Star Trek: Picard (Season 3) Episode 6: Recap & Ending Explained

Star Trek: Picard (Season 3) Episode 6: This was a nostalgia-laden episode. This was the episode where showrunner Terry Matalas and his writer’s room finally let go of their admirable restraint in placing member berries at clever yet opportune moments.

This is also the episode where Geordi LaForge and Data (or is it?) finally enter the stage, choosing to answer almost all the questions while raising newer, more important questions.

Star Trek: Picard (Season 3) Episode 6, Recap:

The Bounty

The episode opens with a beautiful shot of Starships converging at a decoy transporter of the USS Titan, with the Shrike finally arriving at the same spot. The episode shifts inside the Shrike, with Vadic, who had been out of the picture since the Titan had escaped from the Nebula.

We are shown a frustrated Vadic, ranting and raving about the changelings’ suffering to “maintain their face as officers of Starfleet.” While their overarching plot would ultimately end with the Federation’s destruction, they are after vengeance. The helm persistently tries to remind Vadic that Frontier Day is but 72 hours away, and locating Jack Crusher is the priority.

As a slight inkling of mutiny began to be hinted at, Vadic ordered “enough,” to which the changeling beside her drew their weapon and vaporized the would-be mutineer. Vadic then instructs her crew to track down every known associate of Jean-Luc Picard. We will scorch the earth under which he stands, and the night will brighten with the ashes of the Federation,” she declares. “And from them… we will rise.”

Aboard the Titan, Picard and Beverly discuss Jack’s condition, which had led him to take out changelings on his own aggressively. Beverly reveals that a micro-neural scan of his brain had revealed that the part of his brain dealing with cognition and imagination had been affected.

Beverly diagnoses Jack with Irumodic Syndrome, a genetic condition that Picard passed on to him. It’s a degenerative disease that would continue destroying Jack’s synaptic pathways, leading to hallucinations, nightmares, and eventual death. It’s a tragic moment for Picard, considering he just got a chance to reconnect with his son. But Beverly stops him from “burdening” himself, instead asking him to help unburden Jack.

Picard tracks his son to the holodeck, where he is drowning his sorrows in libations at the ten forward programs. When asked by Picard, he reveals he is happy, and this is a celebratory occasion because this proves he isn’t crazy, just broken. He compares himself to a Japanese teacup being put together with molten gold (kintsugi), or in Jack’s case Bourbon. When asked by Jack how he survived this disease, Picard revealed he didn’t, reminding us again that the Picard we see is currently within a positronic shell.

Again one of the few times where one of the baffling choices of the first season is interweaved well into the narrative of the third season instead of being jettisoned off by a retcon. But Picard points out that he had lived with this degenerative syndrome for decades, and Jack is still young.

Picard’s guilt is not assuaged by Jack’s somewhat valiant effort by cavalierly remarking how his mother had tried hard not to let Jack be “collateral damage” in Picard’s orbit. Still, the joke’s on him, as he was doomed before he was even born. As Jack finishes his drink and leaves, Picard is informed by Seven of Nine that Worf and Raffi had beamed aboard the Titan.

It prompts a very sweet reunion between Worf and the Next Generation cast, especially with a fantastic, friendly banter between Worf and Riker. There is also a comparatively cooler reunion between Raffi and Seven. Raffi then remarked that they had a hard time tracking the Titan down, which gave them time to process that Picard and Crusher are parents.

Worf then turns to business, telling them they have much to report. Then they proceed to recount the events of their story within the last couple of episodes, finally remarking that the only way to clear their names and save this galaxy from the Changeling threat is to find what else had been stolen from Daystrom. For that, they would have to break into Daystrom with the key acquired from Krinn.

As Worf and Raffi go to the transporter room with Seven in tow, we realize that things are far chillier between the two of them. Worf tries to lighten the mood up, definitely not deliberately but with an obtuseness befitting Worf.

As Riker enters, having volunteered to come with them, and asks for details regarding the weapons manifest which they had to locate inside the station, he remarks that he hopes the key would work otherwise, they would need to resort to “old-fashioned Klingon offense.” Worf mentions that he now prefers pacifism to active combat, eliciting a deadpan “We are going to die” reply from Riker as Raffi, Worf, and Riker are beamed at Daystrom.

As soon as they arrive at Daystrom, things start getting awry. Krinn’s key work is manipulating the AI and allowing them to enter Daystrom. However, the changeling-infested starships already warp over Daystrom station while the Titan is hiding behind a planet. Confused about how they had found them, Shaw orders for them to be beamed up, which Lieutenant Mura cannot do because of transport inhibitors activated by the ships over Daystrom.

Picard finally hatches a plan and instructs Sidney LaForge to set a course for Athan Prime. LaForge doesn’t think it’s a good idea, while Worf, in communication with the Titan, reminds them that Starfleet Security will start their patrol in less than an hour. Picard promises Riker that they will be back to pick them up, and Shaw orders the ship to withdraw at maximum warp as the two ships lock weapons at the Titan.

Back at Daystrom, the trio venture within the weapon’s vault, which Worf informs them is the repository of weapons belonging to Section 31. Among the weapons were a thalaron generator (resembling the large generator in Shinzon’s ship in Star Trek Nemesis), a Genesis II device (an evolution of the weapon used in Star Trek II – Wrath of Khan), the body of Captain James T. Kirk, and a modified tribble which Worf got terrified by, much to Riker’s amusement.

The security program, which had been keeping a watch over the intruders, recognizes Riker, and in response, a holographic crow flies past them and lands in front of them. Then an F-sharp tune is played very loudly, startling the trio, but the biggest surprise occurs when the light shuts down and turns on again, revealing the Hologram version of Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis).

To provide context, Professor James Moriarty was a hologram created by Geordi LaForge, based on the fictional character of the same name, who is the famous antagonist of Sherlock Holmes. He was created for the Sherlock Holmes program for the Holodeck as an adversary capable of outwitting Data. That was until he gained sentience and, in his own words, “became aware of his consciousness.”

He was last seen detained in an external memory module in the episode “Ship in a bottle” until now. Moriarty appears in front of the trio with the ominous words “I think, therefore I am” and starts shooting them with a 19th-century pistol. Further musical notes start blaring while they hide behind the pillars, their phasers passing through the holographic body of Moriarty.

Riker realizes that this is not the same Moriarty they had come across decades before but more of a projection built to block their way into the security vault. As Riker starts identifying more of the musical notes, he wonders whether they are being given a puzzle to solve, which Moriarty sneers at with contempt, calling them “solvable puzzles” but also calling the melody “maddening” and “saccharine song” he is unable to get out of his head. Riker finally identifies it as a portion of “Pop Goes the weasel” and sings the song’s last notes, which deactivates Moriarty.

As Worf asks how he knew it would work, Riker reveals that he had shared the same tune decades ago with another friend, while we are shown a flashback consisting of a portion of “Encounter at Farpoint” when Riker and Data first meet. As they enter the mainframe, they are confronted with another Soong-type AI, the security system of Daystrom, Data. This is one of the few times flashbacks have been used explicitly, but in this instance, the flashback connects to the present-day events pretty seamlessly.

The Titan meanwhile arrives at Athan Prime, home to the Fleet Museum, where the old spacedock had been shifted to house the legendary starships. As Shaw orders LaForge to park the Titan amidst the “relics.” Picard’s plans revolve around the titan hiding amidst these old starships and perhaps reestablishing contact with an old friend. Geordi LaForge, however, has other plans and reconnection with old friends isn’t one of them.

He and his elder daughter Alandra beam aboard the Titan to ask for answers about Picard’s endgame. With Frontier day in 72 hours, Geordi is under immense pressure, and Picard’s presence is making it worse, considering he is putting his family in the path of danger. Geordi is surprised that Picard has a son but also amused that he has managed to make parenthood into an intergalactic incident.

Worf and Riker are stranded on Daystrom Station, and Picard tries to explain that not only the Changelings are following them, but also Starfleet. Picard requests Geordi’s assistance in cloning the Titan’s transponder signal to entice their assailants away from Daystrom Station.

Expressing his displeasure at seeing his old friends also involved, Geordi informs Picard that he would be unable to duplicate a transponder signal without randomized Starfleet security codes. The major issue is that every Starfleet ship is now fully integrated, as explained by Alandra. It won’t take long for them to get close enough to track since the Titan is a beacon.

Although Geordi makes it evident that he wants to assist his former captain and crew, he has much on the line. In the best-case situation, he will face court-martial; in the worst-case scenario, his family will be in danger due to a compromised Starfleet. Alandra makes a suggestion at Hangar Bay 12, which might be helpful, but her father dismisses it.

Geordi responds that it is always life-or-death, which he felt acceptable when he did so voluntarily with his own life under Picard’s leadership, but now he believes Picard has put Sidney in danger. This accusation is refuted by Picard, who defends Sidney’s decision to join Starfleet.

Alandra, who has reached her breaking point, excuses herself and informs Sidney of their father’s intransigence. Jack shares a look with Sidney, and we see sparks beginning to fly between the two of them, their connection dependent on dealing with fathers who are “legends” and impossible to live up to.

Jack says he only wants to “try it out” and sits in the captain’s chair despite Seven’s first objection. Jack can identify a few of them as they move through the museum’s ships. He lists the USS Defiant, the USS New Jersey, and the USS Enterprise-A as his favorite ones, praising her “clean vintage lines” and referring to himself as a “Constitution-class man.”

Jack has always been interested in starships, even before he knew about Picard, as Seven observes how knowledgable he is for someone who “didn’t give a damn about Starfleet.” When Seven brings up the USS Voyager, and the theme of Star Trek Voyager plays in the background, nostalgia begins to work its magic.

It is a suitably “pull the heartstring” moment, emphasized by Seven’s description of Voyager as her home, where she had been reborn, and how the ship had traveled the farthest among all of them. (Voyager’s entire conceit was the starship being stranded thousands of lightyears away, in the delta quadrant, and the entire show chronicled their journey back home to the alpha quadrant). Jack clocks it as Seven searches for family resembling her crew at the Voyager.

He remarks, “Stars in the same galaxy, but light years between us.”, in noting how they are looking for connection but are always alone. Seven guffaws and then retorts how Jack has the same predilection of “poetic drive-by observation” of his father, which, while unfamiliar, did contribute to a person feeling less lost.

Jack then points out to a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, to which Seven points out that this is the same Bird-of-Prey that had been pulled from the bottom of the San Francisco Bay after the crew of the Enterprise had managed to return from the past and save the whales (Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home). The story goes that the searchers had a hard time finding this Bird of Prey, christened the HMS Bounty, to which Jack realizes that the cloaking device had been activated. We realize that a plan is formulated behind the eyes of the young rogue.

Riker discovers the android was trying to communicate with them inside Daystrom’s mainframe rather than attack them because it had recognized them. Worf is convinced that it cannot be the same Data, despite Riker’s confirmation of Raffi’s belief that Data had died twice (Star Trek Nemesis and Star Trek Picard – Season 1, respectively). The new android is a hybrid, a synthetic with an android interface.

Since Data had replicated his complete essence onto B-4 before his initial death (which had been irrecoverable up until that moment), Riker believes it may be their Data. With the synth ban lifted, it is possible. Starfleet adopted the majority of Altan Soong’s unfinished work after his passing, showing a particular interest in the new android. Raffi finds a holographic message from Soong in the records.

Soong reveals that before gifting his golem to Picard, he had intended to live beyond his years. But he soon realized that it betrayed the ethos of science as well as humanity. The purpose of evolution is not to preserve but to add. Soong explains that the golem currently houses various aspects of all the major Soong androids – a great deal of Data, his twin brother Lore, Lal (Data’s android daughter which he had created), and B4, encompassing, according to Soong, the totality of the human experience and having the “true human aesthetic of age.”

He hopes that within this “totality,” a dominating personality would rise among these aspects to be the best of them. However, Soong dies before he can fully integrate the personalities within the golem; thus, according to Raffi, the personalities are now battling with each other.

Geordi and Picard have a heart-to-heart discussion about parenting, after which Picard offers to let Sidney go back to the museum with her father and sister and makes the excuse that she was an unwilling participant in everything that has happened since Picard and Riker boarded the Titan.

Sidney correctly criticizes her father for this action by pointing out that he was able to accompany Picard on all of their adventures and defend the morally correct course of action. Why not allow her to act similarly? She also emphasizes that her father taught her that a crew is the same as a family, so when he talks about defending his family, she equivocates it to her standing by her crew.

As this tense moment threatens to boil over, Jack follows up with Sidney and Alandra and explains his strategy, which involves a small amount of theft. Of course, his objective is to take the cloaking technology from the Bird of Prey and put it on the Titan. The Titan suddenly starts experiencing bursts of electromagnetic radiation.

After entertaining a star-struck Captain Shaw as Geordi tries to figure out what’s going on, he accuses Picard of arranging the heist. But soon, Geordi and Picard both realize that Jack and the LaForge siblings are responsible. The trio works well together, but their quick-witted installation goes wrong, forcing Geordi to step in and help out, and the legend finally back where he belongs.

As he begins to fix the faulty installation, Geordi sternly orders Jack to stay away from her daughter, which we realize is an instruction Jack is going to disobey, and Sidney won’t mind if he does so.

Riker answers Raffi’s incredulous query that the AI had been installed because it is a singular work of art and unquestionably more advanced than anything Starfleet could have created. He recalls how it glitched out when it had seen them, indicating the AI was aware of every movement made inside the station.

Worf realizes that AI is manifest. A warning announces that Starfleet security has located the files as Musiker brings them up. Time is running out, and Picard is not answering comms.

While trying to set the android free, Raffi realizes that the approaching Starfleet security would not afford her much time. Against Worf’s objections, Riker pulls out his phaser and rushes in to offer them that opportunity. Seven cautions that the Titan will have to decloak to beam the squad out as they move in while concealed. Riker is trading fire with the security guards as the Titan flies in, and then he is struck in the back by a transport inhibitor tag.

When the Titan flees to warp, Shaw commands that all signals that can be locked onto be beamed out. In the transporter chamber, Geordi and Jack arrive to greet the group after learning of Riker’s capture. Worf explains, “We have lost one friend in battle but gained another.” as he steps aside to reveal this new version of Data, much to Geordi’s joy.

Worf informs Picard that Riker has been kidnapped and promises to bring him back with the typically flowery proclamation, “And fearful be the god or man or beast that stands in my way.”. Jack accompanies his father as he contemplates this tragic turn of affairs to convey his regret that Riker didn’t return. He continues by acknowledging that he can be many things, most notably a “prick at the bar” who says things he can’t take back and is perhaps a little arrogant.

But he likes to think that he also has some good qualities, including compassion, persistence, and principles, along with being occasionally intelligent. He received all of those from his mother, according to him. He also possesses courage, loyalty, and intelligence that are above his years, which until a week ago, he had no idea how they originated within him.

It encapsulates this episode’s reflective look at parenthood. He attempts to lighten the mood by making a joke about how his father gave him more than just terminal sickness, which adds a bit of levity. Geordi and Sidney are repairing their relationship at the same moment.

Geordi acknowledges that he was disappointed in himself for not stepping in to assist his old friends rather than being disappointed with his daughter. Then, when he requests an ionic flow regulator, Sidney corrects him by telling him that he needs the focal adjustment spanner for the main port. He asks how she knows, and she replies that she crashed so many speeders as a child that she could spend time fixing them with him.

Star Trek: Picard (Season 3) Episode 6 Ending, Explained:

A short while later, Picard, Beverly, and Worf arrive. Picard was shocked to see Data again after having already witnessed his deaths twice. Geordi notes that although he had seen Data the android perish, this was something different. Although the personalities hadn’t yet been integrated, the information remained available.

If he is sane enough to speak, Geordi thinks he can tell them what Vadic stole from Daystrom. He cautions that even after rebooting the android, the personality partitions are hindering him from segregating Data, so they cannot predict who they will get. Geordi activates the android after getting approval from Picard.

Although he seems perplexed, he recognizes Geordi and Picard (calling the latter “captain”), and claims that although Daystrom Android M-5-10 contains multiple voices of himself, only one of them speaks about them with the deepest affection. He first claims to be Data but quickly corrects himself to state that he is Data.

Beverly compares him to Picard: artificial but human. Picard quizzes him about the break-in at Daystrom. The android alternates between the personalities of Lore, B-4, and even Altan Soong while repeatedly saying Picard’s name. Nevertheless, when it finally accesses the manifest, it discovers the object that the Changelings had taken: human remains, namely Picard’s original biological body.

The Changelings are torturing Riker at Daystrom as they desperately try to extract information from him. One of the Changelings unexpectedly turns on the other two and kills them before revealing to be Vadic, conducting her dirty work. She brings Riker onboard the Shrike and reveals to him that she has abducted another captive, showing Riker and the audience the sad and frustrated visage of Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis).