star trek picard no win scenario cast

No Win Scenario (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.2 Cast and characters
• 4.3 Reception
• 4.4 Continuity
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Special guest stars
• 5.3 Guest starring
• 5.4 Co-starring
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 Stunt doubles
• 5.7 Stand-ins
• 5.8.1 LCARS references
• 5.8.2 Star chart references
• 5.8.3 Music Festival 2395 references
• 5.8.4 Meta references
• 5.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Starfleet cadets at 10 Forward Avenue in 2396

At 10 Forward Avenue in 2396 , Admiral Picard sits alone at a corner table as a plate is put in front of him by a Tellarite waiter . As he prepares to dig into his lunch , a group of cadets from Starfleet Academy approach, asking about an encounter he had had with the Hirogen , peppering him with questions about being hunted by the Alpha . Picard tries to deflect, saying he was not one for telling stories, but the cadets are insistent, asking how he escaped. Picard decides to go ahead, explaining that Lieutenant Commander Worf had constructed a "deadfall trap", turning the hunter into the prey. He goes on to urge them to remember that no matter how bleak or unwinnable a situation may seem, as long as they and their crew remained steadfast in their dedication, one was never without hope.

Five years later , in the present day, Picard stands alone in his quarters on the crippled USS Titan -A as it continues its descent towards the gravity well in the Ryton system nebula, crashing into asteroids on the way. On the bridge , Captain Riker orders more power pulled from other systems to reinforce the shields , but Ensign Kova Esmar reports that they have no systems to pull from. Engines are still down, and they keep hemorrhaging power every time Ensign La Forge tries to engage them. Engineering has sustained damage during the Shrike 's attack. Lieutenant Mura reports that main power was down to nine percent, and the more power they used, the faster it depletes; the ship is bleeding to death. Riker suggests pulling power from either the warp core or the impulse reactors , but Esmar warns that it would cause the reactors to melt down. Lieutenant T'Veen concurs; even if they rerouted power temporarily, they would not have enough power to divert it back to prevent a chain reaction that would destroy the ship. Weapon power is zeroed out, and they are sinking faster towards the gravity well. Diverting power to shields would affect life support , and diverting from the engines would mean they could not escape the gravity well when they need to. Riker asks how long they would have if they diverted everything to life support; Esmar's grim estimate is only a few hours. Riker orders all non-essential systems shut down, and the crew to be gathered into common areas to conserve life support power. Just then, a blinding flash heralds a bio-electrical wave striking the ship. Mura reports damage to the shields, warning that they will lose shields altogether if they don't lower them between impacts. Riker orders the shields lowered.

Riker goes to Picard to report the situation: The Titan is dead in the water and would be crushed by the gravity well within four hours, but life support will have failed well before then. He then concedes that Picard had been right earlier. He remembers seeing the burial of his son Thaddeus , thinking that while the hole in the ground was only six feet deep, it felt like infinite emptiness. He and Picard have been across the far reaches of space, but nothing has proved to him that there was anything after death, and he had tried to shake that ever since Thaddeus died. Troi felt everything, but she couldn't live with him feeling nothing, and Riker admits he couldn't live with that either, which was why he left and came with Picard – because he was running from death, only to find it again. " This is the end, my friend, " he sums up grimly, and advises his old captain to take what time they have left to get to know his son and put his affairs in order. Picard can only watch sadly as Riker leaves to return to the bridge.

Act One [ ]

Seven of Nine , phaser in hand, goes into the quarters of Ensign Foster , the man Jack Crusher had identified as a Changeling . As she opens the closet, the body of the real Foster falls to the deck.

Seven reports to Riker that the Changeling killed Foster days before ambushing Jack in the nacelle control room. To her shock, Riker orders her to keep it quiet. Seven reminds him that there is a saboteur onboard, but Riker points out that if the Changeling's mission was to deliver Jack to Vadic , it had indeed failed, and if Vadic wanted to come after them, she would have done so already. Riker makes it clear he is not suggesting they do nothing, but is emphatic about keeping it quiet for the sake of crew morale, which is already low. He says he could reinstate her, but having her working in an unofficial capacity could work to their advantage. Seven understands completely, and agrees. " Go get the bastard, " Riker orders. Seven begins walking through the corridors, eyes alert for any sign of an infiltrator.

In sickbay , as the body of Ensign Foster is put into a body bag, Beverly Crusher is holding a PADD and counts down from seven to one, just as another flash heralds a bio-electrical wave, not an asteroid as they had expected. Picard enters a moment later, and Beverly asks about their situation. A grim look and a shake of the head is all the answer she needs. Picard understands time is precious, but asks for a moment or two alone with Jack.

Captain Shaw is alone in his quarters, sharpening a knife against a whet stone resting on his propped-up and injured leg, when his door chimes insistently. His visitor turns out to be Seven, and he sarcastically congratulates her on the "bang-up job" her "heroes" have done with his ship and mentions how much he loves the current view outside. Seven gets straight to the point: they have a Changeling onboard, and given the state of the corpse in sickbay, it has been aboard since before they picked up the Crushers. And as much as it pains her to admit, they have a major personnel problem, and no one knows the ship better than Shaw. Shaw beckons her in.

Alone in the conference room, Riker begins recording a message for Troi in the event the Titan is ever recovered, but he finds himself unable to find the words he needs. Meanwhile, Picard takes Jack to the holodeck , the program a recreation of 10 Forward Avenue, which he calls a place of great significance to him, and asks if Jack had ever been there, to which he says he had not. Picard invites him to have a drink, offering something from his own backyard , but Jack admits to not being much of a "wine guy", preferring whiskey . Jack is surprised the holodeck is running given the state of the ship, to which Picard explains that the holodecks run on an independent power source to provide a kind of sanctuary for the crew in times of distress. Jack sarcastically comments on the idea of cramming into a "tropical paradise" while the ship implodes around them, but says this "fake place" is as good as any to die in. Jack begins to talk seriously about the "elephant in the room": when Picard lost his hair. Picard notes his age in the early 20s and tells him to "enjoy it while [he] can", earning a laugh. He asks to know more about Jack's life, and Jack admits he doesn't know where to begin. Picard then decides to cut to the chase and ask why Jack never wanted to get to know him. Jack is quiet for a moment, before mentioning that there was something Picard might be interested in. He recalls a supply run to M'talas IV , "a vile place" as he calls it, where he was trapped in a cargo hold with an Andorian with a broken antenna , which he had tried to help reset. Picard listens as he goes on.

Shaw wonders why a Changeling would infiltrate the ship as a transporter operator, but Seven admits she doesn't know, as she had never encountered them before. Shaw has, calling them "walking, talking clay-dough", able to replicate appearances on sight, as well as voices, mannerisms, and speech patterns. Typically, the easiest way to discover an infiltrator is to ask a simple question about something they should know, and if they give a wrong answer, " boom, Changeling, " as he puts it. Seven points out that it would require considerable knowledge about the rest of the crew. Shaw suddenly remarks that they had both gotten off on the wrong foot, and he underestimated Seven, believing she would be a great captain someday, before qualifying that this would be something he would say if he were a Changeling (" and not just a dick, " as Seven adds). However, he does admit she was right about one thing: there are five hundred people on the ship, making it difficult to find one infiltrator. He suggests baiting the Changeling, making them come to her, by "steal[ing] their pot", before "sadly" noting he doesn't mean cannabis . He explains that Changelings cannot hold solid form for too long, and have to regenerate in liquid form. Based on Starfleet 's files on Odo , he suspects the Changeling Foster has some kind of receptacle in which to regenerate, and tells her to find it; it would have leftover "residue goo" (which he shortens to "resi-goo") which could be input into the computer, allowing her to scan the ship for their saboteur.

As another wave shakes the ship, Seven tears Foster's quarters apart, searching for the pot. She then notices a shadow in one of the light fixtures, and finds the pot , laughing to herself as she finds "resi-goo" at the bottom of it.

On the bridge of the Shrike , outside the nebula, Vadic rises from her chair and walks over to a nearby console. With a knife , she removes her left hand, revealing that she too is a Changeling. The material shapes into a levitating face, which demands a report. She explains that the Titan cannot escape the gravity well. When told to pursue, Vadic says it is not possible with her ship's payload. The face again demands she pursue. Vadic protests that it would be suicide, but her contact counters that it would be suicide to refuse, reminding her that everything is expendable, even Vadic herself, in their effort to obtain and deliver Jack, or "the asset" as it calls him. Vadic finally agrees and orders the portal device disengaged from the ship before the Shrike returns to the nebula.

Act Two [ ]

At 10 Forward Avenue in 2396, Picard relates the story to the cadets about his encounter decades before with the Children of Tama , whose language was based on metaphor . Having told several stories by then, he tries to get back to his lunch, but one cadet asks about an incident with his friend Jack Crusher , regarding a mishap aboard a shuttle, later calling it a "no-win scenario". Picard recalls he had been about the same age as the cadets, and perhaps even "a little reckless".

In the present, a young ensign from the Titan 's crew enters the holodeck, asking if it is private; several other officers are waiting outside the door. Picard beckons them all in. Jack can see what Picard had been trying to get at, that their environment would make things "better" somehow, but he doesn't feel he needed it. Picard, however, thinks that everyone needs some kind of connection, and tells him to look around. The Titan crew are both tired and scared, but are choosing to stick together, some holding onto one another, as if it is the last moment of their lives. Jack finally decides to open up, explaining he grew up on his own. He had his mother, but he was content with being on the outside, and didn't feel he needed a "moment". Picard admits that perhaps he himself does.

Seven calls the biochemistry lab to have a substance – the Changeling residue – scanned. Though the biochemistry lab is closed to conserve power, she insists it is an emergency. Just then, an ensign pulls his phaser and kills one of the other crew, before turning and vaporizing the pot in Seven's hand. Seven pulls her own weapon and blasts off one of the man's arms, seeing the Changeling regenerate its solid form for herself. He charges at Seven, and she fires several more shots, and it goes completely gelatinous before seeping into the wall vents. She calls sickbay to inform them an officer has been killed. Beverly, who seems to know what is coming, remarks to herself that it is about to get worse.

Jack asks Picard about the "worst jam", other than their current situation, he has ever been in. Picard remembers it had involved Jack's namesake. Jack always wondered why his mother had named him for her first husband. Picard explains that the elder Jack was his best friend at the Academy, and that if he had had the opportunity, that was the name he would have chosen for his son too. They were on leave on Argelius IV and met two "delightful and enthusiastic" young women there before being called back to the USS Stargazer . Picard decided to "borrow" a shuttle for him and Jack to accept the women's "invitation" for a romantic encounter ("get laid" as the younger Jack puts it). On their way back to the ship, a micrometeoroid shower struck the shuttle at high speed, disabling the engines and life support, and Picard had disabled the comms so no one on the ship could know they had "borrowed" the shuttle. However, they improvised a system diverting power between the docking thrusters and life support, "inching" their way in a ten-hour trip before they made it back to the ship. They had been in sync throughout, Jack navigating, Picard firing the thrusters. Picard can see that Jack has already heard this story and asks if his mother told it.

Just then, Shaw enters, walking with a cane , complimenting the "harrowing tale of survival", and noting that Jack's mother was "liberal" with her pain medication . He asks Jack if Picard ever brought up when they first met; he had been aboard the USS Constance on stardate 44002.3 , thirty-four years earlier . Picard remembers all too well what he's referring to: Shaw is a survivor of the Battle of Wolf 359 , in which forty Federation starships battled against a single Borg cube . Shaw had been in engineering during the battle, and then the next moment, he said it felt like space was burning. Fifty of the Constance 's crew made it to the life deck , but there was only one escape pod , with ten seats. They had all been friends, and they didn't fight over who would live or die; they waited for orders. A lieutenant came down and began picking out the crew to go into the pod, and Shaw, "just some dipshit from Chicago " as he refers to himself, was the last to be chosen. The lieutenant didn't even choose herself, simply ordering the crew to go. Ever since, he has always wondered if the lieutenant made a mistake ; eleven thousand people had died in the battle, and yet he had survived. He asks Jack if he knew where his "old man" was during the battle, before telling him: Picard had been on the cube. He had been assimilated by the Borg , who gave him the name Locutus : " the only Borg so deadly, they gave him a goddamn name, " he rages. Jack tries to shut him down, but to Shaw's clear surprise, Picard stops him, saying it is alright and he understands, before quietly leaving. Shaw, clearly shaken by his memories, looks around at his crew staring at him, and apologizes, remarking that at some point "asshole became a substitute for charm".

Jack catches up to Picard in the corridor , assuring him he didn't need to explain himself, but Picard is glad to talk to him anyway. Just then, Beverly sees them, explaining that she had been counting the period between the energy waves from the gravity well striking the ship, and found a pattern, a pattern that matched that of contractions leading to childbirth. If the smaller waves were any indication, that "birth" will destroy the ship. They have to escape, but they have no power… until Jack realizes that the waves' energy could be used to let them "hitch a ride" out.

The three of them take the idea to Riker, who considers it insane. Both Picard and Jack insist it could work, using the waves to ride out, away from the nebula, the gravity well, and the "space babies". Beverly clarifies that it is clear they were swimming in the amniotic fluid of a spaceborne lifeform, and that they had encountered similar creatures in the past, such as the Farpoint creature . Familiar with the shuttle story, Riker points out that the Titan is not a two-man shuttle, and can only see trouble: using the thrusters would drain the power, they have no sensors to navigate the asteroid field, and the power array could explode. Starfleet protocol states they need to stay put and wait for rescue, but Picard counters that no one is coming to help them: if they stay put, they will die. Looking down at the recording he was trying to make for Troi, Riker replies that at least they would leave something behind. Seeing this as well, Beverly points out that Deanna would tell them it is about trust. They are all together in this moment, and she thinks they should do what they spent most of their lives learning to be great at. Picard agrees, reminding him that they have been in such situations before, and if it is the end, they will face it together. Riker finally gives in, recalling that the nacelles are protected from absorbing too much radiation, but if the covers are opened manually, they could possibly absorb energy from the wave that would go directly into the warp core. All are in agreement. " Then let's get the hell out of here, " Riker says, speaking for them all.

Act Three [ ]

Riker addresses the entire crew, explaining the plan. He elects to be honest, calling it a "hell of a risk", and that if anything went wrong, they would know quickly. Most of them do not know him, but he knows something about them: He is only as effective as they are, and his experience has taught him that if they work together, they will get through.

Picard and Seven approach Shaw in his quarters. Picard knows he is the last person Shaw wants to see at this moment, but they need his help, despite the fact that Shaw is indeed a "dipshit from Chicago". Shaw is aware of the plan, and knows they realized that despite the refit upgrades, the nacelle covers are two decades old, and none of the engineering crew know how to hot-wire them, so they came to an "old grease monkey". Shaw tells Seven to give him five minutes and meet him in nacelle control.

Beverly counts the period between waves, and warns Riker they would need at least one more for it to work. Meanwhile, Shaw and Seven get to work. Shaw suddenly notes that if the Changeling really wanted to sabotage them, the best place to do it would be right there and then. He comes to a realization, and as much as she hates to admit it, Seven has the same idea, and reports it to Riker. Picard has Jack stay on the bridge with his mother, while Riker has all of the available power diverted to thrusters. All over the ship, power begins to go down as it is diverted, and Esmar warns they have only a few minutes of life support. Riker tells the crew to take a deep breath and hold it if they can. Shaw calls in, needing a few more minutes for the nacelle covering. Beverly's readings show the last wave coming in two minutes, giving Shaw only that much time. Riker then turns the conn over to Picard, as he is the only person there with any experience "flying blind". Taking the center seat, Picard has La Forge bring them about to position them for the wave, and aft thrusters at one-quarter, before giving the order: " Engage. "

Act Four [ ]

The crew works to divert every available bit of power they can for the thrusters, as they need full power to ride the wave. Shaw is able to get the cover open for the port nacelle. Riker asks if they can manage it alone, and they assure him they can. The door opens to herald La Forge, who says she was sent down to help. She asks if they will still be able to fly with only one cover open. Just then, Seven puts her phaser to La Forge's head, revealing she told Riker not to send anyone. When La Forge refers to Seven as "Commander Hansen", that proves to be her undoing, and Seven fires; La Forge was the Changeling. Shaw asks how she knew, and Seven pointedly replies that La Forge always calls her "Commander Seven", out of respect. " Good call, " he concedes, and gets back to work.

The real La Forge is at the helm, working with the thrusters. Riker asks for an update on the nacelle covers, just as Shaw disconnects the system. " Open for business, " he replies. But they have the asteroid field in front of them, and La Forge has no contact sensors. Picard has Jack call out the contacts, while Picard orders the thrusters, just like he had on the Stargazer shuttle. On one particularly close call, Jack tells Picard to wait a few seconds before giving the order. Picard elects to go with his instinct, and sure enough, it works out. Thrusters are up to 98 percent, but there is no more power to divert. With nothing left but to go all in, Riker orders power diverted from life support. T'Veen counts down to the gravimetric detonation from the gravity well, and a few seconds after "one", the wave goes off. The energy goes into the open covers and directly into the warp core, recharging the ship and bringing systems back online. Picard orders La Forge to gun the engines and stay with the wave, the young bridge crew working together seamlessly to correct any problems. With the warp nacelles able to funnel the massive energy influx to their full potential, La Forge reports that it will bring the warp drive back online in 90 seconds. T'Veen reports the nebula is changing around them.

Suddenly, Mura brings them up short: the Shrike is directly in front of them, and Vadic is clearly eager for a fight. Riker asks if the tractor beam is operating, and when La Forge confirms it is, he orders the beam to pick up one of the asteroids. When he judges the time right, he orders keel thrusters, and then has the beam cut, hurling the massive asteroid head-on into the Shrike , which tumbles head-over-heels while the Titan sails right by. The Shrike crew frantically reports that the warp core had gone into emergency shutdown to stop it from going critical, and impulse engines are offline. They will need at least an hour for repairs. Vadic can only sit, head in her hands, as she has once again lost her quarry.

Shaw and Seven arrive on the bridge as the nebula begins to break apart, and thousands of jellyfish-like creatures swim around the ship. " To seek out new life, " Beverly whispers in wonder. Riker, glad to have survived, thinks they should "boldly get the hell out of here", and orders La Forge to take them to warp. The Titan crew, even Shaw himself, are greatly relieved to have survived the ordeal together and would now be going home.

At 10 Forward Avenue five years earlier, Picard wraps up his story to the cadets, explaining that one was only as good as those around them, and that their crew become a part of them: " They lift you up to accomplish the things you could never do alone. " Again, he tries to get back to his lunch, when someone else suddenly speaks up from the bar – Jack, wearing a hat and trying to look inconspicuous. He mentions how Picard went on about his crew and life in Starfleet, but he wonders: what about life outside of Starfleet? What about an actual family? Unaware of who he actually is at this time, Picard says simply that he considered Starfleet to be all the family he ever needed. As the cadets applaud his answer, their shifting bodies obscure Jack momentarily until they part to show an empty bar stool. In the present, Picard suddenly recalls that memory and connects the dots.

" I–I don't quite have the words yet… but we witnessed a kind of birth here, and it reminded me that there's a whole universe out there. "

Riker speaks with Troi over the comms, trying to explain his feelings, reaching out after what the Titan had just been through. She assures him she is glad that he is alright, as is the crew. He admits that something is different now, and he doesn't quite have the words for it, but they had witnessed a birth, and it reminded him that there was a whole universe out there, and that it could be both beautiful and amazing. She notes he has not said anything so "lovely" in a long time, and Riker concedes this, apologizing for it, and expresses his willingness to fix things with her. She asks if he and Picard are in trouble, and he admits he doesn't know yet.

In his quarters, Jack throws some water on his face when he sees a red, spreading growth reflected in the mirror. Voices begin echoing in his mind, whispering phrases like "find me" and "together soon", while his mind's eye sees visions of apocalypse and a door opening. After pounding his head and trying to clear the images, Jack is only left to look, haunted, at his own reflection.

Log entries [ ]

• Admiral's log, USS Titan (NCC-80102-A)

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Don't come. Don't come. Fine, open. "

" I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room. " " Yes, of course. " " The hair. When did it go? " " You're, uh, what? 23? 24? Enjoy it while you can. "

" Look, you and I got off on the wrong foot. I underestimated you. You have great instincts. You're a natural leader, make a great captain one day. Which is something I totally would say... " " If you were a Changeling and not just a dick. " " Now you're starting to catch on. "

" So… so… maybe you get them to come to you. " " How? " " Bait them. Steal their pot. " " Pot? I'm assuming you're not referring to cannabis. " " Sadly, no. "

" No sensors. No visuals. Ten fucking grueling hours. He and I in sync though. Him navigating, me firing the thrusters, simply hoping, until, finally, we were home. "

" Why – why me? I'm just some dipshit from Chicago. Now, I'm... lucky number ten. "

" Eleven thousand dead. And do you know where your old man was on that day? He was on that Borg cube , setting the world on fire! Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer . The real Borg are still out there, and they have a name for you: Locutus of Borg . The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name. " " All right, that's enough! " " No, no. It's alright. I understand. Computer, arch. "

" Captain Shaw, I realize that I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I need your help despite the fact that you are indeed a dipshit from Chicago. " " Nice. "

" Excuse me, admiral? You went on and on about your crew, your life in Starfleet. Did you have a life outside of that? What about a... a real family? " " Young man, Starfleet has been the only family I have ever needed. "

" Will, did you just throw an asteroid? " " Goddamn right I did. "

Background information [ ]

• 2 March 2022 : Title publicly revealed in TRR : " Seventeen Seconds ".
• The title, "No Win Scenario", is a generic reference to the Kobayashi Maru scenario , a name that has been previously used as the title of the DIS Season 4 episode " Kobayashi Maru " and the PRO Season 1 episode " Kobayashi ".

Cast and characters [ ]

• Despite being credited as part of the main cast, Michelle Hurd ( Raffaela Musiker ) does not appear in this episode.

Reception [ ]

• TRR : " No Win Scenario " discusses the making of, and events in, this episode.

Continuity [ ]

Odo's brief appearance

• While discussing how to root out a Changeling, Captain Shaw hands Seven a PADD that includes an image of Odo .
• Like Argelius II , the system's fourth planet, Argelius IV , was also home to alluring women.
• Shaw also reveals that he is from Chicago , Illinois . (The actor who portrays Shaw, Todd Stashwick , is from Chicago as well.)
• He also says, "Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer. The real Borg are still out there", obliquely referencing the ending of PIC Season 2 , where a more benign Borg collective, led by Doctor Agnes Jurati , was presented. It serves to clarify that the original Borg collective still exists, also foreshadowing its actual involvement in this season.
• The stardate given in Picard's admiral's log , 78183.10, helps roughly date the episode as taking place 37 years post TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ".
• The Changeling posing as Ensign Foster becomes the second Changeling embedded with Humans to die this season. It is further revealed that their pursuer, Vadic , is too a Changeling.
• The Changeling bucket discovered hidden behind a lighting fixture is a visual callback to the overloading phaser in Captain Kirk 's quarters found behind a red alert indicator during the events of TOS : " The Conscience of the King ".
• This episode addresses the reason for holodecks containing independent power cells, first referenced during the macrovirus outbreak on the USS Voyager . ( VOY : " Macrocosm ") Previously, holodecks had been tied into the ship's main power supply and were shut down by the computer during emergencies. ( TNG : " Booby Trap ")
• This was the first episode of the series in which a stardate was given.
• Reference is also made to the Hirogen ( Star Trek: Voyager ) having found their way to the Alpha Quadrant at some point. Presumably, this is at some point while Picard still commanded the USS Enterprise -E, as he describes a trap laid by "Lieutenant Commander" Worf .

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard / Locutus of Borg (uncredited; archived voice only)
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
• Michelle Hurd as Raffaela Musiker (credit only)
• Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher

Special guest stars [ ]

• Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker
• Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher
• Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi

Guest starring [ ]

• Todd Stashwick as Liam Shaw
• Amanda Plummer as Vadic
• Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge / Sidney La Forge (Changeling)

Co-starring [ ]

• Stephanie Czajkowski as Lt. T'Veen
• Joseph Lee as Lt. Mura
• Chad Lindberg as Ensign Foster
• Jin Maley as Ensign Esmar
• Tiffany Shepis as Dr. Ohk
• Jasmine Akakpo as Titan Ensign
• Amy Earhart as Titan Computer
• Garth Kemp as The Face (voice)
• Dylan J. Locke as Cadet #1
• Yumarie Morales as Young Cadet

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Rene Auberjonois as Odo (file photo)
• An Dang as Titan Orion sciences ensign
• Hayden Hiebert as Titan Vulcan ops ensign
• Justin Nickels as Tellarite server
• Eric Watson as Titan security officer (Changeling)
• Unknown performers as Shrike personnel

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Katelyn Brooke as stunt double for Jeri Ryan

Stand-ins [ ]

• Margot Muraszkiewicz as stand-in for Jeri Ryan
• Thadeus Welch as stand-in for Patrick Stewart

References [ ]

10 Forward Avenue ; 2377 ; 2378 ; 2396 ; acting captain ; admiral ; admiral's log ; Allen, Slim ; Alpha Hirogen ; Alpha Hirogen trapped by Worf ; Ambassador -class ; amniotic fluid ; Andorian ; Andorian patient ; answer ; antenna ; antimatter phase emitter ; Arcanis Lager ; arch ; Argelius IV ; asteroid ; asteroid field ; backyard ; Bajoran ; Battle of Wolf 359 ; beast ; Betazoid ; biochemistry lab ; birth ; " Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt "; body bag ; Borg ; Borg cube ; burning ; cadet ; cane ; cannabis (aka " pot "); " Can't Break Away From That Girl "; captain (rank); captain (title); cargo hold ; Changeling ; " cheers "; Chicago ; childhood ; coffin ; combadge ; commander ; comms array ; computer ; conn ; Constance , USS ; Constance evacuees ; Constance lieutenant ; Constitution III -class ; contractions ; corpse ; Crusher, Jack R. ; Dathon ; Daystrom Institute ; " dick "; " doc "; docking thrusters ; " elephant in the room "; energy ; engineer ; family ; family time ; Farpoint ; father ; Federation ; first husband ; fish and chips ; Foster's bucket ; friend ( best friend ); Frontier Day ; goo ; gravity well ; grease monkey ; haddock ; hair ; Haliian ; heart ; Hirogen ; holodeck ; hot-wire ; hunter ; hybrid ; ice cube ; Jameson Irish Whiskey ; Janeway, Kathryn ; jump-start ; Kal-toh ; kilometer ; La Forge, Geordi ; LCARS ; Left Hand Brewing Company ; legend ; lieutenant commander ; life deck ; life support ; Locutus' cube ; lost in action ; lunch ; matter ; metaphor ; micrometeoroid shower ; mission ; mother ; mouth ; M'talas IV ; muscle ; nacelle ; nacelle cover ; name ; namesake ; nebula ; no-win scenario ; " on the rocks "; Orion (species); PADD ; percent ; plasma conduit ; portal system ; pot ; power array ; power cell ; prey ; quadrant ; question ; residue ; " resi-goo "; respect ; Risa Sunset ; Rytonian ; saboteur ; sanctuary ; seconds ; Shrike ; sickbay ; simulation ; " sir "; son ; space ; space baby ; space vessel lifeform ; star chart ; stardate ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet uniform (late 2360s-early 2370s) ; Starfleet uniform (late 2390s) ; Starfleet uniform (early 2400s) ; Stargazer (NCC-2893), USS ; Stargazer (NCC-82893), USS ; Stargazer shuttle ; stealing ; suffocation ; survivor guilt ; Tamarian ; Tamarian language ; Tellarite ; Ten Forward, 2024 ; thing ; time ; Titan -A, USS ; tractor beam ; transporter officer (aka transporter tech ); tricorder ; Trill ; Troi-Riker, Thaddeus ; type 2 phaser ; universe ; Vulcan ; warp ; warp core ; wine ; womb ; Worf ; world ; year

LCARS references [ ]

2363 ; 2385 ; aft ; battle bridge ; bridge subprocessor ; Bussard collector ; Changeling receptacle ; computer core ; charge ; defensive system ; detection ; dilithium articulation frame ; energy resource ; inertial damping ; lateral array ; life support ; message ; nacelle ; navigation ; navigational sensor ; network ; Odo ; Odo's bucket ; operating status ; optical data network ; overview ; plasma injector ; power ; pressure sensor ; propulsion system ; recording ; Ryton Nebula ; sensor ; sensor array ; science ; service access panel ; shield generator ; structural integrity ; subspace receiver ; tactical sensor ; thruster ; transporter technician ; warp coil ; warp drive

Star chart references [ ]

40 Eridani ; 61 Cygni ; 81 Cancri ; Acamar system ; Achernar ; Adelphous ; Ajilon ; Akaali system ; Aldebaran ; Algol ; Alpha Centauri ; Alpha Majoris ; Alpha Quadrant ; Altair ; Andoria ; Aneto ; Arachnid Nebula ; Archanis ; Arcturus ; Ardana system ; Argelius ; Argus Array ; Argus system ; Azati Prime system ; Babel ; Badlands, The ; Bajor ; Ba'ku system ; Balancar system ; Barolia ; Barradas ; Benecia system ; Benzar system ; Beta Lankal ; Beta Leonis Minoris ; Beta Quadrant ; Beta Rigel ; Beta Thoridar ; Beta Zeta ; Betazed ; B'hava'el ; B'Moth ; Bolarus ; Calder ; Capella ; Cardassia system ; Cardassian Union ; Carraya system ; Celes ; Chin'toka system ; Clarus ; Cor Caroli ; Coridan system ; Corvan system ; Deep Space 9 ; Deep Space Station K-7 ; Delta system ; Deneb (Kaitos) ; Deneva system ; Denobula Triaxa system ; Dessica ; Devron ; Doctari Alpha ; Donatu ; Dopteria ; Draken system ; Draylax ; Dreon system ; Earth ; Eden ; Epsilon Ceti B ; Elas ; Elora ; Evora ; Fellebia ; Ferengi Alliance ; Ferenginar system ; Free Haven ; Galorndon Core system ; Gamma Eridon ; Gamma Hromi ; Ganalda ; Gasko system ; Gideon system ; Halka ; H'atoria system ; Hupyria ; Hyralan ; Inferna Prime ; Irtok ; Japori ; Jouret ; Kaferia ; Kaleb ; Kantare system ; Kelfour ; Khitomer system ; Klaestron system ; Klingon Empire ; Kobliad system ; Kressari system ; Lappa ; Lorillia ; Lya Station Alpha ; Mab-Bu ; Madena ; Maluria ; Manzar ; Maxia ; Mempa system ; Memory Alpha ; Merak ; Minos Korva ; Miridian ; Mizar ; Narendra ; Nausicaa system ; Nelvana ; Nequencia ; Nivalla ; Ophiucus ; Organia system ; Orion (planet); O'Ryan's Planet ; Pahvo ; Peliar Zel ; Pheben ; Pi³ Orionis ; Planet Q ; Pollux system ; Porathia system ; Preenos system ; Priors World ; Procyon ; Proxima Centauri ; Pyrithia ; Qualor ; Quam ; Ramatis star system ; Rator ; Regulus ; Risa ; Rolor Nebula ; Romulan Free State ; Sarpedion ; Sauria ; Scalos system ; Septimus system ; Septra ; Setlik ; Sherman's Planet ; Sigma Draconis system ; Sol system ; Son'a ; Starbase 1 ; Starbase 10 ; Starbase 11 ; Starbase 12 ; Starbase 157 ; Starbase 18 ; Starbase 19 ; Starbase 211 ; Starbase 214 ; Starbase 22 ; Starbase 23 ; Starbase 234 ; Starbase 24 ; Starbase 257 ; Starbase 29 ; Starbase 310 ; Starbase 343 ; Starbase 375 ; Starbase 39-Sierra ; Starbase 4 ; Starbase 46 ; Starbase 47 ; Starbase 621 ; Starbase 88 ; Starbase 9 ; Starbase G-6 ; Suliban ; Tagra ; Tagus ; Talar ; Talarian Republic ; Talos system ; Tarahong ; Tarlac ; Tau Ceti ; Teneebia ; Tellar ; Tellun system ; Terix system ; Thalos ; Tomed ; Toroth ; Tranome Sar ; Trill system ; Troyius ; Turkana ; Tzenketh system ; Unefra system ; Unroth ; Valakis system ; Veda ; Vega ; Vendor system ; Volchok ; Vulcan (planet); Wolf 359 ; Xarantine ; Xepolite ; Yadalla ; Yridia ; Zetar system ; Zibal

Music Festival 2395 references [ ]

2395 ; Angriest Girl in the Alpha Quadrant, The ; Bewlay Island ; Church of John Coltrane Tabernacle Choir ; Crunge, The ; Freecloud ; Hex Wrench ; HIchmey nga'chuq ; Hortas, The ; Jazz/Anti-Jazz Reactor, The ; Kalman Nebula and his Maximum Warp Klezmorim ; Leppo and the Jooves ; Lunchmeat Island ; Mistah Kurtz ; Plastic Btls ; Remedios the Beauty ; Riolozhikaik ; Sleep Engines ; Stardust City ; Yukawa Couplings, The

Meta references [ ]

flashback ; intertitle ; subtitle

External links [ ]

• " No Win Scenario " at the Internet Movie Database
• " Discovering No Win Scenario " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 3 Ancient humanoid

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Star Trek: Picard Recap: Space Womb

Star trek: picard.

Our connection to our families, our friends, our found families — they’re what make life worth living. And in the fourth episode of  Star Trek: Picard , “No Win Scenario,” our connections to each other (and to this cast!) are front and center.

Let’s get right to the holodeck scene. It’s moving for many reasons: the re-creation of Ten Forward as a holodeck program, Jean-Luc working behind the bar — clearly, it’s a place he’s comfortable. But what got to me most was Picard finally making a real effort to get to know his son, Jack.

It plays out about how you’d expect, with a little banter and a few jokes. Some honest questions, but Jack shuts off once they start getting too deep. He explains to his father (oh, that feels  weird ) that he doesn’t really need the connection. Jean-Luc doesn’t need to put on this act for him. In a rare moment of emotional honesty, Jean-Luc admits  he  needs this. “We all need connection,” he says, as the Titan crew members begin streaming in to be with each other before the end.

It’s a weird episode when you step back. It’s fantastic to watch because the pause in action allows for some really strong character moments, but there’s something strange about watching an episode of  Star Trek  that feels like it’s just people sitting around waiting to die. It’s antithetical to what we know of this group, who fight to live with the very last fiber of their being.

But they also take their cue from their captain, and both Riker and Shaw are not in a good place right now. Captain Riker is having a crisis of faith after the extremely uncomfortable (I’d even call it devastating!) fight he had with Picard on the bridge of the Titan at the end of the third episode. Here, they have a bit of a heart-to-heart. Riker admits that he’s lost his way. The Titan is bleeding power, they don’t have enough to save themselves, and Will doesn’t know how to save this crew, let alone help himself.

Jonathan Frakes is doing some of his best acting in the series (and he’s directing on top of it!). Frakes beautifully portrays Riker as a man who hasn’t fully processed the trauma from his past. It’s why he reacted like he did to Jean-Luc and opted to flee rather than fight. I’m not sure he was wrong, but this tendency to do whatever is safe isn’t typical of Will. Now we know why. At a time when he needs connection the most, Will is alone. His wife and daughter are across the quadrant, and he doesn’t even know how to begin to close the gap between them. Riker tries to send a farewell message to Deanna, but he can’t find the words. He doesn’t know how to come to terms with all of it. It’s why he told Jean-Luc to connect with his son before it’s too late.

But it’s not just Jack Crusher that Jean-Luc connects with. A still-injured Liam Shaw also makes his way to the holodeck, and we finally begin to understand where he’s coming from. He interrupts Jean-Luc and Jack’s attempts to build a relationship with his own story: the first time  he  met Jean-Luc Picard.

If you know  The Next Generation  well, you probably reacted like I did. I stiffened up and  immediately  went on high alert — I knew what was coming.

It’s the specter that has followed Jean-Luc Picard around for decades: Locutus of Borg. The Borg kidnapped him and used him as a tool to destroy his own people. It seems like everyone in Starfleet has a Wolf 359 story, and Jean-Luc has had to bear witness to pretty much all of them. (Remember Commander Sisko in the series premiere of  Deep Space Nine ?)

It’s a harrowing story, and Todd Stashwick’s delivery is perfect. You can see how traumatized he continues to be by what happened. Even though he’s basically attacking Jean-Luc for something that wasn’t his fault, you can’t blame him here. Even when he’s being an absolute dick, he comes across as sympathetic — a testament to the writing and Todd Stashwick’s performance. “The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name” is a line that will stick with me for a long time. It also immediately explains (but doesn’t excuse!) his animosity toward Seven of Nine.

To his credit, Jean-Luc is gracious. If we’ve seen this confrontation repeatedly onscreen, it must have happened endlessly offscreen. At this point, he knows the best answer is just to bow out. Thankfully, Jack comes looking for him, but Jean-Luc is ready just to brush it all off and welcome the end alone. But Beverly arrives just at the right second, and together, they do what they do best: figure out how to save everyone.

It’s notable that when the three of them go to Will with a semblance of a plan, his inclination is still to say no. He wants to preserve the ship and their memories in case someone comes looking for them. It’s not until Beverly brings up Deanna that Will softens and listens to her. It’s about connection, but it’s also about trust. Can Will find it within himself to trust these people after everything he’s been through?

It’s clear that Will has always feared the part of himself that feels nothingness. In hindsight, it may be tied into why he broke up with Deanna in the first place, before they were assigned to serve on the Enterprise-D together. He wanted to focus on his career, yes, but he also didn’t want to face this void. Now he has to, will he surrender, or will he fight?

Will finally chooses to fight, and Seven does the same off the bridge. She goes to Shaw to find out how, exactly, she can hunt a changeling, and he gives her great advice. This scene between them feels like the first honest one they’ve had. He admits he underestimated Seven. It’s amazing how much the character of Liam Shaw has redeemed himself since the first episode.

Seven finally catches up with the infiltrator, who disguised themself as a transporter officer and then heads with Shaw to nacelle control. It seems this isn’t a nebula but some sort of space womb. The energy pulses affecting the ship are timed like contractions, and when the space creature gives birth, they can ride the energy wave out. To absorb that energy, though, they have to manually open up the nacelles, which only Shaw, our resident dipshit from Chicago, can do.

It’s a tense scene, as Jean-Luc takes the conn, and they manually fly out of the nebula, throwing some rocks at the Shrike on their way out. And speaking of Vadic’s ship, it’s increasingly clear that she’s specifically after Jack Crusher — alive — and whoever she is working for doesn’t care if the entire crew of the Shrike dies accomplishing their goal.

Speaking of Jack, he’s not doing well. He’s having hallucinations or visions — could this be related to why the changelings want him? Or has he inherited Irumodic Syndrome from his father?

Things are looking up for the Titan, but there’s still a lot to figure out. Will has a nice heart-to-heart with Deanna (I noticed Jean-Luc didn’t check in with Laris after his brush with death). Jack isn’t doing well, though. It seems he’s having hallucinations or visions — could this be related to why the changelings want him? Or has he inherited Irumodic Syndrome from his father? For now, though, at least this crew has each other. That’s enough to give them hope.

Captain’s Log

• Legacy character count: Four! (Five if you count Ten Forward!) Deanna was just on the view screen, but I’ll take it. I missed Worf, but hopefully, we’ll see him again soon.

• “I need your help despite the fact that you are indeed a dipshit from Chicago” will go into the history books as an all-time great Trek line.

• Why do the changelings look like a cross between raw meat and the goo from  Ghostbusters 2 ?

• Jack Crusher and Sidney LaForge? That’s a legacy spinoff show I’d watch (after Captain Seven, of course).

• The “Encounter at Farpoint” callback was really well done here. Fan service? Yes. Lovely? Also yes.

• I appreciated the frankness with which Jean-Luc asked, point blank, why Jack didn’t choose to get to know him.

• I also appreciate that all changelings apparently come with their own bucket. Is it a standard issue thing when they’re leaving the Great Link?

• star trek: picard

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4 Review – No Win Scenario

A life or death threat brings out the best in Star Trek: Picard's characters.

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This Star Trek: Picard review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4

Star Trek: Picard ’s “No Win Scenario” feels like the closest we’ve come yet to an old-school Star Trek: The Next Generation episode on the Paramount+ series, complete with a main story that highlights the necessity of collaboration and teamwork, a textbook inspirational captain’s speech, and a reminder that the vast and wondrous potential of the universe is the real reason this franchise exists in the first place. There are life and death stakes, a seemingly unsolvable problem, a surprise revelation about the season’s Big Bad, and more than one surprising heart-to-heart talk between legacy characters reflecting back on a lifetime in Starfleet and what its mission has both cost and meant to them. 

Of course, the whole “impending death by gravity well” thing is technically the least interesting part of the hour, possibly because we know the threat only goes so far. This is the fourth episode of the season, after all, and there won’t be much show left if Picard, Riker, and young Jack Crusher all bite it in the middle of what’s essentially a black hole. They’ll be fine, we all know it, and the episode deserves praise for at least being relatively creative in finding a way to get them out of their predicament while rightly keeping the bulk of its attention on other things.

The hour is primarily dominated by its smaller, more emotional moments: Perhaps most impressive is the way that “No Win Scenario” weaves two timelines together, as Picard, via flashback, recounts a previous mission to a rapt crowd of young cadets at 10 Forward while the present-day version of the character struggles to connect with the son he never knew by telling the same story about his namesake, Jack Crusher. That the lessons of his tale—the necessity of community, the strength of the bonds that form between a captain and his crew, the power of believing in and trusting others—are the same reasons that the U.S.S. Titan manages to fight its way back to freedom is thematically lovely and honestly works better than it has any right to, narratively speaking.

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But there’s also Captain Shaw ’s bitter and traumatized recounting of escaping the Battle of Wolf 359 when 11,000 other souls perished, Riker’s confession of his loss of faith in the wake of his son’s death that has nearly destroyed his marriage, and Seven’s embrace of the fact that she’s never going to be the textbook Starfleet officer some people insist she should be. (And that’s okay.) And, of course, there’s Picard, Riker, and Dr. Crusher’s group decision that if they’re going out, they’re going out as the best versions of themselves. “No Win Scenario” is full of emotionally rich character work, the sort of stuff that’s compelling precisely because of the pre-existing history at work, both between individual characters and within the world of the show at large. Heck, I don’t even like Jack Crusher that much, and the revelation that he did actually try to find out if Admiral Picard’s life had space for both him and Starfleet was still an emotional gut punch.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Just Became a Deep Space Nine Sequel, Too

The Unproduced Star Trek Next Generation Spinoff That Influenced Picard Season 3

That said, the more action-oriented aspects of the hour also have a lot to recommend. This is the second episode in a row directed by Jonathan Frakes—a surprise, to be sure, given how much he appears on screen in both—and he does an exceptional job balancing those genuinely moving emotional beats with explosions and life-or-death threats. Plus, once again, everything about this episode looks great, and we love Paramount+ for not skimping on any of the cinematography or effects budgets here. 

The Titan’s ultimate escape from the gravity well is tense and thrilling, as Picard pilots the ship blind through the nebula and Riker literally throws an asteroid at Vadic and her Shrike . The sequence is topped off by the nebula essentially giving birth to a new species of beautiful jellyfish-like creatures in the vacuum of space, providing everyone with a timely reminder that the reason they started all this in the first place was to seek out new life and new civilizations. (Plus, an “Encounter at Farpoint” shout-out !!) Truly, how does anyone who has ever watched a single episode of The Next Generation not love the heck out of this?

In fact, it’s all so compelling that I suspect I’m not the only person who didn’t even realize until the final credits rolled that “No Win Scenario” completely ignores the Raffi and Worf subplot. This move was probably for the best, given that that particular story often feels like it’s happening on a completely different show at the best of times, though last week’s episode made it fairly obvious (portal tech, echoes of the Dominion War) that the two stories will converge in the weeks to come. Instead, it is left to Seven and, strangely, Shaw to advance the Changeling story as they fruitlessly search the Titan for whoever has been sabotaging the ship. 

Jeri Ryan and Todd Stashwick have excellent, vaguely antagonistic chemistry with one another, and the grudging almost respect Seven and Shaw seem to slowly develop over the course of the hour is even more satisfying when you realize that, of course, the reason he has been nasty toward her is that she’s a former Borg, and he has a whole lot of lingering and clearly unprocessed PTSD from his admittedly extremely traumatizing experience at Wolf 359 . That they learn (albeit begrudgingly) to work together (resigoo!) is maybe predictable, but it’s also exactly the kind of story that Star Trek excels at telling.

As for the Changelings, the biggest reveal this week is likely the fact that Vadic herself is one, working for a mysteriously powerful boss who wants Jack Crusher badly enough to send the Shrike back into the gravity well to get him. The strange PTSD-esque vision (flashbacks?) Jack experiences at the end of the episode indicates that trying to find his father isn’t the only life experience that the youngest Picard has been lying about. The reason for the Changelings’ interest in him remains a mystery whose answer could be anything—Did he see something he wasn’t supposed to? Steal something that wasn’t his? Find a cure for a rare species-specific illness they can’t survive without? All of the above? —and something only future episodes can solve.

Of course, none of those guesses explain why he’d be hearing—or remembering, it’s not entirely clear—disembodied voices telling him to come and find them, but I think we have to assume that the answers to those questions will somehow tie into the rogue group Raffi and Worf are chasing, what they’ve been doing since the end of the Dominion War, and why they’ve chosen this moment to take on the Federation again. Here’s hoping, anyway.

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4.5 out of 5

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

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No Win Scenario

Star trek: picard.

• Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past as the Titan drifts helplessly in a mysterious space anomaly.
• The Titan is in a hopeless situation. The engines are down, and the ship is sinking towards the gravity well. The power is dropping with every passing minute and soon the ship will lose life support systems as well. If Riker diverts all available power from the engines, they will go into meltdown and cannot be revived. Diverting all power will buy them a few hours at best. Riker orders his crew to divert as much power as possible to life support. The Titan is being hit periodically by bio-electrical energy waves. Seven continues to track the Changeling on board the Titan. She tells Riker that the Changeling could looks like anyone by now. She finds the dead transport officer, whom the Changeling was impersonating earlier. The officer had been dead for several days. Seven reports her findings to Shaw. Shaw and Seven devise a strategy to capture the Changeling. Shaw tells Seven that Changelings cannot maintain their no liquid form for long and return to their vase to recharge. Shaw asks Seven to steal the vase. The vase would have a residue of the Changeling that would help the ship's computer to identify it. Seven finds the vase in the transport officer's cabin. Vadic, who is a Changeling, contacts her superior and is ordered to pursue the Titan at all costs; doing so in the nebula requires disengagement of the portal technology. Vadic argued that pursuing the Titan in the gravity well is a suicide mission, but she is told that she is expendable and is ordered to capture and deliver the "asset". As Seven takes the vase for analysis, she is attacked by the Changeling, and Seven is able to shoot it down easily. Still, the Changeling manages to escape. The vase is destroyed. With only 4 hours of power remaining on the Titan, Riker admits Picard was right and suggests he spend his last moments bonding with Jack. Picard tells Jack about Jack Crusher, Beverly's first husband. Picard and Jack Sr were Academy graduates serving on board the Star Gazer. They were on holiday at Argelius IV and received an invitation from 2 women, when they were recalled to the ship. Picard stole a shuttle to return to the planet to meet the women. On the way back, the shuttle was hit by a micro-meteor shower and was blinded. They had disabled the communications before they left to be untraceable, and hence could not contact the ship. Jack Sr and Picard improvised a system to inch their way back tot ship in 10 grueling hours. In the Holodeck, Picard and Jack tell each other some of their adventures. They are joined by Shaw who bitterly recounts his experience as a Starfleet engineer during the Battle of Wolf 359, when Picard had been assimilated by the Borg and was attacking the Federation. Shaw lost many friends on his ship that day. 11,000 people died at Wolf 359 due to Picard. Beverly reckons that the gravity well is a womb of the organism, which is the nebula. At the center of the gravity well, the womb reconstitutes matter into energy and expels it as a wave. Riker, Beverly, and Picard form a risky plan to use an energy pulse from the nebula to recharge the ship's systems and hightail out of the nebula. Riker opens the port nacelles to guide the energy pulse right down to the warp core. Shaw and Seven help them succeed as they work together in Engineering to uncover the port nacelles. Seven identifies and kills the Changeling impostor who appears in Engineering disguised as Sidney. The plan works as the Titan catches the energy wave and charges its warp engines. The Titan damages the Shrike on their way out of the nebula. The Shrike was dead ahead and Riker lassos an asteroid with his tractor beam and hurls it at the Shrike. The Titan exits the nebula with many jellyfish-like space creatures. As they warp away, Picard realizes that he briefly met Jack five years earlier and inadvertently dismissed his attempt at connection. Alone, Jack has vivid hallucinations of a destroyed world and a voice saying "find me".

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Preview “No Win Scenario” With New Images And Clip From ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Episode 304

| March 6, 2023 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 190 comments so far

The third and final season of  Star Trek: Picard continues this week with the fourth episode. We have details along with new images, plus a clip.

“No Win Scenario”

Episode 4 of Picard’s third season is called “No Win Scenario.” The episode was written by Terry Matalas & Sean Tretta, and directed by Jonathan Frakes. It debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, March 9.

With time running out, Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan, dead in the water, drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly.

NEW Images from episode 4:

Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Patrick Steward as Picard in “No Win Scenario”

Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker in “No Win Scenario”

Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher in “No Win Scenario”

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine in “No Win Scenario”

Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher in “No Win Scenario”

Patrick Stewart as Picard and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher in “No Win Scenario”

Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Patrick Stewart as Picard in “No Win Scenario”

Patrick Stewart as Picard, Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher in”No Win Scenario”

Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher in “No Win Scenario”

Previously released images from episode 4:

Joseph Lee as Lt. Matthew Arliss Mura in “No Win Scenario”

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge in “No Win Scenario”

Jin Maley as Kova Rin Esmar in “No Win Scenario”

Stephanie Czajkowski as Lt. T’Veen in “No Win Scenario”

A clip was shown at the end of the Ready Room (at 31:37):

The third and final season of  Picard premiered on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, exclusively on  Paramount+ in the U.S., and Latin America, and on February 17 Paramount+ in Europe and elsewhere, with new episodes of the 10-episode-long season available to stream weekly. It also debuted on Friday, Feb. 17 internationally on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Star Trek: Picard

‘Picard’ Season 2 Was Rewritten After Paramount Deemed It “Too Star Trek,” Says EP

Four episodes stuck in the anomaly. That’s pretty much half the season. Hopefully the action in the next six episodes will be brisker and they’ll go somewhere else instead of spending the entire season stuck in the ship.

People who have seen the entire season have describes episodes 1-4 as act 1, episodes 5-8 as act 2 and 9-10 as the conclusion.

Worked for Andor…

Well… yeah, that’s how story structure works. But it doesn’t negate Michael’s point.

There’s a LOT that negates his point, including that.

Considering the season is a single story, that makes sense.

Exactly… people complained on previous seasons that the story was rushed or jumped and didn’t make sense… now it’s too slow… Jeeeez!!!

To be fair, the previous seasons weren’t too fast, they were hurky-jerky. Fits and starts. Sometimes too slow, sometimes rushed, it was just all over the place. But I get what you’re saying.

That’s good. Thanks. Ideally, they will get off the ship at some point. Limiting all the action to a ship was the most boring part of Wrath of Khan.

I recall that in the past two seasons people complained that not enough happened on a ship or in space….

It doesn’t surprise me, heh. I don’t mind them being on a ship, though. What I find boring is that they’ve been inside the nebula for four episodes. Be on the ship, but go SOMEWHERE.

Based just on the first six, I’d agree with that part about 1-4 100%. Could have split the season at that point and I’d have felt they went out on a super high note (but I seriously dug 5 and loved 6 too.)

I don’t see this as a problem, and i’m really not sure why others do. A story doesn’t need to move the characters physically through multiple locations to be engrossing and compelling. The story is in the characters and their dilemma, not their physical movement.

The fact that they’re stuck for a long period adds to the story, rather than detracting.

Well, it’s fair to expect physical movement when Trek is in the title. ;-)

I get you’re being sarcastic, but I wouldn’t put it past some fans to actually believe this. “It’s Star TREK, not Star Stand Still!”

It couldn’t hurt to move things along. The travelogue quality of Trek, particularly TNG, is one of the things that originally attracted me to the franchise. But the clip suggests a different, deeper part of the nebula, so that’ll do.

I mean, lots of things “couldn’t hurt.” The travelogue quality of TNG was part of that show’s concept. It’s not part of this season’s concept, but that doesn’t make it invalid, not Star Trek, or bad, unless you have a very specific, narrow idea of what Star Trek should be.

I watched a video this morning from a popular Trek youtuber who used the term “professional grievance merchants” and I think it’s my new favorite phrase.

I didn’t know having a slight criticism about the pacing made me a professional grievance merchant, but whatever makes you happy, kiddo. For every grievance merchant we need a pop culture social worker like yourself fighting the good fight, protecting the downtrodden products of media conglomerates.

Who said it did? Certainly not me. Was referring to other comments, not yours.

You? Yeah, you could never do anything like that.

Well I am a 12 year old social worker after all, it’s good honest work.

I don’t mind them stuck in a nebula – I’d watch a whole series stuck in one if it was compelling.

I just think what’s in these first four episodes could be told in three episodes. Example: Andor – various acts, but nearly every second advanced the story.

I wish the pacing was a bit better. So far, this is not a story that needs eight or nine hours to tell.

I finally watched Season 2 of Russian Doll this weekend (I’m caught up on Poker Face, another great show) — and there’s so much storytelling packed into seven 30-minute-or-less episodes.

I just wish Picard would take advantage of all this time – even if these are indeed acts – instead of just stretching things out.

Russian Doll was great.

The pacing is a direct result of the producers seeing every season of Picard as a novel, so naturally the storytelling is kind of leisurely. The trick is to make something happen in every episode. It doesn’t have to be much, just… something. The problem with seasons one and two in that regard was that too many episodes were just filler where nothing happened ( e.g. Seven and Raffi’s pointless LA runaround).

I’ve often felt they should emulate 19th century novelists like Dickens. His works were serialized in magazines, so he had to keep things moving and end every chapter with a hook to get you to by next month’s issue.

That’s what I think this season is doing better than S1-S2. Every episode is moving things forward. Episode 1 sets up the story, introduces the characters. Episode 2 sets the stakes and makes a revelation about Jack. Episode 3 ups the stakes further and reveals the Changelings.

There’s forward momentum each week, even if they’re still in the nebula. We are being doled out new information consistently, while still leaving plenty to keep the mystery alive and asking new questions.

If this had been Season 1 or 2 it would have been new questions compounding each week with no answers and then a massive exposition dump before a rushed finale that quickly wrapped up dangling plot threads. So far this is much better paced.

Not all of us like Dickens. My literature profs referred to his work as Victorian melodramas designed to sell newspapers.

Jane Austen was held up as the model for perfect plot construction by comparison.

We can agree though that the medium does drive how stories are constructed, but so do audience preferences.

Not everyone likes cliff-hanger radio play serial formats brought to screen. Trek has long hewn to its own more theatrical formats.

Matalas and his team of writers delivered one of the most well constructed and plotted 4 seasons of serial television in 12 Monkeys, I am very happy to see how this plays out. I bet it’s going to be so very much more rewatchable than the binge mysteries you and other are citing.

Russian Doll season 2 is a bit of a frantic mess though, not every character gets his or her proper due.

I am just grateful we are getting time with these characters rather than having it all be in service of moving the plot along. It’s been over 2 decades since we’ve seen most of these characters together, I am all for slowing things down a little and staying on the ship. Season 2 was Earthbound and full of padding and variable character work. Discovery season 4 was full of padding with variable character work. Here at least there’s two interesting stories running in parallel and lived-in characters getting explored well.

I agree with you on Russian Doll. Another episode may have helped.

But I think there’s a happy medium in there somewhere where there’s meaningful time with the characters without it feeling like a deleted scene from a ’90s DVD (where you get exactly why they took it out).

For example, Seven and Sidney La Forge?

That one’s a little clumsy, sure. There are other examples, particularly with secondary characters. Picard has often had some trouble utilizing Seven well, which is hard to stomach considering she came from a show whose entire writing staff was falling over itself to write for her. I’m just happy to be able to recognize the character again.

But that scene is in the same episode as what I thought were wonderful one on ones for Jean-Luc & Beverly, Raffi & Worf, and Riker & Jack. So it’s getting better.

And yet it is very compelling storytelling.

Y’all forget about worf and raffi? Were they stuck on a ship the whole time too?

Frickin starships with their doodads and widgets.

Actually, they entered the nebula in the last seconds of Episode 2.

Based on this comment you must’ve really disliked “The Empire Strikes Back”

From the Pictures here, it seems Riker and Picard made up and are best Buddies again (i Hope)

And Picard is back in the center seat.

They are going to have to work hard to convince me he deserves it.

I really see Picard as having acted like a self-absorbed arrogant *%!# in his pressure on Riker last episode.

Yeah I hope so as well.

So the fact Picard and Jack are in that bar seems like they made it to Earth (or are they just on a Holodeck?) But there are some smiles from Riker, Picard, and Jack so at least they are out of danger. My guess: they meet some alien anomaly in the center of the nebula, Picard uses his diplomatic skills to talk to it, then they get out of danger somehow.

My assumption is that the Ten Forward bar has been replicated on the Holodeck (the outro shown from episode 1 hinted at a Ten Forward holodeck program)

Good point about the clues in the credits.

That’s what I’m thinking too but, like, they just decide to go into the holodeck for some drinks in the middle of a crisis? It seems at the very least that the threat is over by the end of the episode.

Holodeck, and if you look at the end credits it indicates that safety protocols are offline.

That’s so they can get blackout drunk together as father and son.

Yeah I’m guessing it’s the holodeck as well.

It seems as though that these production stills at Guinean’s bar should have been delayed for release.

That clip illustrates the one problem I have with season three (which I otherwise love): as with Discovery, all of the bridge characters are devoid of personalities. On Discovery, the only one to sort of have some development is Detmer, and even hers is minimal at best. On this show, we’re a third of the way into the season and we know that one of them is Geordi’s daughter and one of them is a Vulcan. That’s about it. On both shows, the bridge crews are largely just window dressing who just look at each other in concern, constantly.

While I don’t disagree with the gripe entirely, I do think it’s worth noting that for Discovery and Picard, the bridge crew are minor characters, not part of the cast. Would it be nice to learn more? Sure.

But the cast is essentially Picard, Riker, Shaw, Seven, Crusher, Jack, Raffi, and now Worf. The rest of the bridge crew are role players that are more functional pieces rather than characters, like the random conn officers you’d see on TNG.

So far, I don’t have a problem with that. The show isn’t about them.

Exactly. The main cast is more than filled, and the rest of these folks are here because you can’t have all those empty spots on the bridge. Though between last week and the previews, we’re at least going to get more time with Ensign Laforge.

After all, how much did we ever really learn about Sulu in TOS?

Not much. But that was the way American network TV was at the time. Shows typically revolved around the star and the guest star. Other regular characters were usually functional and that was about it. Interestingly, the third season of TOS, because of the reduced budget, had to rely on the regulars more than the previous two seasons had. Most of the episodes featuring the entire cast are from that season.

It’s only been 3 episodes. On the one hand, at least they have dialogue and Sidney is guaranteed some more development, whereas Voyager and Enterprise rarely would acknowledge anyone outside the main cast even had a vocal cord. On the other, giving them lines does invite us to expect more now that the door has been opened.

Discovery is more egregious to me because it’s been 4 seasons and the bridge crew get used as if the audience has a deep emotional connection to them. Like when Saru fondly lavishes praise on Commander Bryce in his final scene. No impact on me because he’s just a utility player who hasn’t been afforded depth, only perfunctory snippets of backstory at random times.

Not only that, but when Voyager did give another crewman a big role, it was someone who came up out of nowhere, whether it was Lon Suder, the crewmen in “Learning Curve” and the additional crewmen in “Good Shepherd.”

They talked about Ayala repeatedly and I don’t think he ever got a single line of dialogue. Not that i’m complaining mind you, i’m just saying this is pretty bog standard for Star Trek. Whether it was Ayala, Jae, Rager, or countless others.

Ayala said “Yep” in an episode.

More than I remembered!

Ayala is one of the rare crewmen who got to speak and didn’t end up dying that week or shortly thereafter.

They’re supporting characters in a series that includes a number of new characters, a couple of prominent supporting characters, the original TNG cast, 7 and Raffi. That’s a lot to juggle.

If Titan goes to series we’ll get to know the rest of the cast.

tbh it’s a problem with a lot of new Trek. Carol Freeman has a personality yes but do we know much else about her? Nope. All we know is that she’s Beckett Mariner’s mom and at one point she served with Will Riker. She’s one of my favorite captains but she needs more something, even if it’s just dialogue during arguments with her daughter. Yes I know that show doesn’t focus on the bridge crew but we sure see them enough to want to know more about them.

Then on Prodigy, Tysess barely even has a personality. It’s a similar situation to LD as far as the focus characters go and maybe season 2 will correct that but I’m just sitting here like man if they don’t, then they really just kinda wasted Daveed Diggs.

We know rather a bit more about the Lower Decks bridge officers than we do the Discovery, Titan or Prodigy ones. They have very well-defined personalities, hobbies, quirks, and relationships with various main characters, which is a decent step up. I don’t need to know their whole backstories, just enough development that they feel like people. Maybe it doesn’t quite live up to what they should get as supporting characters, but it’s better than most of the recurring guest casts have gotten.

I’m going to hazard a guess that destruction might not be quite as certain as the synopsis would have us believe, considering the number of episodes remaining.

I wonder if the “Times Squared” solution would work.

As an aside (although, maybe not?) I cannot imagine that episode in particular being made today. Fans would be furious .

I imagine fans would be furious about any random episode. There’s a lot to love about TNG, but its stories weren’t exactly brilliant. But I think audiences were generally more forgiving back then.

Most certainly, agreed. Much more forgiving.

Genuinely I think it has a lot to do with the quality of TV in general. There’s a lot of GREAT television out there, so when something isn’t pitch perfect it can feel like you wasted your time when you could have been watching something else.

I disagree with that sentiment: I think there’s plenty of room for good/not great television in one’s diet. But I see where the sentiment might come from.

Those first two seasons were a rough ride and a lot of us just rode it out just waiting for it to get better. Fans were no more forgiving then than they are now and it took several years before TNG has locked down the goodwill of Star Trek fans (which is what ultimately made DS9 possible).

I disagree. I think there are elements in Seasons 1 & 2 that are worth watching for that the first two seasons of TNG completely lack. Doesn’t mean the seasons are great by any stretch. But I think fans are far less forgiving these days and unwilling to acknowledge any positives if the whole isn’t great.

No doubt. But a mystery that just…ends? Without an explanation?

I think audiences were more forgiving, but they also were more tolerant of not having everything laid out for them. I suppose that’s two sides of the same coin.

Personally, I find that I am willing to invest the time in a serialized show when I hear that it ‘’sticks the landing.’

Imperfections or just moments of mediocrity along the way are more tolerable when you know the story works overall.

Certainly, those shows that wrap successfully are the shows I rewatch and invest in physical media for.

My first three seasons of BSG DVDs were given away. I just can’t get interested to watch it again given how much it spun out in later seasons. So, the space has gone to other shows that succeed all they way to the series finale.

The ‘sticks the landing’ rep is what makes 12 Monkeys, Travellers and Continuum rise above many other Sci-fi shows, and survive in streamers libraries.

As time goes on, I suspect that the streamers themselves are going to figure this out and value the EPs that can achieve a whole that’s more than the sum of its parts over some great elements that don’t hang together.

Didn’t Time Squared start out as Part 1 of a two-parter and Q Who? was to be Part 2 (and the events of Time Squared being Q’s handiwork?), but in the end they decided to just leave Q out of it, leaving Time Squared a head-scratcher of an episode.

Nothing about it worked the first time for me, can’t imagine anybody willingly going down such a weird path again.

Janeway maneuver

Almost half way through the season and still no Geordi, no Brent Spiner, and the only Troi so far was a 10 second hologram. It doesn’t look like they’re in the next episode either. I’m enjoying this season so far, but I’m starting to feel like the only TNG cast who are going to get anything substantial and good to work with are the four we’ve seen so far. That’s very disappointing.

My personal preference is quality over quantity…plus I’m willing to wait to see how this plays out.

I have a feeling the nearest starbase will be the Fleet Museum that Geordi runs.

Possibly, but the description for five doesn’t sounds like it’s Geordi at all that finds them.

Where did you see that description?

I won’t post it here since it’s pretty spoilery but someone posted it at the TrekBBS boards and it’s floating around on twitter.

In the trailers, you see Geordi on the bridge screen of the Titan and Shaw is back in the captain’s chair. So that’s could be the first time we see him whenever that happens. There’s another scene of him and Picard arguing in one of the trailers where he says “you roped Worf and Riker into this too”. Probably really out of context but, it seems like Geordi doesn’t get involved in person till after after Worf gets involved so that might be imminent too.

I guess the real question mark is how Troi gets dragged into all this.

They did warn you that this wasn’t going to be a TNG reunion…

If course and not expecting one or for them to all be together constantly. I was just hoping for things to be evenly spread out.

Even though I’m enjoying it and am interested in where and how it goes, I can’t say I’m a fan of how they marketed it one way and we’re getting something entirely. Of course they warned it wasn’t a TNG reunion, but they also didn’t mention that that meant we’d go half a season without seeing Geordi or Lore and possibly no Troi again till the last four episodes outside of one more small scene if rumors are correct.

Also, I’ve just never found Crusher to be that compelling as a lead, despite her being a capable actress and thinking they should have just put them her and Picard together years ago. So much of the season focusing around her and a shoehorned in son isn’t my favorite thing in the world. I don’t want to speak on something I haven’t seen and I’m hoping it’ll change, but I also can’t say I love that Troi is getting the Crusher treatment from the movies. I feel like they could have found something compelling for both of them to do.

Well maybe this is a personal thing then. Because through three episodes we’ve gotten significant amounts of Picard, Riker, Worf, and Crusher, which is more than half the cast.

It sounds like it’s just that your favorites (Burton, Spiner, Sirtis) don’t play as big a role in the first few episodes, so I can understand how that might be frustrating.

I would have preferred it if they were all together by episode 3 myself, but i’m not going to complain. It’s excellent so far. However, if i’d been writing, I might have started the series with an unrelated cold open on Geordi, Troi, or whatever character Spiner is playing, knowing we might not see them till later… kind of like how Star Trek VI opens with Sulu, but doesn’t get back to him until the end.

Riker, Worf, and Picard are actually so despite how that comment sounded, I’m actually thrilled with all that and what we’ve gotten. Like I said, I could take or leave Crusher but happy for her fans and McFadden that she’s finally gotten something to do, even if it’s not personally for me.

I just almost prefer them all together as a group to them individually so almost being to the half way mark and there’s no sign of three of them or them coming to together is just a little disappointing. Just a personal thing though for sure. Happy to just see how this goes and plays out, despite my disappointments so far.

Well, Patrick Stewart has vetoed the kind of reunion of that kind from the start, and so would have the others.

Dorn, Burton, Sirtis and McFadden want their characters introduced from where they’ve developed to. They don’t just want them to show up in a Galaxy Quest reunion, or even a TOS movie where none of them have advanced to their own commands.

Frankly, I like the slow introduction, one person at a time. It does mean less time with them all together, but it makes for a stronger story.

Even if Troi’s role ends up being less robust than she might deserve, at least we’ve gotten a decent number of appearances by her over the years. She’s second only to Riker when it comes to post-TNG guest spots, and she may never have been better than she was in Nepenthe.

Sirtis says she was two months in production out of six months overall. So it seems she will be more prominent in the back third of the season.

As long as it’s a meaningful handful of episodes for Troi, I can see her welcoming that.

Other sites had them up since week 1.

I don’t know, we might get someone in this one and no images of them were released. Hard to judge until the episode actually airs. However I absolutely understand this feeling. I’ve been waiting patiently for Geordi myself.

Riker doesn’t seem to be on the bridge in that one photo. He could be talking to Geordi or Troi there since he seems to be talking to someone and seems happy about it. I have doubts about either of them appearing in anything other than that capacity till later on.

I’m not so patiently waiting for Geordi as well lol.

I was also thinking about Lore. Worf and Raffi could go meet up with him in this episode and we just don’t have images of it.

The story is unfolding, slowly bringing the gang back together. As I understand it, the second half is where the real magic happens and it’s been a lot of fun so far.

I love that they’re apparently not dragging out the conflicts between everybody. These are professionals with decades of experience and friendship (for some of them). They should be able to apologize and move on.

I am curious as to why Riker apparently cedes command to Picard. Does Picard have the authority to re-instate his own commission, or is it just a “who’s going to dare file a complaint with Starfleet about this” kind of situation?

You cannot have Changelings and not have DS9. I really hope that’s where the story is going.

At least Odo got an indirect yet obvious shoutout

You have to wonder if he’d have gotten a cameo, were Rene still alive.

Maybe, at least an auditory one if Rene didn’t want to get back in makeup

Not that it matters now, but you could have had him without makeup, and just say he got better at shapeshifting.

If this were Star Wars, he’d have returned as a CGI-recreated character.

I suspect that he would have been a part of this.

Me too. I’ve just been puzzling over which DS9 characters could show up, asides from Worf.

Kira seems the most likely. Beyond her, it might depend on what role they could play on the mission.

It just seems — logical, if you will, for the Titan to go to DS9 and then through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant.

I don’t think Kira will stray too far from Bajor and the station. I could be wrong though. Right now my best guess is actually Ezri Dax. I know who I want to see the most which I’ve honestly said too many times lately, but for people that are more likely to show, my guess is her.

Okay I would be so happy if they did that. Logically if they did, we could see Kira there. My favorites episodes of Prodigy were the ones in the Gamma Quadrant so just being there and at the station again in live action would make me extremely happy.

I think if they did that, while I would feel like I said, it honestly depends on their reasons for going that would ultimately influence my true feelings on it. If they’re going just to go, sure, I guess. If they’re going for peaceful reasons, I’m so 100% there for it. If they’re going for reasons that aren’t peaceful or just to go, especially to fight the rest of the Dominion, Trek can keep that 💩.

I was going to mention Ezri, but is she still stationed at DS9? I think she moved along with Bashir, no? Pretty much all Starfleet personnel left, leaving only Kira left, mainly because she wasn’t part of Starfleet but in the Bajoran military.

Truly, Picard might be limited to just Kira and Quark, like Lower Decks was.

She could still show up in places that aren’t the station itself. She could even be the captain of the F. Extremely unlikely but hopefully you get my point. Same with all of the rest of them. Also idk there could be reasons for her and the rest to go back to visit. Take some time off and go visit Kira because she misses her. Also if I was any of the DS9 main cast and Kira called me to be like hey Odo wants you back on the station to help with something, I’d drop everything and go right then.

Those just seem fanservice, though. It would be great if characters from DS9 and VOY served on the F. Paris could be its captain with Harry as his second officer. Or even vice versa. That would be cool.

But I think they do need to avoid coincidence and convenience, and truly make it character driven. Plus, their just showing up for the sake of it would not really advance much of the narrative. They’d just be there.

I disagree about going back to visiting a place being fan service. Bashir was there the whole time. Him taking some time off to go back and visit isn’t fan service, it seems realistic. Also Odo was a very essential part of the DS9 cast. It’s not fan service to think that he would want his friends and the people that he trusts to help him.

What makes it fan service is their “just being in the area”. Too coincidental.

Given the presence of the Changelings, who originate in the Gamma Quadrant, it wouldn’t be a stretch for them to need to visit the wormhole at some point.

Captain Ezri Dax of the Enterprise instead of the slipstream USS Aventine (as she was in the novelverse and STO)?

I’d be all-in for that?

Sure you can.

Actually Matalas ruled out we would see the station on the season months ago. He said it would’ve just cost too much.

Shame. They could redress any of the existing sets used for the Titan to pass it off as a set from DS9, though. Like they’re using the bottom section of La Sirena for the Shrike.

As much as I’d love a visit to DS9, I want it to be done right. Too bad Star Trek: The Experience was shut down.

In Picard, a quick shot would be as good as it could get. I doubt we’d get another chance.

Not dead yet, I see…. Seems like everyone’s a whiskey person now. That’s not bad.

Maybe this is what I get for swearing, but I could have swore that John de Lancie commented somewhere on doing work for seasons two and three?

Based on the pics …

Beverly in the blue lab coat and wearing a com badge .. Is it possible in the heat of battle Riker reinstates her Starfleet commission?

Jean-Luc and Jack in the bar … I’m guessing this is the end of the episode. After all we can’t spend ten episodes in a nebula running from Vadic, so I’m guessing the Titan is either rescued or escapes. The bar scene pics would indicate perhaps Jack agrees to meet his father for a drink.Given the urgency of the last few episodes, it would be nice to see the fourth episode conclude on a light moment, so that we could see the fifth episode pick up with Geordi and/or Deanna.

I hate replying to my own comments … but … what if the during the bar convo Jean-Luc and Jack actually talked about Jack Crusher Sr?

I think that’s a holographic re-creation of Guinan’s bar, which is why it’s empty. I think that Picard realizes that he has to make at least some kind of connection with Jack to clear his head before he can actually be useful again. Since Riker kicked him off the bridge, he has some free time for that.

That would be interesting.

Does the Titan just happen to have a replica of Guinean’s bar in its database? Or does Riker or Picard carry the file with them?

Holodeck programs would be stored in the universal cloud. As long as any program is on a server it could be pulled up anywhere, by anyone.

If they are cut off from communication with Starfleet, surely they’re also cut off from the cloud entertainment server?

Cache memory. It’s unnerving that Reg’s Randy Romp may be floating around in the space cloud out there.

In the middle of the Titan being in a bad situation? If that’s what he chooses to do then my already low opinion of the character will just get lower. Surely he has more skills that are useful in other places besides the bridge.

Come now, Geordi was fondling holodeck Leah’s engines in the middle of a bad situation. It’s not without precedent….

Geordi shouldn’t have been doing that either unless you’re just making stuff up and that wasn’t what he was actually doing. Even then either way. But in this situation, yes, my opinion of the character gets even lower if he can help in other ways and instead he’s getting drunk on the holodeck. He’d just be digging himself a deeper hole here in my mind.

The episode is “Booby Trap” (I s**t you not), and yes, I’m extrapolating a bit from some incredibly cringe worthy dialogue in that episode.

But seriously….the clip showed Riker powering down most of the ship to buy a little time when they were being drawn to the white light. Jesus, take the helm!! I’d assume that the pic of Bad Dad and Jack downing some Jack happened after, when power had been restored. I do think you’d turn on the AC before powering up the holosuite. Priorities!!

Once again, fans inventing fake scenarios for a future episode in their head to get angry about. Even if your scenario is true, there’s also a dozen valid reasons for him not to contribute, you’ve just gone with the one that makes you angry.

Or, maybe she just grabbed a handy lab coat, as sick bay still seems to be up to its armpits in sick and wounded? Also, you don’t have to be in Starfleet to practice medicine.

That’s very true, and Beverly did prove that in the last episode, much to Dr. Ohk’s irritation.

Why has no one snarked here yet about the Titan having a CMO named ‘Doc Ock’.

I mean how can that not be a Marvel reference?

What’s the chance that she’s actually a Starfleet physician anyway?

How will ‘Doc Ock’ spelled ‘Dr Okh’ prove herself to be Beverly’s own personal physician to vanquish?

Do you think the CMO didn’t diagnose Shaw’s internal bleeding because she’s actually a Changeling and not a Trill?

Or do we thing there’s yet something else?

The actor specializes in horror…

Probably because Dr Strange is over on the Shrike opening up his time portals…

Mostly because I believe it was pronounced on-screen as “Dr. Oak.” It never occurred to me how it was spelled. Could definitely be a reference to Doc Ock.

According to the closed captioning, it’s spelled “Ohk”

Thanks, you’re right. ‘Ohk’ could be pronounced ‘Oak’ rather than ‘Ock’

I remain suspicious nonetheless.

All the more because a CMO is a significant character, yet this actor wasn’t introduced in interviews or at the premiere as one of Titan’s crew. It was just the bridge crew.

These writers are definitely the ones to make hidden references to other franchises.

I don’t know if any have worked on Marvel, but it’s worth digging.

Maybe the k is silent. Dr. Oh.

What’s the anomaly? Giant space amoeba? Another Planet Killer? A 1968 Chrysler Imperial?

V’Ger’s baby? Telepathic pitcher plant?

The Borg found a Tesla in deep space and assimilated it.

Giant cloud of linked changelings or whatever.

Elon Musk’s sports car :))

Star trek. Picard. The journey is Picard. Doesn’t need to be through space, time, or whatever. It’s through Picard.

Enjoy the ride. We sure are.

I’m guessing it’s the nexus, or something like it.

The s**ttiest deux ex machina device in all of Trek?

I was wondering if they are going to get a do over.

That would be incredibly disappointing….

Sure… and Shatner pops out of it…

Okay, metrics tracker that I am, I have found the Parrot Analytics rankings and scores for digital original television series demand in the United States for the week ending February 24th.

Picard was still rising, 3rd in the rankings after episode 2 with 45.0 times the average demand, and right behind the Mandalorian with 45.7 times.

1923 is rising again after a dip, but in its penultimate episode it only had 29.1X which put it 8th in the top ten.

Let’s consider the return-on-investment for Picard season three vs a $23 million per episode Sheridan western.

(By comparison, Discovery typically tops out at around 34X average demand and a middle ranking in the top ten or lower.)

Now, Paramount is going to watch to see whether those Picard numbers hold, without the viewership or subscription drop-off that we infer were an issue in previous seasons.

It’s very promising though, and exactly the kind of performance the franchise needs in the current environment.

23MM per episode for a western? Are they riding CGI horses? I may be blissfully unaware, but what does an episode of Picard cost to make these days?

It was $10 million per episode pre pandemic for Picard, of which Patrick Stewart reportedly gets $750,000 per episode.

I don’t think we’ve seen an updated figure, but production time and costs are up for everyone due to COVID protocols.

One suspects talent like Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are expensive. As is shooting a good part of the season for 1923 in Africa.

I loved 1923. But the budget must have been for Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren because the show often looked cheap, particularly the scenes outside of Montana. I noticed a lot of scenes that looked like they were using green screen rather badly. Didn’t bother me, but it doesn’t seem like the budget was going to that element.

I’d bet it was for the top billed cast (it also included Timothy Dalton) as well as the elaborate period sets.

Did some digging. From what I’m seeing, Ford and Mirren made $1M apiece per episode. Apparently, much of the budget was due to extended filming in Africa, and the use of real animals there.

Frankly, it was a waste of money, if you ask me. The Africa scenes weren’t particularly impressive. Could have filmed them in California and used some CGI to spruce them up. Same with the animals.

If Paramount wants to cut spending, stop throwing away money on stuff like that.

I find it hard to believe it’s $23M per episode but… I just checked and that’s what it says. Unbelievable.

Those are interesting and good numbers for PIC! I wonder if you have data to compare what was the most successful week of the other Trek shows? What was their average demand? It would be cool to see how PIC ranks up with other Trek productions when they were released. I’m assuming SNW holds the record? If so, is that still the case?

But I wonder how Parrot Analytics works. I assumed Last of Us is number one but its not even in the top 10, which I find very doubtful. Titans is on the top list, so they ARE tracking HBO originals…

In any case it’s great that it’s really close to Mandalorian and doing much better than the Sheridan show.

Last of us is in the overall top ten as it is linear cable, if premium. It’s came in at 55.1X average demand for the same week ending February 24th. The top of that linear list has SpongeBob in perpetuity.

The top ten I’ve been citing is for digital originals only, meaning streaming series. Picard getting in the high 40s for streaming is great. Stranger Things and the Mandalorian tend to stay at the top of that list.

Didn’t know that The Last of Us was not a streaming only show.

The charts make sense now, thanks for the clarification.

I discovered that in the second episode when I was waiting for it to hit around midnight like most streaming shows only to discover it wouldn’t come until 6 p.m. PST because that’s when its released on HBO.

And to further expand your ROI point. Assuming PIC costs a third of 1923, a spin off show can be much much cheaper when you remove all the legacy characters save for one or two.

If these numbers keep up, I just can’t see them not green lighting a spin off show that can cost 50-60 million per season, which is like 2 episodes of 1923.

And one more question… What are these numbers really telling you when it comes to P+ originals. Is 1923 underperforming or 1923 is doing great but PIC is really blowing up?

I don’t think a $60 million season is realistic but perhaps $80-100 may be in reach after grants and tax credits, especially if they produce in Ontario and add a main cast actor from Canada (which they lost when Jurati was written out).

I agree that limiting the legacy talent, especially Stewart to special guest status would be a major factor in containing costs.

I suspect 1923 is underperforming in terms of demand metrics for Paramount, but its older boomer audience may not be as engaged in social media. It’s surprising though for a high profile outing in what’s now a well established franchise. In the end it’s the subscription numbers that will be most important.

Agreed, at the end it’s the subs numbers that count. But, buzz on social media certainly drives subscriptions, so this data from PA is very promising. It would be interesting to see how the numbers hold up in the coming weeks.

Whatever the case, I think by First Contact Day or Comic Con the latest, we will have a more clear picture for the future of this era of the franchise. If we don’t hear announcements for at least 1 new show (without pulling the rug on another) by the end of this year, than we are definitely entering in new territories. Kurtzman’s contract is up in 2026 which looks like an eternity away, but knowing that a turnaround for a new show is in the 2-3 year range, it will be very telling if no new show is announced this year.

P.S. I had no idea PIC was in the $100 million range per season, I thought it was in the $80s, thus my comment that a spin off can be done for $50-60 million. But knowing that PIC can be even north of $100, I don’t see a new show costing below $80 million.

Picard was coming in closer to $80 M net of the California production grant pre pandemic.

Post pandemic is another situation.

That’s why fan claims that a movie could be made for $100 million are absurd.

Yeah, with inflation in the past years along with the careers of Pine, Saldana and Urban, I don’t see a Kelvin movie being made below what Beyond cost.

Maybe they can shave off a couple of dozen millions with a completely new cast, but my gut feeling is telling me that if they really want to ‘revive’ the movie franchise again, they’ll go really big.

I hope the TV side of things is working for them, given how much better content they have been releasing in the past 2 years.

I hope we learn something soon since they’re claiming the streaming wars are heating up. I’m hoping Trek doesn’t become a casualty of war.

April 5th, First Contact Day is the next big Trek event. Fingers crossed we hear some good news there.

That being said, I don’t see Trek being placed on the sidelines. It’s the only franchise on P+ besides the Sheridan shows and they repeatedly said P+s strategy is leaning heavily on the franchises they own.

The big question is if SNW, PRO and LDS is the only thing we’ll get for the foreseeable future or what Kurtzman and Co have been saying that a new show will come once another finishes, still holds true.

Even the suits at Paramount were saying that the end game is to have Trek all year round. If that is not the case than it looks like Trek is not performing as they hoped.

I don’t want to be the stick in the mud here, but I don’t think they’ve announced any of the new shows around First Contact day. In fact the biggest news I can recall we ever got on that day was announcing the TNG cast was returning for this season last year.

Now that said with DIS and PIC leaving, yes it would make sense to announce something to let fans know the future is still bright with future shows going forward. But I don’t see ANY announcements about another 25th century show until after the season is over.

But if they are going with the S31 or Academy show, then I can imagine one of those being announced.

And yeah, maybe we will just be down to four shows a year instead of five. I think that’s still pretty good. The irony is we only had five shows for one year anyway which was last year. We’re only getting four shows this year now.

But I think it would be perfect we would get the 25th century legacy show, SNW, LDS and PRO going forward for a few more years at least (assuming all those get renewed again). I think most fans would be happy with that line up.

Yeah if the show is getting both high viewings and excellent word of mouth I can’t see them not wanting to do a spin off show from it, especially since they probably would’ve made a season four if Stewart decided to do another season anyway.

But yes, hopefully fingers crossed. This seems like the show practically everyone wants, but I suspect we won’t hear anything about it until after the season is done.

Oh and on Rotten Tomatoes, your favorite rating site lol, the audience score is currently at 86%, the highest of any of the new shows so far. But the question is will it hold? It didn’t for seasons 1 and 2 but if the rest of the season stays as strong as the first three episodes, it should stay in the 80s or even go higher.

This is partly why I believe that Picard was the nail in the Discovery coffin. Picard is definitively a much bigger draw, (it was even last season with the bad reviews), and they’re going to give us a spin-off, and go to 4 shows a year.

Let’s hope that’s the plan and they needed to get rid of Discovery so we can get the legacy show. I think most fans would like that even if they were DIS fans. And then we’ll have the Picard spin off, SNW, LDS and PRO! Sounds good to me. ;)

I don’t think wrapping up Discovery has anything to do with the release of Picard’s S3. This decision has certainly be made months ago, probably late last year. They just decided to brake the news now and ‘bury’ it behind PIC’s great reception so far.

I think it does. I think it was on the bubble, and they were waiting until the excitement of the Picard S3 premiere which would both solidify that a Picard spin-off was destined to be, and dull the bad news.

It was on the bubble and they were at the point that they had to negotiate contract extensions for the main cast for further seasons.

The S3 premiere would’ve told them nothing. S1 and S2 had similar levels of excitement and look how it turned up.

I really doubt a corporation like that would come to a big decision like this and announce it in less than 10 days. There are a lot of big moving parts behind the scenes that need to be taken cared off before you make an announcement like this.

It was not only 1 decision, they made 3.

End it, move it to 2024 and do extra filming for closure. There’s tone of logistics behind all 3 decisions that make me certain this was done deal at least 3 months ago. They just waited for the least painful time to announce it.

You’re absolutely right about your first statement. That’s why I am certain that it was the case. TV execs aren’t smart. They had the info they needed, but couldn’t pull the trigger until they had more.

Yeah that’s also true. And I saw a YouTube video today from Trek Central a few days ago discussing the cancellation who said they probably announced the news sooner because they themselves were hearing behind the scenes the show was already in doubt of coming back and maybe wanted to get ahead of it before the rumors started. But this time it would actually be true for a change. ;)

So yeah it probably had to do with a lot of factors. And once it was known the show would be pushed back a year from now for more shooting would’ve gave something away regardless.

Metrics trackers can also check the week ending March 3 and see Picard is in 4th place, lower now with 42.2X, behind Mando, Stranger, Lasso. Mando and Stranger are in the 60s.

Good to know, I guess that was posted later yesterday. 42.2X is still better than other new live action Trek have done with possibly the launch week of SNW.

Lest anyone think demand for Mando is similar to Picard, TG cited data from a week before Mando new season had started airing.

That is true. But if you go back 2 weeks before S3 launched, PIC was in the top 5 shows according to Parrot Analytics. Not in the 45+ range as Mando was before launch (PIC was in the 30s), but still the level of demand for PIC is in the Exceptional category which is the highest one they have.

I think the biggest lesson here is the profitability, with the comparison to 1923. Paramount is putting a lot of eggs into the Yellowstone spin-off basket, yet Picard is more in-demand and being produced for 1/3 of the cost.

Yup, that’s the message I’m taking from this.

Anyone assuming that Paramount+ will be choosing to green light more A-list Sheridan shows vs more Trek needs to reassess given these metrics.

I think they’ll do both, but I don’t think Sheridan will get quite the same budgets anymore, and the comparison is likely to push P+ into even more Trek content.

The demand numbers lead the viewership, so a run up prior to a premiere is important.

Ted Lasso is trending up in response to the promotional lead up to the 3rd season premiere.

I’ve found the latest Canadian Parrot Analytics report for the week ending February 26th.

(It seems the Canadian one is running its weeks through the weekend which is why I seem to be getting the US one late.)

Even more wow for Picard.

As a Digital (streaming) original, Picard ranked #2 with 25.48X average demand behind Mandalorian with 30.39, 1923 was doing better here with 3rd place 20.65.

It’s the all television series list that really impressive though.

Since in Canada Picard is both streamed and on premium cable through Bell Media, it’s really doing well. Overall, Picard was in 5th place, just behind SpongeBob. Last of Us topped the Canadian chart.

In the UK, Picard’s doing ok but not brilliantly at 13.0X. (1923 is climbing there.)

In Germany, it’s 13.3X, but Prodigy is just in it’s cooling down phase there.

Hey, they have lights! And people look happy! What show is this? :-) 

I was thinking, if the first two episodes of the season were structured like TNG two-parter, it’s likely that Vadic / the Shrike would have successfully captured Jack, Picard, and Riker and escaped undetected by the Titan.

Shortly after but ultimately too late, Seven would convince Shaw to reverse course and rescue them on the Eleos only to find Beverly alone in the stasis tube, life support nearly depleted. Vadic / the Shrike would leave behind some sort of calling card, possibly by accident.

The next scene would be on the Shrike with suspense and tension about the impending fate of Jack, Picard, and Riker.

And then we would jump to the Titan where Beverly was now conscious, but just barely. And they would, somehow through some technobabble, find a way to track the Shrike, with Seven wanting to rescue her mentor, Picard, and Crusher caring about Picard but mostly in it to save her son before it is too late.

Raffi would still be doing her mission that we’re watching. Worf would still be Raffi’s secret handler and he’d still save her from the Ferengi at that bar, but before the weapon had been used on that Starfleet facility. But they’d find out from the Ferengi about the weapon and he’d give up Vadic / the Shrike in some way.

And then Seven would just happen to contact Raffi, knowing she is in Starfleet Intelligence, to tell her about Picard and this Beverly person and her son, and this mysterious Vadic / the Shrike.

Worf would overhear this and immediately ask for the Titan’s coordinates. And off Worf and Raffi would go, warping to the Titan. Maybe Worf would contact Geordi too, and Geordi would say that his kid is on that ship. Geordi would warp over to the Titan too.

Yeah, I could have gone for that. This is still decent though.

Nobody picked up on the reman jackal knife in Vadec’s hand? You’re too slow old man!

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ offers up some moments of quality

Just a shame it took so long to get here..

Spoiler warning: The following article discusses the Star Trek: Picard episodes “Seventeen Seconds” and “No Win Scenario.”

I was away last week and so didn’t write up last week’s utterly inessential episode of Picard , although if you’re curious, Darren Mooney at The Escapist’s feelings mirror my own. The whole affair only makes sense if you assume the whole crew had taken a big dose of idiot pills an hour before the episode began, and wish you’d had some as well. This week, there’s a lot more to say, especially since it’s the first episode this season that feels even remotely fun. And while the setup for all of these conflicts was pretty flimsy, their resolutions are all very enjoyable to watch.

After the Shrike uses its Portal gun to encourage the Titan to shoot itself in the back, the ship drifts into a gravity well and certain doom. It’s here we get one of the worst tell-not-show moments in the series so far as the bridge crew state, and then restate (and then re-restate) the situation the ship finds itself in. Loss of power, is it? Sinking into a gravity well, is it? We don’t have enough power to get out of the gravity well, is it? Is that because we’ve not got much power, is it? And because of the gravity well? Sorry, not following, can you explain it to me like I’m five, please? It doesn’t help that while the decision to take the shields offline is set up as some big, dangerous decision, it’s never mentioned again.

It’s here that Picard, opting to get his affairs in order, chooses to sit down for a touching moment with Jack. And they choose to do so on the holodeck, in the Ten Forward bar that’s been turning up time and again this run. Picard says that holodecks are hooked up to their own power supply because it’s better to die in comfort than use that power to survive. I think we can all tell that it’s a cover for either a production or a budget issue that meant they had to re-use the set. ( Picard ’s first season did the same, endlessly going back to the chateau office on La Sirena’s holodeck.) And, again, the two-hander between Patrick Stewart and Ed Speelers is great.

Also, remember when a broken leg wouldn’t require much more than a quick waft of a med bay doodad and you’d be good as new? Not in Picard , where Shaw storms into Picard’s heart to heart, apparently full of painkillers, and reveals why he’s so angry at both Seven and Picard. It turns out that, like a big chunk of Starfleet, he’s a survivor from Wolf 359! And if this wasn’t another thing that was explored pretty well by Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , it might carry a bit more dramatic weight. It also feels like the start of a pre-ordained redemption arc for Todd Stashwick’s Captain Shaw as the powers that be use Picard as a way to backdoor pilot a Titan-A spin-off series. (You can imagine the pitch: We’ve got the cast, and the sets are already built, it’s practically free content if you greenlight another ten!) And, to be fair, Todd Stashwick’s such a charismatic actor that you could feel him straining to play someone more unlikeable at the start of the series.

From here until the conclusion, however, the tone starts to lighten, and Beverley’s realization that the nebula is a space lifeform gives everyone a sense of purpose. You see, the nebula is undergoing the exact same contractions that a pregnant person would when they’re in labor. The moment that Riker stops pointlessly objecting to the plan of riding the contractions out of the gravity well, it suddenly feels like we’re watching Star Trek again. The gang works together, Seven and Shaw successfully lure out the changeling infiltrator, and they even have a nice spot of payback for the Shrike as Riker orders the Titan to lock onto a massive asteroid, dragging it behind long enough for it to smash the enemy vessel out of contention long enough for them to escape.

And that’s not even the best bit, because there’s also the wonderful B-Story of Picard dealing with his adoring fans while in (the real) Ten Forward five years previously. Patrick Stewart Picard is accosted by a bunch of fans cadets who ask him to regale them with stories of his time on Star Trek the Enterprise. All the while, unseen, Jack lingers in the background, listening to Picard as he builds out his myth and his legacy while minimizing any reference to his own family. When Picard closes the gathering by saying that Starfleet is his family, it’s both an unwittingly hollow indictment of Picard’s own life (his co-workers are his only friends, oof ) and an unwitting rejection of the son he could have grown to know years previously. This, my friends, is a great moment, full of depth and pathos and I just wish that it hadn’t taken this long to get here.

Speaking of which, Paramount recently punted Star Trek: Discovery’s fifth season to 2024 , adding it would now be that show’s final run. With news that the studio is looking to tighten its belt in order to milk some actual profit from its streaming service, fans are feeling antsy . After all, Trek shows aren’t cheap to make, and it’s not clear how much crossover appeal these shows have. Despite David Stapf’s 2018 promise that we’d have “a Star Trek something on all the time,” there’s a worry that it’s closing time at the all-you-can-eat buffet. With Discovery and Picard on the outs, and no sign (yet) that Lower Decks and Prodigy will get renewals, we could go from five shows to three, or one, in no time at all. But, based on the merits of some of what’s been released under the Trek brand of late, would that really be such a bad thing?

After all, these four episodes of Picard form little more than an extended prologue for the rest of the run. It’s taken the better part of four hours to establish the broad outline of the plot as well as the main antagonists, and the stakes at hand. Even then, we’ve still not encountered more than half of the Next Generation returnees who formed such a key part of the marketing. A prologue that I would have enjoyed a hell of a lot more if it had been compressed down to closer to ninety minutes. Imagine if, rather than filling out a corporate-mandated ten-week block each year, the format was designed to suit the story being told at each time. On the merits of the last four weeks alone, fewer episodes of higher quality Trek would be infinitely preferable.

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NEW: Strange New Worlds – Scotty is on board for Season 3!

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REVIEW: Star Trek: Picard “No Win Scenario”

Star Trek is full of “No Win Scenario” situations in which our heroes win, but is there a deeper conflict here? Star Trek: Picard “No Win Scenario” , episode 4 of season 3, contains all the action on the Titan and lets our characters be open about what they are experiencing. Jonathan Frakes directs and stars in this episode, showing us the grief behind Riker. We also have Ed Speleers continuing the fascinating character of Jack Crusher and his relationship with Picard.

This week also marks the introduction of seemingly the one pulling Captain Vadic’s strings and sets us up for the rest of the season. Who is this changeling? Could it be someone we know and induct them into the ranks of Trek Villains akin to Khan? Who knows but let’s take a look at this latest episode!

5 Years Ago – Same Uniforms!

One thing which is great about these flashbacks is that they finally reuse a previous uniform instead of making a brand new one. The previous flashback to 2381 when Thaddeus Riker was born and Riker and Picard were celebrating in Ten Forward, they introduced a new Starfleet Uniform which was sort of an in-between of the First Contact Starfleet grays and the 2385 uniform. However in this flashback, of just Picard having some Fish and Chips in Ten Forward alone in 2396, all the ensigns who surround him for stories are wearing the uniform previously seen in Season One of Picard. So at least we know that Uniform lasts from 2396 to 2399.

5 Years Ago – Jack Crusher

And finally the reveal that Jack Crusher did meet Picard 5 years ago in that bar. Beverly told him where to find Picard, and he would be 18 or 19 at this point in time, about whether he had a family outside of Starfleet. Picard, not knowing who this young man was at the time, just says that Starfleet is his only family. This is what the ensigns expect to hear. But where Picard was at the time, retired admiral from Starfleet after their mishandling of the Romulan relocation mission, where has that family of Starfleet got him? He may get applause, something he would still get from his speech at Starfleet academy in season 2, but it didn’t get him anyone to share that lunch with. Actual connection that he needed and wanted. When those ensigns leave, when Starfleet leaves, he (at that point in time) had no one left.

Riker’s Grief

In this episode, we learn that Riker has been running from his grief over the death of his Son. In a way, this almost makes the episode of “Nepenthe” in season one that much sadder. Riker smiles happily, but now we know how much pain is underneath. It is no surprise that when Picard asks for help at the end of Star Trek: Picard Season One, Riker is there ready, back in an active role as the Captain of the Zheng He.

Not just because Picard needs help but it is a further opportunity for him to not deal with his repressed grief and feelings around his son’s death. It is also sad that Troi couldn’t help, despite being a counsellor. Therapy only works if someone wants it to work, and it seems like Riker wasn’t even ready to address the feelings around his son’s death.

I am actually really glad that their relationship issues are this, and not like some fan theories suggested that Riker was a changeling in disguise. This adds the human element to this show and is prime Star Trek of dealing with someone’s grief around the death of their son.

Seven on the Hunt

With a changeling revealed in the last episode, and knowing that Ensign Foster was the one who attacked Jack, goes straight to his quarters. She finds the dead foster, which at least lets us know the changeling infiltration was recent, and possibly while at spacedock.

The question is brought up about why the Changeling would decide to take the place of an ensign who is a transporter officer. I would then wonder if the transporter has anything to do with Jack’s current condition with the hallucinations and the red branches, though this probably isn’t the case considering it wasn’t him who used the transporter to beam them from the Eleos in episode 2, only that he was on the transporter when Jack wanted to hand himself over.

Seven is now on the hunt for said changeling. Riker allows her to hunt it down, but in an unofficial capacity. Funnily enough she goes for Shaw to help, and it is interesting that he seems to be an expert on Changelings, though I suppose he must have been active during the Dominion War while Seven was not and in the Delta Quadrant.

Seven and Shaw

Seven and Shaw get to work in the Nacelle control room, and it is actually really nice to see these two work together. Shaw still has a lot of stuff to deal with, but you can see an actual healthy effective working relationship between the two. In the process of working, they are also laying a trap for the Changeling, telling no one to be sent to nacelle control. So when Sidney La Forge comes to Nacelle control and calls Seven “Commander Hansen”, they know that is the changeling and seemingly stun it.

I do have to say it’s nice that not only was the Commander Seven scene from Sidney to Seven a nice scene for these two characters, but also foreshadowing this scene and giving us the audience enough knowledge to know what is up, was some great writing.

Vadic & her Boss

Since the reveal of the changelings, people have been wondering if Vadic and her crew are also changelings. The weird residue Riker remarked from the disintegrated goons of Vadic on the Eleos would lead me to believe this. However we get a scene with Vadic on the shrike, where she cuts her hand and a changeling goo comes out, which makes me think Vadic isn’t 100% a changeling, but just her hand is part of a changeling.

Vadic even uses a Reman knife to cut her hand off, which has our theory crafting brains wild at work. Could she be Shinzon’s surrogate mom? Perhaps someone against the Romulan Relocation Effort? We’ll have to see if this is a connection, or just a cool knife she has.

The Hand Goo forms into a Changeling face, But who could this be? I believe it might be Laas, one of the One Hundred Changelings who was sent out by the Great Link, and wanted to find his other changeling siblings in order to create a new great link. He had a hatred for solids, and maybe after seeing the dominion losing and the original great link refusing to continue their crusade, split and went to start his own crusade.

This probably makes the most sense, but also because it’s one of only other Changelings we know, as I doubt it’s the female changeling as surely she is still in Federation holding after the war.

Picard & Jack

Picard wants time with Jack, and goes to the Holodeck to discuss things with him. Even while watching this scene, I was wondering why they would be using the holodeck if the ship is having power issues. Jack even brings up this point with Picard stating it has independent power for moments just like this, something previously noted in Star Trek: Voyager .

This has been a question on the mind of a lot of people, why did Beverly call her and Picard’s son after her former husband? Obviously Picard and Jack were good friends in the academy and in their stargazer days, but we even get some confirmation from Picard himself, that even he would have called his Son Jack Crusher.

We get a story from Picard about him and Jack during their stargazer days, before Picard was captain of the ship, of stealing a shuttle to make a date with some women on a planet. Their ship was hit by asteroids and they had very little power, but together, with one of them on navigation and one of them on thrusters, they made it out alive. Their own “No Win Scenario” that they managed to survive by working together.

And this story not only foreshadows the solution for escaping the “No Win Scenario” of the current titan in the present story, but is also the reasoning behind the solution in the actual story. Jack actually uses this story, told to him by Picard mere minutes prior, as a solution to get them out of the nebula.

Shaw & Wolf 359

Something we had all theorized since the first episode when we saw the ending credits and the report on the destruction of the USS Constance at the same stardate as Wolf 359, was that Shaw was at Wolf 359 and is the reason he hates the borg and was so spiteful towards Seven and Picard in the first episode.

Shaw is probably only vocal about this due to the pain meds, but talks about how Picard, as Locutus caused wolf 359. He is clearly dealing with a lot of survivor guilt from this, being a low level “grease monkey” as he refers to himself, and also just a dipshit from Chicago but still being one of the 10 picked to escape the USS Constance.

This probably is the reason why Vadic was talking about Shaw being nonfunctional in the past by having access to his profile, knowing about his history.

In my eyes, this makes Shaw such a fascinating character, and seems to be part of his character arc. Working with Picard and Seven to actually get over this trauma and become a better person.

Nebulous Birth

Crusher throughout the episode is counting down the power surges from the nebula, and deduces that from the organic readings that the nebula is a womb that is in labour. The gases they are inside are the amniotic fluid.

In quite an amazing briefing scene around a table, you have the Picard-Crusher family actually coming up with a plan to get out of the gravity well, using the energy surges of the labour contractions to power the ship and get them out of there. Again like previously, Jack Crusher recalling the story he was just told by Picard, as a solution to get the ship out.

Riker agrees, and they get to work as a full on team to get out of the nebula. Riker even gives Picard the Conn, given his experience, and Picard asks Jack to spot the incoming asteroids to move around them. They rely on each other, and manage to power the ship with the help of Shaw as well, requiring an old time grease monkey to open the nacelle grills, considering the ship is a refit of a 20 year old model and none of the current engineers could do it in time.

We even have a role reversal between the shrike and the titan, with Riker managing to throw an asteroid at the Shrike to get it out of the way, as revenge for the Shrike throwing the Eleos at the Titan.

Our crew may have escaped this “No Win Scenario” but with a changeling threat infiltrating Starfleet, will they be returning home to friend or foe?

Frakes as a director in this episode did an exceptional job, even better than last episode in my opinion. His grasp of not only trek, but also filmmaking, in general, is excellent. His use of blocking and where characters are in the shots further enhances the script written by Matalas and Tretta.

In a way this episode dealt with many emotional ramifications between characters, and they were quite open about what they needed and how they were feeling. We have Riker, Picard and Shaw all talking about their issues. Riker running from grief. Picard wants a connection with his son. Shaw reeling from survivor guilt. All this, while in a giant space womb, make this a fantastic Star Trek episode!

We’ve captured our changeling on the Titan, seen the face of our villain, and escaped the Shrike. But what is next for our intrepid crew? We’ll have to keep watching to find out.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 airs on Paramount+ in the United States and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. However, the series will be available on Amazon’s Prime Video service for most international locations in the following days. For coverage of all things Star Trek: Picard Season 3, follow Trek Central!

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4 “No Win Scenario” Review: Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Review: Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4 “No Win Scenario”

The crew of the Titan faces imminent destruction as their broken ship plunges toward the gravity well at the center of the mysterious nebula, all while a member of an old Federation enemy lurks within the ship.

After the Titan gets the wind knocked out of it by its own torpedoes thanks to the Shrike ’s tunneling weapon, the crew has some difficult truths to face. Personally, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) is confronted with losing his newfound son, Jack ( Ed Speleers ). There are only a few hours to get to know the younger man, a point Captain William Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) tries to drive home to his former captain.  

In this conversation with Picard, Riker opens up about why he is facing trouble with his wife, Deanna ( Marina Sirtis ). The death of their son, Thaddeus, was so wrenching for Riker that he shut down emotionally, something the empathic Deanna didn’t respond well to. Jonathan Frakes steals this scene, as the pain etched on Riker’s face is evident as he compares the infinitely dark abyss of his son’s six-foot grave to the Titan descending into the dark nebula. It’s powerful stuff, and we’re thrilled this season isn’t shying away from giving its characters such weighty material to latch onto.

“I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room.” “Yes. Of course.” “The hair… when did it go?” – Jack Crusher to Jean-Luc.

So, Picard and Jack share a drink in a holodeck recreation of Ten Forward (this show is really finding ways to use that set, huh?) Picard tries to probe about his son’s past, including why he chose not to know his father, but this attempt ends with Jack deflecting. In a moment of honesty, Jack admits to his father that he doesn’t need to feel a connection with his dad before their time is up, but Picard, also in a moment of honesty, admits that it’s him who needs to bond, even if it’s just once.

One of the stories the two men share involves Jack’s namesake, and Picard tells the tale of his friendship with Jack Crusher and how the two ended up in an emergency situation coming back from shore leave. The best friends survived against the strongest odds thanks to their familiarity and skills. The story is amusing to Jack but less so to Captain Liam Shaw ( Todd Stashwick ), who wanders into Ten Forward just as Picard finishes.

Maybe it’s their impending doom, maybe it’s the painkillers after his injury on the bridge: either way, Shaw musters the courage to share his backstory. Remember how Titan ’s captain immediately took a disliking to Picard (and Seven, for that matter)? Their adventure on the Titan wasn’t actually the first time Shaw met Picard; the younger man was at Wolf 359 in the engineering room of the USS Constance and has lived with survivor’s guilt about that engagement for years.

Todd Stashwick kills it as he tells his character’s harrowing story, but the cherry on the top of this powerful scene is the sounds of battle one hears faintly in the background. It really sells the notion that Shaw is reliving these traumatic memories in his head as he laments his luck in surviving that battle. Interestingly, the captain ends his monologue with the assertion that the Borg are still out there somewhere, despite what happened on the Stargazer last season. Is this a conspiracy, or a hint of foreshadowing?

The most pressing issue besides the ship’s impending destruction is the fact that Changelings have infiltrated Titan , as evidenced by the dead transporter officer Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ) finds. So, Seven, operating with unofficial Starfleet status thanks to Captain Riker’s blessing, sets out to find the Changeling, who, let’s remember, could look like anyone. Her task is made slightly easier by having all the crew share common areas as Titan slowly hemorrhages power and life support.

“Hey, Hansen, bang up job your heroes are doing with my ship. [Points outside window to the dark nebula]. Love the view.” “Can we talk?” “Officially, no.” “Unofficially?” “No.” – Captain Shaw and Seven of Nine.

Seven approaches the recovering Captain Shaw to help find the Changeling. Luckily, we know shapeshifters can’t hold their humanoid forms indefinitely, so Seven, thanks to prompting from Captain Shaw, sets out to find where a Changeling could regenerate, hoping to use material from that bucket to find the real deal. She does indeed find a bucket from a crewman she suspects is the shapeshifter, but she soon learns there are other shapeshifters aboard the Titan . Just how deeply have Changelings infiltrated the ship?

Just outside the nebula, Vadic ( Amanda Plummer ) introduces us to a mysterious character: her yet-to-be-named boss. This entity, which manifests as some kind of shapeshifter-esque humanoid face generated from Vadic’s hand, is looking for Jack Crusher, who Vadic asserts will perish soon in the nebula’s gravity well. This isn’t a satisfactory answer for the entity, and it orders Vadic to obtain Jack Crusher no matter the cost to her and her ship.

As expected, the Titan crew discovers a way to escape their descent into the nebula’s gravity well. Thanks to some studious observation by Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ), who notices a pattern to the ship’s strange bio-electric impacts, she and Jack postulate the ship can ride the gravimetric waves produced by the nebula to freedom. Of course, there’s a complicating factor: the nebula isn’t a nebula in the traditional sense, which is something that was hinted at in an earlier episode. No, Beverly realizes the nebula is a womb of sorts for a space-going organism. As she notes, she and her former crewmates have encountered space-going creatures before, like the aliens in “Encounter at Farpoint,” so it’s not a totally wacky idea.

Despite Riker’s qualms, Crusher convinces the captain to try their plan, confident it will work because the crew just needs to trust one another, the thing she asserts they all spent “a lifetime” knowing how to do. So, Picard approaches Shaw for help, as he is the best person to modify the Titan ’s warp nacelles in a way that can help the ship escape the nebula.

Helping the Titan escape makes Shaw the prime target for the Changelings onboard, which presents an opportunity for our heroes. The saboteur, this time disguised as Ensign Sidney La Forge ( Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), does indeed come to the engine room to try and stop Shaw, but it’s when the faux-La Forge calls Seven “Annika” and not her preferred name that Seven eliminates the threat.

The Titan hitches a ride out of the nebula thanks to solid commanding from Admiral Picard (with help from his son), and solid sciencing from Doctor Crusher, who predicted the final “contraction” that the Titan rides out of the nebula. Facing the Shrike one final time, Riker proves he can give as good as he gets as he swings an asteroid into a direct impact on the enemy ship, which knocks Vadic out for the foreseeable future. The end of their adventure in the nebula treats the crew to a beautiful sight: the successful birth of countless space-going aliens (who bear a passing resemblance to the aliens from TNG ’s pilot). Seeking out new life, indeed!

Like its predecessor, this episode also contains another flashback sequence (circa 2396) with Admiral Picard and a group of Starfleet cadets. The cadets spot him in Los Angeles’ Ten Forward and ask him about his legendary career, including the time he had an errant shuttle adventure with the late Jack Crusher. Picard’s tales to the cadets are all well and good until he answers a question from someone at the bar about how he doesn’t need family in his life; little does he know it’s actually Jack Crusher who asked him about family.

What remarkable luck that Jack happened to be within earshot of Picard’s conversation at that moment in time!  But this also explains why Jack never chose to contact his father, even though his mother gave him the chance. Seems like Picard has some mending to do with his son, although it’s not exactly clear based on the dramatic looks exchanged by father and son at the end of the episode if Picard remembers Jack being the one who asked that family question in Ten Forward.

Throughout this episode, Captain Riker faces his own personal pain, as he uses the time until the Titan ’s destruction to send a message to his estranged wife, Deanna. Rather, he tries to send a message to her; he can’t quite find the words to describe how their recent rift has impacted him, especially since he likely won’t see her again. Ultimately, the successful resolution to their adventure gives Riker the boost he needed to confront his problems with Deanna, as we see him talk with her at the end of the episode about a renewed vigor inside him for life and wonder. That seems more like the William Riker we know and love!

Taken together, “No Win Scenario” leaves us completely pleased with where this season is so far. Not only does this episode feature a satisfactory discovery of new life, as so many Star Trek episodes have done, but we see some of our characters more comfortably settle into roles we so fondly remember. Case in point: we’re treated to a dopamine shot straight to the heart as we get a traditional log entry from Picard as the Titan cruises away from the nebula, with the admiral wondering when Vadic will show up next and what she wants with his son.

Moreover, after seeing a darker side of William Riker over the last couple of episodes, the captain seems to be back to his old self, complete with a love of exploration and curiosity despite the trauma his family experienced. In many ways, this episode feels like the end of a mini-story within the larger season, as the adventures of the Titan inside the nebula are over and our heroes seem a little more recognizable – but we know the season’s plot is really just getting started. Anything can still happen to these characters.

Like in the last episode, we still wonder what is going on with Jack. His continued manifestations of strange red tendrils and red hellish landscapes leave us sure there is something majorly wrong with him, but we have no idea what. Does it have something to do with Vadic’s mysterious boss? And on that note, how deeply have the Changelings infiltrated Starfleet, and how does that all tie into Raffi and Worf’s quest to find who stole what from the Daystrom Institute?

The adventure continues…

Stray Thoughts:

• This episode, like the previous one , was directed by Jonathan Frakes.
• In 2396, there is a model of an Ambassador -class, which was what the Enterprise-C famously was, in Ten Forward.
• The cadets talking to Picard reference a passage from Picard’s autobiography that details an off-screen encounter with the Hirogen, the villainous race introduced in Star Trek: Voyager . One of the cadets even asks Picard if Admiral Janeway offered any advice on dealing with the Hirogen. Sounds like great material for a tie-in novel or comic.
• Shaw hands Seven a padd that shows what a Changeling’s pot looks like, and on that padd is a headshot of Odo, a main character from Deep Space Nine as portrayed by Rene Auberjonois .
• Are buckets the only containers in which Changelings could regenerate? Can’t one regenerate in a bathtub, jar, trunk, etc.?
• The portal weapon casing Vadic jettisons from her ship before re-entering the nebula appropriately says “Daystrom Institute of Advanced Robotics.”
• One of the stories Picard tells the cadets in the flashback scenes involves the events of “Darmok,” the classic TNG episode that sees Picard stranded on a planet with a Tamarian captain.
• The scene in the conference room with Riker, the two Crushers, and Picard is reminiscent of the problem-solving meetings the TNG crew had all the time, and we can’t help but think this scene is just a teaser for whenever in this season the entire TNG sits around a conference table again.
• When he finally assumes the center chair before leading the Titan out of the nebula, Picard does the “Picard Maneuver” – tugging down on his shirt, like he used to do all the time on TNG .

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, Michael Dorn as Worf, Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Brent Spiner as Lore, Jeri Ryan as Seven, Michelle Hurd as Raffi, along with Amanda Plummer as Vadic, Todd Stashwick as Captain Liam Shaw and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

March 11, 2023 at 3:50 pm

I pretty certain it was just the one changing, he simply took a different form.

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Recap / Star Trek: Picard S3E04 "No Win Scenario"

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In a flashback to five years ago, Picard's quiet lunch at Ten Forward LA is interrupted by a gaggle of cadets who beg him for stories about his illustrious career, particularly a situation in which an Alpha Hirogen hunted him. Soon he is telling them about his adventures with Tamarians, with Jack Crusher Sr, and more. Picard : There will be a time when you will need to remember that, no matter how bleak or unwinnable a situation, as long as you and your crew remain steadfast in your dedication, one to another, you are never ever... without hope.

In the present day, a hopeless Jean-Luc Picard stews at a window while Capt. Riker gets the status reports from the Titan 's bridge crew. The ship doesn't have enough power to get out, and also doesn't have enough power to run life support for more than a few hours, especially as it's being shellacked by those bioelectric energy waves from the nebula. Riker visits Picard, acknowledges that Picard's more aggressive stance was correct in retrospect, and suggests Jean-Luc spend his last few remaining hours getting to know his son.

Seven has learned the identity of the officer being impersonated by the Changeling, transporter tech Ensign Foster. She reports to Riker, who decides not to re-instate her so that she can move more effectively. She consults Shaw for advice, and he looks up some data on the Founders. He suggests Seven Bluff the Imposter . Shaw : Look, you and I got off on the wrong foot. I underestimated you. You have great instincts, you're a natural leader, make a great captain one day. ...Which is something I totally would say... Seven : If you were a Changeling and not just a dick. Shaw : Now you're starting to catch on .

But since that won't work on a crew of 500, Shaw suggests Seven find the Changeling's pot. (Seven: "I'm assuming you're not referring to cannabis.") Since Changelings need to regenerate every 16 hours, reverting to liquid form, they typically have some sort of container to use as a bed. It should contain residue (or, as Shaw calls it, " resi-goo "), which Seven can analyze and then scan for using the ship's internal sensors. Seven indeed finds the Changeling's salad bowl in Foster's quarters, but as she takes it to the biolab, she's attacked by the Changeling, who vaporizes both salad bowl and resi-goo with a phaser.

Picard takes Jack to a holodeck simulation of Ten Forward LA, alongside some other crewmembers who are taking shelter there. The two start getting to know each other over (syntheholic) whiskey, swapping tales of their various adventures, but are interrupted by Shaw, who is still hopped up on painkillers for his broken leg, internal injuries and etc. He asks if Picard has told Jack about his adventures on Stardate 44002.3 — the Battle of Wolf 359 , in which Shaw, then a lowly engineer, lost tons of friends and barely survived. In addition to his fury at Locutus of Borg — "the only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name" — he is clearly haunted by Survivor Guilt by being one of 10 people chosen to escape the USS Constance on its only remaining lifepod: "Why— why me? I'm just some dipshit from Chicago. Now I'm lucky number ten." Picard, politely, withdraws from the holodeck; and Shaw, left with his crew, has a moment of self-awareness: "Forgive me. At some point, 'asshole' became a substitute for charm."

On the Shrike , Vadic cuts off her own hand. Don't worry, this is normal for her: she's a Changeling as well, or at least Changeling-adjacent, and the severed hand becomes some method by which she can reach her superiors. They order her to pursue the Titan and retrieve Jack Crusher at all costs, seeing her and her ship as expendable . Accordingly, the Shrike jettisons its portal gun, which cannot safely be taken into the nebula, and wades in.

Shaw and Seven get to work, with Shaw observing that, if the Changeling really wanted to be a Spanner in the Works , this would be the perfect place to do it. Accordingly, when Sidney La Forge shows up to offer whatever " Wrench Wench is In the Blood " expertise she can, Shaw is already suspicious: they told Captain Riker to not send any sort of help whatsoever. When Ensign La Forge tries to explain herself to "Commander Hansen," the Out-of-Character Alert seals the deal; Seven opens fire, and the Changeling is dealt with for good and all. Meanwhile, the energy wave charges the ship, and Riker deals with the waiting Shrike by throwing an asteroid at it , disabling her for at least an hour and allowing the Titan to make her escape amidst a cloud of newly-born space jellyfish.

Back in the flashback , Picard begs for a chance to actually eat his lunch, but is interrupted by a young man in a baseball cap. It's five years ago, so Picard does not recognize a teenage Jack Crusher Jr. The civilian asks if Picard has ever had a biological family, and Picard, playing to his audience, declares, "Young man, Starfleet has been the only family I have ever needed." The ensigns applaud. The teenager disappears .

• Actually Pretty Funny : Shaw's reaction when Picard repeats his own earlier description of himself. Picard : Captain Shaw, I realize that I am the last person you want to see right now, but I need your help, despite the fact that you are indeed a dipshit from Chicago. Shaw : * Beat * Nice.
• Almost Out of Oxygen : The Titan -A's rapidly depleting power also threatens life support, which is down to a few minutes. Riker has the crew congregate in common areas to extend supplies, meaning they'll at least live long enough to go down with the ship.
• Ambiguous Situation : Vadic cuts off her hand as part of a communication device that connects to the Changelings, but it's not clear if Vadic is fully a Changeling or just has a Changeling Artificial Limb , as a Changeling wouldn't need to amputate the limb manually.
• Art Evolution : Continuing from glimpses shown in the previous episode, the changeling shapeshifting and natural appearance was originally shown to be an amorphous bronze-colored goo accomplished with mid-90's CGI. The show alters it to have a bit more weight and substance, the goo is redder with a white membrane-like texture interspersed, making it look more like gory entrails.
• Awesome McCoolname : Horrifically invoked by Shaw when he angrily lampshades how Picard, in contrast to other Borg drones, was given a singular designation by the Collective. Shaw: (to Jack) You know where your old man was on that day? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire ! (to Picard) Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer . The real Borg are still out there, and they have a name for you: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name!
• Bad Boss : Vadic's superior makes it abundantly clear that her ship and crew are expendable in service of their goals, which means Vadic has no choice but to pursue the Titan -A into the nebula, even if it means ejecting the portal tech.
• Boisterous Weakling : All of Vadic's bravado, menac, and Laughing Mad behavior is revealed to be just an act. When her boss makes contact, she immediately drops the facade and reveals herself as a timid, stammering coward who can barely talk when faced with real authority.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs : Shaw describes Changeling material as "residue goo" before shortening it to "resi-goo".
• Brick Joke : One that took 34 years to pay off. In " Contagion ", faced with a situation in which he had no weapons, Riker asked if tactical could arrange for him to throw some rocks at the Romulans. Here, he uses the tractor beam to throw an asteroid at the Shrike .
• The episode title is of course a reference to the Kobayashi Maru Unwinnable Training Simulation , first seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• Picard compares the nebula entity to the aliens from the TNG pilot "Encounter at Farpoint" .
• In a flashback, Picard tells some Starfleet cadets about the events of "Darmok" .
• Shaw mentions how 11,000 people died at Wolf 359, like Admiral Satie did in " The Drumhead ".
• An angry Shaw confronts Picard over Wolf 359 much as Sisko did aboard the Enterprise -D 30 years earlier. The difference is Sisko and Picard at the time were only a few years removed from the tragedy and the trauma was still fresh (and Picard was equally just as angry at Sisko). This time, Picard and Shaw have both had to live with their anger and trauma for three decades (and Picard allows himself to take the brunt of Shaw's grief rather than fight back).
• The Cameo : Marina Sirtis makes her second appearance this season, communicating with Riker from Nepenthe.
• Casting Gag : Amanda Plummer (Vadic) spins around in the Shrike command chair much as her late father did as General Chang during Star Trek VI .
• Central Theme : Connection. The episode starts with all the major characters at odds with each other, and their arcs are about overcoming their grievances with each other. The Power of Friendship — and, more accurately, the Power Of Cooperation — is what saves the day.
• Chekhov's Gun : The Titan spends much of the episode getting hit by regular bursts of energy from deep inside the nebula. Those bursts turn out to be the equivalent of labor contractions, leading to the birth of space-dwelling jellyfish.
• Chekhov's Hobby : Shaw mentions that he was an engineer on the USS Constance at Wolf 359, long before he became a captain. In order to take advantage of the energy pulses to ride it out of the nebula they had to bypass security locks on nacelle shielding. It so happens that despite being a modernized refit some of the internal systems are still 20 years old and he's the only one with the knowledge on how to get it done on a time crunch.
• *Click* Hello : The Changeling disguised as Ensign La Forge is interrupted by the sound of a phaser pointed right at its head by Seven.
• As in Voyager , the holodeck is noted to run on an independent power cell. Picard justifies this as a way of making sure the crew has some respite even in the bleakest of circumstances.
• Jack asks Picard how long he'll be keeping his hair. Picard tells Jack to enjoy the hair while he can, echoing the moment in the TNG episode " Bloodlines " where he told Jason Vigo - who the Ferengi Bok had misled into believing was his son - that he'd never look at his hairline the same again.
• When Shaw recounts Wolf 359 from his perspective, archival audio of the battle (and Picard-as-Locutus) from "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Emissary" can faintly be heard in the sound-mix.
• Continuity Snarl : The Changeling shouldn't need a salad bowl to regenerate for 8 hours in resigoo state. Back on DS9 , Odo did... but this was eventually revealed to not be a trait of the species as a whole, as was formerly thought, but a side effect of Odo being a Heartwarming Orphan who had to teach himself how to use his powers, and didn't fully master them. Since it moves the plot along, this particular bit of continuity is ignored.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character : While Shaw technically is a returning character, the basic tropes still technically applies given his Captaincy of the Titan . Shaw is revealed to be one to Benjamin Sisko from Deep Space Nine . Like Sisko, Shaw is another survivor of Wolf 359 who lost everything and blames Picard (and finally confronts him in the Present Day). Shaw is what would've happened to Sisko if he hadn't taken the Bajor assignment, encountered the Prophets, and finally begun the healing. Shaw is instead what would've happened had Sisko held on to that all rage and trauma and let it all fester for 30 years.
• Contrived Coincidence : Played with, Seven realizes the Changeling had to be on board the Titan long before Riker and Picard showed up, indicating a conspiracy that merely placed the Changeling into an advantageous position but had been The Mole long before recent events.
• Dare to Be Badass : Riker isn't exactly sold on the "ride the energy wave" plan, but Beverly and Picard convince him that they need to do what they've spent their entire lives being good at: getting out of dangerous situations with insane plans.
• A Day in the Limelight : Captain Liam Shaw gets a significant amount of Character Development in this episode, showing his Dark and Troubled Past as a Shell-Shocked Veteran of the biggest Curb-Stomp Battle in Starfleet history, but also his decision to grab the Jerkass Ball to Never Be Hurt Again .
• Death of a Thousand Cuts : The Titan -A's situation, the result of the cumulative damage from the last two episodes. Lieutenant Mura even lampshades it, saying Titan is bleeding to death.
• Double Meaning : When Seven explains to Captain Shaw that Sydney La Forge always calls her "Commander Seven" out of respect, her tone clearly indicates that not calling her by her preferred name displays a lack of respect. Shaw acknowledges the point.
• The Dragon : The communication with her superior reveals that while the rogue Changelings are the final Season's overarching Big Bad , Vadic herself is not the conspiracy's leader as the Season's pre-release marketing had previously implied. Vadic instead actually occupies a subordinate role in their faction's hierarchy.
• Dramatic Irony : Seven speculating the Changeling Kill and Replace implies there's a larger conspiracy at work here. Only the audience is aware Seven's more right than she knows, as they've been cut off from the UFP and have had no idea what's been happening over in Raffi and Worf's investigation.
• Easily Forgiven : Riker and Picard patch things up after their schism last episode. Justified, as it's because their deaths are a certainty and because Riker, now that he's had time to review, admits Jean-Luc's aggressive strategy against Vadic was the right move.
• Everyone Has Standards : No matter how Jack feels about his biological father, even he's disgusted with Shaw using Picard — who was just as much a victim of Wolf 359 as every one of the 11,000 Starfleet casualties — as a punching bag for all his unresolved trauma.
• Evil Stole My Faith : Riker reveals that the reason he's taken some time away from Deanna is that the death of Thaddeus left him questioning if there's anything after death, and everything he's seen in the universe has failed to convince him there is. Seeing the nebula birth helps rekindle his faith, and he calls Deanna to assure her that he intends to work on it.
• Face Death with Dignity : Shaw notes that he and his shipmates on the Constance didn't panic when they discovered only one lifeboat with ten seats was left for the fifty crewmen that made it to the deck. Shaw: We were all friends. They were all my Jack Crusher. We weren't...we didn't fight over who should live or who should die. No we... (pounds bartop) we waited for orders.
• Fire-Forged Friends : Shaw was at odds with Picard, Riker and especially Seven over the last few episodes, finally revealing in this episode he is still struggling with surviving Wolf 359 and has been difficult because of dealing with two former Borg on his ship. But working together to beat an impossible scenario lets them hash out their differences and understand where everyone is coming from. In luring the Changeling into a trap Shaw trusts Seven to have his back, and when she affirms she prefers the name Seven instead of Commander Hansen there is a sense of mutual respect.
• Flashback Echo : Shaw has a monologue describing the evacuation of the USS Constance after Wolf 359. Faint sound effects can be heard of weapons fire, alarms and a murmuring crowd as he describes what happened, none of it diegetic but underlining that he is reliving those events .
• Shaw wonders aloud why a changeling would replace the transporter room duty officer, when there are far more important positions it could have targeted.
• Though Shaw is aware of what Picard accomplished in the previous season in creating a kinder, gentler Borg, he disregards it: "The real Borg are still out there."
• Jack's hallucination while washing his face is nearly identical to the nightmare his father experienced back in Star Trek: First Contact .
• Forgotten First Meeting : Shaw reveals that he met Picard once before, something Picard is visibly surprised by. Then Shaw reveals it was at Wolf 359...
• When the Shrike detaches the Quantum Tunneling device, it flies at the camera. If you pause just before it passes the camera, you can see 'DAYSTROM INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED ROBOTICS' emblazoned on the device.
• As Shaw explains the Changeling's bucket, he hands over a PADD with a report. In the bottom-left corner is a picture of the person who, presumably, filed the report: Odo. (Given René Auberjonois 's death in 2019, it can be assumed that this is all we will ever see of the character.)
• Freudian Excuse : Turns out that the root of Captain Shaw's dickish attitude towards Picard and Seven of Nine is because he's still traumatised by the battle of Wolf 359.
• From Bad to Worse : The Titan -A is sinking down the gravity well of the Ryton Nebula. Power's failing, weapons are offline, and Vadic's still out there. And then to make things more fun, there's apparently some kind of anomaly in the middle of said gravity well generating energy pulses that are building in intensity.
• Going Down with the Ship : As Shaw exposits on how he was one of a lucky ten out of fifty to escape the Constance at Wolf 359, he takes a moment to note that the lieutenant that picked who got to live did not choose herself as one of them.
• Hoist by His Own Petard : Vadic gets a taste of her own medicine when Riker uses the tractor beam to pitch an asteroid at the Shrike as they're riding the wave out of the nebula. The size and speed of the projectile leaves the Shrike dead in the water.
• The Hunter Becomes the Hunted : Picard tells the Starfleet cadets of how he and Worf turned the tables on a Hirogen who hunted him, making him the prey instead.
• Imposter Exposing Test : If the Changeling hadn't already been fooled by Seven's trap, they give themselves away as Ensign La Forge when they refer to Seven as "Commander Hansen", which La Forge would never do out of respect. Seven immediately shoots to kill.
• Innocently Insensitive : A two-way version. A flashback shows that Jack did indeed visit Picard at Ten Forward, but just asked if Picard ever had a real family without introducing himself. Surrounded by a bunch of cadets and that being an understandably sore subject given the death of his brother Robert and nephew Renée, Picard simply says that Starfleet is the only family he's ever needed, not exactly the thing Jack came to hear.
• In the Blood : Jack is shown to have the same knack for piloting as his father, calculating the path of an asteroid and the amount of thrust required to dodge it on the fly.
• In Vino Veritas : Just before Shaw begins laying on his story about Wolf 359, he says he is "out of sorts" with Doctor Crusher having prescribed him a generous dose of painkillers.
• Jerkass Façade : After Captain Shaw details his Survivor's Guilt to Picard, he turns to his crew to apologize for ruining the mood. Shaw: Forgive me. At some point, " asshole " became a substitute for charm.
• Kill and Replace : The Changeling killed a transporter operator days before the Titan -A was launched and replaced him. This leads Seven to believe there's a much greater conspiracy, because that would imply they knew well in advance that their presence there would be required.
• The Main Characters Do Everything : It seems very important to Picard that it be Jack who calls the oncoming asteroids, for reasons that are unclear when there's an entire crew available; surely that sort of thing is one of their jobs, not that of a non-Starfleet doctor. For that matter, when Riker tells Picard "You're the only one here with experience flying blind," he seems very sure of this without asking the existing crew, or for that matter, the helmswoman currently on duty .
• Meta Twist : One of the dicta in The Next Generation 's writing room was that Gene Roddenberry forbade having the bridge crew disagree or squabble with each other. As such, this episode — whose plot is rooted solely in Poor Communication Kills , Right Hand Versus Left Hand and everyone overcoming those things to form a team — represents a major departure for these characters.
• The Metric System Is Here to Stay : A rare inversion when Riker tells Picard that Thad's grave was six feet deep instead of, say, something close to two meters. Then again, it may just be for the longstanding tradition about how deep graves are.
• Misblamed : Like Sisko before him, Shaw hates Picard for his role as Locutus and the Wolf 359 Massacre — never mind that Picard was just as much a victim as the other Starfleet casualties, that he was forced into the Collective against his will, and there was literally nothing he could've done to stop them.
• Mood Whiplash : In-universe with Vadic after she ends her 'progress report' with her Changeling superior. Vadic, having been timid, frightened, and deferential, immediately 'puts' her mask back on and reverts to her Faux Affably Evil and Laughing Mad persona.
• Monster Is a Mommy : The nebula entity is revealed to be in the final stages of giving birth, the energy pulses being akin to contractions. The resulting lifeforms are space jellyfish.
• Morton's Fork : The grim situation facing the Titan -A. If they don't divert power to the life-support systems now , everyone's going to die from asphyxiation. But if they do divert said power, they'll fall into the gravity well even faster than they already are. And on top of all it, they have to use systems, but the more systems they use, the faster their remaining power is depleted.
• Mythology Gag : Picard's story about surviving in a crippled shuttle with Jack Crusher is similar to the Framing Device of the novel The Kobayashi Maru , in which most of the TOS senior staff, trapped in a crippled shuttlecraft, pass the time by telling stories about their time at the Academy and their experiences with the titular test. This, of course, ties into the Title Drop : the "Kobayashi Maru" Unwinnable Training Simulation is the original No-Win Scenario.
• The Starfleet cadets ask Admiral Picard about an encounter with the Hirogen some time after Voyager 's return (since one cadet asks whether Picard had any help from Admiral Janeway). In the same breath, they ask how a Hirogen ended up clear across the galaxy from the Delta Quadrant to begin with.
• Jack tells his father a story about resetting an Andorian's broken antenna, but the scene transitions midway to Shaw and Seven.
• The Nothing After Death : Riker tells Picard that after Thad died, he lost any faith that there was anything beyond the mortal world. Riker: When we buried our son... I watched the coffin being lowered into the ground. It was only six feet, but it was so dark. It was like infinite emptiness. And you and I have traveled to the far reaches of space, and yet there's nothing, nothing that proved to me that there is anything... after. And I've tried to shake that. (sighs) Deanna, as you know, feels everything. But she couldn't live with me feeling nothing. And neither could I, which is why I left and I came here. I was running from this. Only to find it again. Well... This is the end, my friend.
• Oh, Crap! : When Ensign La Forge shows up offering to help, Shaw has one when she asks a rather specific question about what would happen if they only had one of the two nacelles open... while holding a torch in her hand and standing over the man who is the only one able to open the nacelles. Being in on the plan, he's no doubt acutely aware that this Changeling plans to murder him.
• Oh, No... Not Again! : As soon as Shaw mentions Wolf 359, Picard's face takes on a haunted look, showing he knows exactly where this is going and it's not the first time he's had a survivor of the battle confronting him.
• Out-of-Character Alert : Discussed between Seven and Shaw when trying to out the Changeling spy. He gives an example by praising her as captain material, which Seven dryly notes is something he would say if he were a Changeling and not just a dick.
• The Changeling saboteur crippled the warp drive last episode. While there's obviously been time to address it, these mission-critical repairs are handwaved by Seven's quick request that Shaw is needed because everyone else is working on the warp core.
• Riker, in " The Next Generation ", implies that he and Deanna are having marital problems. In this episode, he explains that the death of his son Thaddeus has weighed heavily on him, causing him to become a nihilist; and Deanna, The Empath , couldn't deal with that darkness. The only problem with this is that neither of them showed any evidence of this during " Nepenthe ". This turns out to be a Chekhov's Gun for a later episode; additionally, parents will do whatever they can to keep things together for the sake of their children, and there was still Kestra to think of.
• Picard's "Starfleet is the only family I have ever needed" rings hollow when you recall that this conversation took place in 2396, when he had already resigned from it in the wake of the Romulan Supernova and the destruction of Mars ( PIC : " Remembrance "). The cadets are apparently starry-eyed enough to ignore the inconsistency, and Picard has numerous reasons to be more charitable towards Starfleet in this moment than he would in a more honest setting.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure : Riker kicking Picard off the bridge at the end of the previous episode was quite the Wham Line , although tensions are high they don't start speaking to each other until a little past the halfway point of this episode. Riker ending up admitting that Picards' advice was sound, they just couldn't anticipate all the complexities of this engagement.
• Psychological Projection : Shaw's furious words to Picard on the Holodeck show that like Sisko 30 years earlier during "Emissary", he likewise blames Picard for Wolf 359 and losing everything. Unlike Sisko, however, Shaw's words reveal much of his anger at Picard is really towards himself and his self-loathing and hatred from his Survivor's Guilt .
• Red Right Hand : Vadic's distinct red glove is revealed to actually be part of her Changeling communications method.
• Resolved Noodle Incident : Shaw's Dark and Troubled Past , which Vadic alluded to when mockingly quoting his Starfleet psychological profile during "Disengage", is revealed: He's a Wolf 359 survivor.
• Vadic is working for the Changelings (and may possibly be one herself), as shown when she cuts off her hand as part of a bizarre communication device and then reabsorbs it.
• The Changelings want Jack Crusher as part of their plans, and he's important enough that they can't allow him to die.
• Shaw was at Wolf 359, hence his hatred of the Borg and Picard in particular.
• Riddle for the Ages : No really, how did the Hirogen wind up in the Alpha Quadrant?
• Also justified because the Titan was racing as fast as it could to keep up with the wave and heading right at the Shrike at high speed. Riker snagged an asteroid in passing and then let it go at the right moment, transferring all of that momentum into the asteroid, which then smashed into the Shrike at that same very high speed.
• Rousing Speech : Riker addresses the crew of the Titan before executing the plan. Riker: Crew of the USS Titan . This is Acting Captain William Riker. We have a plan to escape, but to do so, we'll need to draw every ounce of power that we have left on this ship. We're gonna use these energy waves to jump-start us. I'm not gonna lie. It's a hell of a risk. Anything goes wrong, well... anything goes wrong, we'll all know pretty quick. I know many of you don't know me. But like any captain, I know something about you. I'm only as effective as you are. And I also know from experience that if we all hang tight and work together... we're gonna get through this.
• Rousseau Was Right : From Shaw's tale of Wolf 359, those who gathered at the last remaining escape pod didn't fight over the limited seats, but instead waited for orders. The one who chose the survivors didn't include herself either, but instead willingly chose to die.
• When Picard wants to exit the holodeck to give himself distance from the angry Captain Shaw, he commands "Computer - Arch". An Arch command is for when people inside the holodeck want to have the physical computer interface visible, during a running program, to be able to physically reprogram the simulation and/or to perform diagnosis of the holodeck systems. The proper voice command is "Computer - Exit" if a person wants to leave the holodeck.
• Upon being killed, 'Sidney' doesn't revert back to a liquid state and ultimately ash (as had previously occurred with deceased Changelings throughout Deep Space Nine ). However, the next episode will reveal this wasn't an error and is actually a plot point.
• Sinking Ship Scenario : The Titan 's descent down the Ryton Nebula's gravity well is akin to a sinking submarine/ship scenario. Riker even lampshades it.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran : Again, Shaw is a survivor of Wolf 359 and is still haunted by the trauma almost 40 years later.
• Somber Backstory Revelation : Shaw describes his experience at Wolf 359 in a tense monologue, providing the context to explain why he is a Jerkass and Commander Contrarian . Captain Shaw’s namesake is a Shout-Out to actor Robert Shaw, as his monologue scene revealing his backstory is an Homage to Quint’s Somber Backstory Revelation scene in Jaws .
• Something Only They Would Say : Inverted . Sydney always addresses Seven as "Commander Seven", so when "Sydney" calls her "Commander Hansen" instead, Seven confirms that she's the Changeling and kills her.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome : Again, no matter how advanced the Shrike 's armaments and shielding are, it still has to obey the laws of physics. So, if it gets struck by something with enough mass and kinetic energy as the asteroid Riker throws at them, it will do damage.
• Survivor's Guilt : Shaw was an engineer during Wolf 359, and was one of ten officers out of fifty who was ordered to evacuate in the remaining escape pod. He doesn't get why he, "some dipshit from Chicago," deserved to live more than those other forty souls.
• This Is Gonna Suck : When Shaw tells Picard that they first met on Stardate 44002.3, Picard quietly realizes that he's about to get an earful from a Wolf 359 survivor. Again.
• This Was His True Form : Averted with the Changeling, which doesn't melt into goo when killed, in contrast to all the other times a Changeling has been killed in the franchise. This becomes a plot point in the following episode.
• Troubled Sympathetic Bigot : Shaw is an established asshole, with a strong hatred of any ex-Borg. The revelation that he's a traumatized survivor of Wolf 359 puts all that in a much more sympathetic light.
• 2-D Space : Par for the course, the Titan manages to escape and recharge energy reserves by matching the speed and riding a wave of energy coming from the center of the nebula, which is depicted as a standard Planar Shockwave that perfectly matches their position.
• Shaw recommends that Seven find the Changeling's pot, find any "resigoo" in it, and then have the ship's internal sensors scan for that same goo. She finds the pot, but the Changeling attacks her and vaporizes it before she can do any scanning.
• As Shaw and Seven work to open the nacelle housings, Shaw notes that if the Changeling is going to sabotage something, it'll be what they're doing right now. To that end, Seven contacts Riker, and the viewer only hears Riker ending the conversation. When Ensign La Forge shows up to help, Seven reveals that she ordered Riker to not send anyone under any circumstances.
• Unusual User Interface : Vadic cuts her hand off at the wrist, and the Changeling tissue morphs into a communication interface. Once she's done, the tissue reforms into her hand once more.
• Villainous Breakdown : Vadic has a minor one when their ship is knocked off-line from the asteroid collision.
• Wham Line : Shaw joins the conversation while Picard is sharing stories about adventures he had with Jack Crusher's namesake. Shaw : But, uh, speaking of harrowing stories... Did your old man ever tell you about the time that he and I first met?
• Star Trek: Picard S3E03 "Seventeen Seconds"
• Recap/Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: Picard S3E05 "Imposters"

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Except, of course, this is the souped-up, modern era of television in the 2020s, so the episode is heightened at every corner of production. The blistering pace and visual effects burst off the screen, while the performances perfectly counterbalance the peaks and values of each piece of the story, including the nicely mirrored conversations with Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) revealing moments from his past that shaped his life.

In the most prominent of these narrative threads, Picard is on the holodeck as the ship faces certain death trying to connect with his son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), for the first time. Jack is resistant to opening up to him and is instead talking about his seedy adventures rather than anything deeper, insisting he is not a person that needs “to be a part of something.” When Picard admits to him that he does need that connection, he tells him a story about one of the “worst jams” he’d ever been in, featuring his namesake and father escaping a near-death situation in a shuttle years before.

That powerful story is interrupted by the Titan’s captain, Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), who has also come to the holodeck in these final moments to contemplate the ship’s impending doom. The intrusion from Shaw is compelling and epic Star Trek , with Shaw revealing for the first time he faced off with Picard at Wolf 359 — and was in a situation on his own ship, the USS Constance , where he and his friends (“They were all my Jack Crusher…”) were randomly selected to live or die based on who made it on to the ship’s final remaining life pod.

Even with his reputation as a scene-stealing character actor before making his Trek debut, Stashwick continues to be a revelation in Star Trek: Picard . In this scene in particular, his seething resentment and deep hurt are boiling underneath the skin with illustrative lines like, “I was just an engineer, just a grease monkey” and “It was like space itself was burning.” (Underneath it all, the sound design includes the subtlest hints of voices and phaser fire in a battle; that’s an extremely nice extra bit of detail.)

It all leads to a fiery emotional release reminiscent of that timeless Picard/Sisko showdown from Deep Space Nine’s “Emissary” when Shaw exclaims:

“You know where your old man was on that day? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire! They have a name for you: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name!”

The line sits in the room like a layer of thick smoke from one of Vadic’s cigarettes.

Jack interjects to try and restrain Shaw’s attack, but as he did 30 years prior with Captain Benjamin Sisko, Picard simply says, “I understand.” But in that devastating moment Jean-Luc is saying it to both men. To Shaw, for the obvious trauma he suffered at the hands of Locutus, but also to Jack, for what he suffered in not being there for him and in his reluctance to open up to his newfound father.

As Jean-Luc leaves the room sad and affected, Jack chases him down, calling him “Admiral” (again, failing to connect more personally), and now Picard has completely disconnected from the situation, doing that thing we’ve seen him do as far back as “Encounter at Farpoint,” stoically saying, “Thank you for your time, Jack. It meant a lot to me.” Ouch.

The scene is a perfect mirror for Picard’s flashback being interspersed throughout the episode where he tells a room full of young Starfleet officers about the many lessons he has learned throughout his life. One of the most important is that “you are only really ever as good as those around you. Your crew becomes part of you. Complete you. They lift you up to accomplish the things you never could do alone.”

This message finally hits home for Jack in the final moments of the episode, but not before the gut-punch reveal at the conclusion of the flashback when we see that Jack was there in Guinan’s Los Angeles-based 10 Forward bar on Earth all along. He is listening in the background and contemplating connecting with his father five years prior, eventually asking him incognito about a life outside of his crew — only to pull back at the last second when Picard disingenuously says, “Starfleet has been the only family I ever needed.”

The venerable captain, mired in more than a decade of inactivity at the time of the statement, knows he doesn’t really mean it.

As with Jack, Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is going through a personal introspective journey in this episode, trying to come to grips with the loss of his own son after so many years. In his confrontation with Picard, Riker has given up all hope of the ship surviving, and has also given up on himself, knowing that Deanna, who feels everything, “couldn’t live with (him) feeling nothing.” It’s an incredibly emotional, heartfelt performance from Frakes, who delivers the same goods here as he did in “Seventeen Seconds,” as both actor and director.

In the end, Riker — who had tried and failed to record a personal message to Deanna Troi numerous times throughout the episode — is finally able to face his wife directly, where we see another brief, but powerhouse performance from Marina Sirtis, echoing her strong turn in “Nepenthe” in the series’ first season. Riker knows their issues are on him, and vows to fix it, describing the “beautiful and amazing” birth they were all there to witness in surviving the nebula and saving the Titan . (That birth features hundreds of ridiculously cool space jellyfish with four eyes and a fluid bounce in their propulsion, another standout creature design from the great Neville Page.)

To get to that finale, though, we must first navigate a round of “choose the Changeling” with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who has remained off duty (another Riker ruse!) to conduct her search on the downlow in an unofficial capacity. She enlists the help of the incapacitated Captain Shaw, since no one knows the ship better than him.

Their search, which includes some fantastic Changeling 101 pontificating from Shaw, is eventually a success, and coincides with the “dipshit from Chicago” also being recruited by Picard to assist in the Titan’s escape from the nebula because of their need for an old grease monkey to hot wire the nacelles.

The set design and functionality of the nacelle control room in which Seven and Shaw set-up their final trap for the Changeling, now in the form of Lt. Sidney LaForge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), is just spectacular. The tinkering. The use of a 25th century mechanic’s creeper for Shaw to slide in and out of the relays and conduits. The direction from Frakes looking down into the machinery as the Titan captain works. It’s all immaculate.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when the writing to accompany the visuals is just as smart as Dave Blass’ production design, with Seven cleverly calling back to a scene in “Seventeen Seconds” to determine La Forge’s true identity when she refers to the former Borg drone as “Commander Hansen” instead of “Commander Seven.” At that precise moment, Seven instantaneously kills the Changeling, showcasing once again that showrunner Terry Matalas and his team don’t have time to waste with storytelling tropes. Seven then uses that opportunity to finally get through to Shaw that it’s respectful to use a person’s chosen name, in any context. “Good call,” says Shaw. (More connection!)

Back on the bridge, the crew is about to use those open nacelles to catch a wave of the energy contractions that Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) has determined are coming from a space-faring creature giving birth at the center of the nebula (which is actually the amniotic fluid of its womb).

With Picard now in the captain’s chair courtesy of Riker, the pair assume their familiar positions in command while undertones of Jerry Goldsmith’s Next Generation title score swell in the background from composer Stephen Barton. The swells of music are accompanied by the swell of goosebumps as Picard tells the real Ensign LaForge, “Let’s go home.”

In a moment straight out of the classic TNG episode “Booby Trap,” the Titan must position itself to clear a path out of the nebula, so Picard has his son shouting out coordinates, while he dictates the course corrections to La Forge piloting the ship. It’s a special moment seeing Picard at the helm of Starfleet vessel again, guiding it out of danger.

With the path clear and life support completely exhausted, the Titan catches the wave to the edge of the nebula where the Shrike is waiting to pounce. Without missing a beat, the best first officer in the fleet returns to his familiar role and engages the ship’s tractor beam to grab an asteroid from their stern and hurl it forward to knock the Shrike out of commission. It’s a gratifying comeuppance for Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer), who used a similar trick back in “Disengage” to throw a ship at the Titan .

Move over Riker Maneuver from Star Trek: Insurrection ; the Riker Maneuver from Picard has arrived!

With the ship clear of the nebula and no longer engaged with the Shrike , the series finally takes a breath and closes out the episode with a reset voiceover from Picard wondering exactly what Vadic wants with his son (who at the same time is seeing the same visions he saw in “Seventeen Seconds” of red veins and smoke, with a soft voice in the distant mysteriously saying, “Find me”).

On its own, “No Win Scenario” is basically a perfect episode of Star Trek , but at this point in time it is fair to highlight an emerging trend from the first half of the season after four overall episodes. In an interesting contrast to what we saw in Picard Season 2, where the show was criticized by many for being repetitively Earth-bound for about 80 percent of the season, this season of Picard has gone in the opposite direction.

In many respects, when positioned in context across nearly four hours of the new season, the show actually feels a bit claustrophobic and monotone, with virtually every scene this season taking place on a myriad of look-a-like Starfleet sets or at 10 Forward or on Vadic’s ship (give or take a few seedy markets on M’Talas Prime).

As the kids say these days, it wouldn’t hurt to get outside and “touch some grass,” but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards anytime soon.

MOMENTS OF STASHWICK

We think Todd Stashwick and his portrayal of USS Titan captain Liam Shaw is destined for Trek icon status — each week this season, we’ll be highlighting one one of the character’s (and actor’s) best moments.

Even though this episode saw Captain Shaw become the first character in Star Trek history to be called either a “dick” or a “dipshit” — and they both happened in the same episode! — our choice this week is a little more subtle and occurs when Seven shows up at his quarters to ask for help.

As she rings the doorbell, he repeatedly answers with “Don’t come” (ring) “Don’t come!” before finally relenting and allowing her in with, “Fine. Open.” It’s a brilliant and hilarious send-up of a great Star Trek trope, even before he follows up with, “Hey, Hansen. Bang up job your heroes are doing with my ship. Love the view.”

We also considered his self-aware and character revealing pronouncement to his crew following his outburst at Picard, “Forgive me… at some point asshole became a substitute for charm.”

(And, yes, Picard is referred to as a ‘private dick’ in both “The Big Goodbye” and “Manhunt,” but that doesn’t count! And Gillian Taylor never actually calls Kirk and Spock “dipshits.”)

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• This episode takes place on and around Stardate 78183.10.
• We don’t check in with Worf or Raffi this week, making “No Win Scenario” the first episode of the series since her introduction in “Maps and Legends” in which Michelle Hurd does not appear.
• According to Jack Crusher, M’Talas IV is “a vile place; a real dump.” (Sorry, Terry.)
• Lest you think last season’s Jurati-Borg situation from the end of Picard Season 2 is being completely ignored this year, Captain Shaw makes a brief mention of that whole mess: “Forget about all that weird shit on the Stargazer — the real Borg are still out there!”
• Apparently Picard and Worf had a Hirogen encounter where the pair beat the Alpha at his own hunt!
• We get yet another Janeway reference this week, when the young officers being regaled by Picard asked if she helped him when he went face-to-face with the Hirogen.
• The admiral also references events from “Darmok” and the planet Argelius from “Wolf in the Fold” in his stories.
• It’s a bit challenging to reconcile Picard’s public storytelling session — set at the 10 Forward bar “five years ago” — with the admiral’s status as “the hermit of La Barre” when we first returned to this era in Season 1.
• It is worth noting right now that it is unclear if the new meaty-looking Changeling effects are an updated, modernized visual effect — or if it’s something to do with this group of Changeling dissidents who have removed themselves from the Great Link.
• And speaking of meaty Changeling visual effects… what the hell was that hand-slicing, subspace, resi-goo phone call made by Vadic? (We do not accept the charges!)
• On duty in sickbay, Beverly Crusher once again dons a blue lab coat.
• A golden Ambassador -class model can be seen in the foreground in Picard’s 10 Forward flashback, along with a publicity still of the former  Enterprise- D captain and Guinan from Star Trek: Generations .
• The Vulcan game Kal-toh , popularized on Voyager , can be seen in Ensign Foster’s quarters.

• Similar to the “double red alert” moment in “The Conscience of the King” when the profile of a phaser is seen hidden behind a light panel in Kirk’s quarters, Seven finds the Changeling’s bucket behind a lit-up light panel in Foster’s quarters.
• It’s nice to see that Odo’s choice of a Cardassian-style, art-deco bucket for regenerating has caught on across the Great Link — and it’s nice to see Starfleet still has a photo of Odo (the late Rene Auberjonois) on file.
• As the Shrike jettisons the portal device in order to go deeper into the nebula, we briefly see a Daystrom Institute placard rush by camera as it tumbles through space.
• The needle drop which opens the episode is Slam Alan’s 2015 song “Can’t Break Away from That Girl.”
• This is the 29th franchise directorial credit for Jonathan Frakes, including his two Trek films, and the sixth writing credit for S tar Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas. Sean Tretta, who co-wrote the episode with Matalas, now has two writing credits on the series, both from this season. He was a prolific writer on the Matalas-helmed series 12 Monkeys , with more than a dozen writing credits on the show.
• Voyager’s “Parallax” established that Starfleet holodeck power systems aren’t compatible with the rest of a starship’s systems — and Picard expands on that idea this episode, explaining that the simulators rely on independent power cells to provide a ship’s crew a safe place during crisis situations. (In a cheeky  Voyager reference, Jack quips, “Everyone crams in here pretending it’s some sort of tropical paradise while the ship implodes around them.”

Through four episodes, there’s little doubt that each episode of Picard Season 3 has literally been better than the previous one. Will that trend continue next week? All signs point to yes.

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast. He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter as @EnterpriseExtra.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue with “Imposters” on March 16 on Paramount+ the United States and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada — following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.

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Episode Preview | Star Trek: Picard - No Win Scenario

Something bigger is happening here.

In the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 fourth episode "No Win Scenario,"  with time running out, Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan , dead in the water, drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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• Star Trek: Picard

Part Four: "No Win Scenario"

With time running out, Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan, dead in the water, drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly.

Jonathan Frakes

Gates McFadden

Marina Sirtis

Todd Stashwick

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut

Amanda Plummer

Stephanie Czajkowski

Cast appearances.

Patrick Stewart

Ed Speleers

Episode discussion.

I'm not that up on all the intricacies of Star Trek cannon. I did know the names Wolf 359 and Locutus. But I was unaware of the connection between them.  And I have to tell you that the revelation, in that scene, was pretty devastating.

Enterprise-D Vessel Makes The Next Generation Reunion Complete

The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 9, "Vox," now streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 was always sold as a reunion of The Next Generation cast , but the penultimate episode of the series brought back another important "character." After being destroyed in the first film for this cast, the USS Enterprise-D returns in all her Galaxy-class glory. Insofar as a setting can be a character in a series, bringing back this vessel makes the reunion complete.

Thankfully, the storytellers set up very clever reasons the heroes would use this ship beyond it being something every TNG fan watching wanted to see. Against Geordi La Forge's objections, Starfleet employed a kind of "Bluetooth for Ships" that allows them all to be linked and controlled by a single crew. A stealth Borg invasion caused by Jack Crusher and his big secret means that all Starfleet ships are now compromised. So, Picard and the gang need an "analog" ship, as Geordi puts it, that can't be taken over by the Borg without old-fashioned tactile assimilation. As the curator of the Starfleet Museum and a master engineer, Geordi was in a unique position to be able to restore this ship over the past couple of decades. He also made sure the Enterprise-D was fully weapons capable, and even as a classic, the vessel still packs a powerful punch.

RELATED: Who Is Picard's Top Starfleet Admiral Elizabeth Shelby?

For The Next Generation, Home Is a Place as Much as Its People

Countless stories impart the message that "home" doesn't have to be a building, a city or even a country. It's people. If that's true, then once Worf and Deanna joined the crew of the USS Titan-A , Picard was home. However, places can have important meanings, too. And the return of the signature vessel on The Next Generation reminds these characters of the best time in their lives. Even with the world ending outside that museum, it's fitting that returning to the bridge still filled them with joy and levity. In trying times, people are always a little more comfortable when they are home.

The trick for Picard during its entire run is fans want a return of The Next Generation 's glory days instead of new stories about a man at a different point in his life. Throughout Picard 's run, Jean-Luc hasn't done all that much captaining. He usually finds himself in a chair in the latter episodes, but never on his ship. Season 3 is the most time any of these characters have spent on a ship (at least on-screen) since Star Trek: Nemesis fizzled at the box office. The Titan-A is a great ship. The moment Picard took the chair to guide them out of the nebula was satisfying but, in hindsight, now feels like a half-measure. Picard belongs in command of a ship, and that ship better be called "Enterprise."

From the retro-futuristic late-1980s and early-1990s design of the bridge to Andrew Probert's reimagining of the classic saucer and nacelle shape, the Enterprise-D is a special ship. It was the flagship of second-wave Star Trek , as recognizable as the original Enterprise. Putting Picard back in the chair of that particular ship on that specific bridge is unquestionably fan service. Still, that doesn't mean it's extraneous, forced or not emotionally resonant to the characters involved. If anyone has a chance to beat this particular "no-win scenario" it's that crew on that ship.

RELATED: Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Honors Every Version of Data

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Has Been Building Up to the Enterprise-D

In the Picard Season 3 premiere , Picard's favorite bar, Ten Forward, gave out model starships to celebrate Frontier Day. Riker noted that the Enterprise-D models were not a popular choice. No one wanted "the fat ones" he said. Yet, to these characters, this ship is the most beautiful thing in the universe. From Riker talking about the USS Titan being where his children were born to Seven of Nine reminiscing about being reborn on Voyager , ships being "home" is a recurring theme this season.

Riker and Troi fell in love on that ship. Data lived most of his conscious life on it. Beverly Crusher let one son go and left the ship before it could take another. The Enterprise-D was a huge part of their lives. To the audience, it's the only place they've ever truly belonged. At a time when humanity is threatened by its worst enemy, being home is a comfort, albeit a small one. Yet, as Beverly said earlier in the season, facing down impossible problems together is what this crew does. On the bridge of this ship is when they were at their best, and Earth needs them at their best.

After the ship was all but destroyed in Star Trek: Generations it makes sense the ship would end up where it was. Starfleet should know better than to leave its tech lying around, and Geordi is the type to restore it. Yet, this moment also gives The Next Generation fans the equivalent of the "Chewie, we're home" moment in Star Wars: The Force Awakens . It's not just the audience who will get closure from the return of the Enterprise-D. If these characters have to face certain death, there is no better place to be than with their friends back home.

Star Trek: Picard debuts its series finale Thursday, April 20, on Paramount+ .

"Star Trek: Discovery" makes a case for Michael Burnham as the last great Starfleet captain

Our "discovery" protagonist was never going to have it easy. the start of her last run solidifies her greatness, by melanie mcfarland.

Michael Burnham's " Star Trek " journey was destined to be among the franchise's toughest and most complex. Some of us knew this from the moment Sonequa Martin-Green was cast to play her, especially Black women who are sci-fi geeks. We have never been few, but until recently, we were far less visible than we are now.

To some, this visibility symbolizes everything that has supposedly gone wrong with this franchise and others. The reach of " Star Trek: Discovery " goes even further by assembling a truly inclusive cast that blew apart the original series' longstanding heteronormativity.

All this further angered culture war trolls and self-appointed arbiters of what is so-called "real" "Star Trek." These people have a vested interest in downvoting any such divergences from what has gone before.

Mainly it was — as it continues to be — the purists who wrote off "Discovery" as "not Trek" during  its first season in 2017 . Looking back from its final season — and from the perspective of Burnham's 900-year journey — we can say that despite how its thematic shading looked to us then , "Discovery" never abandoned Gene Roddenberry's optimism . It has simply evolved its interpretation.

In the first season, not even Burnham would believe this to hold true. A human raised on Vulcan by Spock's  father, Sarek, and as his sister, Burnham earns her first officer role through superior conduct and logic, divorcing herself from sentiment.

Burnham's smug sense of rectitude gets her superior officer killed. She is charged with mutiny, stripped of her rank and sentenced to life in prison.

From there, she stops a rogue galactic A.I. from annihilating the Federation and leaps nine centuries into the future (thereby largely freeing herself and the show from restrictive canon) to find a universe where Starfleet as it used to be is a dream, and the Federation and its ideals are broken.

"Discovery's" swansong season finds Burnham in the year 3191, with enough of the Federation's trust to take on a highly classified mission alongside Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), who has already earned the same commendations as Kirk and Picard. His reputation precedes him, in other words. Their quest relates to a Picard-era discovery that Starfleet fears can be used to eradicate all humanoid life in the universe.

"Discovery" never abandoned Gene Roddenberry's optimism. It has simply evolved its interpretation. 

Their success should place her on par with the greats, an honor that showrunner Michelle Paradise and the show's co-creator Alex Kurtzman have been driving toward all this time.

Some indicators of that goal aren't as obvious as others, like the sequence in which Rayner defies Burnham during an away mission, trusting in his overconfidence instead of her strategic acumen. His snap judgment endangers a planet's civilian population, leaving her to fix the crisis he has created.

Women watching this — especially Black women, I would wager — might have experienced a slight rage triggering in their soul that was mollified by Burnham pulling the very Obama-esque move of asking Rayner to replace her trusted friend Saru (Doug Jones) as her first officer. (The job was coming open, anyway; Saru is shifting into diplomacy mode and getting married.)

This is the move of a great leader. Then again, like Kate Mulgrew's long underappreciated Captain Janeway, it may not be appreciated by the fandom for many, many years.

Burnham's arc contradicts what we know about the great Starfleet captains profiled in this franchise, most of whom are white and male.

Burnham's arc contradicts what we know about the great Starfleet captains profiled in this franchise, most of whom are white and male, though if that were the extent of what differentiates her from the rest, it would barely be worth mentioning.

Records of their histories come to us as snippets of dialogue from secondary characters or contextualizing conversations from what the official logs have to say about past missions. We hear about who served under whom, granting legitimacy to the likes of, say, Christopher Pike to claim the captain's chair long before Anson Mount made us ecstatic to see that happen.

Burnham's path to the helm's command begins with what should be a life- and career-ending mistake. It's constantly defined by humility and doubt. No one is harder on Burnham than she is on herself — and nobody takes as many risks with their career or reputation to keep their crew alive. Her optimism is one guided by the hope that all obstacles can be overcome and all outcomes are possible, including for herself.

Despite all of this, it will take a lot of convincing for some people to consider Burnham among the top ranks of Starfleet captains in those occasional fan polls that tend to place Jean-Luc Picard or James T. Kirk in the top positions, though Captain Pike has offered stiff competition since "Strange New Worlds" first aired.

But our relatively newfound love of Pike and that show wouldn't be possible without "Discovery" venturing into the unmapped asteroid field that is the public's willingness to boldly go back to a dormant franchise in a wildly disunified era.

This doesn't merely refer to the role of "Discovery" introducing Mount's Pike, in addition to launching every other new "Trek" spinoff along with the streaming service currently known as Paramount+ . It did all this along with shouldering the more precarious mission of serving as the franchise's vanguard in a cynical age.

If you love "Lower Decks" and "Strange New Worlds," this is in part due to the producers' listening to the fandom's programming desires accordingly. Notice, for example, how unlike the first season of "Picard"  is from the third . Initially, "Picard" tried to do something different with the beloved character. It ended his adventures by reassembling the band for the spectacular last ride their films denied them. The new "Star Trek" series have a goal of delivering something for everyone, including kids. "Discovery" helped its custodians figure that out.

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And if you love "Discovery," its devotion to showcasing those who long felt unseen in this franchise may kindle that affection. "Discovery" gave us an Asian woman as a Starship captain in Michelle Yeoh's Philippa Georgiou and a happily married duo to root for in Wilson Cruz's Dr. Hugh Culber in Anthony Rapp's Paul Stamets.

It introduced Tig Notaro in its second season as Jett Reno, a decision for which everyone should be grateful. The third gave us the franchise's first transgender and non-binary characters in Ian Alexander's Trill Gray and Blu del Barrio's Adira Tal.

Through it all, we have also entirely fallen for Mary Wiseman's Sylvia Tilly, a woman who also knew a few things about self-doubt and, therefore, values being understood.

What some would cite as humanizing traits, others might write off as maudlin, along with the fact that Burnham was able to experience a fully realized love affair that began with a partnership of equals with a courier named Booker (David Ajala).

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter , Crash Course.

It's only one of the many ways that "Discovery" is consciously disparate from "Star Trek" as we have long known it, daring to change everything from the look of the Klingons to its star character's role in igniting a war between them and the United Federation of Planets.

That was then. Hundreds of years after that moment, Captain Burnham has figured herself out, proving to the many who doubted her that she deserves to be there.

She has traveled the longest road through imposter syndrome of any Starfleet captain — most of a millennium, actually — and we have witnessed every major moment that forged her. Burnham may never win the major "Star Trek" popularity contests for favorite captains, but without a doubt, she's the last great one we may ride with in this universe.

New episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" stream Thursdays on Paramount +.

stories about "Star Trek"

• "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" considers the weight of Khan's wrathful legacy
• How "Strange New Worlds" uses Rebecca Romijn's Number One to place prejudice on trial
• "Pike made jambalaya": How "Strange New Worlds" Captain Pike expresses care and diplomacy with food

Melanie McFarland is Salon's award-winning senior culture critic. Follow her on Twitter: @McTelevision

Related Topics ------------------------------------------

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Screen Rant

The bear's biggest claire complaint creates a no-win scenario for her season 3 story.

The Bear season 3 needs to fix a major problem with Claire's character, but it will be impossible to pull this big change off either way.

• Claire's return will pose a big problem in The Bear season 3, one that the upcoming season aims to fix despite no good solution.
• The show must address Claire's biggest flaw in season 3, as she stands out as a less developed character compared to others.
• The solution to Claire's underdevelopment in The Bear season 3 could lie in exploring her through the lens of Carmy's breakup.

Claire is expected to play a big role in The Bear season 3, but the series is already facing a no-win situation with the character. Claire was one of the most significant characters in Carmy's The Bear season 2 arc, and while there was some conclusions to her arc at the end of the season, it won't be the end of her time with the show. However, Claire's return will set up a major problem in The Bear season 3, one that the upcoming season will attempt to fix even though there is no good solution.

The Bear seasons 3 and 4 are officially on the way, with the highly anticipated continuation of FX's critically acclaimed drama series now in development. The Bear season 2 ended with many of its characters in a dark place, especially Carmy, despite the fact that the titular restaurant had finally opened. The season left a lot of room for season 3 to expand on the world and characters of The Bear , and it is expected that one character will play a major role in the upcoming story. However, The Bear season 3 has to fix her big flaw first.

The Bear Season 3 Must Address Claire's Biggest Flaw (But There's A Catch)

Claire has a big flaw in The Bear season 2 , one that season 3 must address. The Bear 's main cast of characters are known for being incredibly dynamic and fleshed-out, with this being one of the main appeals of the hit TV series. However, Claire is one of the biggest exceptions to this, with her being relatively flat and underdeveloped compared to the other characters. This makes her far less interesting than Carmy, Sydney, and the rest of the gang, with her being a weak spot in The Bear so far.

The Bear Season 3: Renewal, Cast & Everything We Know

It is expected that The Bear season 3 will try to flesh out Claire even more, although this will be difficult to do. There is a major catch when it comes to expanding on Claire, as it could throw off the balance of The Bear in a way that would be worse than just leaving her as an underdeveloped character.

Why The Bear Can't Make Claire Too Much Like The Other Characters

The main cast of The Bear is a band of misfits, with the gang of incredibly flawed people who find family in each other being at the heart of the show. This is much of the appeal of The Bear , as characters like Carmy, Sydney, Richie, and the rest are far from perfect, with this making them incredibly interesting characters to explore.

Compared to the rest of The Bear 's characters , Claire is supposed to be the one who is relatively well-adjusted. Since The Bear is mainly known for exploring characters by highlighting their flaws and insecurities, expanding Claire in this way would ruin her state as the most normal one in the series. Claire's stability is supposed to be juxtaposed with Carmy's instability, and while this is great for the themes of the show, it is what makes Claire a relatively boring character.

Carmy & Claire's Break-Up In The Bear Season 2 Can Solve The Show's Claire Problem

Claire's state of development in The Bear season 3 may look like a seemingly unsolvable problem, but there is one solution: Carmy and Claire's The Bear season 2 break up . Carmy and Claire break up at the end of The Bear season 2, with this being one of Carmy's low points in the series. This wound will still be fresh by the time that The Bear season 3 happens, meaning that the season could see the former couple continue to fall out, or it could follow Carmy as he tries to win Claire back. Either of these routes would lead to Claire's character being expanded, doing it in the perfect way.

The Bear: 15 Best Quotes From Season 2

Exploring Claire through the lens of Carmy's break up with her would allow The Bear season 3 to paint a more negative portrait of the character while still keeping her as the one stable influence in Carmy's life. This would flesh Claire out in a significant way, as the audience would learn more about her as a person as well as her past. Claire has been one of the weakest aspects of The Bear so far, but having Carmy and Claire's relationship get expanded upon in The Bear season 3 would fix this problem while maintaining the show's balance.

*Availability in US

Not available

Set in a Chicago sandwich shop, The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto, a young professionally trained chef who returns to take over his family business after the unexpected death of his brother. At odds with many of the shop's employees due to his culinary training, Carmy struggles to maintain order and keep the shop from failing entirely. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri. 

Amanda Plummer, James Russo, Ulrich Thomsen Board Uwe Boll’s Migrant Thriller ‘Run’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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Amanda Plummer of “Pulp Fiction” and “ Star Trek: Picard ” fame and veteran thesps James Russo and Ulrich Thomsen (“The Celebration”) have joined Uwe Bolls’s forthcoming migrant crisis thriller “Run.”

Set to start shooting in Croatia on April 17, the film focuses on a group of desperate migrants as they reach the Italian coast after a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea and the impact of their arrival on locals and tourists.

Popular on Variety

The film’s previously announced cast members include Kristen Renton and Daniel Sauli (“The Deuce”), who worked with Boll on his most recent film, the New York City crime actioner “ First Shift ,” as well as Sammy Sheik and Mohammed Qissi.

Explaining his motivation to tackle the weighty subject and tell this story, Boll told Variety : “I’m a very politically interested person, as my films ‘Stoic,’ ‘Rampage,’ ‘Darfur,’ ‘Heart of America,’ ‘Assault on Wall Street’ or ‘Auschwitz’ show.

“The boat migration through smugglers from Africa into Europe is escalating year by year more and has turned into a lose-lose situation for the population and the migrants.

“The communities who have to take care of the migrants are feeling left alone by politicians and cannot handle the situation anymore. My film shows one day in an Italian coastal town where a violent drama unfolds. So we present a microcosmos showing that the situation will get out of control and possibly very violent.” 

Praising his cast, Boll added that the high-profile thesps were the ideal picks for his challenging film.

Boll wrote, directed and produced “Run,” with Michael Roesch executive producing and handling world sales via his Stuttgart-based Kinostar .

Also joining the production are past Boll collaborators Mathias Neumann (“First Shift”) as DP, Boris Velican (“BloodRayne: The Third Reich”) serving as line producer and editor Ethan Maniquis (“First Shift”).

Post production for the pic will be handled at Tunnel Post in Santa Monica.

Before heading off to Croatia for the start of principle photography on “Run,” Boll will attend the April 10 German premiere of “First Shift” at the Karlsruhe Independent Days International Film Festival, where he’ll also be taking part in a special Q&A.

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