After a long, two-year wait, a few lucky fans got to see the premiere of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 a day before the rest of the world, and the wait was well worth it! If the first episode is any indication, we’re in for quite a ride for the next few months, and so is Jean-Luc Picard and his team from Season 1.
I’m going to do my absolute best not to spoil anything with this review since the episode was just made available here in the States this morning, Suffice to say, “The Star Gazer” is one of the finest Trek episodes I’ve seen recently and it perfectly sets the stage for the season to follow.
It’s been about a year since the end of Season 1 and the Federation’s lifting of the ban on synthetic life, and in that time the crew of La Sirena have gone their separate ways. Picard has become the chancellor of Starfleet Academy, with Raffi Musiker back in Starfleet as an instructor and Elnor now a cadet, the first fully Romulan one in history.
Cristobal Rios has also returned to Starfleet, commanding the absolutely gorgeous new USS Stargazer, while Seven of Nine commands La Sirena for the Fenris Rangers. Agnes Jurati and Soji Asha have spent the last year touring Federation worlds and spreading the good word that Synths are not a threat to anyone and only want to be a part of the galactic community.
As always, a crisis brings the crew back together, this time taking the form of a subspace anomaly. Again, no spoilers, but the sequences at the anomaly are thrilling and show off the show’s impeccable production design. Every centimetre of the Stargazer is a lovingly crafted evolution of the Next Generation aesthetic for the 25th century. Those scenes warrant much closer examination, and I won’t spoil anything here, so stay tuned to Treksphere for a deep dive!
A major complaint about Picard’s first season was the pacing. The show took nearly three full episodes to get the cast into space and thereby start moving the plot along, and I’m happy to say that the staff has taken that criticism on board. “The Star Gazer” is very tightly paced and wastes no time getting into this season’s various conflicts, not just the anomaly but also character-driven conflicts which help define where everyone is emotionally following the first season.
Relationships have been forged, tested, and, in some cases, broken. This is readily apparent in the episode’s excellent dialogue and the committed performances of the entire cast.
I should talk a little bit about the virtual premiere event Paramount held for fans last Wednesday. Invitations were sent out about a week before the event, and fans could apply for an invite through a URL. Keep an eye on your socials because the solicitation for invites largely spread via Twitter and Facebook.
Little Cinema ran the event and, much like the similar premiere for Discovery Season 4, it was a live stream of “The Star Gazer,” followed by an after-party set at Guinan’s Ten Forward bar in Los Angeles (it may very well have been filmed at the Ten Forward Experience, going on right now in LA) wherein fans could participate in pub trivia events and the hosts did quick interviews with Orla Brady (Laris), Santiago Cabrera (Rios), and executive producer Akiva Goldsman.
Again, keep an eye on your socials; I suspect Paramount will do something similar for the May launch of Strange New Worlds. I very highly recommend trying to get into the next premiere event; I’ve attended the last two and both were a great time and an excellent chance to connect with fellow fans.
Overall, “The Star Gazer” is a fantastic start to what will undoubtedly be an exhilarating season, and thanks to the premiere event I can confirm that the next episode is even better!
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Picard airs on Paramount+ in the United States, and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. Outside of North America, the series is available on Amazon Prime Video
