‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Seventeen Seconds’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 303 of ‘Star Trek: Picard’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Over the course of the past couple of weeks. We’ve talked at length about how the beginning of season three of the Paramount+ series, Star Trek: Picard, has been supremely different in nature from previous seasons. For gone are the bombastic moments and immediate commentary on life. Replaced instead with a carefully woven tapestry. One designed to properly build mystery and to bring about wonderful surprises. Such as the fact that Jack Crusher is the son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher and well, this change in format has been… wondrous. For it really has drawn us into this story and into this world once again and it has been so impactful so wonderfully done, that we are starving for more at the end of every episode.
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But what is truly impressive about this change in how stories are being told in this series, is that it makes the moment that commentary and observation and reveals arrive… impactful and worthwhile and for proof… just look at this week’s episode. For ‘Seventeen Seconds’ is a story that figured out how to use the chase through the nebula as the perfect moment to explore the power of trauma and loss and how that can change us in unique ways and how the fear of it… can also change us in unique ways. A feat this story accomplished by having Captain William T. Riker, take command of the U.S.S. Titan once again after a hellish skirmish with Captain Vadic and the Shrike, and his time in the chair once again… informed us that he was a different captain now. Largely because of the loss of his son. For he made it clear that trauma and loss… made him more cautious and eager to preserve life, so that no one else had to deal with that pain. 

Which was a fascinating place to find Captain Riker, and that is an accurate way to represent such matters since we do find newfound value in life when one escapes us. But there was mention that both side of this coin were explored in this episode, and the flip side was handled by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. For in between his time on the bridge as Riker’s ‘Number One’, he spent time with Beverly, exploring what went wrong in their relationship and why she never told him about Jack. Which once again brought up grand discussions about Picard’s marriage to his career and Starfleet and its values. But what mattered more about this discussion for the sake of this tale, is that this is where Jean-Luc finally understood that he was indeed a father and despite his finest attempts to show us otherwise… that had a profound impact upon him.

To the point where Riker’s words about the birth of this son resonated heavy over Jean-Luc’s journey in this tale. Because Riker did point out, that a father in his early days… will do whatever must be done to save his child, even if that means, and we paraphrase, burning the world down. Words that became gospel to Picard as this episode came along, especially when he came to learn that Jack was wounded in an incident on the lower decks of the Titan, since in that moment… those precious ‘seventeen seconds’ if you will, he realized he could lose his son and the prospect of a real family after all these years. Which motivated him often to be rash and be angry in this tale, to a fault in fact. Since his angry decision to keep his family safe through use of the ship’s weapons systems… led to disaster for the Titan.

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For in between those powerful moments regarding trauma and loss, there was still juicy storytelling to be found. The kind that informed us that Vadic was able to trace the course of the Titan because of a saboteur on board, and her ability to chase the ship… allowed for her to showcase the power of her own vessel. Since it turned out, not only did she have impressive armaments that rocked the Titan on a consistent basis, but she was also in possession of the portal weapon used to destroy the recruitment center and she used that weapon to teach the crew of her cunning, and to remind them of her promise to wear them down. Since she fired it often to keep them in the nebula when the ship nearly escaped… and she also used it to bring about the disaster in question regarding Picard’s parental desire to protect his son. 
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Because when Jean-Luc finally convinced Will to unleash all weapons upon the Shrike, Vadic used her weapon to send those torpedoes into the hull of the Titan, leaving the ship in dire straits while leaving a rift between two old friends because of their respective issues with trauma and loss… and there are of course… bigger problems brewing aboard the ship as well. After all, there is that saboteur. One that nearly killed Jack and served to help reveal who was really behind the attack on the recruitment center and will likely serve as this season’s big bad. For when Jack duked it out with said saboteur, there was a moment where their flesh transformed into something… gooey… and familiar. In fact, it was akin to how Odo used to move when he began to shift his shape and well… that hinted greatly at the fact that the Changelings had returned, and Captain Worf and Raffi’s story confirmed this.

For they made nice in this story and Worf finally let her know that he agreed with her assessment that there was something bigger going on here. Which led them to who Worf believed was the real culprit of the attack, a human that turned out to… not be human. For he too was a Changeling and a member of a group of them that were beyond angry over the surrender of the Dominion at the end of the Dominion War and had longed hoped to strike back at an enemy they never thought should have bested them in the slightest. And now, decades later… it is obvious they are ready to execute a plan to bring down the Federation and that reveal… raises the stakes for this series and adds powerful gravity to the story. Since we all know how powerful and resourceful the Changelings can be and without restriction… these vengeful members of this mysterious species will likely stop at nothing to have their way. 

Which sets the stage for an epic final season of Picard. One that will tie together the entire Next Generation era of storytelling and that makes this… one brilliant episode. One that offered everything we love about the series really. Since it featured depth and commentary on the human condition and our flaws and how it is never easy to face what hurts us and what we fear. Plus, the acting was phenomenal, the action was amazing, and Jonathan Frakes once again delivered as director, and above all… it once more left us eager for more of this final mission for the crew of the Enterprise. Because just like that… one of the Federation’s deadliest enemies have returned and so much is at stake and we must know how Picard and his bridge crew are going to stop them… and what Vadic’s role is in all of this, and that is going to make the wait for next week’s episode as difficult as it gets. Until next time.

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