Star Trek Picard – 3x07: Dominion
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tori_reviewsStar Trek Picard – 3x07: Dominion
This episode isn’t bad, and even my criticisms are going to be…complicated, but it’s also pretty messy.
All the stuff with Vadik so badly wants to be an old school interrogation and discussion and even morality episode, but it keeps jumping back to the action plot that breaks up the flow a lot. The plot strand dealing with Data is itself torn between being an action plot vs. a ‘human’ interest plot and exploration of what it means to be human. And the action plot itself has some interesting developments that I wouldn’t even say that I’m against. But all these aspects clash against each other in a very messy way, yet one that can’t be pulled apart because they are all coming from the same base matter.
It is a little funny to think that if Worf had been around for this ep, he could have just told the others that apparently Starfleet had warped the truth a bit when it came to the Changeling plague and cure. Because, yeah, that was all Odo now that I think about it. Worf might also have been able to comment that Changelings are weird, because Odo did the same thing, basing his look on the scientist that experimented on him initially. This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted Worf to be there for, because his experience with the Changelings and the Dominion War would have been so different from those that were on the Enterprise (it might have been a little awkward, but maybe we could have mentioned Jadzia?).
I think it would have made the Picard/Crusher-Vadik scenes even more compelling to have someone with a different view point (also to actually explore Beverly’s shifting moral compass, but that’s a different complaint). Have Picard stand for what Starfleet claims to be and aspires to be, while Vadik is trying to drag up the corruption that Picard is blind to. While Worf could be someone who knows and has long known that Starfleet isn’t perfect and has done some shady things, but maybe he thinks they were necessary because of the enemy they were facing at the time (hell, they’re in the Chitaka system, Worf fought in the battles there, saw a lot of people die, that could easily have been brought up…wait, were they fighting in Chitaka when Jadzia died – back on the station, but Worf was at the battle – damn, if that’s the case then this missed a dozen tricks). You (and the characters) can argue that’s a wrong way to look at it, that we/they shouldn’t take the stance that (…I’m not going to look up the latin ep title) in times of war the law falls silent; but it’s a debate that I could have seen happening (just…maybe not when they have to keep cutting to action scenes).
(And yes, I don’t want to ignore that this episode vaguely gestures at doing something with Beverly’s character development, but it’s very low on the stack of priorities and doesn’t actually get explored much.)
Also, I feel like Seven might have something to say on the subjects being brought up here. She may not have experienced the Dominion War, but she has been part of a collective culture, and been party to plans that basically poisoned that society as a necessary tactic.
That said…I find this backstory a bit…suspect. Not that I think I’m supposed to assume Vadik is lying (I actually wish we didn’t see the flashbacks, and we just had to decide whether to take her at her word or not), but I’m really not clear on the timing for this to happen. Were the captive Changelings from the Link or were they part of the 100 sent out with Odo (I guess 99 sent with Odo)? At what point in the war were they captured? While never confirmed, it was suggested that there could be as few as four Changelings in the Alpha Quadrant leading the Dominion. If there were nine captives, plus the ones that weren’t caught, that’s a lot more that had been running around, and they weren’t actually seen that often on DS9.
Also, the virus was developed long before the war started. Had these captives been found before the war started too, and they were used to develop the virus? That would actually make a lot of sense, but if Starfleet had already captured nine Changelings in their midst within the first year and change after they even found out the Changelings and Dominion existed, I think that would have been relevant information; it certainly would have lent more cause the Layton’s coup attempt and heightened security measures. If they were all captured during the war, then I have different questions, like were they all captured together? Were they all exposed to the same tests? I can kind of see the argument that the researchers would have a reason to be testing how Changeling physiology responded to certain stimuli so that they could develop better means of rooting them out, but I still kind of question what the end goal of all of this was. Also, if they weren’t part of the 100 who were just learning to exist in solid forms, then I find the comparison to Odo adopting Mora’s look to be a little weaker, as Odo was young and that was sort of how he learned what people looked like so that’s what he copied; a trained infiltrator Changeling would seem less likely to copy the look of her tormentor.
I’d also like to point out that Vadik trying to paint the Federation as the bad guys because they did experiments on captured Changelings is at least the pot calling the kettle black, and mostly rings hollow. Oh, genetic experiments on sentient beings is bad? I’d like you to meet the Jem’hadar; and the Vorta; and who knows how many other species.
Also this really doesn’t explain what’s up with Vadik’s hand. Her hand demon talks about her ‘kind’ as if the hand isn’t part of her ‘kind’ so I’m not sure I follow how this works. Also, also, the more we learn about what these Changelings are, the less it makes sense that there was a bucket to be found a few episodes ago. Also, also, also, I am now less clear than I was before how Jack killed the Changelings a few eps back, apparently they don’t die from being shot…except that they did before.
…I think the fact that my thoughts lean toward Changeling matters just further highlights how much DS9 was my main Trek.
I also just don’t know how to speculate on what’s going on with Jack. Except that I think maybe a better use of Crusher’s time would have been look into Data’s comment about the Irimadic Syndrome diagnosis perhaps being flawed/mistaken. But that gets dropped in and then the characters ignore it; which isn’t how I like my Trek, when these characters get a clue to the mystery they’re supposed to go after it.
I don’t love how the Geordie and Data stuff was written, though I can see a good idea there. It just has no room to work with since a whole lot of it is basically just there to be a plot point. If this is the last of the problems with Data’s composite brain it’s a pretty shallow resolution, but I’m not sure they have any more time to flesh it out in the coming episodes.
I want to have something to say about the Tuvok opening, and it was fairly effective, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it could have. Voyager wasn’t exactly my main Trek by a long shot.
However, I kept getting distracted by the thought that Riker and Troi are just over on the other ship (at least they were the last time we saw them). I basically kept expecting it to come up, either as a bargaining chip or we find out that the pair of them have somehow managed to escape and were about to throw some sort of money wrench into Vadik’s actions. I guess I still am expecting it to happen next time.
This episode isn’t bad, and even my criticisms are going to be…complicated, but it’s also pretty messy.
All the stuff with Vadik so badly wants to be an old school interrogation and discussion and even morality episode, but it keeps jumping back to the action plot that breaks up the flow a lot. The plot strand dealing with Data is itself torn between being an action plot vs. a ‘human’ interest plot and exploration of what it means to be human. And the action plot itself has some interesting developments that I wouldn’t even say that I’m against. But all these aspects clash against each other in a very messy way, yet one that can’t be pulled apart because they are all coming from the same base matter.
It is a little funny to think that if Worf had been around for this ep, he could have just told the others that apparently Starfleet had warped the truth a bit when it came to the Changeling plague and cure. Because, yeah, that was all Odo now that I think about it. Worf might also have been able to comment that Changelings are weird, because Odo did the same thing, basing his look on the scientist that experimented on him initially. This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted Worf to be there for, because his experience with the Changelings and the Dominion War would have been so different from those that were on the Enterprise (it might have been a little awkward, but maybe we could have mentioned Jadzia?).
I think it would have made the Picard/Crusher-Vadik scenes even more compelling to have someone with a different view point (also to actually explore Beverly’s shifting moral compass, but that’s a different complaint). Have Picard stand for what Starfleet claims to be and aspires to be, while Vadik is trying to drag up the corruption that Picard is blind to. While Worf could be someone who knows and has long known that Starfleet isn’t perfect and has done some shady things, but maybe he thinks they were necessary because of the enemy they were facing at the time (hell, they’re in the Chitaka system, Worf fought in the battles there, saw a lot of people die, that could easily have been brought up…wait, were they fighting in Chitaka when Jadzia died – back on the station, but Worf was at the battle – damn, if that’s the case then this missed a dozen tricks). You (and the characters) can argue that’s a wrong way to look at it, that we/they shouldn’t take the stance that (…I’m not going to look up the latin ep title) in times of war the law falls silent; but it’s a debate that I could have seen happening (just…maybe not when they have to keep cutting to action scenes).
(And yes, I don’t want to ignore that this episode vaguely gestures at doing something with Beverly’s character development, but it’s very low on the stack of priorities and doesn’t actually get explored much.)
Also, I feel like Seven might have something to say on the subjects being brought up here. She may not have experienced the Dominion War, but she has been part of a collective culture, and been party to plans that basically poisoned that society as a necessary tactic.
That said…I find this backstory a bit…suspect. Not that I think I’m supposed to assume Vadik is lying (I actually wish we didn’t see the flashbacks, and we just had to decide whether to take her at her word or not), but I’m really not clear on the timing for this to happen. Were the captive Changelings from the Link or were they part of the 100 sent out with Odo (I guess 99 sent with Odo)? At what point in the war were they captured? While never confirmed, it was suggested that there could be as few as four Changelings in the Alpha Quadrant leading the Dominion. If there were nine captives, plus the ones that weren’t caught, that’s a lot more that had been running around, and they weren’t actually seen that often on DS9.
Also, the virus was developed long before the war started. Had these captives been found before the war started too, and they were used to develop the virus? That would actually make a lot of sense, but if Starfleet had already captured nine Changelings in their midst within the first year and change after they even found out the Changelings and Dominion existed, I think that would have been relevant information; it certainly would have lent more cause the Layton’s coup attempt and heightened security measures. If they were all captured during the war, then I have different questions, like were they all captured together? Were they all exposed to the same tests? I can kind of see the argument that the researchers would have a reason to be testing how Changeling physiology responded to certain stimuli so that they could develop better means of rooting them out, but I still kind of question what the end goal of all of this was. Also, if they weren’t part of the 100 who were just learning to exist in solid forms, then I find the comparison to Odo adopting Mora’s look to be a little weaker, as Odo was young and that was sort of how he learned what people looked like so that’s what he copied; a trained infiltrator Changeling would seem less likely to copy the look of her tormentor.
I’d also like to point out that Vadik trying to paint the Federation as the bad guys because they did experiments on captured Changelings is at least the pot calling the kettle black, and mostly rings hollow. Oh, genetic experiments on sentient beings is bad? I’d like you to meet the Jem’hadar; and the Vorta; and who knows how many other species.
Also this really doesn’t explain what’s up with Vadik’s hand. Her hand demon talks about her ‘kind’ as if the hand isn’t part of her ‘kind’ so I’m not sure I follow how this works. Also, also, the more we learn about what these Changelings are, the less it makes sense that there was a bucket to be found a few episodes ago. Also, also, also, I am now less clear than I was before how Jack killed the Changelings a few eps back, apparently they don’t die from being shot…except that they did before.
…I think the fact that my thoughts lean toward Changeling matters just further highlights how much DS9 was my main Trek.
I also just don’t know how to speculate on what’s going on with Jack. Except that I think maybe a better use of Crusher’s time would have been look into Data’s comment about the Irimadic Syndrome diagnosis perhaps being flawed/mistaken. But that gets dropped in and then the characters ignore it; which isn’t how I like my Trek, when these characters get a clue to the mystery they’re supposed to go after it.
I don’t love how the Geordie and Data stuff was written, though I can see a good idea there. It just has no room to work with since a whole lot of it is basically just there to be a plot point. If this is the last of the problems with Data’s composite brain it’s a pretty shallow resolution, but I’m not sure they have any more time to flesh it out in the coming episodes.
I want to have something to say about the Tuvok opening, and it was fairly effective, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it could have. Voyager wasn’t exactly my main Trek by a long shot.
However, I kept getting distracted by the thought that Riker and Troi are just over on the other ship (at least they were the last time we saw them). I basically kept expecting it to come up, either as a bargaining chip or we find out that the pair of them have somehow managed to escape and were about to throw some sort of money wrench into Vadik’s actions. I guess I still am expecting it to happen next time.
