What I’m Watching: Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard: Season 2, Episode 6 “Two of One” (B+)

I’m not always a fan of episodes that start at a moment of crisis and wind the clock back to fill in the missing pieces, but this one worked pretty well. Putting this all together was interesting, especially since it involves an actor from “The Next Generation” playing an entirely different character with far more self-serving motivations than his robotic creation. Seeing Picard at the invite-only event and calling him out by name was a jarring moment given that no one is supposed to know who he is in this era. Hitting him with his car was a far more concerning development, though it was a great way to bring back Rios’ doctor friend, Teresa, who was not at all pleased to be called by him and even less happy that Picard didn’t respond to the defibrillator in a way that made any sense. We’ll see what happens when Tallinn goes in to get him out of his memories, which we already know are layered and complex. He did manage to do a great job of impersonating a security guard and giving Renée sound advice that got her into the right mindset to forge ahead with her timeline-dependent mission. Dr. Soong may have shot Picard and at least incapacitated him for the time being, but he also managed to clue his daughter into the fact that he’s gone to extraordinary lengths she would not support to create a safe environment for her. And then there’s the Borg Queen, who is enjoying living within Agnes’ mind and is sure to make a frightening return to form sometime soon.