Star Trek: Picard opens on the mysterious blond woman (Penelope Mitchell) that Q (John de Lancie) was toying with in “Watcher” as she embarks on a failed space mission simulation. It’s clear that his toying and taunting has gotten under her skin and the fate of the future hinges on her self-confidence. She is, after all, Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) great-aunt Reneé Picard—a reveal that comes shortly after the cold open.
“Fly Me to the Moon” is an episode that might make some audiences rewatch the first season of the series to get a refresher on who characters like Dr. Soong (Brent Spiner) and his daughter (Isa Briones) are—especially since the pair also play Data and Soji. The episode is also rich with lore from Star Trek: The Original Series, thanks to Picard making the connection between not-Laris (Orla Brady) being a Supervisor, much like Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) was in “Assignment: Earth.” It’s convenient when you have a universe with a well-cataloged slate of in-world history texts that makes it easy and natural for its characters to pontificate like they’re reading a Memory Alpha Wikipage.
While Q may be focused on meddling with Reneé’s future with the Europa Mission, he has more than enough time to also provide Dr. Soong with the data (pun intended) to help cure his sick daughter. He pulls out all the stops—from an ominous message on Soong’s computer to an intricate calling card embellished with the letter “Q” to a grand gesture of providing him with a life-saving cure after his medical license is revoked (by Lea Thompson, no less). It’s not entirely clear yet what Q’s angle is with Dr. Soong, but it would seem that he’s trying to stop him from creating his Soong-type android, including Data and the subsequent programs that will produce Dahj and Soji, and more importantly Picard, whose consciousness was placed in the synthetic golem last season. Could this be his new plan now that he knows Picard is on his case?
Back on Earth, Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and Seven (Jeri Ryan) are able to stop bickering and dancing around Raffi’s grief long enough to stop the bus transporting Rios (Santiago Cabrera) and the other detainees. With this plot point behind them, it will be interesting to see how it affects Rio’s trajectory moving forward—he has now seen first-hand a darker side to human history that they were blessedly free from in the more progressive future they’re trying to save.
With the core cast still split up for most of the episode, ”Fly Me to the Moon” is divided into two plotlines that eventually converge aboard La Sirena. When Picard and not-Laris arrive aboard the ship, Picard assures her that he trusts his crew above all others and that they can trust them, but within seconds they come across the crew hauling away an incapacitated French police officer, a dead Borg Queen (Annie Wersching), and Agnes (Alison Pill) covered in her blood. Not entirely the most reassuring discovery when you’re trying to convince a being like a “Supervisor” to trust you.
With the life-or-death stakes increasing by the second, the crew regroups and plans how they are going to infiltrate a glamorous party that Reneé is set to attend. Fortunately, Agnes took historic coding classes at university and is confident that she can crack into the system long enough to dupe it into recognizing Rios and Picard. With the plan set, Agnes swans her way through the event just long enough to get herself arrested for acting suspiciously. However, in the final moments of the episode–when she is supposed to be cracking into the system–it is revealed that the Borg Queen did not die, but assimilated part of herself into Agnes. Now neither of them will ever be alone. The twist sets the stage for even more drama and roadblocks as the crew tries to stop Q before it's too late.
Rating: A+
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is streaming now on Paramount+.