‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Dominion’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 307 of ‘Star Trek: Picard’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One particular point of history in the Star Trek Universe that doesn’t get talked about enough, is the Dominion War from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and it makes sense as to why it seems to be on the backburner. For that was a war that shattered the utopic vision of the United Federation of Planets. For it was a bloody conflict, one that saw Earth come under fire and saw Starfleet and its noble officers… compromise the values they swore to uphold in the darkest of times… to win an ugly fight against a ruthless opponent. But at the same time, that is precisely why we should be talking about that war more often in our discussions of the franchise.  
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Simply because… that is/was the kind of storytelling that challenges the human condition and questions more so… can we be better as a species to rise above the ugly that war puts on display? Which is why this particular season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+ continues to impress. Because it keeps finding ways to ask the hard questions that Trek has always asked and this week’s episode, harkened back to that particular exploration brought forth in DS9 in a creative and bold manner. For ‘Dominion’ is a story that saw the crew of the U.S.S. Titan deal with a cold and scary reality after coming to learn that even Captain Tuvok was compromised by the Changeling threat. In that, there was no help to be found, nor would it be coming, and they were truly alone in this fight.

Which meant saving the day was now squarely upon their shoulders, and making progress there seemed to be impossible. After all, they were still on the run and hiding in terrible places (such as the Chin’toka system, a call back to the Dominion War), and well… that prompted Admiral Picard to first look to DataLore in an attempt to get answers as to what Vadic wanted, and when that failed, since Lore took over often and expressed his disdain for all the things Data once loved… the admiral decided, perhaps the time had come to just go for it and set a trap for Vadic. One that would allow for them to get some answers as to what exactly she wanted and perhaps figure out how best to stop her and well… it didn’t take long for the bait to work. 

For she was eager to please the mysterious Face that has barked commands at her for some time and her arrival on the Titan, is when this story began to truly dig deep into those philosophical questions and moral conundrums. For eventually, Vadic was indeed captured thanks to a clever plan executed by Geordi, and when Picard and Beverly were face to face at last with Vadic, they came to learn of the origins of these new Changelings. Sadly, it came forth in the same manner that the near end of the Changelings came about. Through inappropriate science and dark curiosities, the kind grounded in the hopes of creating the perfect spy that could step into any place and sow chaos and obviously, those experiments went wrong, and brought forth Vadic and her compatriots and the suffering endured now. 

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A sequence that served to remind us again of humanity’s inability to always be kind and gentle when trauma and sorted pasts come into play and this is where hands down, questions regarding morality came into play. For Beverly and Jean-Luc pondered deeply upon how best to handle Vadic. Since they were unsure if diplomacy and kindness and all the elements of the best parts of humanity that Starfleet asked of them would apply here. Since Vadic was going to harm their boy and harm them as well and sow pain and chaos since there was no reasoning with her, and well, in that moment… they truly felt that the ways of war were applicable here… and they nearly brought Vadic’s life to an end by making that decision. In fact, had it not been for Lore, they would have completely crossed that line.
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But since Lore wanted to sow his own chaos, Vadic escaped, and her good friends and compatriots nearly brought forth the end of Jack and Sydney as well. But thanks to Jack’s unique new ability to enter a mind, they lived, just long enough to see a dark day aboard this vessel. Because despite Geordi being able to reach Data in a beautiful and powerful moment and stop the chaos, enough damage was done to allow for Captain Vadic and her motley crew of angry Changelings, to gain complete control of the Titan. Giving rise to an uncertain fate for the remainder of the crew and soon… the truth about Jack Crusher. Since Vadic made it clear through a ship-wide transmission that she was ready to supply the answers he and his family have so desperately sought regarding his troubling mental state and abilities.

Which will bring forth some fascinating truths about Jack and his father for that matter since there are hints it stemmed from him. But in the interim, we can celebrate a polarizing tale that truly embodied the spirit of Deep Space Nine by having two critical characters that have worked to be the best of us for decades on end… submit to something darker. To the survival instincts that only parents understand and to the violence and anger only those backed into a corner will ever understand. A move that more or less implies that perhaps… the Federation and its many veterans of that horrific war, cannot rise above the combat horrors they saw during the war and will only inflict harm against a foe that promised annihilation. A move that was stunning to say the least, mainly because we’ve never seen Jean-Luc and Beverly commit to such thoughts. But it is also a move that is brilliant.

Simply because… we are a flawed species, that has no qualms reverting to more lesser instincts when it suits our survival or when we are faced with life changing danger. So, by seeing morally sound characters struggle with that… we can learn perhaps how to be better and leave it behind where they have not, and it will be interesting to see how these characters grapple with that during what is clearly… their and the Federation’s darkest hour. But while we wait to learn more, we can celebrate one epic and tense tale. One that deserves a round of applause for offering up this exploration and for not resolving something so complex right away and for thrilling us every step of the way through big moments and bigger performances. With LeVar Burton leading the way since he was just… incredible in that scene with DataLore, and well… once again… this series leaves us eager for more. Since we are now so close to learning the truth about Jack and even closer to seeing if and how our heroes will rise above the darkness and save the Federation. Until next time.

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