Following last week’s “Fly Me To The Moon,” Jonathan Frakes returns to direct “Two of One,” his second of two episodes this season of Star Trek: Picard. I found the episode enjoyable and it reminded me of a few heist films like Ocean’s Eleven; everyone has a part to play in the plot, and everyone gets a moment to shine. With a cast like this, each character and actor absolutely should get a chance to stand out, and most everyone does. As much as I enjoyed the episode, it does give the impression that the season’s overall plot is starting to drag.
The bulk of “Two of One” takes place at the big gala happening in support of the crew of the Europa Mission before they enter quarantine, and our heroes all have something specific to do here, though it mostly seems like they’re just keeping an eye on Renee Picard. Before that can happen, they have to get into the gala itself, which involves Dr Jurati (and her unwelcome Borg guest) infiltrating security and uploading new identities for our crew. With a little help from the Queen, Jurati succeeds, getting the rest of the team into the party while she heads to the bar.
Roughly the first half of the episode includes flash-forwards to bleeding and injured Jean-Luc with his crew surrounding him. This technique worked to add some level of tension to the episode, but I’m personally not a fan of that storytelling tool. To paraphrase Mortimer Smith, start the story where it begins and not when it gets interesting.
Most everyone gets a spotlight moment during the gala, and these are nice little reminders that the show has great characters other than Picard. Rios seems to be revelling in the 21st century, commenting on how good the food was and how intense everything seems to be, and particularly marvelling over a real cigar.
Raffi notices something else in Rios’ lighter manner and posits that he has a certain selfless doctor on his mind and warns him not to move on with whatever he might be feeling. She also sees how “light” Seven seems to be as she mingles with other guests. Raffi is still dealing with the loss of Elnor, as once again she sees his face in another person.
Picard and Tallinn also have a few moments together, with Picard wondering who’s watching over Tallinn while she watches Renee. Tallinn pokes around a bit to find out more about this Laris person Picard keeps mentioning, only to discover how the elder man looks when he lies. Picard also has a wonderful moment when he finally meets Renee and gives her just the sort of pep talk she needed, and one that could only have come from the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. Patrick Stewart once again proves that he’s an even better actor now than he was during TNG’s heyday.
As in previous episodes, a standout relationship is that between Jurati and the Borg Queen. The Queen spends her time prodding Jurati to let loose and have some fun in their shared body while the doctor refuses, citing the mission at hand. Eventually, though, in an effort to keep their cover from being blown, Jurati lets the Queen take control, resulting in a momentary blackout and a phenomenal performance of Pat Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night.”
I love the song, I adore Pat Benatar, and Allison Pill’s rendition is nothing short of remarkable. Not just her singing, but the way the party band knew exactly what she was doing and had a perfect musical arrangement on hand. Perhaps more shenanigans from the Queen?
All is not well, though, as Adam Soong is also at the gala, having become part of the mission’s board of directors. He meets Picard face to face and moves to remove the Frenchman from the party, but Rios’ timely intervention and identity swap (and Jurati) helps Picard make his way to Renee for that aforementioned pep talk. Soong is determined to remove the elder Picard from the equation to help his new “friend” Mr Q, and he hits Jean-Luc with his car as he’s escorting Renee back to the party.
With Renee safely entering quarantine, the crew gathers up the injured Picard and takes him to the only place they can: Teresa Ramirez’s hospital. The doctor stabilizes Picard but he’s comatose. After some spirited discussion with Raffi, Seven, and Rios, Tallinn decides to use her Supervisor tech to enter Picard’s mind and help bring him back, describing it as a “reverse mind-meld.” However, they notice someone is missing from the group…
Soong returns home having failed to stop Renee from going on her mission and talks to his daughter Kore in a manner that makes her wonder just what he’s talking about, particularly referring to her as his life’s work. She does some digging and discovers that she’s not the first of Soong’s “daughters,” but the latest.
After her lovely musical number, Jurati chillingly discovers that this was all a part of the Queen’s plan: get her endorphins up enough to allow the Queen to assume control. And now, the Borg Queen walks the streets of Los Angeles in Agnes Jurati’s body. Oh boy…
I sincerely hope the next episode, “Monsters,” get the season back on track. We’ve had a nice detour into the 21st century, but with Renee’s destiny finally in motion, hopefully, we can wrap up this tangent and get back to the future.
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
