The End Is the Beginning

Picard attempts to acquire a warp capable ship in order to find Bruce Maddox.

This is another good episode that continues to lay groundwork for what is to come.

The story continues to reflect on Picard's departure from Starfleet under a cloud and also develops more intrigue into the mystery surrounding the synthetic life forms and the Romulans. Aside from the rather obviously exposition heavy dialogue I personally enjoyed all the world building that it does, as there is quite a lot to catch up on since the last TNG movie. However, I was definitely relieved by how it ended as a sign that the overarching narrative is about to move on.

It continues the themes introduced in the first two episodes with xenophobia and fear being mentioned explicitly in some of the dialogue. Some of this may not be in line with the Roddenberry vision of the future, but given the way the world is currently, it is far more relevant to be tackling these issues than just presenting a vision of the future based in one man's fantasy.

Production values remain excellent with great visuals and effects.

Patrick Stewart leads the show strongly and the supporting actors, while not as effortlessly charismatic as Stewart, give solid performances.

Whine, whine, whine... it's not Star Trek...it's too Star Warsy... it's not TNG...BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Shut up!! Get a life!! Star Trek has always had much to say about the current conditions the world finds itself in. Picard is no different. For those of you who don't get it we are facing a mountain of fear, prejudice and entitlement. The governments want you to fear everything and give away your civil liberties in the name of security. Thank you Picard for holding up the mirror for society to see what is really going on. If you want endless action scenes that are pointless go watch the Avengers movies. Picard makes you think and reflect on where we are today. I thank the people who have put this show together. Bravo!

I've no idea what detractors are on about. There was virtually nothing to complain about in this episode. The pacing was good, the 45 minutes flew by. They gave Rafi and Picard a basic backstory and the return of a familiar face. The final scene where the crew set off on their journey was awesome. Some people have just got to hate.... Who needs that toxicity in their life?

Bots have most likely seen the future and are rating it.

I do have two quibbles which hopefully will be addressed in the future:

1) After Seven of Nine had her Borg implants removed the scars on her face healed relatively quickly. Hugh's face is scarred, presumably some years after his implants were removed. I'll buy that the Romulans (I'm guessing they are the ones who de-Borged him) didn't care about the aesthetics, but I'd like to see it addressed; perhaps Seven could ask Hugh about it when they (I presume) meet. Or maybe Hugh could ask Seven.

2) "JL"? I have a hard time believing that Picard would permit anyone to call him "JL" unless there's a heck of a backstory there.

Other than that, I find the "synthetics went homicidal" plot interesting. I'm assuming they were sabotaged and I can't wait to find out who, how and why. The visual FX are striking. As a Star Trek fan who grew up with the episodic rigidity of TOS in the 60s, I'm enjoying the slow roll.