Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has conquered many obstacles, but apparently love isn’t one of them. Star Trek: Picard’s season two premiere, “The Star Gazer”, has the legendary Starfleet admiral engaging in time travel shenanigans once again. La Sirena’s crew reunites from various Alpha quadrant locales to investigate an anomaly in space-time. The episode has soap opera contrivances until a thrilling climax. We also get the requisite return of classic Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. It’s an uneven start that continues the narrative issues from the first season.
SPOILER WARNING“The Star Gazer” opens with an attack on the ship by an unknown force. Officers are zapped as they storm the bridge. A shaken Picard looks at a robotic creature with tentacles. He orders the ship to self-destruct. A card reads “Forty-Eight Hours Earlier.”
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Picard watches in satisfaction as a new vintage of Château Picard is bottled at his vineyard in France. He celebrates that night with a now widowed Laris (Orla Brady). We learn that it has been a year and a half since the android showdown on Coppelius. Laris initiates a romantic encounter. An unsure Picard hesitates and kills the mood. A disappointed Laris wonders why he wants to be alone.
In space, La Sirena has been infiltrated by pirates trying to steal medical supplies. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and the ship’s hologram (Santiago Cabrera) repel the assault. She’s on the ship by herself. The computer alerts her to an anomaly in space-time nearby.
On a diplomatic mission, Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) gets drunk while Soji (Isa Briones) entertains. Jurati turns down a guest’s advances. She’s recently broken up with Cristobal Rios. On cue, she’s called back to the Star Gazer. A cigar-smoking Rios (Cabrera), now the Star Gazer’s captain, needs her expertise to investigate the anomaly. They approach an ominous green crack in space. A message bursts out in multiple languages. Jurati deciphers it, “Help Us Picard.”
Related: Star Trek: Picard Season 2: Cast, Plot, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know
On Earth, Picard remembers his mother (Madeline Wise) before leaving to deliver a speech at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. Now it’s chancellor, he tells the cadets that time is fleeting, and they must treasure every moment. He congratulates Elnor (Evan Evagora) as the first Romulan graduate. Then gives Elnor a book written by Spock. Elnor is placed on the Excelsior. Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) is the ship’s first officer. She laments that her relationship with Seven has cooled.
Picard transports to Guinan’s (Whoopi Goldberg) bar in Los Angeles. The El-Aurian has allowed herself to age to fit in with her human friends. They drink together and reminisce. Guinan prods Picard to find love and companionship.
Picard returns to the château. He enters the arboretum and again remembers his mother. This time in a tragic sense. She reminds him to always look up to the heavens. He receives an urgent visitor from Starfleet. She plays him the message from the anomaly. The full recording is a request from the mysterious aliens to join the Federation. Picard leaves hurriedly on a shuttle. A wistful Laris watches him go.
The shuttle lands on the Star Gazer. Picard’s met by Seven, who previously arrived and was lambasted by Rios for damaging his beloved ship. All the crew members stand at attention as Picard walks to the bridge. It’s a brief reunion with Rios and Jurati before trouble.
Picard sends a hailing message on all frequencies into the anomaly. The green crack in space opens wider. A new type of Borg ship emerges. Rios orders red alert on the Star Gazer and every ship in the Starfeet armada. Seven yells at Picard that they need to open fire immediately. They thought the Borg had been decimated.
The T-shaped Borg ship sends another message. The Borg Queen wants to speak directly with Picard on the Bridge. Seven begs Picard to destroy them. The entire Federation could be at stake. Jurati offers a different opinion. This may be a new kind of Borg entity. They could be powerful allies.
Picard wavers with uncertainty. The Borg transports the Queen through the Star Gazer’s shields unto the bridge. The Borg Queen has a humanoid shape but no organic features. Rios and every officer draw their phasers. Suddenly, the Borg Queen stabs tentacles into the ship’s control panels.
The faceless Borg Queen begins to take control of the ship. Everyone opens fire. The energy blasts are deflected back to the crew. But they are stunned not killed. Jurati screams that the Borg are using the Star Gazer’s computer to infect the entire Armada. Picard takes command. He orders the ship to self-destruct in ten seconds.
The crew looks at each other in terror as countdown ends. The Borg Queen, just like his mother, tells Picard to always look up. The Star Gazer and the other ships explode. Picard wakes up on the floor of his arboretum. He looks outside at a solar shield around the vineyard.
A confused Picard stumbles around his changed home. He sees a portrait of himself in a threatening black Starfleet uniform. An alien butler greets him. Picard asks where is Laris? He then gets a shocking surprise. Q (John de Lancie) appears in front of him. An enraged Picard curses him and demands to know what happened. Q “catches up” to Picard’s age. He devilishly informs Picard that humanity’s trial from the “Encounter at Farpoint”, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s debut episode, has not ended.
Picard has somehow been transported to an alternate timeline. A trailer for season two shows Picard finding his former crew. Then going back in time to correct the future. It seems that they all have their memories. The time travel arc has been used repeatedly in every Star Trek iteration. We’ll have to see how the new Borg factor into the story, why Picard’s mother is involved, and Q’s agenda.
A Subplot With A Brief Introduction
I have a mixed response to the season two premiere. It was ridiculous to have multiple characters in relationships. Then conveniently have Rios, Jurati, Seven, and Raffi all broken up without any exposition. Laris’ interest in Picard makes sense. As does his inability to reciprocate affection. Duty has always been Picard’s primary focus. This subplot needed more than a brief introduction. Guinan was essentially brought back to tell Picard it’s okay to have a girlfriend. Picard’s characters bounce around like ping pong balls. The producers need to take more time for proper development. This was a benchmark of Star Trek: The Next Generation and has been sadly lacking in Picard so far.
Q’s return better be substantive and not glorified fan service. The idea that he’s still manipulating Picard has promise. The idea of a new Borg Collective in the Federation is also an intriguing development. The Borg Queen was not harming the Star Gazer’s crew. It may be a stretch to suddenly have the Borg be good guys. Is another antagonist manipulating events? We’ll find out over the ten-episode second season. Star Trek: Picard premieres every Thursday exclusively on Paramount Plus.
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Julian Roman
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