Recap / Star Trek: Picard S1E03 "The End Is the Beginning"

The issue of Romulan forehead ridges (or a lack thereof) is addressed with a Dope Slap and a single line of dialogue.

In a Flashback to the aftermath of the Utopia Planitia attack, Admiral Picard emerges from Starfleet HQ. His faithful adjutant, Lt. Cmdr Raffi Musiker, awaits the results. From their discussion, it's clear they've planned how to argue their case... but Picard reveals that all their arguments were shot down, one by one, and that he has resigned from Starfleet. He discloses the just-passed Ban on A.I., and Raffi mentions her suspicion that the attack was orchestrated by the Tal Shiar— though neither she nor Picard can square the Violation of Common Sense of the Romulan Secret Police sabotaging their own Homeworld Evacuation. When Raffi protests that Picard needs to regroup and Take a Third Option, he admits that the resignation was his Third Option, a Backup Bluff that he never dreamed would be called. Raffi is then summoned to the C-in-C's office to be fired.

In the present day, at Raffi's cabin, Picard states his desire to find Bruce Maddox. Raffi is more interested in scolding him for abandoning her: apparently, in the years since, he has not once reached out to find out how she was doing. After she has vented her anger (and Picard actually apologizes), she listens to Picard's tale of the Romulan death squad. She admits that she found concrete evidence linking the Tal Shiar to the Utopia Planitia attacks and a Government Conspiracy within Starfleet to cover it up, but refuses to get any further involved. Although, ever the Number Two, she does have a pilot for "JL".

Aboard the Borg Cube, Soji meets with the project's executive director— no less than a de-Borgified Hugh. He was impressed by the dignity and respect that Soji showed to another xB, and grants her request to speak to Ramdha, a liberated Romulan who used to be an expert on the species' mythology.

Dr. Jurati is approached by Commodore Oh, who is wearing sunglasses in an unsuccessful attempt at subtlety. Oh asks about Dr. Jurati's recent interactions with one Jean-Luc Picard.

Ramdha is in the Disordered Ward with other xBs who have had trouble adjusting to their post-Borg lives. She is laying out cards from a pixmit deck, the Romulan version of Tarot Cards. Hugh recognizes one of the cards as a shaipouin, a false front door — a feature on any Properly Paranoid Romulan's house — and Soji approaches Ramdha by sitting behind her and asking for entry.

Picard beams aboard La Sirena, a private ship owned by captain Cristóbal Rios. Extra crew requirements are served by Emergency Holograms, and the EMH (who looks and sounds like a proper British version of Rios) conducts Picard to the proprietor. The two don't get along: Rios (correctly) identifies Picard as a speechmaker and an idealist, and he's bitter that the heavy cruiser that he served on (the USS ibn Majid) was erased from Starfleet records for reasons that he won't elaborate on. Picard, meanwhile, (correctly) identifies Rios as "Starfleet to the core"— despite his disdain for the organization, La Sirena is still kept to Starfleet standard. Meanwhile, Raffi has started digging into what Picard said — against her own better judgment — and, after JL dropboxes everything that he has on Bruce Maddox to her, she is able to trace him to a location named "Freecloud."

Shortly after Picard leaves, Rios' reading is interrupted by another of his holo-doppelgangers, the Emergency Navigational Hologram who speaks with an Irish accent. He tries to drum up some excitement at the idea of working with the great Picard, but Rios won't have it— he's still traumatized after seeing his last captain meet an extremely gruesome end.

Picard is at home finalizing his preparations when the lights go out: it's another squad of Zhat Vash assassins. Of course, Battle Butler Zhaban and Ninja Maid Laris are both retired Tal Shiar, and Picard has had more than one stint at playing the action hero— not to mention that they have at least three phasers stashed in hidden locations. The final hit, amazingly enough, comes from Dr. Jurati, who saw the commotion, seized a Romulan disruptor rifle, and did her best. (She is disconcerted to learn that Romulan weapons don't come with stun settings.) The three clean up, get Agnes a very large glass of wine, and truss one of the Hit Mooks for interrogation (the phasers do come with stun settings).

Soji has a breakthrough with Ramdha, but not a good one: Ramdha recognizes her "from tomorrow." Soji asks what that means, mentioning that Ramdha was aboard the Shaenor, the last Romulan vessel assimilated by this Cube before it was abandoned by the Collective. Ramdha is focused on one of her cards, showing twins — one alive, one dead — and asks which one Soji is. Concurrently, the Zhat Vash assassin awakens and is convinced to explain himself. He and Ramdha describe Soji as "Seb-Cheneb"— the Destroyer. Ramdha then steals a disruptor from a Romulan guard and tries to off herself, only to have Soji save her; the Zhat Vash Hit Mook isn't so lucky, biting down on the same acid-spewing Suicide Pill that his compatriot used in the first episode.

Soji, a little bit freaked out, calls her mother and asks if Dahj is alright, to which her mother responds that Dahj is fine. While her mother talks about what Dahj is up to, Soji seemingly becomes exhausted and falls unconscious while her mother continues to speak. Later, she is awakened by Narek, who has come to her quarters after hearing what had happened. Asking about it, Soji expresses confusion; she didn't recall ever hearing about the Shaenor, or knowing that Ramdha had been on board the ship. When she asks Narek if he believes her, he whispers in her ear that he believes that he's falling in love with her.

Outside her quarters, Narek meets with his sister Narissa (a.k.a. Lieutenant Rizzo)— now back in Romulan garb and Romulan ears. She inquires as to Narek's methods of controlling the target, but Narek believes that Soji doesn't know what she truly is— and insists that it's safer if she remain that way, given the Waif-Fu that Dahj displayed.

Picard and Jurati beam aboard La Sirena. Jurati insists on coming, as she wants to see Soji Asha for herself. (She also feels somewhat guilty for inadvertently triggering the Zhat Vash hit squad.) Picard is also delighted to see that Raffi has joined as well, though she insists that she's merely heading to Freecloud for her own reasons. As the tiny crew look to him, Picard smiles and gives the familiar hand gesture and Catchphrase: "Engage!"

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Tropes:

• Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Jurati listens to Kasseelian opera during her lunch break before Commodore Oh approaches her.
• Always Know a Pilot: Picard contacts Raffi because he figures that she'll know "an off-the-books pilot with an unregistered starship." Although she's pissed at him, she does direct him to Captain Rios and La Sirena.
• Ambiguous Situation: Narek whispers to Soji, "I think I'm falling in love with you." It's uncertain whether his feelings are genuine, or if it's part of his plan as a Honey Trap.
• Apocalypse Maiden: The Zhat Vash refer to Soji as "the Destroyer," although they don't elaborate on that.
• Assassination Attempt: Considering that Picard is famous across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, the death squad that Commodore Oh sends to his chateau qualifies as an assassination attempt of a public figure. The Zhat Vash commandos fail to take out Picard because he's protected by Laris and Zhaban, who are ex-Tal Shiar.
• Bested by the Inexperienced: Jurati is a non-combatant, but she kills a Zhat Vash assassin by shooting him In the Back with a disruptor rifle.
• Bilingual Dialogue: Soji first addresses Ramdha in Romulan, who responds in English.
  Soji: (sits behind Ramdha) Yiwav sooha wassyakassa kahfavret eedayhoon fal teh voh? (If certain people requested entry...would it be granted?)
  Ramdha: (Beat) You may sit.
  Soji: (sits across from Ramdha) My name is Soji. I'm working with Hugh on the reclamation project, but I'm an anthropologist by training. Lehsbey invehcreese nehveltev staam. (My presence is an intrusion, forgive it.)
• Blatant Lies: Soji's mother reassures her that Dahj is perfectly fine when she calls, being very concerned following what she has heard from Ramdha's prophecy, who claims that one sister dies. However, it appears that Soji realizes that her mother may be lying due to micro expressions as she speaks, which provides her first clue that something is very wrong.
• Broken Tears: Ramdha begins crying after Soji inquires about her assimilation by the Borg, and it's the first sign that her mental state (which is already very fragile because she's a psychiatric patient) will soon unravel to suicidal extremes.
• Calling Out for Not Calling: Raffi is more angry that Picard made no attempts to see her, check on her, or even call her in the fourteen years since they last spoke than she is about him giving up on the Romulan rescue plan and costing her her job. A chastened Picard admits that he should have done better to make sure that she was all right.
• Call-Back:
  • When discussing Picard, La Sirena's ENH mentions events from several The Next Generation episodes and movies. These include Picard's interactions with the Q (which started in "Encounter at Farpoint" and continued at least through "All Good Things..."), being the Arbiter of Succession for the Klingons ("Reunion", "Redemption"), saving Earth from Borg attack (Star Trek: First Contact; possibly also "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"), and working with Spock ("Unification II").
  • Laris is the second Romulan in the franchise to tell someone that Romulan disruptors don't have a stun setting.
• Cane Fu: Picard uses his cane to strike down one of the Romulans who invade his chateau.
• Catchphrase: In-Universe; Rios looks to Picard to give the order "Engage!" Raffi just rolls her eyes.
• Classified Information:
  • Hugh is the Executive Director of the Borg Reclamation Project, yet he's not permitted to view Ramdha's Romulan dossier even though she's his patient in the Disordered Ward.
  • Hugh is astonished that Soji somehow knows that the imperial scout ship Shaenor with its 26 Romulan passengers was the last vessel assimilated by the Artifact, because no one outside the Tal Shiar has access to that information.
• Continuity Nod:
  • During the flashback, Raffi mentions the shipyards at 40 Eridani A and Beta Antares, which had only been seen on dedication plaques for other Starfleet ships.
  • Agnes listens to Kasseelian opera, a musical genre that Dr. Culber adored.
• Cool Chair: Rios tells Picard to take a seat, and Picard deliberately avoids the first chair which belongs to The Captain.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Rios first hints at something terrible in his backstory aboard the ibn Majid.
  Rios: I already had one grand, heroic captain in my life. The last thing I need is another one. Ten years on, I still can't close my eyes at night without seeing the last one's blood and brains splattered all over a bulkhead!
• Didn't See That Coming: When it looked like the Romulan rescue mission was teetering on the edge of failure, Picard stated that Starfleet could either authorize his revised plan or accept his resignation, expecting that no one would be willing to cashier the legendary Jean-Luc Picard out of Starfleet service. Picard admits that he was completely surprised that they chose to accept his resignation.
• Did You Just Have Sex?: Narissa sniffs her brother and says that she can smell Soji on him, and that it smells "carnal."
• Distressed Dude: The sole surviving Romulan commando at Picard's chateau is tied to a chair and can't free himself from his bonds.
• Dope Slap: Laris whacks the captured assassin upside the head while calling him a "stubborn Northerner, like [Zhaban]".
• Driven to Suicide: Ramdha nearly blows her own brains out after declaring that Soji is "Seb-Cheneb," the Destroyer. Soji barely manages to save her.
• Drugs Are Bad: Raffi's drug habit has increased her paranoia; not the best thing when you may be facing an actual Government Conspiracy.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Emil doesn't appreciate being referred to as "just an EMH."
• Establishing Character Moment: Rios is introduced smoking a cigar and drinking aguardiente while paying little heed to the piece of tritanium in his shoulder. He also eschews the dermal regenerator once the shrapnel is removed and doesn't seem to care that he's still bleeding. Why, yes, he is a rugged badass, thanks for noticing.
• Evil Costume Switch: Narissa is back to her Romulan uniform and appearance.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride for Picard in the opening flashback when he does his Resign in Protest gambit. He was so convinced his own reputation and standing within Starfleet would make them calm down and see reason rather than cashier out the most legendary officer in the contemporary service. Picard's pride blinded him to the realities of the post-Synth Attack politics and situation — and that Starfleet would actually call his bluff.
• Fantastic Flora: Raffi grows a flowering plant called snakeleaf. When smoked, it induces paranoia.
• Fantastic Racism: Hugh explains to Soji that the group who suffers from the most discrimination in the Milky Way galaxy are ex-Borg drones.
  Hugh: There's no more despised people in the galaxy than the xBs. People either see us as property to be exploited, or as a hazard to be warehoused. Our hosts, the Romulans, have a more expansive vision. They see us as both.
• Flashback: The episode opens with the immediate aftermath of the synth attack on Mars. Picard tries to present a revised evacuation plan, but resigns when Starfleet won't accept it. Raffi, a subordinate of his who was also trying to help the Romulans, ends up being fired at the same time.
• Forced Sleep: When Soji calls her "mother," something in the communication (either a tone or Trigger Phrase) causes her to fall asleep within moments.
• Gratuitous French:
  • Zhaban lists the contents of a bag of food, which includes Madame Arnaud's terrine d'oie (goose terrine).
  • Rios warns Picard, "It's about to get real hot chez vous (at your home)." An odd choice for the Hispanic Rios, unless he was playing on Picard's Frenchiness.
• Grievous Bottley Harm: Zhaban smashes a bottle of wine on the head of one of the Zhat Vash hit men.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: The Romulan guard who is present with Soji and Hugh is not attentive to the people that he's supposed to be watching, so Ramhda easily steals his disruptor pistol from its holster. Hugh rightfully demands that the guard in question be removed and disciplined, and reminds the other guards to make sure that their sidearms are secure.
• Hidden Supplies: When Romulan assassins attack Picard, Laris, and Zhaban in the chateau, the trio proceed to fight back with the several phasers that they have stashed about the place. And that's just in the dining room! Given their respective pasts and present activities, it's understandable that they might anticipate needing to shoot someone at a moment's notice.
• Holographic Terminal: Rios pilots his ship with a holographic helm.
• Interrogation Montage: Between Soji interviewing Ramhda on the Borg cube, and Picard on Earth interrogating a captured Zhat Vash assassin.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: The first thing that Picard does after they secure and clean up from the Zhat Vash attack is get Agnes a very large glass of wine.
• I Was Just Passing Through: Picard is delighted when Raffi turns up on Rios's spaceship, but she insists that she's just hitching a lift because they're going to the same destination.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Zhaban prepares to do something painful to the captured Zhat Vash operative before Laris stops him.
  Laris: Nehn vrelev zohzuus. (We are not like them anymore.)
• Just a Machine: Emil doesn't like being described as merely an Emergency Medical Hologram.
  Rios: He's just an EMH.
  Emil: (annoyed) Just.
• Kirk's Rock: This episode has another scene at Raffi's house at the Vasquez Rocks.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Implied with Rios; Picard notes that he's "Starfleet to the core" despite his brusque manner, and his ENH tries to whip up his enthusiasm for working with the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
• Leitmotif: The TNG theme plays as Picard gives his familiar "Engage" and La Sirena departs Earth.
• Left the Background Music On: It's natural for the audience to assume that the opera piece in the Okinawa scene is part of the show's soundtrack, but it abruptly ends when Jurati removes her earphones.
• "London, England" Syndrome: In The Teaser, there's an odd city-with-planet variation with "San Francisco, Earth" as the caption. Someone in the production firmly believes that Viewers Are Morons.
• Love Confession: Narek whispers in Soji's ear that he thinks that he's falling in love with her. Of course, he's actually a Honey Trap, but his sister warns him of the dangers of falling In Love with the Mark, so it's left ambiguous whether his intentions are solely to manipulate her.
• National Stereotypes: In-Universe, we have a Romulan version when Laris claims that those who are from the Northern part of Romulus are stubborn when the Zhat Vash commando refuses to answer Picard's questions.
  Zhaban: This is pointless.
  Laris: Yes, because he's a (Dope Slap) stubborn Northerner, like you.
• Neuro-Vault: Soji can't understand why she has knowledge of Classified Information that she should not know, like the details of the last Romulan vessel to be assimilated by the Borg cube.
• Ninja Maid: Laris and Zhaban, being former Tal Shiar, both more than hold their own against the Zhat Vash hit squad.
• Noodle Incident: We never find out the circumstances which led to Rios' shrapnel shoulder injury. When Picard inquires about it, the gruff pilot merely replies, "I didn't die."
• Pardon My Klingon: The assassin whom Picard interrogates calls him a qezhtihn, a Romulan insult.
• Patrick Stewart Speech: Lampshaded. When Rios and Picard meet on Rios's ship, he tells Picard that he's been warned that Picard would be a "speechmaker" after the old captain goes on a tangent about Starfleet.
  Picard: I see this ship is impeccably maintained, every bolt, and clasp, and fitting in place. Everything stowed in regulation Starfleet order. I don't know what happened to you, Rios, or the ibn Majid, but five minutes on this ship, and I know precisely what I'm looking at. You. Are. Starfleet. To the core. I can smell it on you.
  Rios: That's just my tragic sense of life. Raffi warned me you were a speechmaker.
• Perverted Sniffing: Because of the Incest Subtext between Narissa and her brother Narek, when she sniffs his neck to determine if he had sex with Soji (a Romulan's olfactory sense is superior to a human's), it's a little creepy.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • Raffi suspected that the Tal Shiar were behind the synth attack on Mars and had help inside Starfleet to do it. She's right on one count, and half-right on another, and the Zhat Vash may just be fanatic enough to doom their own species if it meant stopping the synths.
  • Laris and Zhaban have evidently stashed weapons all over Picard's vineyard just in case someone tries to kill him. Given Picard's reputation and current investigation, this is an entirely reasonable precaution that pays off.
• Rubber-Forehead Aliens: It's established here that the more rubber-foreheaded Romulans (like Zhaban) are Northerners.
• Scenery Porn: Jurati has a magnificent view of the Okinawan sea shore while eating lunch just outside of the Daystrom Institute.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!:
  Rios: You breaking any laws? Planning to?
  Picard: I don't know. I'm not in the habit of consulting lawyers before I do what needs to be done.
• Series Continuity Error: Hugh says that the "disordered" on the cube are the only Romulans assimilated by the Borg. What about Orek? Admittedly, Hugh hedges it with "as far as I know."
• Shiny-Looking Spaceships: One of the things that Picard picks up about Rios is that, despite his cavalier and roguish facade, he is meticulous about the maintenance and appearance of his ship: there is no clutter, every fitting is in place, and its interior is spit-and-polished to Starfleet spec.
• Shirtless Scene: Cristóbal Rios is shirtless because the EMH has to remove a large piece of shrapnel which is embedded in his shoulder.
• Sinister Shades: Oh wears sunglasses when she goes to interrogate Agnes, despite not needing them on account of being a Vulcan. invokedWord of God says that she was deliberately trying to look intimidating.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: Picard admits that, as hard as he has tried to make a life for himself at his family's chateau, it is not his home anymore.
• Suicide Pill: The captured Zhat Vash assassin uses an acid capsule, just like the one that killed Dahj, both to kill himself and to try to take Zhaban with him. He fails at the latter, but succeeds at the former.
• Super-Reflexes: Without even thinking, Soji is able to cross the room, disarm Ramhda before she can shoot herself in the head, and hold her until additional guards enter the room. All in a matter of seconds.
• These Hands Have Killed: Agnes is visibly distressed when she is informed that the Romulan disruptor that she shot a Zhat Vash agent with does not have a stun setting.
• Threat Backfire: In the flashback, Picard figured that he could push Starfleet into aiding the Romulans by threatening to resign and leave them with the public relations nightmare of one of their most revered admirals quitting on them. Picard admits he never expected Starfleet to accept his resignation without hesitation.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: For whatever reason, the Cube suffered a critical failure after assimilating the Romulans. Soji attempts to pry the reason why out of Ramhda, which causes her to rant about Soji being a threat before trying to kill herself.
• Vagueness Is Coming: The Zhat Vash are adamant that Soji is "the Destroyer" who will bring ruin, but they don't get any more specific on any details.
• We Have Reserves: A non-ruthless variant (and, unlike other examples, applied to a loss of life that nobody saw coming)— after the rescue armada is destroyed, Raffi suggests continuing the evacuation (albeit at a reduced scale) by refitting mothballed ships and reactivating reserve personnel. Picard then reveals that Starfleet Command shot down her idea.
• You Are Number 6: Ramdha is known as Patient 4822 stroke 2, and Hugh identifies her as such to the Romulan security guard when he brings Soji to the Disordered Ward to visit her.
• You Are the Translated Foreign Word: During Ramhda's Freak Out when she recognizes Soji:
  Ramhda: I know who you are! You are Seb-Cheneb! You are the Destroyer!

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