Picard season two, episode three, “Assimilation,” was exciting enough that I’ve got more screenshots than I know what to do with.
I definitely enjoy seeing Earth through their eyes. That’s something I’ve always liked, especially when the original series did it and you got to hear that commentary from people who come from a utopian society. There are people who want to rewrite history these days and say Star Trek wasn’t about a utopian society, or about the potential for a future that was better than the present. The truth is that’s always been what Star Trek is about. So hearing them talk their way through our present is a staple, the same as really cool starships or seeing the crew in a briefing of some kind. Those are very much ideals of Star Trek, and they benefit the series because they’re what allow it to be a commentary.
Phaser Point
The episode begins right where we left off. The vice president, now president, of the Confederation and his two security guys are holding everyone at phaser point, if you will. One of them fires a shot and Elnor is down. Elnor’s in rough shape and everyone’s freaking out about it.
Meanwhile Jurati takes the opportunity to sidestep. She’s way in the back of the ship, you’ve got to remember, so she slips past everyone else and makes sure the Borg Queen is plugged in to the ship, in the hopes that they can make the jump they need to make.
Seven tries to be really brave about it. She steps up, she’s like, you’re ruining everything, and she tries to pass off the story. Her husband, if you will, is like, yeah, no, I didn’t believe that anyway, and he asks her something like, what’s my name? My thought was that’s the wrong time for that question.
So a fight breaks out. The security guys start shooting, Seven has to fight them off, and she’s amazing. I really love the way they have Jeri Ryan do stuff. Ultimately she vaporizes one and Raffi vaporizes another. Then Raffi turns it on Seven’s husband in this alternate universe, and she takes no small amount of joy from having vaporized him.
The Slingshot
Everyone rushes over to check on Elnor, and the Borg Queen sets her sights on what needs to happen as she starts to connect to everything. Rios has to make the shot, because they’re doing a slingshot. If you’ve seen Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, you know the move. Picard mentioned it in the previous episode, how the original Enterprise under Kirk did a slingshot maneuver. That’s what they’re going for. Time warp.
While this is all happening, Elnor gets rushed down to sickbay and put on the med bed, which begins to stabilize him. Seven’s trying her best. And the Confederation starts chasing them with variations on starships that we know. If I’m not mistaken, the two variations are a Voyager looking class and a Sovereign looking class. I say looking because they’re adjusted versions of ours. There might even be another one that’s like a Defiant class or something. I’m doing the best I can. It’s been a long time since I was a chief engineer.
Then out of nowhere Q shows up for a brief second, sort of like, you know this is all you, you understand that, don’t you, Picard? And then he’s gone.
Jurati continues to plug everything in and the Borg Queen starts to come online. Rios manages to fire off a shot and takes out one of the ships. The explosion knocks a whole bunch of things over, and you get the scene they released early last week, where the Borg Queen is walking on her forearms toward Jurati, who is somewhat scared. The Queen latches on these little things and she begins to rise up. It’s a pretty cool scene, because it’s super intimidating, and that’s when the lights behind her really come in strong, because she’s pushing. Of course it’s green energy, because green energy means Borg. That’s true in The Matrix too, but I guess those two things might actually be kind of the same thing.
Up front they make the distinction on the panel. You see the ship’s normal red and gray readouts become green, because the ship’s being assimilated. She’s all kinds of bad. She actually wrecks the last two ships herself, which is pretty awesome. She’s like, let me go ahead and handle this.
Then they get into the sun’s orbit and they hit it. It’s almost like Back to the Future, this big explosion as they go, and then they hit the time warp. We get a really neat variation on the old Star Trek IV sequence, with the count going up. Warp 8. Warp 9. 9.2. 9.3. 9.5. They get to 9.7 or 9.8 or something, and then everything slows down and stretches out. They show each of the cast members with that effect on their face, and it’s supposed to be them actually making the jump. There’s a really cool effect, almost à la Stargate, and then poof, they’re out, and you see them flying up toward Earth.
A Controlled Crash, and Elnor
Jurati does her thing real quick and says, yeah, this is definitely Earth, based on the composition of the atmosphere and the particulates in the air. The problem is the ship is no longer under their control, because the Borg Queen was flying everything and now the Queen is broken. They’re going down pretty fast. They get into a controlled crash, Picard’s like, I know where we need to go, and I think he crashes them in Paris. I’m assuming it’s a giant park wherever he’s at. A giant forested area, anyway.
They land, and immediately the Borg Queen begins sucking in all the energy, because she’s trying to fix herself. Raffi’s down below and she’s freaking out. The power’s going out and she’s like, we need power to the bed. It’s one thing after another in this episode. It rolls you very quickly through some stuff, which I’m actually okay with.
They all rush back, they’re like, we need to unplug her, and Rios pulls out his phaser and points it at her. It’s not really a phaser at this point, because I think the Confederation doesn’t believe in stun. Picard’s like, no, we need her, you can’t destroy her, she’s the only one that can help us.
Down below, Raffi and Elnor have a moment, because he’s clearly about to die. He says he feels glad that he had this symbol in his pocket. Raffi looks at it. He had it both in his universe and in this one. And then he dies.
Raffi is broken up by it. It’s rough. Everyone gives her a minute, and Picard’s like, look, we’ve got to move on. Raffi is not a happy camper. Everybody has this talk, and she steps forward and she’s like, I don’t care. We’re going to go to the tallest building, we’re going to look for any alien technology or future tech or whatever, and get this whole thing handled. It’s rough, man. They all know she’s angry and she’s upset.
Jurati’s Plan
They decide the best course of action is for three of them to go, and Picard and Jurati are going to stay.
Jurati is looking at the Borg Queen and trying to come up with a plan. She explains to Picard that the neural network of the Borg is still active, but there’s no one to connect to here in the past. So here’s what she comes up with: if you plug me into the Borg Queen, I can help bring her back online, and you pull me out before I get fully assimilated. That’s a partial assimilation. Picard’s like, no. Absolutely not. Won’t do it.
The rest of them are getting ready. They’ve got to get outfits for the time period, so they go through the closets and find stuff that’s somewhat appropriate. At least what they say is appropriate.
Seven, meanwhile, takes the first steps of an existential awakening. She’s looking in the mirror and she’s starting to realize she feels a little different without all her Borg stuff. It’s a very interesting moment. That’s when Raffi comes in, and the whole time Seven’s trying to connect to her, trying to say, listen, I understand, I’m sorry, this is terrible. Raffi’s just like, look, I want everybody to do their job, we’ve got to get this handled. She said it earlier and they gloss right past it, but Raffi’s making the assumption that fixing the timeline will give her Elnor back, and that’s all she cares about. She’s not going to get into it with them.
Picard’s down below when Jurati comes down and says, we absolutely have to have this conversation. If there’s something I can do to fix this, you have to let me. And anybody who watches any kind of Star Trek, ever, knows Picard’s extraordinarily logical. This is the end result that has to happen. So he gives in.
They watch the other three transport off, which is fun, because the transporter has clearly been jury rigged together and it’s a little wonky. Then Picard’s like, okay, it’s your turn. He plugs her in, she goes slack, and he begins monitoring the neural network.
Los Angeles, Through One Lens
We get graced with all these really great shots of Los Angeles. You see the pier, you see the hills, everything. And everybody beams in someplace different.
Raffi beams into the middle of an alley, right in front of a homeless tent village. Seven’s is really clever. She beams in and this little girl is like, hey, are you a superhero? And Seven’s like, you’ve got to keep my secret. Rios transports in from above, because he’s been misplaced, and of course he falls, hits his head, and they end up having to get him help. He gets rushed to this little urgent care center, so to speak. It’s a clinic for low-income people, and it’s also a clinic that helps illegal immigrants. That comes back around, but you don’t know that yet.
They rush him in, and this little kid, the doctor’s son, picks up his combadge. So you’re like, of course the combadge gets lost. Jurati literally told them: don’t go to hospitals, don’t get exposed to the police, and don’t lose your combadge. No technology. Low impact. Don’t damage the timeline any more than it is. Butterflies.
Raffi gets mugged, and what’s hilarious is she’s like, money? What are you talking about? This is that thing I was talking about at the outset. She disarms the guy and takes his gun. Seven’s nearby, because she’s able to track the combadge, and she’s like, really? You’re knocking people out? Then they have this really interesting conversation about all of this hope and all of this disparity. How are they right next to each other?
It’s a very indicting commentary on Los Angeles, and I think it’s interesting, because I don’t know that I would qualify Los Angeles or California as the epitome of where our society is as a whole. The conversation is a sociopolitical one. It’s an interesting one, and it’s one that Star Trek always puts forward. My problem is it always does it through the lens of California. I don’t care where you sit on the subject. Chicago is the same way. I live here in Atlanta. New York’s the same way. All these major hubs. But there are a lot of other parts of the country that aren’t like this, so I feel like it’s a one-sided discussion, and one that feels uniquely West Coast.
It comes up again later. Seven is looking out at everything and she goes, maybe this is where it starts, and you see this image of the Hollywood Hills on fire. I’m sure they shot it during some of the wildfires that happened last year. Again, that’s a California problem they’re trying to make seem like it’s how the rest of the world is, and I kind of take issue with that. Yes, the world isn’t perfect. But my mind isn’t the same as it was at 13 years old watching Star Trek. I’m 40 now, I’m watching this, and it feels like a very off distinction that’s being made here.
Get a Room
Back on the ship, Picard and Jurati are still plugged in, and Jurati starts going through what’s in her head. Picard’s basically stuck with Jurati’s id. He’s stuck with her subconscious mind and gets to hear all the insecurities and everything else. It’s really interesting. She goes through an angry phase, a happy phase, a fearful phase. But ultimately things are getting bad.
Raffi and Seven arrive at the building they’re supposed to go to, they’re looking around, and a security guy comes up. It’s funny. All of a sudden Seven puts on the show: my girlfriend and I, we’re trying to get this thing done. And she can’t really think of the word for photograph, because she’s Seven of Nine, but also because in the future photographs are a little different. It’s a really funny little song and dance they do as the couple. The security guy basically tells them that in 2024, you two need to get a room, and I was like, okay, that makes sense. Next thing you know Seven’s like, nobody likes me, how come this guy thought I was charming?
Rios wakes up at the clinic and he’s like, all right, I’m ready to go. The doctor’s like, all right, go. He tries to get up and almost falls over. So he has a concussion and they’re dealing with that.
Raffi and Seven begin to track him, and you see Rios’s signal show up, disappear, show up, disappear. Then we see why. The little kid who took his badge is sitting there in the clinic pushing it on and off, listening to that little chirp.
“You’ve Impressed Me”
The Borg Queen got about 90 percent of her neural activity back, and then all of a sudden Jurati started talking like her, in computer speak. So Picard pulled the plug.
Now the Borg Queen is awake. Picard is tending to Jurati, and the Queen tries to strike a deal. You give me the ship, I’ll give you the Watcher. I have the location and I have the time frame. The Watcher is someone who, I guess, will cause the problem. I don’t know if they’re here or not.
We cut to the clinic, and all of a sudden there’s an immigration bust. The police are coming in and it’s a huge thing.
Back on the ship, the Borg Queen is really working it. She’s like, look, we all know how this is going to go down, let’s cut right to the chase. That’s when Jurati wakes up, looks at her and is like, you don’t have anything. And the Borg Queen’s like, hang on a second, where did it go?
Agnes is like, computer, open the subroutine called stuff I stole from the Borg Queen. She says something else. Hey, I’m trying to keep the channel clean. And I was like, that’s awesome. Picard is so proud of her, and she looks like a kid who’s just pleased her grandfather.
Then the Borg Queen looks at her and says, oh, you’ve just made the most terrible mistake you could have possibly made. Agnes is like, what’s that? And she goes, you’ve impressed me.
It’s awesome, because essentially Jurati hacked her brain, and the Borg Queen did not expect it or even see it coming.
So I’m going to make a bold prediction. By the end of this season, Jurati and the Borg Queen are going to become one, and we’re going to end up with a weird kind of hybrid Agnes for next season. I feel like you don’t introduce this relationship and not pay it off. You have to. If you don’t, it’s a missed opportunity, and you sold this whole bill of goods.
Rios Gets Arrested
Back at the clinic, the immigration police, Homeland Security, whatever, break in. Rios comes out in a lab coat and tries to be like, hey doc, you’ve got to help me with this other patient. They’re immediately like, oh yeah? Well, what’s this on your hand?
The episode ends with Rios getting arrested. I have no idea what they’re going to do, but it was a good cliffhanger to end on, and I’m actually really excited to see where the show goes.
The Verdict
Star Trek: Picard season two, episode three, “Assimilation,” is an eight and a half out of ten on the Know-It-All Index.
It’s tough, man. But yeah, eight and a half out of ten. It’s a good, strong episode. It kept me going and it kept me entertained, and it did not feel like the 45 minutes that it was. I thought this was like a 30 minute episode, because it flew by so fast. There are so many things happening.
I know there are a few of you who’ve been commenting, and thank you so much for engaging with me in conversation. I really love that. And thank you to the Star Trek community for welcoming me back. That’s really awesome, and I’m looking forward to interacting more. I want to start doing more with Discovery and a couple of other things. Right now the scheduling is a little off for me when it comes to Picard and Discovery, because I only have so much time in the morning before my day job.
Let me know what you thought of the episode, and I’d love to hear where you land on Star Trek looking at America through California. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
