Star Trek: Picard

“The Bounty”

Air date: 3/23/2023
Written by Christopher Monfette
Directed by Dan Liu

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Review Text

"The Bounty" is a jam-packed, kitchen-sink outing that piles on the nostalgia and references like there's no tomorrow, possibly because, for this cast, there soon won't be. We're down to four episodes after this one, and the plot is going to start moving this all toward some sort of a conclusion soon. There's the sense the writers are getting in all their wish-list items, even if some of those items are strange. That "The Bounty" holds together and still makes sense is admirable given how much it throws at us. And it even manages to find thematic connections and emotional resonance through it all, which is definitely a big plus.

The common theme is one of family and legacy as all these characters converge and reflect. (This is the first episode of the season where all the TNG characters/actors appear, and mostly all in one place.) With the Titan on the run from a compromised Starfleet and also from the Shrike, we start getting into the nuts and bolts of the investigation with the crew's arrival at Daystrom Station, which is not so much a research facility as a (yet another dimly lit) abandoned warehouse of illicit technology and Section 31 experiments. Such things stashed away include a genetically modified attack tribble, the "Genesis II Device" and apparently the preserved body of James T. Kirk, ranked in order from least to most objectionable. These are strange, throwaway larks that serve as knowing winks, but they're bizarre and unnecessary, except to add to that kitchen-sink notion I mentioned.

The station is guarded by an "advanced AI system" that at first reveals itself to be a holographic Moriarty (Daniel Davis, reprising the role, but in what turns out is a rather pointless version), who pulls out a pistol and starts shooting, which doesn't seem like the most efficient way of dealing with a security threat in the 25th century. Meanwhile, notes are played over the comm system, which Riker recognizes from his very first encounter with Data in "Encounter at Farpoint," where he attempted to whistle "Pop Goes the Weasel." It's a decent callback.

No, Moriarty here is not the one who was preserved in the memory module (hence the pointlessness of this particular inclusion), but merely a hologram from a memory of the real AI at work here, which is the merged consciousness of Data, Lore, Lal, and B-4, which have been put into a synthetic "golem" by Alton Soong in what was to be his second attempt to cement his legacy before he died with the project still incomplete. (Interestingly, his plan was no longer to extend his own life, but to do what most people do through the legacy of their children, except here through AI.) The record of what was stolen from the station is inside this AI's mind, so the crew beams DataLoreLalB4 aboard the ship to learn what it was.

But let's rewind. In some earlier action, Picard and the Titan crew warp over to a starbase to hide from their pursuers while Riker, Worf, and Raffi are on Daystrom dealing with the AIs. The starbase is actually a "starship museum" featuring a bunch of retired starships from years (and movies and series) past, which provides the excuse for the characters to take a trip down memory lane, while very transparently doing so for the benefit of us Trek fans. We see the Enterprise-A, the Defiant, the Voyager, and even the HMS Bounty, the Klingon bird of prey stolen by Kirk's crew and used in Star Trek IV (which Jack and Sidney decide to steal the cloaking device from to enable the Titan's escape). This is fun to geek out over, but it's also thematically relevant; Seven reflects back on her Voyager days, where she had a family and belonging that she has never since replaced, much to her regret. It's a nice character moment.

It's also at this starbase/museum that we're reunited with Commodore Geordi La Forge, who first has to engage in this series' time-honored tradition of sternly lecturing Picard for putting people at risk, which of course makes Geordi look like the resident killjoy of this reunion tour. But it's all tied into his own troubles over family and legacy. Both his daughters are in Starfleet, and he's still dealing with the fact that Sidney signed up for a ship that puts her in danger far more than he's comfortable with, when he would've rather she'd been an engineer on a safer posting. While it's initially annoying how Geordi comes across as excessively stubborn and gruff, LeVar Burton gradually lets the armor chip away into something more vulnerable and understandable as he works through his personal feelings about the roles his daughters play.

And Picard has his own questions around what legacy means, as we learn here that Jack's visions are actually being caused by Irumodic Syndrome, which he inherited from his father. (That is, unless we learn otherwise by plot turns in future episodes, which seem likely. The Changelings still want him for some reason no one is even aware of.) Jack goes to the holodeck bar and starts drowning his sorrows and says some mean things to Picard, which he apologizes for later. This material is okay, but nothing spectacular. But it fits the theme.

Rewind some more. Worf and Raffi finally make it aboard the Titan, which is good for a reunion (the first of many in this episode). There's some humor mined from the idea that Riker struggles with adjusting to the new and improved quasi-pacifist Worf. And notably, with Raffi now working with the rest of the Titan crew, this puts the character on much more solid footing, allowing the writers to scale back her emotionalism and impulsivity and allow her to just be one of the gang. It's an immediate, significant improvement.

But really, the big question here is what happens when we turn on DataLoreLalB4 (henceforth called "Data"). Will the remnants of Data's memories answer the call? Will we get an unstable android with major multiple personality disorder? Yes, and looks that way. And just what was stolen from Daystrom? Turns out it was Picard's old body (the one that died at the end of season one before his mind was transferred to a synthetic golem). Why? You got me. What could the Changelings possibly want with it, and also Jack? No idea. Is this an insane plot twist that's going to jump the rails? Maybe; time will tell. For now, I'm definitely intrigued. And these character stories, simple as they may be, are working. The actors have retained their secret formula and continue to make them work.

Wow, this review jumped around a lot. It's like a stream of consciousness. It's appropriate for an episode that warps here and there and has no shortage of its own insane bright ideas, and yet with a strange overarching logic governing it all. These characters are making this season really work, even when the plot is nearly undone by its own cleverness. It's becoming increasingly likely the plot here won't add up to a whole lot. I mean, a Changeling terrorist attack on a Federation starship parade? Not especially smart, sci-fi, or complicated. Oh, and which for some reason requires Picard's corpse. Which sounds positively insane. But this season has managed to be so true when it comes to its characters that I'm willing to entertain insanity and even disappointment. We'll see if we get what we want or what we deserve. I'm not even sure if they're the same things or not.

Some other thoughts:

Who is Geordi's wife? Will we find out? I'd prefer it not be Leah Brahms.
Vadic is doing her unhinged villain thing, and it appears here she's a full-on Changeling. I'm not sure why she cut off her hand and then talked to it in that episode a few weeks back, but the lack of an explanation is one of those things that starts to chip away at this season's internal logic and credibility. Let's hope it doesn't turn into the gaping holes of previous seasons.
All the starships warping about gave the episode a nice, open, adventurous feel, even if the season overall is operating like a bottle show on mostly the same sets.
The episode ends with Riker kidnapped to the Shrike, where Troi is being held prisoner. Vadic intends to use Troi as leverage to make Riker help her find Picard. Sure, okay. Pretty standard.
Speaking of geeking out, Shaw, as an engineer, idolizes Geordi, which is a nice touch for this inconsistent character. Although, you'd think that might manifest itself a little more toward Sidney, seeing as she serves under his command.
Picard, upon getting deeper into stolen cloaking devices and still more criminal violations in the name of their mission: "I guess they'll just have to add it to my tab." Stewart's deadpan delivery of this line was quite funny.

Previous episode: Imposters
Next episode: Dominion

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Comment Section

269 comments on this post

Jax

Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 2:44am (UTC -5)

Starflleet will go after the families of people who cross them now? I guess nuStarfleet is the love child of the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order.

Forget Gene...the entirety of classic Trek is spinning in its grave.

The stupid kicks in within seconds in this episode as we opened with the stupid nuTrek "stop on a dime" exit from warp drive.

Is Daystrom a Section 31 facility in nuTrek? Sure seems that way.

Moriarty is reduced to a glorified thug...'member Moriarty? Yeah I ';member.

If Data is what Picard is now, does that mean that Jean-Luc can do that holographic display thing with his eyes too?

The Big Stupid overlying it all is the notion that Picard, who was by all indications a cipher in the Dominion War, seems to be the singular focus of hostility of the nuChangelings simply because the show has his name on it.