Star Trek: Picard is the latest in the vast Star Trek universe. I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical about the show when they announced it. The way I saw it back then was that they wanted to cash in and milk that proverbial cow. Riding on the success of Star Trek: Discovery.
Picard is amazing
Boy, was I wrong! The show is moving, compelling and touching. It is so much better than I actually expected. What I expected was more Next Generation but instead I get an old Picard who has since retired and lives in the rural country with two Romulan friends and Number One , his dog. Picard gets pulled back into the game after a girl looks him up. Not just any girl but it’s Data’s daughter. And it turns out that she actually has a sister too…so imagine the intrigues building up from there.
It’s not just about Picard…
The great thing about this show is that it is not just about Picard. If you think all episodes revolve around the big man, then you will be disappointed. The show manages to give each and every castmember a dedicated storyline which ties into the main storyline. And it is very interesting to see how it plays out.
Agnes Jurati – A doctor working for the Daystrom Institute’s Division of Advanced Synthetic Research on Okinawa who was recruited by Dr. Bruce Maddox. She has had a meeting with Vulcan Commander Oh before she boarded the ship to join Jean Luc Picard on his mission. Commander Oh is secretly a spy for the Tal Shiar, a secret Romulan agency. Jurati kills Maddox and tearfully tells him “if you knew what I knew…” while she watches him die. Jurati is played by actress Allison Pill of The Newsroom fame.
Rafaella “Rafi” Musiker – A former Starfleet intelligence officer struggling with substance abuse who served as Picard’s first officer during the Romulan evacuation. Rafi joins the ship but not the mission in Picard. She was initially only joining him to get to FreeCloud to look up her son. Her son however rejects his mother and Rafi goes back to the ship. It is unknown at this point if the rejection has triggered her addiction.
Elnor – A Romulan refugee, rescued by Picard when he was a child. He is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and is fiercely loyal to Picard. He has been raised to never lie. Not much is known about Elnor except that he was raised by warrior Nuns who pledge themselves to goals when people are really in need. His combat skills are very impressive and so is his ethical reasoning. I wonder if we will get to see him fight more often.
Cristóbal “Chris” Rios – A former Starfleet officer, now owner and pilot of La Sirena, he is also a skilled thief. Picard has hired his services on Raffi’s recommendation. Not much is known about this Captain except that he has multiple holograms going through the ship. One is a pilot and the other is a Emergency Medical Hologram. He is also impressed by the piloting skills of Seven of Nine.
Recommended reading: Captain America: Winter Soldier, a must read!
My thoughts on the newest Star Trek show
I am very very impressed with the new show. I expected an action show with some story instead I got a new TV show with the actors steering the show forward instead of the action. If you want action then Star Trek: Discovery is the better show. If you want to see a more psychological show then Picard is your pick. Both are great shows but the emphasis is just different. Would I recommend the show? I most definitely would. Not just to the old fans but the new ones too. You don’t need to have watched Star Trek: The Next Generation (but I would recommend that anyway) as the story is very accessible.
