Star Trek: Picard - Season 1, Episode 09: Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1
Trailer
In an adventurous and exciting atmosphere, this series follows the daily activity of Jean-Luc Picard, a former courageous warrior, who after many years of his retirement from Starfleet, goes away to live alone in peace and quietness in Cheataue Picard, where he enjoys his life, but when he has been visited by a strange woman, his life turns upside down.
[Brent] Spiner's fun here playing the obviously brilliant but seemingly weak-willed son of Noonien Soong. It'll be interesting to see on which side that character lands during next week's finale.
Understandably little time was given to it beyond passing mention here-there's enough going on as it is-but I really wish Picard had a better chance to dive into how Seven felt being reconnected momentarily to the Collective and the Borg Queen.
This episode, like many from this first season, expands the world of Star Trek and builds a new story, while continuing to drop pieces of nostalgia and easter eggs that enhance that story for long-time viewers.
The pacing feels uneven this week because we had eight episodes to consider the politics of the synthetic/organic divide, but in the space of 20 minutes, we're landed with this big revelation about synthetic gods, and a brand new character, Sutra.
This is where Picard becomes a masterclass in dramatic intent mapped out with potent precision. A cleverly constructed cliff hanger in which audiences will invest everything without being sure of anything.
It was somewhat satisfying to watch Soji verbally kick Narek to the curb but super frustrating to watch her wrestle with her demons while Sutra set all the wheels in motion.
Seeing how the different characters reacted to the wonder and terror of going through the Borg transmat network was a great, efficient character-building moment.
"Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1" does a spectacular job of synthesizing the style of "The Next Generation" with that of "The Original Series" - and the result is something new altogether.
