Warrior Nuns who speak their mind plus some classic space battling. Can't go wrong. "Absolute Candor" We open with another flashback. This time, we visit Vashti, the Romulan Relocation hub, where Picard makes friends with warrior-nuns and teaches the orphan boy about fencing and the Three Musketeers, It's all very idyllic until news of the robot attack interrupts. Picard promises to return soon. We already know he won't. Cut to the new crew. Dr. Agnes Jurati bothers Captain Rios while he's trying to read about existentialism. We meet more holograms so that that particular actor can show off more accents. More F-words while they argue about taking a guilt trip to the aforementioned Relocation camp, to visit the old warrior-nuns who practice "the way of absolute candor" (which is pretty much how I live). They'll only help if he meets the criteria and the criteria is a cause which is hopeless (so that bodes well). Picard's return to Vashti is not met with enthusiastic greetings. The nuns aren't mad, but the orphan boy Elnor is all grown up into a regular ninja warrior. When he won't join Picard's cause, Picard has to go pick a fight with a bunch of angry Romulan immigrants who are about to kill him. Of course the boy saves him at the last second, and joins his adventure, but only because it's hopeless. They get back to the ship just in time for some retro combat with an antique Bird of Prey (keep your ears pealed for the incessant foreshadowing!), which they only narrowly defeat with the help of an unexpected fan-favorite cameo: Seven of Nine! Conclusion: I joked last week that all they did was get going and this week they'd arrive. But this week they don't even arrive, they took a quick detour. Maybe the series will be a journey, with a series of stops along the way. I could dig that. Either way, it's a nice tangent, standalone episode, with some good character building and interpersonal dynamics. I like how the crew is evolving and responding to each other, even if it's generally subtle character work. The actors are definitely bringing their A-Game even if the plotting is plodding. I liked Raffi reminding Picard of their old motto: "One impossible thing at a time." I think Stewart is gradually slipping back into the Picard I remember and not Professor X. The vintage Bird of Prey is pretty awesome to see. The Original Series design was always underrated, even if its presence here is pretty blatant and gratuitous fan service. And Voyager gets some well-deserved love with the apropos addition of Seven of Nine. In a story about rehabilitated Borg, she'll fit right in.
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