Star Trek: Picard airs new episodes Thursday’s on CBS All Access in North America. Internationally, episode air on Amazon Prime Video the following day.
Synopsis
Picard begins investigating the mystery of Dahj as well as what her very existence means to the Federation. Without Starfleet’s support, Picard is left leaning on others for help, including Dr. Agnes Jurati and an estranged former colleague, Raffi Musiker. Meanwhile, hidden enemies are also interested in where Picard’s search for the truth about Dahj will lead.
Review
At the end of first episode, “Remembrance” (reviewed here), I thought I had Star Trek: Picard all worked out. A complex plot featuring the outlawing of synthetic life forms, wrapped up in a character who tied Picard back to memories of the past.
But soon in to this second episode I realised that actually we had barely begun to scratch the surface of what Picard is all about.
Second episode, “Maps and Legends”, immediately begins to flesh out the story by showing the audience part of the attack on the Utopia Planitia ship yard on mars. We heard in the previous episode that this incident, with synthetic lifeforms setting fire to Mars’ atmosphere and destroying the rescue ships bound for Romulus, is what forced the Federation to withdraw aid from the dying Romulan people.
It’s only a glimpse in to the attack and doesn’t explain why the synthetics turned on their human colleagues. Its tantalising storytelling to drop breadcrumbs like this but also the scene itself shows off some excellent visual effects and is typical of the excellent production values on the series.
We’re soon back at Chateau Picard and picking up on the mystery surrounding Isa Briones’ Dahj. Picard’s reliance on Romulan pals Zhaban (Jamie McShane) and Laris (Orla Brady) continues to be a highlight of the series for me. They’ve become his surrogate family and their relationships all feel very pure and genuine.
Through Laris and Zhaban we learn about a dark ops section of the Tal Shiar called the Zhat Vash. It all sounds very cloak and dagger which is really saying something for the Romulans. It’s narratively convenient that Picard has both these characters living with him and that they are able to give out so much exposition but I’ll forgive the show just because it’s really trying to craft a genuinely engaging mystery over this new long-form storytelling method.
For anyone wanting to learn more about Zhaban and Laris, please go read the Star Trek: Picard Prologue comic book series as they’re both featured there.
Picard and Laris head to Dahj’s apartment which appears to have been scrubbed clean. Also handy is the fact that the pair used to be members of the Tal Shiar and know their way around how the group works. But it’s nice to get Laris away from the Chateau and given a more meaty storyline to work with.
It becomes clear around this point that Star Trek: Picard is really playing a long game with its story. Details are being given to the viewer on a need-to-know only basis which feels so at odds with the classic Star Trek format but at the same time it’s exhilarating to watch.
I found myself hanging on every word as Picard and Laris attempted to piece together what happened to Dahj which caused her to hunt down Picard for solace. It’s all sufficient entertaining and mysterious without becoming dull or drawn out.
From here on in we’re getting in to serious spoiler territory. “Maps and Legends” takes Picard to Starfleet headquarters where we get to see the scene from the trailer in which he has to spell out his own name to get a visitors pass.
He visits Admiral Kirsten Clancy (guest star Ann Magnuson) with whom he has a heated debate about returning to space. She doesn’t believe in his mission and more so she thinks he’s a relic of Starfleet’s past who needs to disappear off back in to history. It’s not nice to see him dismissed in such a horrible manner. It drives home that point that this isn’t the Jean-Luc Picard we left behind in Star Trek: Nemesis.
Wrapping up Jean-Luc’s storyline this week he seeks out his old friend Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and we are finally introduced to her character. Their history has been explored in the Prologue comic much like Zhaban and Laris but its abundantly clear, even in this story introduction, that these two are not on the same page right now.
Elsewhere in the galaxy we get to spend some more time on the Borg cube which is being excavated by the Romulans. Narek (Harry Treadaway) is continuing to try and get on the right side of Soji (Isa Briones). There’s still very little context as to why the Romulans are putting all their efforts in to unlocking the secrets of the Borg.
Those working on the ship seem to be there on good faith but I wonder if they don’t fully understand the true meaning behind their work. Once again Star Trek: Picard shows off some excellent writing by making the viewer feel like they’re learning more about the story when, in fact, we are only taking baby steps towards the true narrative of the season.
“Maps and Legends” really dives deeper in to the current state of Starfleet and the Federation. We learn that Starfleet has been infiltrated by Romulans and that this ties to Narek and his mission aboard the cube. It threatens the entire ideology of Star Trek to its core as we learnt that the group we’ve known as the shining light of the galaxy really has begun to fall from grace.
It also presents Star Trek: Picard with a deeper political undertone. Not only are their sociological aspects to the story with the outlawing of the synthetics but now we have corruption and subterfuge within what is essentially our own government to contend with.
The plot thickens, the action ramps up and I, for one, am completely hooked on every aspect of Star Trek: Picard.
Verdict
“Maps and Legends” presents a deepening mystery for Star Trek: Picard. If you thought you had the story all wrapped up then think again, this is a slower burner which is set to flip Trek on its head!
9/10
Star Trek: Picard is set to star Patrick Stewart, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd, Isa Briones, Harry Treadaway, Alison Pill, Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Del Arco and Evan Evagora. The series debuts on CBS All Access on January 23, 2020 followed by a release on Amazon Prime in the UK and internationally on January 24.
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