one. But the question is does it hold up 30 years later? Well… unfortunately, no. First, if they really wanted to get the gay rights message across… why was Soren played by a female actress? Maybe it was the only way they would have been allowed to do this, but because of it, it keeps a heterosexual angle that causes the message to be lost. We also don’t have any regular/reccuring characters as queer which would be pretty important to have in this episode. Considering that TOS took the risk with making PoC equal to white people at a time it wasn’t at all welcomed, TNG not doing so with LGBT+ individuals is rather unfortunate to put it nicely. Not to mention it sticking to standard male/female stereotypes as the norm when breaking them down to Soren, as well as Worf’s sexist/bigoted comments. That’s no even going into other identities such as transgender and non-binary. I’d really like to know what they think of this one considering the themes. As I am a bi/demisexual cis woman and this was meant to be a gay rights episode I will look at it as such and from that POV, the episode does not at all look great in a modern light.

Maybe I’m just far too nice and should be harsher on this, and I’m not gonna lie I’m horrible at addressing these things so I apologize if any of this came out wrong. But between this and The Host, it’s clear that the show was ill-equipped to handle LGBT+ topics. But at the same time, back then even considering addressing the topics in any way would have been risky. I do believe that there was a good faith effort and maybe in some ways, it helped when we improved later. It’s always hard to say if people should tackle topics they don’t understand or not. Naturally, it’s rage-inducing when they get it wrong, but it can also open the door to getting people to learn and to improve. Maybe this was needed in the ’90s and they did it the best way that they could, and maybe the fact that we can look at it and go ‘we know better’ is a sign that we’re better than when we were 30 years ago… or again, I am far too nice/too much of a doormat and I give the benefit of the doubt way too much. People who are more knowledgeable/know how to address this far better than I have here have likely done so and I’d encourage others to read more into those perspectives. Regardless, the episode overall is okay I guess. I certainly felt horrible for Soren at the end as she’s taken to undergo ‘treatment’ and Riker trying to help her get out of it. Her speech, wanting to just be treated as a person and not be treated as horrible due to who she is during the trial did really hit me and is why I think that the show did mean well. If she wanted to identify as female and be with Riker, she should be free to and then how she was forced to conform to her society’s views at the end when Riker tried to save her, it’s just... hard to watch. I wish that the ending was more optimistic/hopeful but I can’t say that the message wasn’t loud and clear. It very much reflected society at that time, and in many ways it’s still relevant today concerning how society treats those deemed outside the norm. But it also has issues due to the execution as I already mentioned, and I can only hope that Modern Trek (Discovery, Picard, soon SNW) and whatever they do in the future are/will be better at handling these kinds of themes because there’s no excuse to get it wrong in today’s time. 2.5/5.

I hope that I addressed things properly concerning the last episode. But it’s now done. We have nine more to go for the season. Let's see how it turns out.

[bluering8]

TNG S01

I’m done with TNG S01! I’ve gotta watch some other stuff before I launch into S02, so have a quick round-up of my Very Important opinions on various characters/episodes:

Data - I love Data!! Holy shit do I love Data!! He is precious to me and perfect in every way and I want to hollow him out and wear his skin like a suit. That... possibly sounds creepier than I meant? Look, he’s my perfect wish-fulfilment character, okay. He’s earnest and awkward and he never quite Gets It, but he wants to Get It so badly, and he tries so hard, and whenever he talks people are constantly cutting him off partway through because they’ve decided he’s saying too much or saying it wrong, and he sort of... exemplifies what has been my perspective of the Autistic Experience. And despite all that, he has a career he enjoys and friends who care about him and I want to be him so much that it kind of hurts.

Also, Data has feelings. I will fight anyone to the death on this issue, I sincerely can’t see how anyone could look at Data and not come to the conclusion that he has feelings. Data has so many feelings! He might not have feelings the way humans have feelings, but he unmistakably has his own opinions and his own way of relating to the world. It’s heartbreaking that he doesn’t recognise the value of his own experiences in favour of desperately trying to live up to some arbitrary “correct” way of existing.

Deanna Troi - I hate Troi. I do not want to hate Troi, because empaths are way cooler than they usually get credit for, but she’s so fucking annoying. All she ever does is say things which were already completely fucking obvious. She’s a walking violation of show-don’t-tell and every time she opens her mouth I groan because I know whatever she’s about to say is going to ruin my enjoyment of a scene. About the nicest thing I can say about her is that she’s still a better character then Wesley, being merely irritating rather than universe-warpingly terrible.

Jean-Luc Picard - Picard’s such a dad, holy shit. I never noticed this when I watched TNG before, but now I’m picking up on it as, like, the major facet of his personality. I mean, he also drinks Earl Grey and LARPs as a detective and discusses philosophy with aliens, but mostly he’s just Space Dad now and forever. Somehow I also forgot the LARPing as a detective part of his character? Picard’s just a huge fucking nerd isn’t he.

Q - I have very mixed feelings about Q. On the one hand I always love arrogant, capricious, petulant trickster gods, especially when they have Q’s flair for the theatrical, but on the other hand I think when it comes to Q I maybe love him more in concept than in execution? I spend a lot of time thinking about trickster-god entities and how a nigh-omnipotent creature unbound by linear time and the laws of physics might relate to the universe, and Q’s a very mundane example of the character type. On the gripping hand, Q’s super fun and whenever he shows up I know I’m in for a good time. I strongly suspect that if I were a Q I would also spend an obnoxious amount of time trolling Picard. He’s just so delightfully trollable!

Tasha Yar - Yar falls into a lot of tropes which I absolutely hate, but despite that I kind of... love her anyway?? I just don’t get enough masculine female characters to not love them even when they have rape-y backstories and secret desires to be more feminine and Issues feat. their emotional vulnerabilities, I guess. She was kind of frustrating at first because she kept randomly attacking people, but in the later episodes she seemed to mellow out a lot and started acting the way I’d expect of a security chief, ie 101% willing to solve problems with violence but no longer functioning on a hairtrigger. I’m sad that she died, I would’ve loved to see what she could have grown into as the show developed.

Also she was bros with Worf! Somehow I completely forgot about that, but I love it. This is an extra layer of tragedy in her death, Yar&Worf is a delightful friendship and if it’d had space to develop I sincerely believe it could have toppled Data&Geordi as my most beloved Trek brotp. This is what fanfiction is for, I suppose.

Wesley Crusher - I know it’s kind of Trek cliché to loathe Wesley but boy do I ever loathe Wesley!! The funny thing is that I actually liked him for the first two or three episodes: he was a bright and enthusiastic kid who was transparently desperate for Picard to be his father figure (and Picard was transparently disinterested in being his father figure, which is hilarious), but then he was allowed on the bridge despite not being part of Starfleet or even an acting-cadet at the time, and then the action paused in the middle of an episode so Picard could get lectured on how Wesley is the bestest most wonderfulest, and then... you get the point.

I’m not here to shit on wish-fulfilment characters (I mean, that’d be hypocritical as fuck considering my feelings about Data), I’m here to shit on wish-fulfilment characters who are so devoted to wish-fulfilment that they stop functioning adequately as a character. The universe warps itself into a pretzel so that Wesley can be the bestest most wonderfulest and it really really pisses me off.

S01E01E02 Encounter at Farpoint - You know, for a nigh-omnipotent weird space being, Q is amazingly fucking dumb. Like, who agrees to judge people based on a test without realising that if you tell people you’re testing them they’ll go out of their way to be on their best behaviour? You’re not gonna be getting any kind of reliable data here, Q.

S01E07 Lonely Among Us - What the fuck was this episode, I mean seriously. Okay, so we open with two groups of diplomats who super super hate each other and the Enterprise has to transport them to a meeting, so you’d assume that the episode would revolve around dealing with the conflict between the two groups right? Except no, that’s like the d-plot, the a-plot is there’s a weird space thing and the b-plot is Data has a crush on Sherlock Holmes. The c-plot is Wesley does his homework. And then the episode ends with the news that one group of diplomats has cooked and eaten a member of the other group and Picard’s like “lmao I don’t give a shit, Riker you deal with this I’m gonna go take a nap.” What the fuck, basically.

In other news, spacefuture meat is all cruelty-free synthesised magic apparently. I wonder if vegetarians still exist? Other than vulcans, I guess. I don’t know enough about the philosophy behind not shoving delicious chunks of animal corpse into your face to work out the answer here.

S01E08 Justice - I talked about this episode already and honestly that’s all you really need to know. People try to talk to Picard about Wesley’s impending death and Picard immediately changes the topic to talking about the weird space thing, rinse and repeat.

Anyway I was recently reading about a guy who was transporting prisoners when some of the prisoners escaped. The punishment for letting prisoners escape was death, so he released the rest of the prisoners then ran off to be an outlaw because it wasn’t like they could kill him any more then they were already going to. Then he became Emperor! Anyway the moral of the story is that Light Yagami is a moron escalating punishments are important and if someone knows you’re gonna kill them for something they did then they have basically no reason not to go and do a bunch of other crimes also.

S01E10 Hide and Q - Hey, quick quiz: you encounter a nigh-omnipotent entity who has previously mocked your species for being savage and violent. Said entity dumps you on a planet with a bunch of weird monsters. Do you: a) attempt to communicate with these monsters in the hopes of reaching a peaceful solution, or b) savagely resort to violence by shooting them with your space guns? If you picked option b, then congratulations! You are the crew of the Enterprise. This technically wasn’t the point of the episode, but come on! Step up your mind-game game, Q.

Also Picard yells at Q for constantly changing his costume and it’s like, Picard, dude, you’re aware the thing you’re yelling at isn’t actually Q? Q isn’t a human with superpowers, he’s an incomprehensible entity who occasionally puppets around a meatsack so you can have something convenient to yell at. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from Greek mythology and also Lovecraft, it’s that you super super do not want to see the incomprehensible entity’s true form.

S01E13 Datalore - I LOVE DATA AND I LOVE HIS HORRIBLE BROTHER!! but also, fuck Wesley. I hate Wesley. He’s immediately suspicious of Lore-as-Data purely on the basis of he sees “Data” doing Lore’s facial tic despite the fact that at the beginning of the episode he walked in on Data attempting to mimic sneezing, and despite the fact that there are several other characters with much better reasons to find Lore-as-Data suspicious.

Actually, you know what my dream rewrite for this episode would be? Someone becoming suspicious of Lore-as-Data, not because they think he’s Lore, but because they think he’s Data. The crew had previously been discussing whether or not they could trust Data now that he’d found links outside of Starfleet, so having that issue play out onscreen would’ve been fantastic. (Especially if it influenced their behaviour towards Data and Lore tried to take advantage of that as a “your friends are dicks, betray them and join me” kind of thing. I’m Here(tm) 24/7 for manipulation and corruption, my dude.)

S01E17 When the Bough Breaks - You know, this entire episode could’ve been solved with cloning. I mean actually it couldn’t, but the problem they thought they were having could’ve been solved with cloning. Ask the Enterprise for some unfucked genetic material and you can make your own kids! As many kids as you want!! More than six kids because seriously I don’t know what you were expecting to achieve with that, that’s not enough people to keep your planet alive.

S01E19 Coming of Age - This episode is an excellent example of What’s Wrong With Wesley. Wesley does an exam, and he loses some points in order to help another person with the exam, and at the end he’s told the other person passed but he didn’t, and the other person’s like “oh but that only happened because Wesley lost points by helping me!!”, because Wesley is so bestest most wonderfulest that the only reason he fails is because he sacrificed himself to help someone else to succeed. There’s a vague attempt at suggesting “oh, but there were other reasons Wesley failed!!” but like, fuck you, you don’t get to show me nothing but Wesley succeeding and then attempt to salvage this mess by telling me there were other factors at play, especially not when there’s so much attention devoted to Wesley helping the other person.

S01E22 Symbiosis - Everyone spends this episode focusing on the wrong thing. See, the Brekkians are selling medicine to the Ornarans, except actually it’s not medicine it’s addictive drugs, and this is bad because... drugs are bad? Don’t do drugs kids!! Why are you all focusing on the part where there are drugs and not the part where the Brekkians are lying shitbags taking relentless advantage of the Ornarans so that they can live like parasite kings in a capitalist hellscape castle?

“Golly gosh I sure can’t understand why anyone would voluntarily become dependent on a drug!!” says FUCKING WESLEY, THE WORST CHARACTER, completely missing the part where the drug actually is medicine and the Ornarans are entirely unaware that they no longer have the plague the drug is medicine for and thus believe that they have literally no other choice than to take the drug if they want to live. There is nothing “voluntary” about this at all, Wesley you absolute fuckwad!! Somebody shove this kid into a locker already.

S01E23 Skin of Evil - There are no pockets in Starfleet uniforms so everyone spends this episode wandering around with stuff awkwardly glued to their sides and it’s terrible and hilarious. I’m pretty sure this is true of other episodes but this is the one where I found it really really noticeable and couldn’t stop laughing.

...this episode was just obnoxiously funny in general actually, Goo Man is trying so hard to be super evil and scary and grimdark but nobody really gives a fuck about it, he’s more just like majorly inconvenient and kind of irritating than he is actually threatening at any point. “You don’t understand! I don’t serve evil, I am evil!!” the Goo Man wails. Picard categorically does not give any kind of a shit in response.

tl;dr: Data is precious and perfect and every time he’s onscreen I start weeping. YOU’RE DOING GREAT, DATA! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!!