Star Trek: Picard season one finale recap: Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

Farewell

Since we already know that Star Trek: Picard will return for a second season, we all guessed that Picard would survive in some manner. But first, he has to find closure. Picard’s been riddled with guilt over the sacrifice Data had made to save Picard. The entire first season has hinged on that, though it hasn’t come to the forefront much.

Following his ‘death’, Picard finds himself seated opposite Data in a sophisticated quantum simulation. Data has been trapped here since his death, because part of his consciousness lived on in his brother B4, and was then also borrowed by Altan and Maddox.

Picard is delighted to see Data again because this allows him to tell Data all the things he couldn’t when he was alive. Picard is happy to see Data’s ‘strange, beautiful face’ once again. He’s relieved to tell Data how much he loved him. More than anything, Picard hopes that Data knows that Picard wishes he had died and not Data. Data, of course, is very logical in his response. If Picard does not regret dying for Soji and her people, why does he imagine that Data does? This is the most perfect scene in this series. Brent Spiner is magical as Data – how do these returning actors so effortlessly capture their characters’ mannerisms and intonations? It’s like Data had never left us at all. All the heartfelt emotion that this series has tried and failed to elicit in us viewers is encapsulated by this authentic exchange between two beloved characters.

Data informs Picard that he’s getting another chance at life. Once back, Data would like Picard to erase his program for good so that Data can finally rest in peace. Picard agrees.

As expected, Jurati and Altan had transferred Picard’s brainwaves to an android replica of the man. This was how Altan had planned to go out, but his sacrifice is Picard’s gain. The new android will age like Picard and eventually die; it also lacks any superpowers. The whole thing is a convenient way to keep Sir Patrick Stewart in the role. Picard deletes the last remnants of Data, allowing the android to die holding the hand of his captain in the simulation. I wish it had been either of Data’s parents, maybe even the love of Data’s life, Tasha Yarr. But Picard in his old Starfleet uniform is still a great companion.

The season ends with Jurati and Rios still a couple (Rios deserves better!), Seven joining La Sirena and, from the looks of it, becoming Raffi’s girlfriend (yay, finally some queer representation on Star Trek: Picard). Elnor is also part of the crew, as is Soji. And Picard finally has a ship and a crew once again.

Final Thoughts

I don’t mind Picard being alive – more Picard the better – it’s that the whole ‘death scene’ felt contrived and meaningless because we knew Picard wasn’t really dead. Considering the crew were bawling their eyes out for Picard, how would they really feel when he just came back alive?

I am in two minds about how well this season was handled. Honestly, it felt like the creators bit off more than they could chew, which meant characters were left by the wayside or under-utilized. The finale was poorly written. Characters appeared only for plot purposes and disappeared when not needed. What were Narek, Raffi, Rios and Elnor doing while Picard was talking to Soji? Where were they? And where did Narek go after the fact? Was he arrested? I really hope Narek doesn’t return; he is so uninteresting.

We are meant to forgive Jurati and root for her and Rios, but the actors have no chemistry. The pairing was signposted from the moment Jurati boarded La Sirena and they’re a mok’tah, as B’Elanna Torres’ grandmother would say. In other words, a bad match. Rios and Jurati have been put together because a straight romance was needed apparently.

I’m not surprised that Seven is queer though. While it’s sad that she and Chakotay broke up and from the sounds of it, Seven is no longer in touch with the Voyager crew, it was evident from her interaction with Bjayzl on Freecloud that their relationship was more than that of ‘just friends’.

With the dust settled, perhaps Star Trek: Picard season two will be more episodic and give characters like Raffi, Elnor and Seven some actual stories, arcs and dialogue. And maybe Picard will get off his high horse and listen to others for a change.