‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Absolute Candor’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

​There are few things in this life, that carry more weight than a promise. Because when someone makes a promise to us, they’re asking us to trust them implicitly in regard to something that carries great meaning for us and when they deliver upon it, a bond is created that can rarely be broken. For now, we know this person has incredible integrity and is willing to go the extra mile in a time of need. Yet there is a flip side to this, in that… when a promise is broken or unfulfilled, we often find ourselves devastated. Because they straight up let us down and shattered every last ounce of hope in our souls and we can never look at that person the same ever again, and it just so happens that the power of the promise and the good and the bad that come with them, served as focal points in this week’s episode of Star Trek: Picard.
 
In fact, ‘Absolute Candor’ opened up with a grand exploration of the best parts of the promise. Since it took the time to show us how Admiral Picard’s guarantee to help the Romulan people inspired hope in so many of them. Because fourteen years ago, the planet Vashti, one of the key planets in the relocation of the Romulan people, was a world filled to the brim with vibrance as new Romulans arrived every day, thanks to Picard and a group of warriors known as Qowat Milat. And regular visits from the Admiral were accompanied by celebration since he was quickly becoming a hero amongst the Romulan people. If anything, it seemed as though Jean-Luc was truly going to be the bridge to a lasting peace between these two peoples, since he was even allowed to introduce Earth literature to Romulan youth, something that would have been unheard of during the Next Generation era. But while it was beautiful to see Picard working side by side with people once deemed an enemy all those years ago, we know how this particular story ends… and his exit from Vashti and Starfleet is where the promise in question was broken.
 
For Picard never returned to the planet after resigning his commission in Starfleet and well, now that he is in a reflective place, one where he is trying to atone for his sins, present day seemed like a perfect time to right more wrongs by returning to Vashti and seeing if by chance the Qowat Milat would help him in his current situation. It was an idea that Raffi thought was as dumb as they come since there was a fair chance that the Romulan people wouldn’t exactly be happy to see their ‘savior’ walk amongst them after stepping away, but Picard was as determined as ever to add one more member to his crew, one that could protect him in times of trouble and sadly, Raffi was right about everything when all is said and done. For Picard’s return to Vashti was met with silence and disdain and what was equally intriguing about his return, was the stark contrast of what this world had become.
 
Because the joy that was present fourteen years ago had faded, and the proud Romulans who once saw an opportunity to start anew despite losing their home world, were now listless and hopeless and the disgust on their faces when they saw Picard once again… spoke volumes to the dark side of the promise. For Jean-Luc was now the focus of their ire. Because he was the reason their lives had become a directionless nightmare since he had broken his promise to them and abandoned them when they needed him the most and this made for some powerful moments. Wherein Jean-Luc had to accept his mistake in raw and painful fashion, because those fiery eyes reminded him that they were right, he had made a grave mistake by walking away and he deserved every ounce of their fury.

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​Yet there was a place that served as a safe space for the Admiral, and that was the temple of the Qowat Milat. For these ancient warriors welcomed him with open arms, and seemingly understood the tough choice that he had to make all those years ago. But while it was nice to see some measure of forgiveness, the heads of this ancient order weren’t who Picard needed to impress. For he had come here to meet with Elnor, a young man that he bonded with all those years ago and Elnor was another soul that he left behind during that dark day when Mars came under attack and of course, the now grown Elnor wanted nothing to do with Picard at first glance since his return dredged up the memory of more broken promises.
 
Which finally motivated Picard to attempt to heal some of the damage that he has done, and he started that particular process by trying to appeal to Elnor’s sense of honor by explaining that he was finally trying to do something noble after years of hiding. But Elnor saw no honor in the Admiral’s actions, merely desperation, and declined his offer to join his quest. Which in turn motivated Picard to try harder to heal the rift he created, by sitting with Romulans at a local café in the hopes of showing them that there is still a better way. But while it was nice to see Jean-Luc make an effort once again at being the bigger man, his pleas fell upon silence and ended in violence when a former Senator felt the need to settle the score. But thankfully, some good came out of all of this since Elnor did indeed defend the Admiral and join his quest, meaning that Jean-Luc said and did something right after all.
 
But while Picard’s journey back to a place filled with bad memories was important and powerful in its own right, we would be remiss to not discuss what Soji learned about the legend she is attached to. For some deep digging on her part revealed the fact that the legends about the Destroyer involve this being rising up and uniting something sinister before giving the order to end all life, which is quite the powerful revelation for certain, the kind that motivated Soji to try and get more information out of Narek. But instead, all he wanted to do was toy with her and make her doubt herself and her past as part of his long game and sadly, it seems to be working and at this point, Soji is running out of time. Because Narissa is ready to do something drastic if Maddox’s location cannot be drawn out of Soji’s memories. However, not all hope is lost for her.
 
For Picard now has the last member of his crew, and a bonus addition to it as well since Seven of Nine has now beamed aboard after aiding the La Sirena out in combat. Which means the mission to Freecloud is about to resume and hopefully the crew can find Maddox before the Zhat Vash does and really in the end, what an incredible episode this turned out to be. Because it was quite powerful to see Picard face the darkest part of his past and try and reconcile it to the best of his abilities. And while he still has a long way to go, it is good to know that he’s trying to make peace with it, all while trying to resurrect the optimistic and hopeful man that he buried so long ago. Also, it was just awesome to see Jeri Ryan return as Seven of Nine and well, it should be interesting to learn why she appeared at just the right time to help Jean-Luc, before this mission finally arrives at the mysterious Freecloud. Until next time.  

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