The Redemption of Ro

Story: Imposters

Written By: Cindy Appel & Chris Derrick
Series: Star Trek: Picard
Year: 2023

Picard and Riker are to be arrested for treason, and the commander who has come to do the deed is Ro Laren.  This was puzzling to me, because the last time we saw Ro, she was committing treason herself.  The episode addresses all of that, and it is revealed that some time after the events that lead to her joining the Maquis, she did return to starfleet and turn herself in.  She was put in some sort of crazy brainwashing thing or something that rehabilitated her, and now she is high up in security.  

Crusher discovers that Changelings can now truly mimic other lifeforms, down to blood and organs.  In fact when they are killed it takes full on removing organs for them to return to their liquid changeling state.  This of course makes Picard suspicious that this even is the real Ro.  But she forces him into the holodeck that is permanently set as Guinan's bar, and she reveals she is just as suspicious of Picard. The two hash out their past grudges against each other for her betrayal, and decide they are who they say they are.  Ro reveals to Picad that she has uncovered a major conspiracy and that Changelings have infiltrated Starfleet at the highest level and beyond...they are everywhere...again.  

Jack Crusher is having some kind of crazy visions of red vines or something.  He often imagines himself killing people.  He is confronted by some Changelings and he instinctively fights and kills them all off.  When his mom asks how he knew they were Changelings, he admits that he didn't and that something may be severely wrong with him. 

Ro has left the Titan with a skeleton crew and she hopes Picard can do something about all this.  She tries to return to the ship she came on, but her security detail has left a bomb on the shuttle and abandoned her. She gives Picard a final goodbye and crashes the shuttle into the other ship's nacelle, sacrificing herself in the hopes that Picard can somehow save the galaxy. 

Meanwhile Worf and Raffi have a dumb story with some Vulcan gangster. It isn't much, and isn't that interesting. But the stories will finally converge as Riker and Picard find Ro has left her earing with Picard full of data of her investigation, and then they receive a message on the earing from Worf, who was expecting to call Ro with the info he got from the gangster. 

I think this season's arc is at least shaping up to at least be interesting. I don't hate it like Seasons 1 and 2.  I still have a lot of problems with the way these characters and Star Trek in general gets handled, but I am enjoying this story more than previous seasons. 

NEXT TIME: It's Geordi Time