Like father, like son. Directed by the man himself, Terry Matalas helms the chair for only the second show he’s directed and the 5th episode of a show he was show-running. The other is 12 Monkeys. “Võx” is also written by Sean Tretta, writing his third and final episode of Star Trek: Picard. Which was co-written by story editor Kiley Rossetter, also her final role as writer for Picard. There isn’t much to say on the production side, especially on the penultimate episode of the whole show. So let’s talk about it.

The chills that ran down my arms for that cold open, almost paralyzing them, that’s what I think prior seasons were missing. With Counselor Troi closing out the episode last time in “Surrender,” talking Jack up to the mysterious red door, we finally open it. Not just lightning and thunder, out jumps some character you forgot about from TNG that makes no impact. It’s something scary enough to make Deanna run from JL’s Jr. So, if the father was the one who speaks, the son may just be the voice.

You can try and trick me into thinking it is just, to quote Roger Moore, “a woman,” but even I know Alice Krige when I hear her. With Jack running off to find her, to find the voices in his head, the crew of the Titan need to head to the center of Frontier Day celebrations. Happy Frontier Day, we’re all going to die! With Starfleet hunting the Admiral, former Captain, the former Borg, and the best character in the whole series, plus Data, Geordi, and the gang, Picard’s grand idea to save his runaway son is to warn Starfleet of a twisted tail, a thousand eyes, trapped forever… EPA! EPA! EPA!

Nope wait, that’s another senile old man ranting about something that’s going to kill us all. I’ll also avoid listening to the one talking about cats and dogs. I should probably listen to the old man shouting about the Borg, though, which have been missing for 10 years, apparently. It is where we’ve been heading, it should have been easier to spot when we knew it wasn’t Irumodic syndrome, It was right there all along. The Skull-Face with an obscured side, Vadic being a separatist, a rebel movement, she’d be cut off from the Great Link.

“Võx” is easily one of the more emotional episodes for me, possibly because I’ve been emotional all week. I guess I’m on my man-period. I will say that I’m still not as connected to Jack as I should be, but for everyone else (minus Raffi), I’m emotionally pushing every one of them to their conclusion. Yes, I keep hitting Picard with this same stick, but that’s the power of a good season of TV; the prior crap seasons look worse as a result.

Plot-wise it is quite simple. Jack rejects the protocol of Starfleet which would see the “young” bio-Borg lobotomized by Vulcans and sectioned under the Mental Health Act. As a result, Jean-Luc advises Captain Shaw to go directly into the Frontier Day celebrations, where undoubtedly something will go wrong, of which it does. Meanwhile, Bev was figuring out that the Irumodic syndrome was misdiagnosed and we find out the Borg with the help from the Changelings have been implanting a form of biological warfare into the transporters. Therefore when the crew arrives, assimilation begins.

However, assimilation only occurs in those 25 or younger. With Borg-like precision the crew members under the age of 25 start attacking the none-Borg crew, including aboard the Titan. Both Sidney and Alandra are under 25 and have of course used the Starfleet transporters. I know at that point we’re supposed to care about the safety of the TNG crew and Seven, but I honestly was sat there the first time having my heartstrings tugged by “some dipshit from Chicago.”

I’ve been emotional all week, but watching as the main crew escaped via the engineering shuttle, I was an emotional mess. From Shaw telling everyone to get on the shuttle, he’ll hold off the Borg – the thing he couldn’t do during Wolf359, I knew what was coming. To the moment Seven is holding him as he bleeds out, which is when I had to pay 10 times the dice roll to Water Works, the very moment he finally calls her Seven of Nine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, crying while eating pasta isn’t a good look.

Though, the idea that Jean-Luc Picard is out here saying “We’ve not seen the Borg in 10 years,” meanwhile season 2 took place in 2401. Frontier Day commemorates the NX-01’s voyage in April 2151, so which is it Jean-Luc? This is why I keep saying that Season 3 of Picard doesn’t really need season 1 and 2. It is a bit inconsistent when it comes to connections. He’s still positronic, Q is dead and Seven and Raffi are in lesbians with each other. However, the two seasons that heavily featured The Borg in some shape or form weren’t actually the Borg? Both editors worked on season 2, by the way.

That’s the one flaw of a fantastic episode that knew exactly how to set up for a finale. With the greatest Starfleet Captain ever killed by his Borg-ified crew, the TNG (leaving Seven and Raffi behind) crew escape to… the fleet museum? With all modern ships now connected, all able to unify, collect, and assimilate, the crew needed something a bit retro, a bit analog. They needed the home screen of my SteamVR, the bridge of the Enterprise D.

See Paramount, I was nice, I didn’t bemoan your stupid decision about Stage9’s cease-and-desist. However, I agree with JL, I miss the carpet most of all. I love Star Trek, but a large amount of the design in recent years (thanks Abrams) has been darker, shinier, metallic, and lacking any sense of color. Additionally, there’s a complete lack of lighting that would make working quite difficult, along with a whole host of other complaints I have. It is no more exemplified than that transition from the engineering shuttle, which is monotonal and uninteresting, to just the magnificently colorful LCARS designed by Michael Okuda, and yes, the carpeted floor.

“Võx” is absolutely playing on the nostalgia, but I have to say that it feels earned. Where prior seasons just threw memories at you, this was built on character: Shaw stopping to defend against the Borg, killed by the thing he feared the most; building to the Enterprise D and not letting it just be a minor prop; and the ability to make me care about a finale of Picard once again. It feels like the Borg are a threat, something other seasons missed out on. Due to character building, we have a reason to care about saving all of Starfleet.

Ultimately, “Võx” is the penultimate episode of Picard that the show hasn’t had at all. I could do without the idea the 30-something is in fact under 25, I feel like I’m being gaslit for simply using my eyes to see Ed Speleers isn’t young. He just has an old face, plus his actual age already. Otherwise, everything builds, sets up, is brimming with character and emotion, and full of love for the franchise instead of just another continuation of it for the sake of it. A great episode that makes the next more exciting.

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Star Trek: Picard "Võx"

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• So many character points converging.
• The crew returning to the Enterprise D.
• Shaw finally calling Seven by her name.

Cons

• 10 years? Are you sure?
• Still no Olympic-Class ships.