‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Disengage’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 302 for ‘Star Trek: Picard’. To revisit the Season Three Premiere, click here.
​
One thing that fans of the Paramount+ series, Star Trek: Picard, can agree upon… is that we were all left a touch worried at the end of last week’s season three premiere. For the Starfleet Recruitment Center was left in utter ruin courtesy of a stolen superweapon and our beloved admiral and his trusted right hand for decades on end, were staring down the barrels of many guns, courtesy of the arrival of a massive and daunting vessel. Leaving all of us to wonder what was to come next for these characters since they were facing incredible trouble and incredible odds and well, this week’s episode wasted little time in informing us… that everyone would get a moment to breathe and a moment of safety to ponder upon their next moves, before the show offered up more surprises and mysteries, and danger.
​ 
Which for Raffi… involved demanding answers from her handler at Starfleet Intelligence regarding the quick resolution of the whole attack on the Recruitment Center, since it was deemed that a rogue Romulan was behind this mess and that just seemed too simple a solve. Because whomever was behind this attack was clearly trying to send a deep message to Starfleet and the Federation and likely wasn’t done with their work and that prompted her to ignore her handler’s orders to ‘Disengage’ and seek out her ex-husband. Because he could get her a meeting with the Ferengi gangster that she discovered, brokered the deal to get that tech out into the galaxy and well, that was a tough moment for Raffi. Since her ex asked her to choose between duty and family and she chose the former. 

Because she had to do right, and she truly believed in the cause and that brought her face to face with Sneed. The scummiest Ferengi to ever appear in the STU, since he wasn’t just about profits, he was also about power and fear and the worst aspects of any living creature in the galaxy, and this ruthless little monster… led to serious trouble for Raffi. For he seemed to know that she was Starfleet Intelligence and just wanted to mess with her mind and offer her nothing. Which brought about more mystery regarding the attack on Starfleet and one epic surprise. For when Raffi was in serious trouble, her handler finally arrived to help, and it just so happened… that her savior in that moment was none other than Captain Worf.  

Which was epic and amazing and left us eager to learn more about his time in Starfleet Intelligence and everything else he’s been up to since the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E parted ways. But that will have to wait. Because there was still the whole matter regarding Admiral Picard and the whole situation near the Titan. Because that particular mess, went from bad to worse. For the mysterious captain of that massive ship, made it so there was no escaping the Elios. Which of course meant that the only hope for survival here, was Captain Shaw, who wasn’t exactly keen on stepping in and helping a pair of living legends, who he basically believed made him a fool in front of his crew. But thankfully, Seven’s keen powers of observation allowed for her to appeal to Shaw’s ego.  

---

That in turn, allowed for a daring rescue mission to take place, one that brought everyone aboard the Titan and allowed for everyone to have that moment of respite and allowed for us… to be introduced to more mystery. Because with everyone safely on board, the skipper of that massive ship finally wanted to talk and that brought the crew face to face with Captain Vadic of the Shrike. A seething individual that was eager to have Jack Crusher aboard her ship to have him answer for his endless, pirate-esque crimes. And she expected the young man to be aboard her ship within one hour or everyone would face the consequences of harboring a fugitive. And to show her resolve and her cruelty, she quite literally, threw the Elios at the Titan, causing some damage and it left everyone curious as to what prompted such fury.   
​
Of course, that question went unanswered. Because despite Jean-Luc’s best attempts to learn what Jack was hiding and why he was wanted on so many worlds, the young man would not speak about anything to anyone. He simply worked out his own escape plan from the Brig of this ship and when the time was right, executed that plan. Forcing everyone to scramble and make the hard call. In that, would they just let him go and move on with their lives or step up and protect someone that would face more amicable and humane terms under the laws of the United Federation of Planets? But Will Riker knew there was something special about Jack, something that Jean-Luc was hiding and in order to get to the truth and to force a solution, he revived Beverly shortly after she was fixed up by the ship’s doctor.

All so she could silently confirm to Jean-Luc what Riker and some of us suspected. That Jack Crusher was in fact, the son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher and with that in mind… the admiral stepped in and made sure that his son would be protected, giving rise to what will be, a cat and mouse game within the nebula ahead. One that we won’t enjoy until next week, and that’s fine. Because this one left us with plenty to ponder upon. Because… it’s obvious now that Jean-Luc and Beverly opted to explore the feelings that they spoke to harboring for one another in season seven of The Next Generation, and clearly things went south, and that has us eager to hear the admiral and his love spill the earl grey tea (served piping hot) regarding their broken love affair, and why Jean-Luc wasn’t there for his son. 

Plus, let’s be honest… we have to know more about the enigmatic and chilling Captain Vadic. For she is obsessed with having Jack in her clutches and is excited by inflicting pain and generating fear and the thrill of the hunt and well… all of these mysteries and surprises made for one incredible episode. One that captivated us from beginning to end and of course, left us eager for more. Because clearly, this season is building to some big moments and equally as big thematic explorations and the setup for all of this is simply incredible and will undoubtedly have us counting down the minutes until next week’s tale. So, we can see what other answers and epic moments and reintroductions to other crew members from The Next Generation await us. Until next time. 

---

Powered by JustWatch