You will surrender, surrender to the… we’ll leave that for a while. Still directed by Deborah Kampmeier, there isn’t much to say there that hasn’t already been said. While “Surrender” is written by someone I’ve bemoaned multiple times over in a previous season, Matthew Okumura. Okumura was the story editor for most of season 2, as well as part of this season. Giving up the reigns following “No Win Scenario,” this is his final credit of Star Trek: Picard and only writing credit for Star Trek. Okumura also previously wrote one episode of Smallville, “Fever” from season 2.

So Vadic took the Titan, held many of the bridge crew hostage, and demanded Jack get his mysterious hole up to the bridge. Being in the med bay with his parents (including the robot) and the young woman he wants to sleep with, who is his dad’s friend’s daughter, his surrender is vetoed 3-1. Meanwhile, Reading Rainbow and his actual daughter playing his fictional daughter are locked in a computer mainframe with a robot that has multiple personalities: An old friend and a spiteful enemy. Oh, and Bill is under arrest for his wife’s crimes in Mass Effect 1.

At least it took a paragraph this time to run down the episode and a bit of catch-up, but I did that thing I called myself out on last time too. With Vadic holding the second sexiest character in Star Trek hostage as well as Seven, she’s making demands of Jack that include the typical “kill a hostage a minute until I get what I want.” Not much of a stretch for Amanda Plummer, especially given she was in a small indie film called Pulp Fiction. However, there isn’t much hope for our heroes of Canton, separated and helpless without a very smart robotic friend to assist.

Yes, since I was so happy pointing out tropes before and mentioning the hostage-killing tactic, in fairness I should do it here too. “Surrender” is the episode where we have the white room that is the center of someone’s mind (damn you Wachowskis!), and two entities are fighting for dominance. Though I do seem to have a dismissive tone, I think it is important to point out I don’t hate “Surrender.” Far from it.

“Surrender” is a dark yet breezy episode that builds up the mystery not on some kind of mystery box, but on substance. I’m not ending the review here, but that’s the type of thing you do say towards the end. For as much as it tries to lump emotional stakes onto the 30-something playing a teenager/20-something, a thing I typically hate for the most part, something is clicking. I don’t know what, even a year and a bit on from its original airing, just something.

I won’t say it is just nostalgia, I think it is more than that. I’ve been teasing the “I sort of care about Jack” and it’s true to a degree, but I think I care more for Sidney and Alandra at this point. I care more about Kestra too. Jack is trying to make decisions himself that put him in danger in attempts to save the crew. Sidney does too but without putting the crew in danger, and her character is also dominated by trying to defy Geordi. Jack is a Picard, like it or not, he will throw himself into danger at a moment’s notice.

What I’ve found is that you can like Jack to a point, but eventually the “kid” is just going to be a kid and put everyone else in danger for a bit. The grown-ups then need to come in and save the day. That’s where I keep saying that Picard season 3 is just TNG season 8. It is JL and Jack that are putting the crew and friends in danger, but it is up to the grown-ups in the room to solve the problems. Most importantly, we got the TNG crew in the conference room.

“Surrender” is a solid episode of Star Trek, which isn’t something I could say at this point in the show of other seasons. It does have nostalgia but it doesn’t feel like that’s what we’re relying on to tell the story, we’re telling a story that just happens to have elements of prior seasons and shows sprinkled in. We’re adding to the characters, not seeing their stories be retread for a new generation, the next even. Data is the perfect example, as this is the third time he is been reactivated but not just to be reactivated, he has a sense of humor now and uses contractions.

Not that this is the biggest thing about the episode. I try to avoid talking about very late-stage parts to avoid spoilers, but I can’t really do that here. There is a big red line drawn under Vadic and that story is done with, we’ll not see her again. Why am I mentioning that? We’re still two episodes from the end and the villain we’ve had, the one we’ve been effectively scared of, has ended their story. Beautifully, might I add, with a final line, “fucking solids.”

As I’ve said in these season 3 reviews, it is that false sense of security thing we’ve got in the storytelling. We thought we’d already hit the peak of Act 2, but it turns out she’s just the underling. That was kind of already the point, especially with Skullface talking to her and talking down to her, but the point is more so that we’re about to get the big villain revealed. A big villain reveal in an episode called “Võx.”

Ultimately, “Surrender” isn’t anything special when it comes to season 3 of Picard, but to the rest of the series it very much so is. When Data is handing Lore all his stuff, that’s sort of fan service but getting away with it, yet I’ll say I was happy at the meek and scared “yes” after Geordi asks if it is his friend. A solid episode that does enough with characters to move them forward and enough with the plot to make “Võx” an interesting next episode.

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Star Trek: Picard "Surrender"

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Vadic's final line of the episode.
• Seven calling out Shaw again.
• We're finally getting that progress on Jack's red door.

Cons

• I wish I could care a bit more about Jack.