Star Trek: Picard Episode 5 Review

by Mike Lunsford, E-I-C of the Great Geek Refuge

The pace has quickened a bit, the action picked up, and all the pieces of the series are hurdling towards each other as Star Trek: Picard picks up steam. When all is said and done with episode 5, titled “Stardust City Rag,” our two pieces: Picard and crew and the Borg cube known as the Artifact are set to cross paths in the next episode. Not only do we have something to look forward to next week, this week we are given the darkest episode of the series thus far. The universe of “enlightened, evolved sensibilities” that we all thought of the Star Trek universe is much grittier and grimier than previously advertised. All that being said, strap yourself in as we hit that review/recap.

Episode 5 starts the same as all the previous episodes: with a flashback. This one however is much gorier and stomach-churning than the previous flashbacks. We see a Starfleet officer on an operating table being tortured. The “surgeon” is removing his eye and asking him where is cordical node is: he’s a former Borg drone. What makes this scene even more unsettling is the way in which this “doctor” asks him about his Borg implant: “Where’s your cordical node, buddy?” in a bright, chipper voice. The eye removal procedure was unable to produce the implant and the surgeon is about to drill into the the officer’s skull when someone beams into the facility, immediately shooting the surgeon and an on-looker. It’s our first view of Star Trek: Voyager fan favorite Seven of Nine.

If you’re a turbo-nerd like myself, you knew that this Starfleet Lieutenant being harvested of his Borg cybernetics is Icheb. It was obvious by his facial features but also when the surgeon was looking for his cordical node, you knew there wasn’t one: he gave it to Seven to save her life when they were both on Voyager. The two share a tender moment as Icheb’s injuries are fatal. Seven weeps and calls him her son and in an act of mercy, ends his life with a phaser blast. ROUGH scene, overall but it really showcases how much disdain this universe has for anything Borg or former Borg.

Picard and crew aboard the La Sierna are coming up on Freecloud, in particular a city called Stardust City. Imagine Las Vegas meets Bladerunner.

Before Picard and company arrive, we finally see Bruce Maddox. He runs into a particularly nasty lizard dude and his boss, the ruthless crime lord Bjayzl (Necar Zadegan NCIS: New Orleans) in Stardust City. He is begging for help as the Tal Shiar is after him. They were the ones who destroyed his lab confirming what we all pretty much knew. Instead of helping him, Bjayzl grabs him and keeps him hostage, to turn him in to the Tal Shiar herself.

Picard assembles his crew of ne'er-do-wells and they come up with a plan on how to get Maddox. Thanks to Raffi’s sweet hacking skills, they’re able to determine that the Tal Shiar want Maddox. All Picard and company have to do is outbid them and they can rescue the former Starfleet android expert. But Raffi informs them that going to Stardust City is not as simple as beaming down as themselves: they have to have big, elaborate disguises. It makes sense that those dealing in black market dealings such as this would do everything they can to hide their real identities, so this works well for the crew.

It warms my heart that in the 24th century, colorblind pimps will no longer have to hide their ailment.

And that the illustrious Admiral Picard chooses to dress like a flamboyant pirate who loves leather gloves. What a future we have to look forward to!

I joked about their outfits in the captions but it was a fun bit as the beginning of this episode (and parts to come) are pretty heavy. Needless to say, our team beams down to Stardust City to get our boy Maddox back but with one hitch: they’re using Seven of Nine as bait. Bjayzl’s crime organization makes a great deal of money selling black market Borg tech and Seven is the proverbial rainmaker as she is full of functional implants.

The only one not joining them on the trip is Raffi, who travels to the Stardust City Reproductive Health Services center. There, she finds her son Gabriel. Raffi tries to reconcile with her son who was left bitter by her focus on “crackpot conspiracies” about the synthetics’ attack on Mars, an “Enclave of Eight” (not sure what that is but I’m sure it has to do with the Tal Shiar/Zhat Vash infiltration of Starfleet) and her substance abuse issues. Raffi insists that she is clean now and begs Gabriel for a chance to start over.

However, her son presses her on the conspiracies that drove a wedge between them, which now that she has proof that they are in fact true Raffi refuses to give up on. Gabriel turns her advances away, saying that he doesn’t want to see her and that she hasn’t changed. They stop their confrontation when Gabriel’s wife shows up, a pregnant Vulcan woman. Raffi bids them both a tearful farewell and leaves, adding another level of gut-wrenching heartbreak to this episode.

Back at the bar in Stardust City, the plan is working well. Rios has convinced the scary lizard dude that he’s on the up and up (thanks to some pheromone blocking drugs Raffi gave him) and they’ve started their deal with Bjayzl. Then…things turn to crap. Picard rips off the black hood revealing that their “payment” is Seven of Nine and Bjayzl immediately recognizes her, referring to her by her human name Annika. There is a sorted past with these two where they had worked together and become close, but after Bjayzl’s penchant for hacking apart former Borgs became apparent, they obviously drifted apart. Seven refers to herself as “the one that got away” to Bjayzl and the deal seems to be moving forward until Seven breaks free of her cuffs and grabs Bjayzl by the throat. Picard demands answers from Seven. She tells him all about Bjayzl’s slaughter of her Icheb, and Picard proclaims, “Murder is not justice. There is no solace in revenge.” Rios kills the giant lizard dude as he was making a move towards Picard and Seven. Rios warns Seven that if she assassinates Bjayzl, Picard and Elnor will wind up with a bounty on their heads something that will not end well for a young boy and an old man. Seven offers Bjayzl a deal: she lets her live in exchange for Maddox. She agrees and Agnes beams them all back to the ship.

Back on board the La Sirena, Picard speaks to Seven about her choice of mercy. He allows her to take two phaser rifles as she departs the ship, meeting up with a Fenris Ranger ship that is en route (the group she works for). On her way out, she asks Picard if, after being brought back from the Borg collective, he feels he’s regained all of his humanity. “No. But we’re both working on it, aren’t we?” he replies, to which she says, “Every damn day of my life.”

However, Seven never had any intent on leaving Stardust City without claiming her revenge. She beams back to Freecloud, looking to settle her score with Bjayzl. “Picard still thinks there’s a place in the galaxy for mercy. I didn’t want to disillusion him. Somebody out there ought to have a little hope,” Seven states, before she turns Bjayzl into a mist of blood and tissue. She then takes on her entire security detail like a badass.

In sickbay, Bruce Maddox lets Picard know that he was aware Dahj was dead as soon as the Tal Shiar raided his laboratory. He informs Picard that Soji is on the Artifact and it was for the same reason he sent Dahj to Earth: to uncover the truth about the synth ban, the Mars attack, all of it. He claims that the ones hiding that truth are also hunting Soji, and he believes those nefarious forces aren’t just the Romulans, but also members of the Federation. So basically…Picard now knows everything we do. Great, we’re all caught up! Thanks, Bruce!

Picard asks Rios to fly the La Sierna into Romulan space to reach the Artifact , and then asks him about their “stowaway” Raffi. Picard knocks on her door and gets a dismissive response but Picard states his joy that she is back with them for the rest of their mission.

His health improving, Maddox is thrilled to see Agnes. He asks her if she got to meet Dahj on Earth, referring to her and her sister as “perfectly imperfect” and crediting Jurati for her essential contribution to their creation. However, like every other reunion in this series thus far, it is an unhappy one. We saw Agnes earlier reminiscing over a video of the two of them making cookies together and sharing a romantic moment as she teared up. Agnes begins turning off Maddox’s life support as she tells him “I wish you know what I know. I wish I didn’t know what I know. I wish they hadn’t shown me. I’m so sorry.” The Rios-inspired EMH even tries to intervene but Agnes shuts him off. Damn…all that work to get Maddox and Agnes kills him unceremoniously. Hats off to Alison Pill, she killed it in this scene (no pun inten…nah, I did mean that one).

Some notes on the series thus far

• I TOLD YOU SO ABOUT AGNES JURATI! It all just seemed a bit too convenient for her to show up like she did and weasel her way on to the ship. Now we just need to figure out what she was told, who told her and if it’s actually true.

• Why does everyone have all this trauma in their lives? I get that after the destruction of Romulus, things have been bad for the galaxy on the whole but damn, not a single person has had a pretty good run? Just constant pain and suffering for everyone in a “utopian society?” Yikes. Maybe when we get to see Riker and Troi, things are good for them.

• However, the fact that things suck so bad does make for an interesting story opportunity. Outside forces have hijacked the once proud and noble Starfleet. It’s become so bad that even the most loyal have lost faith. How does one find hope in a world where this is so little to hope for? Man, this allegory is timely, huh? If anyone can give us hope that the ideals of Starfleet and the Federation can be saved, it’s Jean-Luc Picard

• This episode was brutal. When you thought the surgical torture scene was it, you were treated to an estranged son and mother relationship AND a woman killing the man she loved for unknown reasons. While I appreciate the grittiness of this universe and the narrative choices being made, I needed to watch Bluey* with my kid after this week’s Picard.

Alright folks, that does it for me and another Star Trek: Picard recap/review. Stay tuned as next week Russ “The Opaque Senator” has review duties. Set course for the Artifact, maximum warp! We’ll see ya next week.

*Bluey is an adorable cartoon on Disney+ that I highly recommend for anyone with kids.