Stardust City Rag is a weird Star Trek episode. To this day, it’s still one of the most ‘controversial’ episodes in this new era of Trek, one of the most discussed even after two years of its release.
Controversial for a certain segment of the fandom, obviously, but at the time of its release it has been discussed by said segment as an example of the new, “negative” course of Star Trek.
If it’s maybe true or not, we’ll discuss it later: but, if nothing, this episode is truly (and weirdly) representative of the first season of Star Trek: Picard, for better and for worse.
A Planet Of Wonders
Seven of Nine is back! She cameoed as a dea ex machina at the end of the previous episode, Absolute Candor, and now she’s back as a fully recurring character. But, much like Picard himself, she’s not the character we left in Endgame: she’s part of the Fenris Ranger, she lost Icheb and now she’s angry and bitter.
The shocking cold open sees the death of Icheb (played by Manu Intiraymi on Voyager, by Casey King in this episode), former Borg drone and Seven’s friend and kind of-adopted son.
He’s tortured and mutilated by Borg implant ravagers, and she’s forced to personally put an end to his misery.
In the present time, La Sirena arrives on Freecloud, Star Trek’s equivalent of Las Vegas: Picard and the rest are on their way to rescue Bruce Maddox.
After Measure of a Man, Bruce Maddox has become one of the Federation’s most renowned scientists, Dr Jurati’s mentor at Daystrom Insitute and the scientist who created Soji and Dahj. He’s held captive by Bjayzl, a greedy black market dealer. But Bruce Maddox isn’t the only person our main characters are looking for: Raffi’s main goal is finding her estranged son, Gabriel; an attempt at reconciliation which is ultimately in vain.
In retrospect, this might actually be one of the most memorable episodes of the season, despite its flaws (which will be discussed shortly).
The cold opener and Icheb’s death might admittedly be the most violent and gruesome scene ever seen in a Star Trek show, almost bordering on horror. That’s what alienated so much fans: for some people, such a horrific and graphic scene feels out of place in a franchise like Star Trek.
Is this violence too much? Is it excessive? Maybe it is, but that’s not the point: the point is that this sort of representation is the most effective way of depicting the despair and hopelessness of this side of the Star Trek galaxy, and a great way of kicking off Seven’s story and character arc in this season.
Much like Freecloud’s shiny and glamourous exterior can hide dangers and evil, Star Trek’s glittering utopia can hide dangers too. Especially in Star Trek: Picard, a show so committed on showing that there’s more behind the more-than-perfect utopian universe Star Trek is said to be, and reality can be harsh and harrowing. The problem is not with this scene: it’s quite the opposite.
Picard, The French Con Artist
The tonal shift from the intense cold opening to the rest of the episode on Stardust City is so glaring it borders on the grotesque. In the first few minutes, Seven is forced to kill her close friend; some scenes later, Rios jokes about having intercourse with his food (yup), Picard mimics an over the top french scoundrel and goofy shenanigans ensue on the quest to obtain information about Maddox and his destiny, only for the episode to end with another dramatic note, with Seven showing her angry, bitter side by murdering Bjayzl in cold blood.
Then Dr Jurati kills Bruce Maddox, her mentor (and lover) for yet to be revealed reasons.
Nothing wrong with goofy humour mixed with drama: it’s just that this combo doesn’t work very well in this particular episode. It’s a tonal whiplash that doesn’t serve the episode well, in its constant shifting between comedic and dramatic bits (and the latter work much better than the first). And it’s a shame because this awkward shift in tones partially distracts from the episode’s more compelling parts.
If the dramatic bits work, though, is thanks to its committed cast, especially Jeri Ryan: her portrayal was set to be more human than the still excellent performance on Voyager, and she delivered greatly with an intense, multifaceted, vulnerable performance. She’s the true highlight of Stardust City Rag, and another welcome return in a season already full of those.
And time has passed for her too: she discovered the cruellest part of humanity, she grew cynical and cold. But, much like with the rest of the galaxy, there’s still hope for a better tomorrow, even if the most cynical of times and places.
Stardust City Freecloud
Stardust City Rag is unbalanced, often clunky, sometimes even cringe-inducing for its humour, but it’s a weirdly memorable episode nonetheless: its (under)world-building isn’t such a novelty for Star Trek and, as mentioned before, it’s highly representative for the first season of Picard
It doesn’t quite achieve all its goals, and it can be a mess sometimes, but great ideas and timely themes (and the always gorgeous visuals) make this journey to Freecloud a bizarre and unmissable Star Trek.
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Star Trek: Picard season 2 premieres March 3 on Paramount+ followed on CTV SciFi Channel in Canada and then March 4 on Amazon Prime Video.
