Season 1, Episode 6: ‘The Impossible Box’
In this week’s “Star Trek: Picard,” the puzzle pieces, scattered in the first half of the season, finally start coming together. Picard reunites with Hugh on the captured Borg cube and finally connects with Soji. But not before Narek finally makes his intentions clear and tries to murder Soji, who at this point discovers who she really is: an android.
Soji is a character constantly in search of secrets in a world hiding them from her. She knows Narek is hiding something and probes him for answers, to which she gets none — not even his real name. She suspects that there is more to her identity, but he doesn’t quite know what. Narek has to thread the needle here: Soji needs to know just enough to find the location of other synthetics, but not so much that she gets activated.
He almost gets away with it too. First, he places her in what appears to be a Romulan sauna and probes her dreams for clues about the whereabouts of the other synthetics. Then he locks her in and tries to poison her. Not a great date if you ask me!
This was a marvelous bit of directing by Maja Vrvilo: “Picard” has already shown its willingness to kill off a seemingly main character with Soji’s sister, Dahj. So killing off Soji didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility for the show. The way the scene is shot is full of tension as a result. But Soji gets activated regardless, and her superhuman strength — I should say, her android muscle — gets her out of the situation.
I thought this was the best episode of the season, with some caveats. “Picard” has a tendency to rely on some clumsy exposition to help viewers remember details or to fill in back stories for plot lines to come. When Jurati is reminding the audience why Picard is uneasy about being on a Borg cube, it felt off. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of the character knows why Picard does not want to go back. But it does lead to a nice opportunity to watch Patrick Stewart dial into Picard’s anger at the Borg — much as he did in “Star Trek: First Contact.”
“They don’t change,” Picard snarls. “They metastasize.”
Speaking of “First Contact,” there are some lovely callbacks during this episode, including references to the Borg Queen and a glimpse of Picard as Locutus. In one great shot, Picard faces the projection screen with Locutus’s picture on it, and the camera swivels around to juxtapose the two faces, underscoring his internal tension.
But there’s no bigger callback than the reunion between Hugh and Picard. Here, I must register a small complaint. It is certainly wonderful as a Trek fan to see two beloved characters from some of the best episodes of “The Next Generation” reunite. But the version of Hugh that Jonathan Del Arco plays in “Picard” seems entirely different from the intensely earnest one he played in “The Next Generation.”
I realize that Hugh evolved and reclaimed more of his humanity. People change and grow over time. Certainly, former Borg drones who leave the collective do. Hugh doesn’t have as many cybernetic implants now. And I credit Del Arco with bringing warmth to this version of Hugh. Jeri Ryan did something similar with her resurrection of Seven of Nine. It feels almost as if these characters had been totally recast.
I am being nitpicky here, of course. Ryan and Del Arco are excellent at their craft. I just wish we saw a bit more of the personalities we became accustomed to before “Picard” — Hugh’s oblivious sincerity, Seven of Nine’s well-meaning desire for order — rather than a wholesale reinvention.
Even so, Del Arco’s Hugh is compelling and helps Picard and Soji escape by leading them to the “Queen’s Cell.”
I will register a louder complaint. WHY. DOES. PICARD. LEAVE. ELNOR. BEHIND?! There was no reason for it! Even Picard asks — exasperated, “What are you doing?” when Elnor says he is staying behind to fight. Picard and Soji are able to step through the spatial trajector before the other Romulans arrive — so why does Elnor need to stay?
This was such a waste of a great fighter. It feels like a gaping plot hole in a series that has otherwise been the most tightly written stretch of “Trek” episodes in the franchise. And do the Romulans even know about the spatial trajector? The implication from Hugh is that this Queen’s Cell is in a hiding spot of sorts.
Odds And Ends:
Jurati, who deftly hid her murderous ways in last week’s episode, begins a romance with Rios as he kicks around a soccer ball shirtless. (Not the first soccer reference on “Star Trek,” by the way.) I’m still not sure what to make of Jurati — but she seems genuinely remorseful for murdering Maddox. Or she could be a well-trained Romulan spy. Or both. And I’m certainly not sure of what to make of her being relieved about not having to go to the Borg cube.
Raffi seems to be spiraling, although she deftly talks a Starfleet official into letting Picard request diplomatic credentials to board the Borg cube and deduces that the Romulans have kept Dahj alive for a reason. She is presented as someone for whom work is the only thing that can get her to focus. It’s her therapy. Yet, this episode makes clear that work isn’t enough. The scene with Raffi and Rios shows that her estrangement from her son is a source of deep frustration. Even a hard mission can’t solve that.
So what happens with Hugh here? When we leave him, he is about to help Elnor fight off the oncoming Romulans. Presumably, the Romulans won’t be happy with him for helping Picard escape. So shouldn’t he have gone with Soji too? He could want to stay help out the reclaimed drones, but I am not sure how he does that now.
Did anyone notice the former Borg drone who recognizes Locutus and calls his name in the hallway? And also that Picard turns his head? A nice touch there by Stewart and Vrvilo.
This was not the first “Star Trek” episode to deal with an android’s dreams. Recall the “Next Generation” episode “Phantasms” as well as “Birthright,” during which Data discovers his own evolution.
Source: Television - nytimes.com
