Star Trek Picard S1 Ep 2: Penance
BY MAGGIE LOVITT
PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2022
The crew of the U.S.S. Stargazer awakens in a world where the Confederation—not the Federation—reigns as merciless conquerors.
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PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2022
The crew of the U.S.S. Stargazer awakens in a world where the Confederation—not the Federation—reigns as merciless conquerors.
Following the cataclysmic events of the premiere, Picard (Patrick Stewart) goes toe-to-toe with Q (John de Lancie) to get to the bottom of what happened and, in typical Q fashion, Picard is left with more questions than answers. Though Q does shed a little light on why the second episode of Star Trek: Picard is entitled “Penance.” Picard isn’t being forced to learn a lesson, he’s being forced to pay penance for his actions and inactions at the behest of Q, or maybe something bigger than Q.
Picard is horrified to discover that the cruel version of himself that exists in this timeline not only has a room full of trophies from the victims that he has conquered, but he owns Vulcans as slaves who fear him. In this reality, the Federation never set out to peacefully explore space, the Confederation sought out to conquer, enslave, and control anyone they saw as their lessers—which unfortunately is anyone who isn’t human. There is a lot of very blatant Third Reich imagery used throughout the episode, not just in Picard’s very authoritarian garb, but also in the starkly brutalist architecture in San Francisco.
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Picard is not the only one to wake up in a strange new world. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) wakes up to discover that in this reality the Borg never assimilated her and she is President Annika Hansen, a ruthless leader within the Confederation’s cruel rule. More alarmingly, she also discovers she is married to another official in the Confederation who is quite suspicious of her odd behavior.
Seven—or rather Annika—requests a private com channel to be opened up between her and Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) who has awoken in the midst of a heated battle with the Vulcans. He cautiously accepts the hail from the president and they both carefully broach the topic of their current predicament. It’s truly remarkable how quickly everyone is on their feet—few people could jump straight into a discombobulating firefight.
Elnor (Evan Evagora) wakes up in the middle of Okinawa where he and several other resistance fighters have staged a fruitless attack against the Confederation, aiming to find vengeance for their attacks against Romulans. Fortunately for Elnor, Raffi (Michelle Hurd) finds him before the Confederation can kill him.
Back in San Francisco, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) wakes up in an unfamiliar laboratory with a digital feline companion, and before she can get her bearings the president and her husband arrive to check on the prisoner they plan to execute. While Seven and Rios may be quick on their feet, Agnes is not and her fumbling causes Seven’s husband to grow a little more suspicious about the situation. The prisoner is revealed to be the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) who explains that the time has been broken. The Borg have the innate ability to feel echoes of themselves across all timelines, which gives Seven and Agnes a clue as to what might be going on.
The crew of the Stargazer converges at the Confederation campus in San Francisco with Picard arriving right as Raffi and Elnor get into a bit of trouble. The trio heads off to meet with Seven, though her pesky Confederation husband poses a challenge for them. They are able to get the magistrate to leave them alone long enough for them to exchange what information they have gleaned from their new situation, though they still don’t have much of a plan for what they can do to fix it.
In Agnes’ lab, Picard questions the Borg Mother about what Q did to the past to create the converging timeline. She reveals that Los Angeles, 2024 is the when and where Q made a change and implores them to find “The Watcher.” They attempt to have Rios beam them aboard La Sirena, but security protocols prevent them from leaving San Francisco.
The final act of the episode is a race against time as the crew has to find a way to prevent the Borg Queen from being killed on stage during the Eradication Day event. While Agnes, Raffi, Elnor, and Rios try to concoct a plan to get all of them out of the Confederation safely, Seven and Picard have to go on stage to follow through with bringing an end to the Borg in front of a jubilant crowd of onlookers, anxious to watch the Confederation bring an end to yet another race of people.
Just when they think they’re going to be able to escape, Seven’s Confederation husband shows up, shoots Elnor in the chest, and holds the crew at blaster-point in a heart-racing cliffhanger.
Grade: A+
Picard is horrified to discover that the cruel version of himself that exists in this timeline not only has a room full of trophies from the victims that he has conquered, but he owns Vulcans as slaves who fear him. In this reality, the Federation never set out to peacefully explore space, the Confederation sought out to conquer, enslave, and control anyone they saw as their lessers—which unfortunately is anyone who isn’t human. There is a lot of very blatant Third Reich imagery used throughout the episode, not just in Picard’s very authoritarian garb, but also in the starkly brutalist architecture in San Francisco.
Picard is not the only one to wake up in a strange new world. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) wakes up to discover that in this reality the Borg never assimilated her and she is President Annika Hansen, a ruthless leader within the Confederation’s cruel rule. More alarmingly, she also discovers she is married to another official in the Confederation who is quite suspicious of her odd behavior.
Seven—or rather Annika—requests a private com channel to be opened up between her and Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) who has awoken in the midst of a heated battle with the Vulcans. He cautiously accepts the hail from the president and they both carefully broach the topic of their current predicament. It’s truly remarkable how quickly everyone is on their feet—few people could jump straight into a discombobulating firefight.
Elnor (Evan Evagora) wakes up in the middle of Okinawa where he and several other resistance fighters have staged a fruitless attack against the Confederation, aiming to find vengeance for their attacks against Romulans. Fortunately for Elnor, Raffi (Michelle Hurd) finds him before the Confederation can kill him.
Back in San Francisco, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) wakes up in an unfamiliar laboratory with a digital feline companion, and before she can get her bearings the president and her husband arrive to check on the prisoner they plan to execute. While Seven and Rios may be quick on their feet, Agnes is not and her fumbling causes Seven’s husband to grow a little more suspicious about the situation. The prisoner is revealed to be the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) who explains that the time has been broken. The Borg have the innate ability to feel echoes of themselves across all timelines, which gives Seven and Agnes a clue as to what might be going on.
The crew of the Stargazer converges at the Confederation campus in San Francisco with Picard arriving right as Raffi and Elnor get into a bit of trouble. The trio heads off to meet with Seven, though her pesky Confederation husband poses a challenge for them. They are able to get the magistrate to leave them alone long enough for them to exchange what information they have gleaned from their new situation, though they still don’t have much of a plan for what they can do to fix it.
In Agnes’ lab, Picard questions the Borg Mother about what Q did to the past to create the converging timeline. She reveals that Los Angeles, 2024 is the when and where Q made a change and implores them to find “The Watcher.” They attempt to have Rios beam them aboard La Sirena, but security protocols prevent them from leaving San Francisco.
The final act of the episode is a race against time as the crew has to find a way to prevent the Borg Queen from being killed on stage during the Eradication Day event. While Agnes, Raffi, Elnor, and Rios try to concoct a plan to get all of them out of the Confederation safely, Seven and Picard have to go on stage to follow through with bringing an end to the Borg in front of a jubilant crowd of onlookers, anxious to watch the Confederation bring an end to yet another race of people.
Just when they think they’re going to be able to escape, Seven’s Confederation husband shows up, shoots Elnor in the chest, and holds the crew at blaster-point in a heart-racing cliffhanger.
Grade: A+
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