It’s been almost 30 years since Jean-Luc Picard suffered possibly the most significant betrayal of his career, memorialized brilliantly in the final shot Next Gen’s “Preemptive Strike” — a stone-faced Captain Picard stares silently, with Commander Riker’s final words echoing in his mind, “Her only real regret was that she let you down.”
 
“Imposters” reaches yet another high point with the reintroduction of a fan-favorite character, combined with a return to that infamous moment in the Enterprise-D ready room. It’s a satisfying and heart-breaking conclusion to one of the series’ most memorable, untapped story threads.
 
Showrunner Terry Matalas has mastered the art of showcasing meaningful individual arcs in the first half of this season, by introducing both old and new characters and walking us through their lived-in experiences. (From Picard to Riker to Beverly and her son Jack, to Seven of Nine and Captain Liam Shaw, they’ve all had profound narrative reveals about their characters across four episodes — mostly related to themes of friends, family and finding yourself.)
 
And now, suddenly, the production team has upped the ante again by surprisingly bringing back Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), who has worked her way back into the good graces of Starfleet as a commander, despite her betrayal of both the Federation and her mentor in joining the Maquis so long ago.
 

It’s a wonderful twist, backed by a brilliant, compelling script that takes the art of exposing your true self to a level I’m not sure we’ve ever seen in Star Trek. You can have all the blood screenings you want — and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) has figured out that those are pretty much useless with these new-look Changelings — but nothing quite reveals who you really are like the deep, biting truth of humanoid pain, loss and regret.

And, boy, do we ever get that truth in the beautiful, one-on-one confrontation between Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Ro in this episode. No Changeling can replicate that, and as writers Cindy Appel and Chris Derrick showcase here, the only way to truly be real is to expose yourself and admit, understand, and embrace your pain.

In the key set-up for this episode, the Titan has escaped the Shrike and is heading back to Federation space for Picard and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to face the music. Of course, Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) has already notified Starfleet, and the USS Intrepid is on its way to intercept them.

Before long, Ro is on the Titan and face-to-face with Picard and Riker, who — despite having a phaser pointed at him the last time he saw her — is more understanding about her return to Starfleet than Picard, who can’t get past the irony that she of all people is now investigating them for treason.

The set-up with Ro checks a lot of satisfying boxes. First, her untrusting and direct formality is enjoyably framed so the viewer suspects she could be a Changeling, while at the same time, she is slyly setting up the Titan for as much success as possible in avoiding what is later revealed to be a Changeling infestation of Starfleet. (There have apparently been fleetwide issues for months, and Ro suspects it is all pointed to Frontier Day, when Starfleet will have their entire fleet on display.)

Ro has specifically set it up so the Titan will be left with a skeleton crew, even as the officers she has arrived with conduct an exhaustive search for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). The son of Jean-Luc and Beverly is being hidden in plain sight in a Starfleet uniform, while also experiencing a myriad of waking dreams and actual heightened experiences.

In one disturbing vision, he takes out the bridge crew as Ensign Esmar (Jin Maley) says, “I know what you really are.” Uh, that’s cryptic! Elsewhere, he hears a women’s voice saying, “Find me” and “Come home” as part of different dream sequences. And in yet another waking vision, when he is actually discovered by four Changelings, he is triggered by them and easily kills all four, before snapping back to himself.

Beverly compares the incidents to childhood nightmares he previously suffered through, but when he tells her that he had no idea the four people he killed were Changelings, he also must cop to the fact that, “I think there is something very wrong with me.”

The Jack Crusher conundrum layered throughout the season has a little bit of a mystery box feel to it, and certainly is narratively familiar, but it is also undeniably interesting. The mystery of exactly why the Changelings need this one particular human alive is fantastic and being teed up exquisitely.

Elsewhere in the episode, Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) are back and they are having a blast, and passing their fun straight to the viewer. A number of fantastic scenes featuring the crime-fighting friends (Worffi?) begin with Raffi and her former incognito handler sparring in an old school, Worf fight scene straight out of “Sons of Mogh,” among other episodes. In their workout, Worf is basically schooling Raffi and after dropping into a meditative pose, leaves her with the valuable lesson that her “enemies’ aggression will always reveal their weakness.”

It’s a fun moment, accompanied by composer Stephen Barton’s wry version of the familiar Klingon fanfare music, and it leads to a discussion of their plans to try and get to Daystrom Station to further investigate what the Changelings stole from the facility (a disclosure from the previous episode, “No Win Scenario”). However, Worf’s handler denies them — sort of — sending them a message to “Find another way.”

The pair don’t exactly listen and instead take the first steps to organize a Daystrom break-in by tracking down Krinn an old associate of the Ferengi Sneed (beheaded by Worf in “Seventeen Seconds”), who specializes in high-security infiltration. When the pair find Krinn, who by design gets the jump on them, we are the recipients of the glorious, surprise reveal of the great Kirk Acevedo playing a scenery-chewing Vulcan who is the kingpin of a local crime-syndicate.

Acevedo is incredible. A genre actor of some renown with standout roles in “12 Monkeys” and “Fringe,” he dives into his role as a kickass, warlord Vulcan with face tattoos and a gnarled ear, who pontificates logically about the world of crime: “There could be no utopia without crime, ergo an organized criminal enterprise is logical.” It’s a special performance and a special moment in the world-building of Vulcans.

I could go on about Krinn (who summarizes the entire season thus far when he says, “In my world, loyalty is what passes for family”), but suffice it to say, despite his belief he has the upper hand on Worffi (yes, we are really doing this; these plutonic friends are henceforth known as Worffi), the pair stage the Klingon’s death via Raffi’s blade to get the jump on the Vulcan warlord, who is now more than happy to provide them with the necessary tech they will need to break into Daystrom Station (“That… would be logical.”).

In the end, the episode comes back to the emotionally charged confrontation between Picard and Ro, as they not so delicately try to work out if the other is a Changeling or not. It’s just an absolutely brilliant set-up for this conversation that Picard angrily admits he has been rehearsing for 30 years.

Ro acquits herself quite well in telling her former mentor that his respect for her was always “conditional” and that his dishonor was in confusing “morality with duty.” For her it was about “standing up to injustice even if it meant betraying” Starfleet.

Picard, of course, thinks she’s dishonored herself and tells her as much in calling out the fact she isn’t wearing her beloved earring that at one time he believed was a symbol of her heritage and the family she lost. He practically screams at her in Bajoran that it was her “ego that would lead you to betray me!”

With tension between the two reaching a boiling point as they both begin to acknowledge that their betrayal was mutual, Picard tells her that he believed in her, to which Ro responds, “Only when it was easy for you. If I’d meant so much, you would have understood.”

Picard: “You broke my heart.”
Ro: “And you broke mine.”

And with that, the two former shipmates lower their phasers, as that level of pain can only be achieved by being a good ol’ fashioned solid. It’s a fantastic moment. A miraculous near-conclusion to a story arc that began in 1991 when the character was introduced in a similarly conflicted fashion in The Next Generation episode, “Ensign Ro.”

We say “near-conclusion,” because sadly it doesn’t end there. After informing Picard that Starfleet is compromised at the highest level, she asks him if he trusts her, and, of course, he still does. She then tells him that she’s been working to buy him some time so that the Titan can go on the run and try and fight this thing from the edges. She then slips her previously unseen earring into his hands, a symbol of both the bond between the two, and, of course, a hidden message.

“All these years, I wish you’d known me. And that I had known you. Goodbye, admiral.” It’s now Ro’s time to make the ultimate sacrifice, as her shuttle is commandeered by the aforementioned Changelings that Jack Crusher ends up taking out, planting an explosive on her ship that leaves her with only one option: to destroy the Intrepid’s nacelle so it can’t pursue the Titan.

In a moving exchange just before her death, she tells Picard she is giving back to him what he had given her so many years ago, “a fighting chance.” To which Picard responds, “I do see you, everything. Forgive me it’s only now.” Connection lost. Cue the waterworks.

Despite trying to follow his instincts and fall back into his world of structure and meter, Captain Shaw realizes (with the help of Picard, Riker and Seven in his ear) he now has no choice, putting the ship on red alert and getting the Titan the hell out of Dodge.

If all that wasn’t enough, Matalas and his production team have one more storytelling trick in store for us when we find out that Ro had been Worf’s intelligence handler all along, as the Klingon happily reconnects with Picard and Riker when they discover Ro’s earring is actually a data device detailing her investigation.

The reunion of the three Trek stalwarts is a sad one, as they relay the news of Ro’s demise, but it is also the perfect launch into the second half of this outstanding season.

MOMENTS OF STASHWICK

We think Todd Stashwick and his portrayal of USS Titan captain Liam Shaw is destined for Trek icon status — each week this season, we’ll be highlighting one one of the character’s (and actor’s) best moments.

As always, we have a lot to choose from — a chipper turbolift ride, his “reinstatement” of Seven, his reference to the “fastest court martial I’ve ever seen” — but this week we are going with another subtle choice, which serves as a great character revealing moment.

Our pick for “Imposters” is when Shaw leaves the observation lounge early in the episode by saying to Picard, Riker and Seven that as a courtesy: “I’m going to step outside so the three of you can get your bullshit story straight!”

On the surface, yes, this is him being a bit of a dick to our heroes (again), but also if you take a step back, it’s another example of him truly being cool and legitimately giving them an off-the-books chance to try and help themselves. He is a by-the-book Captain that understands there are some necessary grey areas that need to be operated in. He just wants to be left out of them.

Our second choice this week was Shaw once again showcasing just how good an officer and leader he actually is. Once he moves past his first instinct to have the Titan fall in line with the Intrepid, and as the gravity of their situation becomes clear, he snaps into awesome captain mode by instantly barking out the commands that showcase just how informed and buttoned up he is.

“Red Alert! Battle stations. Starfleet has been compromised. Emergency order 762-Alpha now in effect.”

So cool. The man is ready for all circumstances, he just needs to fight through his own instincts and trauma sometimes to get there. A legendary Star Trek character.

Ok, one more!

During Captain Shaw’s chipper turbolift ride with Picard and Riker, he relays some great moments from TNG lore, referencing: “hot-dropping” the saucer section of the Enterprise-D on a planet (Star Trek: Generations), Picard throwing the Prime Directive out the window to “snog” a villager on Ba’ku (Star Trek: Insurrection), and the averted Devron System time paradox from “All Good Things.”

Shaw: “Basically when it comes to rescues from danger, you two have a real chicken and egg thing happening.”

 

Picard: “Those were the days….”

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• Ro Laren’s moment of betrayal in “Preemptive Strike” is, incredibly, the final scene of a regular one-hour episode of The Next Generation’s seven-year run, and the last event prior to the show’s series finale. It’s a big moment, and it’s incredible to see that story continued here.
• This is now Michael Dorn’s 277^th episode as Worf, extending his record appearance tally in Star Trek. As for Worf’s body count in Picard Season 3, we have completely lost track after only five episodes… there’s just too many to count.
• In staging his death, Worf references having mastered the Kahless technique of regulating his heartrate to nearly imperceptible levels. Prior to his collapse, he utters his most famous quote, telling Raffi, “Today was a good day to die! You are a warrior, and this is a worthy death.”
• In the moment where Krinn hands over the tech necessary to break into the Daystrom Station, we see a great visual effects shot of the station model and a few shots inside the station for the first time — the station appears to be a blending of design principles found in Jupiter Station and the MIDAS Array.

• Commander Ro’s ship is the USS Intrepid, the first Duderstadt-class vessel in Trek to date. It’s likely named for Dorothy Duder, the Star Trek: Enterprise food stylist who was also the late wife of Star Trek ship designer and visual-effects artist Doug Drexler.
• We get yet another reference to Admiral Janeway in this episode, as Ro explains the difficulty reaching Starfleet leadership about the Changeling threat.
• Following the Dominion War, new Starfleet protocols include having every person on a ship pass through an “internal imaging chamber” before reporting for duty — to verify they are not a Changeling.
• Crusher verifies that these new-look Changelings are not a new or different species, but an evolution of what we’ve seen before… which means they could be anywhere or anyone and know one would ever know.
• Krinn wears a large, rather ostentatious, version of the IDIC around his neck. That is only logical for a Vulcan crime lord.
• It seems there is always an extra phaser or two under the bar at Guinan’s, which Picard puts to good use in his showdown with Ro.
• Ro’s journey back to Starfleet was just like her first path back to Starfleet service, after the incident on Garon II referenced in “Ensign Ro.” After her defection to the Maquis in “Preemptive Strike,” she eventually turned herself in to Starfleet, was court-martialed and imprisoned, and then was recruited again by Starfleet intelligence. After an arduous rehabilitation program, she proved herself and worked her way up again.
• The episode is directed by Dan Liu, who has one previous Star Trek directorial credit under his belt, the widely-hailed Strange New Worlds episode “Memento Mori.”
• Writer Cindy Appel now has five Picard writing credits to her name, while this is the second script for co-writer Chris Derrick.

You may find more variety in specific five-episode runs of Star Trek through the past 50-plus years, but recency bias be damned: there is really no doubt that this first half of Picard Season 3 is right up there with the best in the history of the franchise…. and incredibly, it quite literally has gotten better with each episode.

Next week? The streak continues — but we’ll have lots more to say about that next Thursday!

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast.
He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter as @EnterpriseExtra.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will continue with “The Bounty” on March 23 on Paramount+ the United States and on CTV Sci Fi Channel and Crave in Canada — following the next day in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The series is also available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in most other international locations.