Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyStar Trek Picard
Paramount Plus
Season 2 Episode 3
Assimilation
Episode three starts with action and thrills as Seven confronts her husband after he shoots Elnor. After an intense action scene, the crew makes its way into the past. The opening sequence has some great action throughout and the character moments are exciting. There is a moments between Jurati (Alison Pill) and the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) that is sublimely scary and got my attention as the rest of the sequence played out.
When the crew arrives on Earth in the past, they are confronted with a loss that send Raffi (Michelle Hurd) to confront Picard on something that has been on the minds of many Trek fans for years regarding the relationship between Picard and Q and how that relationship always seems to have a level of collateral damage attached to it. Hurd is brilliant in this scene.
The crew separates to begin their mission, but the tension between Seven and Raffi continues to increase as she tries to reach out to her. At the same time, Jurati embarks on a dangerous mission of her own as she decides to allow herself to become assimilated in order to repair the Borg Queen from the inside. Rios, Seven and Raffi find themselves in 21st century Los Angeles and their arrivals are not easy. I get the feeling there is going to be a lot of social commentary as the season progresses and it will definitely focus on life in the 21st century which I’m not mad at.
Jurati’s journey into the Borg Queen is interesting as well and gives Pill some great acting moments to explore as she runs a range of emotions and some truths about Picard himself. There’s some great tension in the moment and culminates into a great cliffhanging moment. Rios dealing with his commbadge and meeting a single mother and child is a little heavy-handed and predictable, especially the ending.
Episode three does a great job of introducing the conflicts that will play out in the rest of the season with Raffi dealing with her conflicted feelings about Picard’s choices, Picard dealing with his choices and what they mean, Jurati dealing with her dangerous curiosity about the Borg and more. The episode takes some interesting dramatic turns and does a great job keeping me intrigued about where the story will go next.
Star Trek Picard S02XE03
