“I don’t have the right, but I need your help one last time.”
Jean-Luc Picard in “Absolute Candor”
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The fourth episode of “Star Trek: Picard” is titled “Absolute Candor” and features our titular hero spending the episode assembling his team and revealing more Roman lore.
At the end of the last episode, we saw Picard (Patrick Stewart) depart earth on the ship La Sirena with Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill).
They were headed to search for Soji Asha, twin sister of the android Dahj — who came to see Picard in the first episode of the season, and was murdered by a group of Romulan secret police called the Tal Shiar (who might also be part of an ancient cabal known as the Zhat Vash).
Full disclosure: I had to look up the names “Tal Shiar” and “Zhat Vash” because I’d forgotten what the Romulan bad guys were called in the week since I wrote my last review.
Anyhow, this week's episode has Picard visiting a group of Romulan warrior assassin nuns (yes, there is apparently such a thing) known as the Qowat Milat on the planet Vashti.
The nuns practice “absolute candor” — which means they say what they think unfiltered (like Jim Carrey’s character in the movie “Liar, Liar”).
Picard forged a relationship with the warrior assassin nuns (I love typing that) during his Romulan relocation efforts 14 years prior. At that time, he befriended a boy who was being raised by the nuns, named Elnor (Ian Nunney).
Fast forward 14 years... Picard needs some “muscle” for his current mission, and Elnor (now an adult played by Evan Evagora) is still living on Vashti and has been trained in the warrior assassin nun methods.
They wield a special kind of sword known as the “tan qualanq.” The order can be bound to a singular cause known as the “qalankhkai.”
(There is obviously some sort of “Romulan random word generator” online I don’t know about...)
Let’s face it, Elnor and the nuns are basically the “Star Trek” equivalent of the Jedi Knights. I’m totally fine with that. Their presence might make this series more appealing as the season progresses.
Speaking of appealing, I am digging the clothes they wear in the 24th century. I’m so happy they've scrapped the endless array of ugly jumpsuits for clothes that look similar to the fashions of today.
There’s something comfortable and relatable about the clothes in “Star Trek: Picard.”
The outfits are designed by Christine Bieselin Clark. Clark’s credits include movies like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and Disney’s upcoming “Jungle Cruise.” You can learn more about her costume work at www.christineclarkdesign.com.
We dive a little bit more into the relationship between Soji and her Romulan love interest known as Narek (Harry Treadaway). Narek is working for the nefarious Zhat Vash cabal, and is in place to try and learn from Soji where a “nest” of androids might be located.
Frankly, I don’t know what Soji sees in this guy. At this point, he just seems like narrative tool (no pun intended) designed to reveal more about Soji — and the Zhat Vash’s plan — to viewers.
(I know they’re trying to play the angle that he’s conflicted about his relationship with Soji, but she seems too smart not to see through all his overtures).
The Soji/Narek interactions in the fourth episode manage bring into question the veracity in Soji’s backstory. He questions her head on during the episode.
At the end of “Absolute Candor,” the former Borg drone “7 of 9” (Jeri Ryan) is beamed aboard La Sirena during a space battle with a Romulan Bird of Prey.
The “7 of 9” character was introduced in the series “Star Trek: Voyager” (during the show’s fourth season). The character was originally born Annika Hansen. She was liberated from the Borg collective by the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager.
It’ll be interesting to see how her character figures into the overall storyline. I didn’t watch a lot of “Voyager,” so I’m pretty vague on “7 of 9” (even though it was a popular character).
It seems like she’ll bring an interesting dynamic to the series (and should be helpful in the hunt for Soji).
Overall, I found the “Absolute Candor” episode to be the strongest since “Star Trek: Picard’s” first episode. The narrative primarily focused on Picard in this episode, and that’s always a good thing.
I’ve been enjoying the assembly of Picard’s “crew” the past couple of episodes. I know some folks online have suggested that the supporting cast is bland, but I like how things are developing.
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