Written by John Edward Betancourt THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.‘Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind, is not as important as how we’ve lived. After all Number One, we’re only mortal.’  We all make mistakes in life. Some are big, most are small and since the little ones make up a majority of our missteps, we are able to move past them with ease on a regular basis. But the big ones, well those are the ones that haunt us for ages and they are the ones that sometimes leave us wondering what our life would look like, if we were given a chance to set them right in some form or fashion and really, that quest to be granted a second chance is the core theme driving season one of Star Trek: Picard. For Jean-Luc has wanted nothing more than to find a way to make peace with the sudden death of his good friend Lieutenant Commander Data and of course, to save lives once again; in order to make up for the ones he believes he left behind by retiring from Starfleet fourteen years ago. But while his quest across the stars to find that internal resolution has led him to some powerful moments, he has yet to achieve his ultimate goal. But thankfully, the season one finale of this brilliant series allowed for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard to have one more chance to find peace within his soul and save countless lives in the process and that made ‘Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2’ quite the powerful and poignant tale. However, before we dive deep into Picard’s moment of redemption, we do need to take a moment and discuss the other moments of resolution present within the framework of this story. For every plot point introduced this season came to resolution in beautiful fashion here. For example, Narissa finally paid the price for her cruelty and her treachery. For she was aboard the Borg Cube all along, and once Seven of Nine found her, she put an end to her life, ensuring that Hugh received some measure of justice at last. Plus, this is a tale that finally dealt with Commodore Oh’s treachery. For a short while after she arrived at Coppelius with the Romulan fleet, she found herself face to face with a massive Starfleet armada, one led by a reinstated Captain William T. Riker aboard the U.S.S. Zheng He. And undoubtedly, having her true identity exposed in this moment, will bring about great change at Starfleet in the days to come since they are now aware a spy was in their midst, one that has sown discord at every single turn. Plus, it was also satisfying to see Narek finally come to his senses and do the right thing by working with the crew of the La Sirena to prevent this potential apocalypse, and it was equally as wonderful to see Dr. Soong shut down Sutra for crossing the line and harming one of her own. But while this rapid-fire resolution was delightful in its own right, all of these moments paled in comparison to Picard’s powerful redemption. Because the Admiral came to realize that the only way that Soji would stand down and deny these powerful synthetics a chance to wipe out life in our galaxy, was to show her, that her species mattered, and the only way to accomplish that was to fight for them and potentially sacrifice a human life in exchange for a synthetic one. Which prompted Jean-Luc to take to the stars to delay the Romulans from initiating the slaughter, and Picard risking his life in this manner, and Starfleet’s prompt arrive to defend the synthetic world as well set the groundwork for a beautiful moment. One where Admiral Picard was his old self, and his inspiring words brought everything home for Soji and her people, and at last… she stood down and pushed those powerful beings away, and just like that… the galaxy was saved. But at a great cost.  For Jean-Luc Picard’s horrific brain abnormality finally became a problem after he pushed his body too hard, and in a heartbreaking sequence of events, we were forced to watch the dear Admiral die, surrounded by his new crew and his new friends and this was… devastating for certain. Because it seemed as though JL was leaving this universe far ahead of his time, and he would never see the fruits of his labor and that is when this story took quite the powerful turn. For shortly after his passing, the Admiral seemingly awoke from his final sleep, and found himself in an odd version of his study. One where the color and warmth had been replaced with stoic tones, leaving one to wonder if Trek was about to provide us with its own version of an Afterlife, especially after Data showed up to reflect upon both their lives. But it didn’t take long for Data to reveal that this was all a quantum simulation and well, that’s when the story presented us with all kinds of surprises.
Because this meant that Data was alive in a strange way, and that after all this time, Picard could finally open up and express fourteen years of regret to a man he admired greatly. And it was just wonderful to hear Jean-Luc finally bid farewell to his old friend in proper fashion, right before being granted a different kind of second chance. For it turns out, that Picard’s consciousness was present in this place because it was being saved for a special gift. Because the golem that Dr. Soong created, was repurposed for Picard and his mind was transferred into it, giving him a second lease on life, one free from the abnormality and this would give him many more years to enjoy the wonder that is life amongst other things. But before the show could reflect upon the real potential of this move, there was a somber matter that needed to be handled, first. For Lieutenant Commander Data made a powerful request of his former commander while they spent time within the quantum simulation. In that, he wanted nothing more than for the simulation to end. Because while it was a scientific marvel that he was still alive after all these years, albeit in unique fashion, this simulation was a prison, a place where he was nothing more than an echo of a Starfleet officer long gone. And knowing this, made him feel as though his life did not have meaning, and that death would supply that meaning and the Admiral did not deny Data what was in essence, his final wishes. Which brought us to a beautiful sequence of events, where this charming and delightful character, one who has been with many of us since childhood, surrounded himself with everything he loved as he bid farewell to a universe he worked so desperately to understand. It was a beautiful send off for certain, one that was proper and just, wiping away any of the bitter taste of how the character initially left this universe in Star Trek: Nemesis and well, his death and Picard’s resurrection speak volumes to the nature of the universe and the importance of the quote above. For now, Jean-Luc Picard is no longer burning with the fires of time. He is free of it, and free of his past; thanks to this incredible second chance at life. Which means that now he can live every moment to the fullest and to sweeten the proverbial pot, he can repair his tattered reputation as well and that likely means that season two will be filled to the brim with incredible adventures. Where a man named Jean-Luc Picard will bring hope to a galaxy that has been without it for ages and it will be quite wondrous to join our intrepid hero in the stars once again, as he boldly goes where no one has gone before. Until next time.
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