Star Trek: Picard effectively fakes us out in “Surrender”

We’re only a few episodes out from the end! Let’s talk about Star Trek: Picard Episode 208, “Surrender.”

On the Shrike, Deanna Troi tends to Riker’s wounds. We finally get a good heart-to-heart between the two, primarily about the loss of their son and Riker’s overuse of the word “imzadi.” The compromised code that led the Shrike to the Titan was given by Riker under torture, but not his own. He relented because he couldn’t stand to see Troi in pain.

Worf and Raffi arrive to rescue Riker and Troi; this is the first time Worf and Troi have been together onscreen in who knows how many years.

Review: Star Trek: Picard Episode 308

Meanwhile, Vadic is in control of the U.S.S. Titan. She has taken the bridge, disabled most of the ship, and lined up all the bridge crew, ready to execute them one by one until Jack gives himself up. The remainder of the Titan’s crew is being slaughtered in the halls, until Jack decides enough is enough and that a line must be drawn.

Jack and Jean-Luc come up with a plan to override Vadic’s control, but his puppetry powers (Jack pilots another crewman to try to enter an override code) aren’t enough. After the execution of an innocent lieutenant, Jack surrenders himself to the bridge. He arrives with a device in hand and a cocky smile. Is it a grenade? Will he take them all out in a fiery explosion? No, it’s a force field. Jack pulls the Ripley maneuver (with the aid of Data), and launches the Changelings out into space.

Data is now the only hope for re-capturing the ship’s controls. So begins a battle between Data and Lore. Geordi lowers the partition in Data’s mind and the crew waits for the outcome. The battle begins as a philosophical debate about the value of trinkets and memories as opposed to symbols of power. Lore starts out overpowering Data by virtue with his ruthless lust for control. When it looks like Data is about to be overwritten, he decides to give up. Data hands over his memories to Lore, one by one. Since Data is who he is because of his memories and experiences (Hi Tasha!), Lore becomes more and more like Data until Data takes full control.

Sweet Surrender

In both fights, the winning move is to surrender. When the villain (Vadic / Lore) thinks they have won, they let their guard down and open themselves to an unexpected attack. The writing this season walks a fine line between believable and unpredictable. They aren’t really telegraphing where the story is going, but there are plenty of false leads. We knew Data would come out on top and that Vadic would lose control, but up until the moment before Data takes over, we’re left wondering how he could possibly survive.

With the mini-bosses out of the way, the only thing left is Frontier Day. Vadic reveals that they wanted Jack’s “gifts” as part of that plot. It makes sense, since a Changeling/clone of Picard wouldn’t be very effective in destroying the gathered fleet. Even if “Picard” issued an order, some pilots might use their common sense to disobey. However, if the Changelings could pilot some ships while manipulating the pilots of others, they could start an all-out Federation Civil War! This plan (if it bares any resemblance to the real plan) has already failed. So we’re left with the mystery of the “gifts.” Luckily there is now a Ship’s Counselor on board who can help Jack better understand himself.

Now the whole crew is back in the Ready Room. Onward to Frontier Day!

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels