#star trek picard 2.3

[starfleetisapromise]

[celestialholz]

Celestial Live-Reacts: STP 2.3, 'Assimilation'

In a truly inhuman feat of self-control, I have absorbed absolutely zero spoilers for this week, so I know nothing aside from the fact that Q's in it! This has literally never happened in my life!

Let's roll, my darlings...

- Agnes in the back like doo-doo-doo, just a lady doing engineering things - Nice try Seven, bless you <3 - Oh, the missus is fuming - Niiiiice phaser effect - Ah, the overt symbolism of the missus shooting the ex, we love to see it <3 - Nooooooooo, my son! - Ouch - Not her son - Oh shit, hello king, that's very on-brand of you turning up out of nowhere like that <3 - "This is the only kind of life you understand - shall we see what else has been lost in the wake of your fear?" "Q -" aaaaaaand he's gone... - ... He's fucked up with that Borg decision hasn't he - Is that what Picard's fucked up? Was his other self too frightened of the possibility of assimilation? - Borg Queen = pancake queen lmao - Oh dear oh fuck - @the comms, we love you all but the Queen's making you look like cadets - Three speeds: here, there and gone - ... What on Q's earth... and titles! - This theme song gets better every time I hear it <3 - "Welcome to the Earth of the twenty-first century." I swear to the fucking Continuum, if she discovers TikTok... - Picard's face is my face at being part of this period of history - I love how we got a nice moment of exposition before gravity kicked in, terribly inconvenient of it really - Picard be like 'it's my future house and I'll crash into it if I like' - "Can't. Busy at the moment, with organs." A precious angel <3 - I'm with Rios for the second week in a row - kill her to death my guy, Q will deus ex machina you home ;) - Is that on Etsy? Because I'd buy it off Etsy - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - Not mine and Raffi's son, oh my god T_T - Why do I get the feeling that this is going to progressively happen through the series, until it's just him and Q left to fix this shit? One of them fighting for their own life, one of them fighting for everyone else's, as they also try and save each other simultaneously? - Beautiful Picard Speech #47920, and Seven is having none of it - 'Intense shock and disappointment in leadership' - ouch - "Why has all of history been changed? Because of Q." Good luck taking him down angel, that's all I'm saying lol - "For decades, you've played games with whatever Q is... because that's what the two of you do, right? You joust, you screw around with people's lives for sport." ... Oh wow. What a fascinating comparative - once again, we're holding up a mirror... they really are two halves. Fuck. <33333333 - "No, Raffi - that's what he does." Is it, though? Is that not what this whole thing is, that you're only a wrong decision away from being just as chaotic? - ... It's like they've flipped. Q now seems to be the one trying to maintain order, I... damn - "It's impossible to determine whether we're existing outside of temporal causality -" "Jurati." Mummy is not amused... - 'We'll revive the Queen' 'Are you sure though' - honestly, valid - "So, to be clear - wake a queen that could kill us all, beam from a ship with no power, and find the Watcher, who may or may not exist." "That's it, Rios." ... Good plan, glad we cleared that one up lmaoooo - Are they losing faith in him? - "They rarely spoke audibly - but a thought would be shared instantly with every Borg." *shudder* - "I felt an intense euphoria, but no sense of my existence." *double shudder* - "But me, she'd take in seconds." "But not me." Oh honey no - Amen Picard, fuck that noise - "I believe the technical term is 'for shit'." His cynicism uplifts me daily looool - 'Hot People Getting Dressed', the best kind of montage <3333 - "Do I still look like a fascist bastard?" "Fascist, no - bastard..." lmaooo - Bless you again for trying, Seven - "Halfway to Hell is still not a recommended destination" is my new tagline - Is this about to be crew member number two who's suffering for Picard's decisions? - The Watcher's going to be Q or Guinan isn't it - He didn't tell them what he and Agnes were doing - Surely this is a trap. There were even similarities between them mentioned last week, there's no way this isn't a trap - ... Is this electronica California Dreamin' in my Star Trek - GTA V: Confederation Edition - "Are you a superhero?"

Adorable <3 - Cristobal Rios everyone, reminding me of that time when I switched to Trevor on the edge of a bridge in the same city and had no choice but to immediately kill him - ... 'No hospitals'. ONE JOB MY GUY, ONE JOB - Give it back, foolish child >:( - Reverse mugging! Hurrah! - "Wonderful ambassador, up against the backdrop of hope meets hopelessness. You're killing it, 2024." ... I would like to officially apologise for the state of us ancient idiots - I wish he was my dad too T_T - Oh, my god. This is genuinely fascinating to watch - "Why don't you tell me about feelings and the last time you had one? Oh you pretend to have feelings to avoid having feelings, how awful must it be to feel what you've -" damn. 'Through a mirror darkly', yeah? We just keep holding up that glass... - "She's getting stronger, now - no longer just observing." Ohhhhh dear - "Locutus." Oh would you look at that, it's a trap - ... Well that went terribly - "My girlfriend and I were looking to capture an image." <3 - "Kevin is not funner than me." lmaooo - This relationship genuinely has more set-up than him and Agnes - "Cool story" lololol - That kid is not old enough to be watching Rick and Morty lmao - "Something that hurts you to lose." "We lost someone dear to us for you." "Is this how you negotiate?" Borg Ice Queen - ... Ohhh, that is his fear - This Queen sounds remarkably Q lmao - "Dictate the file logged 'Shit I Stole From the Borg Queen'" *applause* Beautifully done dear. Keep that up and I'm going to end up liking you - "You've impressed me." Oh shit - He's so honourable, bless him - ... No reading, Admiral. No reading... ... Holy fuck.

Celestial Rating: 8.5/10.

Despite the tragic lack of Q, a slick, cleverly done ride with plenty of mirror imaging. I remain ridiculously impressed by this series. #RIPElnor #HopeThatGetsReversed

[porgthespacepenguin]

Q’s Fate and S3 (a Qcard mini-meta)

So this started as an answer to @ellewood117​‘s ask, which then took on a life of its own and became this mini-meta.

You can find the original ask here.

(Spoilers and speculation under the cut.)

Is Q going to die?

Something terrible is going to happen to Q, it's been pretty clear for a few weeks now. But there are three main options in front of us at this point:

Q dies, permanently

Q is saved at the last second

Q dies, but is saved later

Q dies permanently

Let's get the this one out of the way immediately. Q is a huge fan favourite, consistently popular, and probably one of the best loved TNG characters. Him coming to Star Trek Picard was a hugely hyped deal.

Letting him die and then rot forever would be exceedingly bleak, especially by Star Trek standards. Picard is ultimately a show about healing, and we just saw how traumatized Jean-Luc was by his mom’s death. They’re not going to add Q’s permanent death to the pile. That’d just be cruel.

Plus, I doubt JDL would have been happy with the season(s) if they had done Q so dirty. Or Sir Patrick, who is executive producer on the show, for that matter.

So letting him die forever is a remote possibility we don't truly need to entertain. Thank god for that.

Q is saved at the last second

Much more likely than the above, but I doubt it. If this were the direction the show wants to take, they would likely have broadcasted his impending death early on, perhaps circa 2.3 or 2.4. Instead we got hints until 2.7, foreshadowing in 2.7, and a clear announcement in 2.8.

Although Q was everywhere in 2.9, the episode didn't directly deal with him. So as far as the general audience is concerned, they learned he's dying at the end of episode 2.8, and they may see him again in 2.10. Way too short for a last minute save. They’d have wanted to milk it more, for the drama.

That they didn’t, tells me the drama is most likely coming in 2.10.

So: possible, but not likely.

Q dies, but is saved

Hence why @celestialwarzone and I are convinced that although Q will die in the finale (there's a book's worth of foreshadowing at this point), he's likely to be saved later on, for all the reasons I gave above.

If he is, then they're not going to do this off-screen. Fan favourite, etc.

So, on-screen, which means season 3. And nobody other than Picard makes sense.

Besides, season 2 has been taking its cues from Star Trek 4, and potentially Star Trek 2 if Q does dies to save Picard. We also know from interviews that season 3 is another nod to a TOS movie... which leaves 1, 3 or 5. 1 and 5 are out, for obvious reasons, so 3 makes the most sense when we consider that Q is likely going to die.

This is the option that makes the most sense by far, although we don’t have a shred of proof!

How does Q die?

Before we can even talk about how to save Q, our poor entity is going to have to, well. Die. Or disappear. Melt. Whatever.

Here, I'm forced to remain vague as the show has given us mostly foreshadowing in the form of a fairy tale:

“His magic was gone, stolen back in the very manner he had arrived by it in the first place. Beaten at his own game, he melted, and all was right again. In time, they’d forget he was ever there (...)”

Terribly ominous, but not very precise. Of course, it could be a simple metaphor, and Q’s death could be simply that: death.

But death is hard to come back from, even in Star Trek, and the word “melted” does stand out in her tale. So @celestialwarzone​ has a theory that he may fade into the timeline, disappear into the tapestry of time.

A theory that’s backed by Q’s own words:

“I, on the other hand, seem to be simply disappearing... into nothing.”

I’ll be honest: personally, I don’t quite know. I suggested in my time meta that the reason he dies has to do with the new timeline, but that’s the why.

The how will remain a mystery until next week.

How is Q saved?

Take me back to the start

Not knowing how he dies certainly makes it harder to guess how Picard could save him, doesn’t it?

However, I wonder if 2.9 didn’t give us a hint:

"Tragic endings might rewind into joyful beginnings. Moments of loss into those of gains."

Rewinding a tragic ending (Q’s death) into a joyful beginning (Qcard)? Sounds like Search for Q to me.

But what does “rewind” mean in this context? The entire scene shows us Maman’s tragic ending, then Baby!Picard moving in reverse until the fateful moment he opened the door, wishing he could undo it but unable to,

“This moment I am so powerless to reverse.”

And the show has been taking pains to paint both Maman and Q as dying suns, mirroring them extensively, so it would make sense to use her fate as foreshadowing’s of Q’s -- with a twist.

The entire scene, while heartbreakingly poetic, makes little sense if they’re not foreshadowing another tragic ending Picard will be able to undo this time.

Otherwise, we’re just adding on to the trauma pile, and that’s not what the show is about.

Incidentally, this scene reminded me of a song from Coldplay, “The Scientist”, whose music video is famous for going in reverse back to a tragic moment:

Below the lyrics, abridged for brevity. They’re... interesting, to say the least:

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you, tell you I need you

Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions

Oh, let's go back to the start

Nobody said it was easy

It's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh, take me back to the start

Hmm.

I was just guessing at numbers and figures

Pulling the puzzles apart

Questions of science, science and progress

Do not speak as loud as my heart

Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me

Oh, and I rush to the start

Running in circles, chasing our tails

Coming back as we are

Two Qs?

Agnes gives us another potential hint:

��To succeed, there must be two Renees. One who lives, and another who dies.”

If there are two Renees, there are two timelines. Perhaps even two versions of Q? Could it be that Picard manages to rewind time to the original “wound” and save Q that way?

But then, we’ve already done time travel this season.

(I HAVE QUESTIONS.)

All pure speculation at this point obviously... But if anyone can find a way to bring back a dead immortal back to life, it’s Picard.

And I’ve long thought that Picard saving Q, instead of being saved by him, was the next step in his character development once he’s overcome his trauma. It would make them equals in the narrative sense (they are equals, don’t mistake me, but in terms of the narrative he’s not there yet) and pave the way for his future ascension. 

A S3 trailer detour

What little the early season 3 trailer gives away raises more questions than it answers, but there are some hidden gems.

Picard is writing letters. Goodbye letters? There seems to be more than one. But who is he sending them to? And why? Is he planning a one-way trip?

“I’m not a man who needs a legacy.”

Legacy? I thought the word was interesting at first, but it’s starting to take on a whole different flavor now that Soong has also been dropping the word left and right in the past 3 episodes...

“Evolution is not an act of preservation, it’s addition.”

Data, my beloved. Ascension, also my beloved. ❤️

Anyway, the part that stood out the most to me is this:

“Those were the days.”

Why would Picard unpack his old TNG uniform? These are 35 years or so out-of-date by now. Even if Starfleet were sending him on a mission, they’d give him a new uniform (like Raffi or Rios), not asking him to dig through his coffers for antiques. So, why?

Are we going back to TNG time? Are they going to pull a Kirk and steal the old Enterprise (assuming it still exists)? Is that why we see them aiming their phasers at something out of frame?

(SO MANY QUESTIONS.)

And the entire senior crew is coming along, we know that. They’re not playing cameos, they’re part of the main cast. So wherever Picard is going, so are they.

I have to ask again, why assemble a geriatric crew of old friends, if the mission isn’t strictly personal?

Just look at Deanna and Will’s lines:

“Aren’t we a bit overdue for a good old-fashioned road trip?”

“I promise, you won’t be alone.”

A good old-fashioned road trip? Certainly doesn’t sound like an official mission to me. And Deanna reassuring Picard that they’ll stand by him only adds to this feeling of a personal mission.

Yet Worf says,

“It is clear sacrifice is required again.”

So it seems they’re going to put themselves in danger. That kind of road trip, then, eh?

(Before we go back to the main ask, this line from Beverly certainly cracks me up:

“When the galaxy comes calling, you love it!”

You know who else occasionally comes calling, to Picard’s annoyance and secret delight, and could be reasonably be compared to a celestial object?

Oh, hi, Q.)

What or who will be the “villain”?

Showrunners described season 3 as a “fascinating and heartbreaking psychological exploration of Picard”, so I’m guessing, no villain?

Note how there are no main villains either in season 2, only consequences of their actions coming back to haunt the protagonists. Soong is perhaps the only exception, but we don’t know what role he’ll play in the finale.

So it wouldn’t shock me at all if season 3 just took the same route, with obstacles and antagonists but no actual villains, if that makes sense.

Will we see Q in S3?

If we do get a Search for Q scenario, I’d assume we won’t see Q until the late part of the season.

That doesn’t mean Q won’t be present as subtext. Look at episodes 2.7 and 2.9: although Q is nowhere, he’s absolutely everywhere.

And if season 3 truly is a psychological exploration of Picard, we’re likely to get a lot of Qcard from Picard’s perspective, which we’ve sorely been lacking. Personally, I’d love it.

Conversely, remember this line from episode 2.7?

“What if the lesson I take is... know him?”

Yes, Picard initially meant that he wants to know Q so he can go “on offense” (PICARD YOU MUPPET), but that ship has clearly sailed. Q is not a threat to them, Soong is. 

So why that line?

Well, if season 2 was “know thyself” for Picard, season 3 could very well be “know Q”. I for one would love to learn more about Q, his background, his feelings...

Imagine if we get both Picard’s perspective and learn more about Q? Bliss.

Anyway, my point is: we could be getting a lot of Q and Q-card, without seeing Q directly on our screen until the end.

But since we’re getting a Q/Riker scene, it’s very likely we’ll see him at some point. So take heart.

[giasesshoumaru]

“Do I still look like a fascist bastard?”

“Fascist? No. Bastard...”

“Touche.” - Chris Rios and Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Picard, Episode 2.3)

[paullev]

Star Trek: Picard Season Two: A Roundtable Discussion

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 298, in which Captain Phil, MaryBeth Ritkouski, Michael Rizzo, and I discuss Star Trek: Picard Season 2 on Paramount+ and much more about Star Trek: TOS, Star Trek: TNG, and all things Star Trek and related.

More about Mary Beth Ritkouski and Michael Rizzo at SciFi Distilled

More about Captain Phil at Captain Phil's Planet

Boarding the Enterprise (edited by David Gerrold and Robert J. Sawyer), anthology with essay "How Star Trek Liberated Television" by Paul Levinson, which discusses the Star Trek syndication impact

Fringe Science: Parallel Universes, White Tulips, and Mad Scientists (edited by Kevin R. Grazier) anthology with essay by Paul Levinson, "The Return of 1950s Television in Fringe," which discusses Levinson's "First Love Syndrome" in popular culture appreciation.

Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time (2020 LP by Paul Levinson on Old Bear Records and Light in the Attic Records)

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.10

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.9

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[giasesshoumaru]

“Strangers don’t usually like me.”

“You and 2024 should get a room.” - Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker (Star Trek: Picard, Episode 2.3)

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.10

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 294, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.10 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.10

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.9

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

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podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

  Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.9

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 290, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.9 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 283, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.8 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.8

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 279, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.7 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.7

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 275, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.6 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.6

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 271, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.5 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.5

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

  Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 269, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.4 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.4

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!

[paullev]

Review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 266, in which I review Star Trek: Picard 2.3 on Paramount+

written blog post review of Star Trek: Picard 2.3

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.2

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard 2.1

podcast review of Star Trek: Picard season 1

a little time travel story -- free

Check out this episode!