‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Broken Pieces’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Over the course of its first seven episodes, Star Trek: Picard has focused heavily on the power of the past and rightfully so. For this is indeed Jean-Luc Picard's story, and dealing with the losses he's suffered through the years, and confronting some of his more dubious decisions is paramount to seeing him grow and find peace in his twilight years. But what’s really made this series so impressive is that he is not alone in this particular endeavor. For his new crew is carrying as he put it, ‘baggage’, and they too are trying desperately to find some level of inner peace.

But  their problems and their issues have remained in the background of the story so that the retired Admiral can get his house in order, first. But after a wonderful visit with some close friends and confidants in last week’s episode, wherein Picard seemingly made peace with a great many things while visiting the home of Will Riker and Deanna Troi on Nepenthe, the time has finally arrived for the other characters to have their own reckoning when it comes to the past. And that made the next episode in this series, a unique affair. Because ‘Broken Pieces’ took the time to slow things down (for the most part) by giving the characters and the audience time to breathe and time to reflect on a great many things.

For this particular tale saw the La Sirena making its way toward Deep Space 12 in order to meet with a newly commissioned Starfleet task force, one that was going to help Picard and company out, now that Admiral Clancy believed in Jean-Luc’s endeavors. And while they coasted through the stars, old memories came to the surface and that allowed for us to finally learn every single detail about Captain Rios’ checkered past and why he was so angry to meet Soji at first glance. But before we dive too deeply into that, let’s take a quick moment and recognize Santiago Cabrera’s amazing performance in this particular tale. Because not only did he move us with his ‘confession’, he managed to play five different variations of himself in holographic form and it takes a special actor to be able to pull off that particular feat, and he did that here with seemingly minimal effort.

But truly the moment he shared with Raffi in his quarters was the most moving moment of the episode, thanks in large part to him putting on an acting clinic in this part of the story as well. For in that short but powerful sequence, we came to learn that nine years ago, the crew of the U.S.S. ibn Majid encountered a pair of unique individuals in the Vayt Sector and they were welcomed aboard the ship with open arms, and it just so happens that one of these individuals, looked exactly like Soji. But after Captain Vandermeer informed Starfleet of this incredible encounter, the situation aboard the ship took quite the grim turn. For the Captain quickly murdered their guests under an order from Commodore Oh and after completing this cold-blooded deed, he turned the phaser on himself. Which left Rios with no choice but to clean up the mess Vandermeer made months before Starfleet cast him out.

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Yet while it was refreshing to get some answers from Rios as to why he has been in such a dark place for so long, he wasn’t the only one in this tale to confront their checkered past. For Soji now had to reconcile the fact that hers was a complete and utter lie and that her mind was filled to the brim with all kinds of knowledge and memories that she would need time to sort out. But thankfully, she had Picard at her side to help her do so and that led to some tender moments for certain, the kind that continued to bring peace to the Admiral’s aching heart. Plus, Dr. Jurati also had to face a reckoning for her actions, and she handled her transgressions and lies in noble fashion since she agreed to turn herself into Starfleet security at DS12 and she also informed the Admiral of everything she learned from the Commodore. But while feel good moments were abound here, Raffi couldn’t help but notice all the common threads that were suddenly appearing as everyone opened up, the kind that were connecting the dots to something bigger happening behind the scenes and that led to the most revelatory moment of the hour.

For eventually, this motley crew sat down and put the pieces together in regard to everything that’s happened over the past fourteen years, and they came to realize that the Zhat Vash’s mission to destroy synthetic life stemmed from a warning left behind by an ancient and powerful species. And said warning motivated Commodore Oh and Narissa and Ramdah to orchestrate the attack on Mars and the subsequent synthetic ban. To complicate matters further, the ibn Majid’s encounter with androids from Soji’s home world; is what accelerated Oh’s hunt for this mysterious planet so that the Zhat Vash could complete their ancient work. Which means that a visit to Deep Space 12 will have to wait. Because it is only a matter of time before the Romulan fleet arrives at the android planet, and it is best that the La Sirena gets there first, since Soji likely knows exactly how to save the day.

Yet while this episode was filled to the brim with powerful character moments and juicy plot points, there were still some loose ends on the Borg Cube that needed to be dealt with. For Elnor was alone and outnumbered and thankfully, the distress beacon he hit at the end of last week’s tale, brought Seven of Nine to his rescue. But she is but one Ranger and in order to properly put an end to the madness on the cube, she was forced to do the unthinkable and become an impromptu queen for this cube in order to use the drones to fight off the Romulan forces aboard it. But alas, her efforts to create a tiny collective came too late since Narissa was quick to jettison countless drones, ending more lives before she escaped and well, not all was lost when it comes to this ugly showdown. For there are still xB’s alive on this ship. Allowing for Hugh’s legacy to live on and the allure of the Collective didn’t trap Seven once again, and hopefully she and Elnor can join the fight to come, since Picard and company will need every ounce of help in saving this strange new world.

If anything, this is an episode that may not be received all that well. Because it really was a download story, one that put the pieces together for the audience in slow and methodical fashion. But with so much going on this season story wise, assembling everything in a single tale was a necessity. And while it may have spoon fed us some facts and elements that some folks have already figured out, it was nice to have some theories confirmed and truly the performances here also make this story worthwhile. Because there was good acting to be found all around and as an added bonus, this episode really did do a fine job of setting the stage for the two-part, season one finale. For now, we are headed for the android home world to learn of its secrets before a grand battle determines the fate of synthetic life in the galaxy and the anticipation now building for those elements, is going to make the wait for said finale, a difficult one indeed. Until next time.  

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