Chef’s kiss. Finally, we’re back on track. I actually really enjoyed this episode, especially when you compare it to the utter and total mess and chaos that was last week’s.

This is Star Trek: Picard, season 2, episode 5, “Fly Me to the Moon.” Picard discovers that an important person from his past may be integral to the divergence in the timeline. Q continues his manipulation of that timeline and takes an interest in Dr. Adam Soong. Seven and Raffi attempt a daring rescue of Rios. And Jurati faces the consequences of her deal with the Borg Queen.

Before any of that, thank you. We’ve hit our very first milestone on the channel, which is 100 subscribers, and that’s a big one for me. I genuinely appreciate it. I’ve never felt more welcomed into a community than the Star Trek community, which is really great, because it’s my original fandom. So I’m all about it.

Frakes Back in the Playground

This one was directed by Jonathan Frakes. You all may know him as Commander Riker, and he’s an accomplished director. I’ve loved a lot of the things he’s directed, going back to when he started with The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and the other sci-fi shows he’s done since. It’s really fun to see him put his hands back in the Star Trek playground.

The episode starts in a capsule of some kind, with warnings going off, and we get our first shot of an astronaut. I’d seen some of this person in the production stills, and we find out very quickly that this is Renée Picard.

Then we shift to Picard talking to what looks like Laris but is actually a supervisor known as Tallinn. Tallinn explains that her job has been to protect one individual in the tapestry that is time, and that individual is this astronaut, Renée Picard. When we go back to Renée, the scene in the capsule turns out to have been a test flight in a simulator. She’s got one of the command people in her ear telling her it’s no problem, it’s okay, it’s just jitters. But you start to see the groundwork for what’s about to go down.

Last Week Was a Bridge Episode

Cut back to the Borg Queen, who is still very much trapped on the ship. She’s worked her way into the ship’s systems far enough to do a little voice modulation, and she tries on everybody’s voice until she finally gets to Rios. Then she calls the police. That’s right, she calls the French police, because she’s got something in mind, and it can’t possibly be good.

I feel totally vindicated on last week, by the way. That was literally a bridge episode. It’s almost like they’d come up with way too much and now had to unravel it, because we do get everybody back together shortly.

In the interim we’re with Raffi and Seven, waiting on the side of the road. Raffi wants to have Jurati teleport Rios out, and Seven manages to be the only person with a level head. She tells her to calm down, we can’t go damaging the timeline, we’re going to have to figure this thing out.

Then she uses the tricorder cell phone. I want that tricorder app. Somebody better come up with a tricorder app, or at the very least give me a really awesome screenshot. I almost feel like making my own and posting it, because I’ve got Photoshop skills and motion graphics skills. And they have EMP generation, which I think is awesome. Seven does a little thing on her phone and it shoots out a massive EMP that stops the bus.

Mr. Hardcore ICE Officer is immediately suspicious, because God forbid someone’s engine just died. That’s when Rios essentially tells everybody to get ready. Dude gets really mad, says “I thought I told you to shut up,” comes through the gate, and boom, they start fighting. The young guy from last week, the one Rios was helping in the detention center, does this Kirk double fist, and you’re like, all right, right on, man. Good job. No, for real, good job for you.

That’s when Raffi and Seven show up to help everybody off the bus, and for a split second Raffi believes she sees Elnor. I really feel bad for her here. She’s definitely attached herself to Elnor as that surrogate son, especially after the rejection from her own son in season one. (Spoilers for season one, and why are you here if you haven’t seen season one.) It’s pretty harsh. Seven tells her it’s going to be okay, we’ve got each other’s backs.

Q Takes a Patient, and a Soong Takes the Bait

Back with Picard, the supervisor shows him video of Renée Picard in a therapy session, via hologram, because why not. Picard’s listening, and he says wait a minute, this guy’s trying to talk her out of it. I’ve got to see his face. Sure enough, it’s Q, playing the psychotherapist who’s here to help you, with this whole Sigmund Freud wannabe thing going on. Picard realizes that’s a problem.

Then we get our very first shot of Dr. Adam Soong, talking to a panel, and there are a couple of Easter eggs here. One of the panelists is Lea Thompson, who directed the last two episodes. I don’t hold the last episode against Lea. It’s okay.

Another person on that panel has the last name Rozhenko. I’m not normally Easter egg minded, because I get so sucked into the show, but I saw that and went, isn’t that Worf’s family’s last name? Worf, the Klingon from Star Trek: The Next Generation, was adopted by human parents, and they were the Rozhenkos. His name was Worf Rozhenko. We only see him go by that name in a couple of episodes. For the most part he’s just Worf, son of Mogh.

Adam is in front of this panel doing a glorified “what if I was God” speech, and it looks like the whole thing is being held in the hallway of a courthouse. I know you play fast and loose with the sets sometimes, and it’s a very nice hallway, but I’m not really sure why he’s standing at what is basically a Girl Scout cookie table. It’s a desk in the middle of a hallway. They couldn’t find a nice looking boardroom? Chances are it was a budget reason.

They intercut that with Soong in his own lab, and that’s our first shot of Isa Briones. She plays Soji, and here she gets to play Dr. Soong’s daughter. She has a rare genetic disease he’s trying to solve. But the questions he’s asking and the approach he’s taking, at least going by Lea Thompson’s response as Dr. Diane Werner, say he’s very much got a God complex. When it comes to a Soong, that’s not anything new.

The disease makes it so the sun burns her skin. Air is like acid to her. It’s very difficult for her to leave the house, and he’s giving her stabilizing agents. I had a friend in high school who was allergic to everything: air, grass, the sun. That was the first time I ever found out clothing had SPFs. This is a more extreme case, obviously.

This is where we find out his raison d’être, his reason for being. The computer flags that the new genetic thing he’s trying has a critical failure rate, something like 99.83 percent. All his genetic work is to find a cure for what’s ailing her. Then somebody hacks his computer and says “I can help,” and it goes to his 3D printer and prints a glorified, goofy looking, sci-fi Q. Come on, man.

The Officer, the Shotgun, and the Queen

Back at the château, a French police officer is walking in and searching around. He passes right by Jurati, who’s asleep on the sofa, and ends up going out back because the cloaked ship just so happens, ill-timed, to be doing its little cloaky reflective thing, looking like oil and water. He’s shining the flashlight around, and sure enough he discovers the ship. As soon as he’s inside he hears a woman’s voice. Help me, help me, the others are almost here. He gets to her, he’s all freaked out, and she tells him not to worry.

Meanwhile Q and Soong sit down. Soong tries to be all tough, and Q ultimately has to say, look, man, here, analyze this, and hands him a vial of something. I immediately assumed it had to do with the daughter, because Q actually references her. Soong takes him seriously and asks what he needs. Q gives him the thing and says you’re going to call me.

Then Picard is laying out a plan for Tallinn, and Tallinn says you pretend like I’m someone who takes orders from you. And yeah, he does, because everyone takes orders from Picard.

Back to Jurati, who’s hearing a voice calling her. The Borg Queen has tapped into the PA system. “Oh Agnes. Agnes, dear.” Agnes wakes up and sees a shotgun on the mantel. I’m so happy there’s a 100 or more year old shotgun that still fires. It’s a little dip of the toe into contrived coincidence, but like I’ve always said, coincidence is literally what everything we watch is. It’s a series of events strung together that coincidentally make for an interesting narrative.

She gets back to the ship and finds the French police officer being held by the throat by the Borg Queen. The Queen tells her you’re not going to shoot me, because you need me. She’s telling her some really deep stuff, and you see it starting to affect Jurati. It’s about loneliness, her own personal loneliness. Then at the last split second, boom, there’s a shot.

The Cure Works Until It Doesn’t

Soong tests what Q gave him, and it comes up with a 100 percent success rate. Outside, there’s this really cool little drone shield thing, which feels a little advanced for two years in the future, but hey, whatever, it’s sci-fi. They test the cure on his daughter. She can suddenly feel the sun. She turns off the shield, everything’s great, and she wants to swim. So she swims, and it’s a very emotional moment.

Then, after she’s done swimming, it all goes bad. You see all these little purple things running, her eyes are red, and he turns the shield back on. He’s upset.

The crew finally gets back together. Jurati’s covered in blood and explains that she had to kill the Borg Queen. She shot her in the base of the neck, the only organic tissue that would have actually killed her. And the police officer? She put him back together as best she could. He doesn’t have a spleen anymore, apparently.

The little smoky door thing shows up, and Picard says allow me to introduce you to my crew. And Tallinn says, your crew, who’s dragging a dead police officer? I’m sure he’s not dead. It’s that really fun awkwardness that comes from Star Trek that I love. It’s not what you think, I promise.

Please Don’t Turn Q Into a Plot Device

Q shows up at Soong’s lab. Soong asks whether he has the cure or not, because if he does, then Soong’s a hostage. And Q says yeah, I’ve got it, I just need you to take care of some things, because I can’t do it.

Which kind of begs the question: why can’t he do it?

If we get to the end of this season and all Q has been is a plot device, a MacGuffin himself, or phlebotinum if you will, I’m not going to be happy. Q as a storytelling device is most effective when he’s the nigh omnipotent god man trying to teach the stupid, made from dust human about the universe.

One of the things that made “All Good Things,” the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, so impactful for me was that Q told him the trial’s never over. They kind of used that in this series. For a split second, when you were able to understand the nature of how time flowed, you began to understand the bigger picture. I really appreciated that about him. So if they go backward and just turn him into an angry old man, I’m going to be very disappointed.

I don’t think that’s going to be the case. But there’ve been a lot of sloppy decisions made so far, and I’m hoping they start to steer this.

Overall the season’s amazing and I’m enjoying it. I think anybody who says otherwise is just close-minded, because you have to remember, Star Trek isn’t what it used to be. Star Trek is what it always is. That’s like the people who say the original Lost in Space is the only Lost in Space. Look, man, the Netflix Lost in Space was inspired. If you missed it, sorry. Eventually I’ll do a video about it for Binge Watchers, which is the thing I’ve been wanting to do. Long story. ADHD. My bad.

The Heist, and the Queen in the Red Dress

Picard and Raffi talk, and then you get the whole crew sitting around with the supervisor lady, the Watcher if you will. The meeting becomes a heist episode super quick, down to the catchy little music playing while everything’s being explained. I was waiting for George Clooney to tell everybody you’re either in or you’re out, right now.

There’s facial recognition, and someone has to get into the server room. So we see Jurati in this gorgeous red dress, and she proceeds to get caught on purpose. She ends up in security, handcuffed to a chair, and she’s got to break into the server and upload their stuff from there.

While she’s sitting there we finally get what happened between her and the Borg Queen. She got close, and the Borg Queen infected her, I’m assuming with her own mental engrams. So there’s Jurati in the security office, red dress and all, and in her head the Borg Queen is right there, putting an arm around her.

And I’m like, dang, bro.

The Verdict

Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 5, “Fly Me to the Moon,” lands at an 8 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.

I very much love this episode. I’m very happy this one redeemed us in a lot of ways. Personally, I don’t know why you needed all the fluff of last episode. I know there were certain storylines they wanted to hit, and they wanted to do the ICE thing, and let’s not even talk about the fact that they essentially assaulted law enforcement, whether you agree with it or not.

But I like what they’re doing. We’re finally getting someplace, and I’m glad, because the episodes are quickly running out.

I think me and a few of you in the Know-It-All Nation were correct: by the end of this, Jurati and the Borg Queen are going to be one and the same. They might try to exorcise the Borg Queen somehow, and there might be some weird jiggery pokery having to do with either technology or Q. I hope those don’t end up being MacGuffins, because that does a disservice to us as fans. But I’m really liking the storytelling so far, so here’s hoping they stick the landing.

It’s climbing back up the mountain. A solid 8 out of 10. I was pretty impressed by it, and I’m here for it. Let’s go.

I’ve also got to get some videos together on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, because it’s shaping up to be awesome. If you haven’t checked out those trailers, they were really, really impressive.

Thank you again for welcoming me into this community, and into the YouTuber community too. I’m doing my best to earn it. Tell me in the comments on the video above whether you think Jurati and the Borg Queen end the season as one and the same.