PICARD EPISODE 1 REVIEW - "I HAVEN'T BEEN LIVING. I'VE BEEN WAITING TO DIE." [SPOILERS]

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Star Trek: Picard Episode 1 Review

REMEMBRANCE

Directed by HANELLE M. CULPEPPER

Starring PATRICK STEWART, ISA BRIONES, ORLA BRADY, JAMIE MCSHANE, MERRIN DUNGEY, and BRENT SPINER

'Star Trek: Picard' starts out with the familiar-- Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and Jean Luc are playing poker. Data accuses Jean Luc of stalling and he's right. Jean Luc doesn't want the game to end and neither do we. Scenes like this are hard to come by. They're both masterful actors who need no introduction. They step back into their respective roles like one would walk into a room, which is easier said than done. There have been more than a few reboots with rusty actors and questionable writing. Thankfully 'Star Trek: Picard' doesn't have this problem.

"Jean Luc doesn't want the game to end and neither do we."

Sadly we know this scene will end because Data died 18 years ago at the end of  'Star Trek: Nemesis.' That's not the only wrench in this cog. The Star Trek universe as we know it was changed with the reboot of the film franchise in 2009. In this reality, the Romulan sun would go supernova in the late 24th century during 'Star Trek: The Next Generation's' (TNG) timeline.

Brent Spiner in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

WHY ARE YOU STALLING CAPTAIN?

Data [to Picard]

I DON'T WANT THE GAME TO END. 

Picard [to Data]

In this slightly altered reality, Picard coordinates Starfleet's mission to evacuate 900 million Romulans. Ten years later (2399) Picard is retired and seemingly content at his vineyard Chateau Picard. We're surprised to see two loyal, but cheeky Romulan caretakers, Laris (Orla Brady) and Zahban (Jamie McShane). During the TNG years, the Romulans were not known for being warm and fuzzy, but Laris and Zhaban are different. They keep Picard company, worry about his sleeping habits, and make sure he eats.

Patrick Stewart and Orla Brady in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

AFTER SO LONG SOMETIMES I WORRY YOU'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT YOU DID. WHO YOU ARE. 

Laris [to Picard]

LARIS I...

Picard [to Laris]

WE HAVE NOT. 

Laris [to Picard]

We leave the idyllic scene of the vineyard to the bustling city apartment of newcomer Isa Briones (Dahj/Soji). Dahj is having a quiet evening with her boyfriend when assassins burst in. They whisper something about capturing Dahj before she's activated. They kill her boyfriend who barely utters a sentence. This immediately turns Dahj into a killing machine. She makes quick work of the assassins. I assume this was the activation they spoke of! When she goes on the run she sees Picard's face in her mind's eye and on every television in the vicinity. Picard is having a bad day during an interview gone wrong.

"He doesn't have a starship. He's not a Starfleet officer. He doesn't have a crew."

Patrick Stewart in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

Picard is reluctantly interviewed by a Starfleet proxy on the 10 year anniversary of the Romulan supernova. The interviewer (Merrin Dungey, 'Alias') boxes Picard in a corner about his role in the rescue mission. She believes rescuing the Romulans was a mistake. After a series of wars and the destruction of Mars, Starfleet has become isolationist. It's here we learn that the Romulan rescue mission went badly because the rescue armada was sabotaged by synthetic humanoids. They destroyed the armada, burned the Mars settlement to the ground, and killed 93,000 federation citizens. Starfleet ordered Picard to abandon the rescue of 900 million Romulans, leaving them to their fate. Picard considered this to be an immoral order, so he disobeyed it. He resigned his commission shortly thereafter.

"Picard's strength was never in his arms. It's his character."

Merrin Dungey in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

YOU'RE A STRANGER TO HISTORY. YOU'RE A STRANGER TO WAR. YOU JUST WAVE YOUR HAND AND IT ALL GOES AWAY. WELL, IT'S NOT SO EASY FOR THOSE WHO DIED AND IT WAS NOT SO EASY FOR THOSE WHO WERE LEFT BEHIND. 

Picard [to Interviewer]

It's in this scene that we see the Picard we know and love. He bites back with passionate moral outrage and Patrick Stewart's Shakesperean tongue. It's glorious. Unlike the interviewer (and apparently Starfleet), Picard values life, including Romulan lives and he's furious at what Starfleet's become and he makes no bones about it.

You can see more about the Mars settlement in 'Star Trek: Children of Mars' on CBS All Access.

When Dahj finds Picard the two have an instant bond that neither can explain. He doesn't understand her distress, but he knows he has to help her. Dahj is a mystery even to herself. She doesn't know what happened to her or her boyfriend.

Patrick Stewart in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

Picard unravels the mystery surrounding Dahj, discovering that she is a synthetic human created by the late Commander Data. Before we can fully process this information, Picard and Dahj are attacked by a Romulan kill squad. It's good to remember that Patrick Stewart is nearly 80 years old. Dahj and Picard had a funny little moment when she tries to help him up the stairs as they run away. This is not the Picard from the mid-1990s who fought the Borg, but it's realistic. Picard's strength was never in his arms. It's his character.

Patrick Stewart and Isa Briones in 'Picard' | CBS Corporation | 2020

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU.

Picard [to Dahj]

As soon as we get attached to Dahj she's killed. We get a brief glimpse of Picard's devastation of not being able to protect Commander Data's daughter, but the first episode ends before we want it to. We want to see more. As the episode ends, we learn that Dahj has a twin who is still alive, working in an abandoned Borg cube no less. We are introduced to a new character Dr. Agnes Jurati (Allison Pill) who studies synthetics. I'm really looking forward to how this season unravels.

But what I really enjoyed is how Picard is stripped bare. He doesn't have a starship. He's not a Starfleet officer. He doesn't have a crew. All he has is himself, his dignity, and his belief to always do the right thing. It's these three things that make Picard who he is, nothing more.

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