- Director
- Doug Aarniokoski
- Writers
- Samantha Humphrey, Michael Chabon
- Rating
- TV-PG
- Running Time
- 44 minutes
- Airs
- Thursdays
- Channel
- CBS All Access, Amazon Prime
Overall Score
Rating Summary
For our review of last week’s episode, click here.
Another flashbacks where Doctor Jurati enjoys a meal she is confronted by Commodore Oh, the Director of Starfleet Security. Jurati is interrogated about her conversations with Admiral Picard regarding synthetic life-forms and they want her to work for Starfleet as a spy on his crew. The Commodore mind melds with Jurati to show the dangers of synthetic life which pushes her to do as Starfleet asks. Here’s what happened in “Nepenthe.”
Last week’s episode was action-packed and finally pushed forward the narrative of this season beyond the expositionary catch up from TNG. However, Nepenthe decides to bring that action to a halt and go back to a character-driven talking head narrative. While this usually would be the downfall of a story, it manages to work here and makes for the best episode of Picard yet.
As Picard and Soji escape from the Borg Cube they arrive at the planet of Nepenthe where they hope to hide. The reason Picard chose this planet is it has become the secret home of his former crewmembers, Number One Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Ship Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Rather than be a quick cameo appearance like the previous members of Star Trek past, this episode focuses heavily on their past relationships and how they have grown over the years between these two series.
While the rest of the episode pushes the narrative forward whether it’s on the Borg cube or La Sirena, the story excels when it is following Picard and Soji. The episode does a ton for Soji’s character development, bringing an immense amount of emotional depth to this character that has previously felt one-dimensional. That paired with Picard’s concern for her and his constant quips with his former crewmembers and Picard finally finds a place where it can absolutely shine.
Captain’s Log
- Will Dr. Jurati betray her crew?
- What’s in store for Picard and Soji?
What did you think of “Nepenthe”? Let me know in the comments below!
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