On Star Trek: Picard, the timeline is broken. After the crew is sent to a totalitarian nightmare timeline, they realize Q went back in time to change the present. That timeline’s Borg Queen (BQ) helps them travel to 2024 when the incursion happened.
There, the Watcher (Tallinn) and Picard find out Q’s plan is to make sure his ancestor, Renee Picard, isn’t on Europa mission crew. Q finds his power is waning so he enlists Adam Soong to eliminate Renee and in return, Q will save his dying daughter. Meanwhile, the Borg Queen has inserted herself into Jurati’s brain.
RELATED: Read our full recap of Star Trek: Picard episode 5, here.
At the end of last week’s episode, the crew set out to infiltrate a Europa Mission gala. Ready to explore the end of the road not taken in Star Trek: Picard’s “Two of One?” Let’s engage!
Clever Little Plan
The episode begins with Picard (Patrick Stewart) unconscious and bleeding. He’s lost in flashbacks of his mother (Madeline Wise) again. We see quick chaotic cuts and bright flashes of a man restraining her, a young Jean-Luc getting his foot caught in a floorboard, his mother telling him to play hide and seek, someone taking Jean-Luc through a door with a bright light then we see Picard observing this surrounded by black, then a young Jean-Luc holding a key outside the door.
A chyron says “34 MINUTES EARLIER.”
At the gala, Picard tells Tallinn (Orla Brady) he thought she was an ancestor of Larys but she’s not Romulan. Tallinn asks who Larys is and he says it’s nothing of importance to which she replies that she now knows what he looks like when he lies.
Picard hails Jurati (Alison Pill) on her status. The crew is waiting for her to clone their IDs so they can get past security. Jurati was apprehended on purpose so she could get into the surveillance room and is cuffed to a chair. She’s also a prisoner to BQ (Annie Wersching) who is now in her head taunting her, “Captured on purpose. Clever little plan.” Jurati removes a concealed canister and gases the security however she has trouble proceeding because of the cuffs.
BQ says, “If you’d like to give me a little more control, I could help you.” Jurati agrees. BQ tells her to pull her hands up, Jurati does and breaks the cuffs. She just got a dose of super Borg strength. She uploads the IDs.
We go back to unconscious and injured Picard at Teresa’s (Sol Rodriguez) clinic. He continues the same flashbacks: running with his mother, his mother getting dragged across the floor. His mother telling him to be quiet. A man restraining her.
Who Are We Tonight?
A chyron says “26 MINUTES EARLIER.”
Raffi (Michelle Hurd), Seven (Jeri Ryan) and Rios (Santiago Cabrera) stand at the bar watching Renee Picard (Penelope Mitchell). Picard thinks it’s going well but Tallinn notes Renee is good at putting on an act and her giveaway is grabbing her ear lobe. She’s never spoken to Renee in the 24 years she’s observed her. It’s the Watchers’ code. They need to keep her safe for the next ten hours until pre-mission quarantine.
Jurati downs champagne with her new friend, BQ (Annie Wersching). (NOTE: Only Jurati can see BQ. To others, it looks like she’s talking to herself). BQ asks, “Who are we tonight, Agnes? I like it.” Jurati snaps there is no “we” and she’s a house guest in her body. BQ says she enjoyed lying to Jurati’s friends. Jurati tells her she made an impossible choice letting BQ in. BQ notes that Jurati’s elevated cortisol levels aren’t good for them.
At the bar, Raffi tries not to drink. Rios can’t believe he has a real cigar with real matches. Raffi, noting his joy, asks “Who is this, here?” He’s been like this since he was detained with Teresa. They see an implant-less Seven laugh and enjoy herself too. For the second time, Raffi thinks she sees Elnor (Evan Evagora), but there’s no one there.
Renee knocks back a shot while texting and touches her ear. Observing, Tallinn says it’s the beginning of a downward spiral. Tallinn has an intercept program to see Renee’s texts. Renee texts Q, who she thinks is her therapist, that she’s quitting the mission. Picard wants to intervene but Tallinn won’t break the code. Picard says it’s her destiny. He hails Jurati to go distract the Europa Mission commander. She doesn’t answer because champagne and BQ are a dangerous combination.
BQ notices the bartender checking Jurati out. Jurati thinks it’s her low-cut dress but BQ says it’s the two of them together. Right then, Rios shows up asking if her comm is down. He’s worried about her because she killed BQ earlier. BQ takes over Jurati and kisses Rios. He pushes her away noting her strength. Jurati says she’s not herself tonight.
Renee pounds more shots. She heads towards the mission commander so Picard moves in but before he can intercept, a man stops him. It’s Adam Soong (Brent Spiner). Picard is stunned to see the face he’s encountered so many times. Soong says they have a friend in common, Q. Picard warns him about Q but Soong isn’t interested in their issues, “I can’t allow Renee to complete this mission.” Since Soong is a donor to the mission, he asks for Picard to be removed.
We’re back at the clinic with an unconscious Picard. He’s coding and a defibrillator is moved into position. (Uh-oh! He doesn’t have a human body!) He’s immersed in his memories: Mother being restrained, doors open with a bright light, Jean-Luc throwing a rock through the solarium windows. Picard stands surrounded by black. An empty chair.
Distraction and Double Meanings
A chyron says “14 MINUTES EARLIER.”
Picard alerts the others that security is coming for him.
Meanwhile, Jurati argues with BQ who says she’s only helping. Jurati wants her out, she’s jeopardizing the mission. BQ won’t leave but will help. She initiates a nano EMP, “Lights out, Agness. I’ll get to work.” Yikes, that definitely has a double meaning. The gala’s lights go out. Picard and Tallinn are able to evade security.
Then, THEN! We hear someone sing, “We’re running with the shadows of the night.” Yes, the Pat Benatar song.
We’re running with the shadows of the night
So baby, take my hand, you’ll be alright
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight
They’ll come true in the end
It’s Agnes! She appears in a spotlight on a balcony overlooking the gala and sings a jazz version of the song. The band joins in.
You said, “Oh, girl, it’s a cold world when you keep it all to yourself”
I said, “You can’t hide on the inside, all the pain you’ve ever felt”
Agnes singing becomes a backdrop as Renee has a panic attack among space history artifacts in a museum and Picard disguises himself as security.
Agnes joins the band on stage now (she sounds great, btw).
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight
They’ll come true in the end
She bows. The BQ lays it out. Oh, I am so proud of you Agnes.” Jurati is uneasy. “This was my plan all along. Finally, the endorphins I needed. I think I’ll steer the ship for a while.” Jurati looks petrified. Her eyes turn black. BQ has taken control.
Fear and Light
Picard finds Renee. He says talking about other things can help when one is distraught, “Look up.” (Remember, that’s what his mom told a young Jean-Luc). She looks up at a model spaceship. She tells him about the ship and its engines. He says, “Sometimes those who shine the brightest feel the sting of fear and melancholy in ways that others can never understand.” He goes on that she is capable of great things.
He says she reminds him of his mother who loved the stars and also struggled. She parrots her therapist, Q, “Sometimes fear is a friendly reminder that you’re not ready for something.” He puts the kibosh on that, fear doesn’t speak in riddles. It means you’re smart and understand the risks. She asks if he’s found a way to live with his fear, he replies, “I found that even in the darkest circumstances, there is light. Sometimes only a glimmer. Trust that light. Find a way back. No matter what it takes.”
Picard has quick flashbacks of his mother being lifted, his mother saying to come and find her, and Jean-Luc screaming for her. He snaps back and asks Renee if she’ll join the others at the gala. She will.
Outside the gala, Soong stews in his car. He thinks of his daughter Kore being momentarily cured by Q’s serum. If he takes Renee out of the picture, Kore will get the complete cure.
Outside the museum, Picard escorts Renee back to the gala. As she says she feels like she knows him, Soong speeds his car towards her. Picard pushes her out of the way and he gets hit.
Protection
At the clinic, Teresa asks if Picard has conditions. Uh-oh. Seven says, “He’s had some transplants.” Understatement. Teresa uses the defibrillator which stabilizes him but shorts the machine. Teresa kicks everyone out of the room.
Soong arrives at his mansion and enters the clean area. Kore (Isa Briones) senses he’s upset. He talks but doesn’t make sense. “I poured my heart into you. I let myself believe you were the one…I still failed. I’m still going to lose you. My life’s work.” She wants to know why he’s talking this way. He says, “The why matters. And you, you are my why. Saving you, my life’s work.” He walks away leaving her confused.
At the clinic, they know Renee entered quarantine but no one has heard from Jurati. Alone with Rios, Teresa asks who he really is. He replies “the good guys.” She retorts, “Good guys never say that.” She leaves to check on her son.
Kore sneaks into Soong’s lab and Googles him. She finds out he’s been banned because of his ethics violations of the Shenzen Convention. She finds old video files. They’re of her when she was a kid. She has no recollection of them. As she investigates further, she realizes it’s not her. The videos are of countless other young girls Soong experimented on. They seem to be clones and have all died – except her. “What am I?”
Tallinn runs scans on Picard with a neuro intercepter. His amygdala is responding as if he’s in danger. His synapses shouldn’t be firing if he’s in a coma. Tallinn thinks it’s mental since his vitals are normal.
An unconscious Picard is observing the memories again. They’re the same ones but are becoming more cohesive although still chaotic. His mother says, “Look up at the stars.” We see the man restrain her again. They run then she’s dragged away. There’s a distorted face with possibly a jester’s hat and an old, knotted hand reaches out. There’s a frightening man with a scarred face and scalp. He has black lips. There are chains. We see Picard observing all of this from the black. The door opens again with a bright light. It’s disturbing and begs two questions. Are these monsters real or did his mother have some kind of psychosis?
Raffi sees the brain scan light up with activity. Tallinn thinks Picard is “stuck in there,” and the longer he is, the harder it will be to get him out. She wants to go in using her neuro interceptor. It will be a jury-rigged mind meld. In theory, if she can interact with the memory he is fixated on, he can show her how to get him out.
Raffi doe like this idea, the coma is protecting him. Tallinn replies a lot of what we do is protective and that doesn’t mean it’s good for us. As long as Renee is targeted by Q, “no safe house on Earth can protect her.” They need Picard. Rios agrees, “If we don’t protect Renee, we don’t get our future back. We need Picard awake to do that.” Raffi relents, “What could go wrong? Tons, obviously.”
Speaking of tons, we then see a BQ-possessed Jurati walking down an LA street. Her body oozing with non-Jurati self-confidence. We hear voices. So many voices. BQ has arrived in Los Angeles.
RELATED: Keep up with Star Trek: Picard this season with our recaps!
THEORY – Will Jurati continue fighting BQ for control? Is this the BQ from the first episode who will only speak to Picard? Remember she had a black face covering. Although it did have gears and tech on it, was it also a way to disguise Jurati’s face? Another thing to remember is that in that episode, BQ wasn’t killing anyone, only stunning them. This is all so exciting!
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