Wow, what a start to the season!
I'm very interested in where they're taking Picard's reluctance to romance; if I had to guess from the disjointed flashback we saw, I would guess he had an abusive father, and was worried he would emulate that behavior if he ever let himself love someone ... somewhat autobiographical for Stewart, but a fitting explanation for Picard's reserved demeanor for most of the time we saw him in TNG.
It was delightful to see Guinan again, and I find it amusing that she must've scoured Earth for a 'Forward St' just so she could set up a thematically appropriate bar.
The Stargazer is an absolutely gorgeous ship, and it was exciting to see Rios in command. The interior design, to me, felt like the right blend of TNG-era aesthetic blended with technological advancements in both real world and in-universe improvements.
Seven on the outskirts of space going lone wolf aboard the La Sirena is fitting, though I was sad when she said she merged the holograms, I enjoyed Santiago Cabrera's versatility portraying the various EXH's, I was hoping we'd get more of that in the future.
The Borg requesting Federation membership was the perfect bait, and harkens back to something Eddington said to Sisko, that the Federation wants everyone to join them. Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, and apparently, even the Borg. I can see how Picard would want to take that chance, it's a very Starfleet thing to do.
Q's appearance as his younger self and then 'catching up' was suggested here a while back, and I feel like they pulled it off perfectly. Their de-aging tech isn't as good as Marvel's, but for the quick shot it did the job well. Picards creeping dread and 'God damn it, Q!' were also similarly fitting. After so long, Picard must've hoped Q had become bored with him and moved on.
All in all, this was an exciting start to the Season, with the promise of intriguing twists and turns; though I confess when all is said and done, I feel like a Stargazer spinoff would be welcome; that was a beauty of a ship, and new adventures in the early 25th Century would be a great source of material.
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