Doctor Soong is the worst.

Can we count this as Star Trek’s first three-parter? It’s like the third part of the foundation that makes the most celebrated parts of the Star Trek franchise going forward. I rail against the continuity, but it’s clearly one of the parts of Trek that people look forward to.  

They call up Wil Wheaton to do an acting exercise, Picard is cool as heck, and we learn that Worf apparently shares parents with Mike Warner. It’s a good ‘un.  

“Captain Riker, Ambassador Picard”: Good idea or bad idea?

We talk about the character work, Riker’s command decisions, and maneuver naming conditions. Some of that is really good and some of it is disappointing.  

I don’t question it because it smooths the rough edges of the narrative, but Derek has a point about making Worf Riker’s executive officer instead of Shelby. Shelby’s great and all, but if something happened to Riker, you’d  want someone who knows the crew.  

Also, we get the Borg queen presaged. I mean, insect queens don’t really issue commands as much as they act as a unique and hard-to-replace part of the colony’s biomachinery, but the point is a salient one. Is there a better, accessible analogy for the Borg than colonial insects?

All the murder doesn't work, so Reileen tries the revolutionary futuristic technique of ASKING HER BROTHER TO MAKE A CHOICE!

Also, I'm looking forward to Altered Carbon, Season 2: Chronicles of Lizzy.

This mystery reveal is--I'll say it--perfect. It's good and confident and it deserves its confidence. 

I mean, as far as Reileen's plans go...I feel I need to point out that they are...sub-optimal.

How is Ortega this not-smart? Maybe it explains why she lost her arm.

Have I talked about Reileen's plans and how good they are?

I want to see the CTAC propaganda erotica. Not for personal reasons, as a purely academic interest.

Reileen's plans continue to make no goddamned sense.

I wish it had been Ortega's mom.

I didn't write blurbs for these episodes back when I made them and I barely remember them so I needed something for the blurb.

But I also needed to know if I edited out the dirty words for Anchor, but the near-instant use of and oft-repetition of the phrase "pumpin' Ortega," fulfilled both of my needs.

Raaaaaaaaampage!!!  

When you have a character who is a badass killing machine, you want to set up a scenario when they’re allowed to go all-out. Maybe not on the cogs in the wheel of an unjust system. The cogs Kovachs just gunned down in the corridors.  

What’s interesting about media is that characters are rarely called upon to make the banal moral compromises most of us have to to pay rent. So when our dude starts killing every minimum wage worker and middle-manager trying to get by in a world run by disengaged Methuselahs it takes me a minute to realize we’re supposed to be rooting for him. Ew.  

I’m also angry he only uses his gun’s retractable bullet thing once in this whole series. Like…what’s the point, man?