What parts of our mind can we trust? What dreams are parts of our reality and what memories are parts of our reality? Or are we all an impossible box, never to be truly figured out, even by ourselves?
1. Dreams vs. memories
This episode opens with Soji dreaming, a recurring dream of an experience she had as a child in her home where she’s wandering around and attempts to see what her father is working on in his lab, but is hindered by orchids blocking her view. Narek is, of course, with her and questions her about her dream, but when Soji turns the tables on him and begins asking him personal questions, he leaves, uncomfortable. Picard himself is wrestling with thoughts he’d rather not remember, recurring thoughts brought to the surface with the prospect of having to board the reclaimed Borg cube. The admiral still has no love for the Borg, obviously, as when Dr. Jurati suggests the Borg on the Artifact have changed, Picard heartily insists they metastasize, like a cancer, they haven’t changed. And we’re reminded of Picard as Locutus of Borg in a shot from TNG, but one, I’m sure, that is also burned into Picard’s memory.
2. Puzzles
Narek is a man in possession of extreme patience. A patience that directly conflicts with his sister’s desire to accomplish a task in the swiftest manner possible. While discussing Soji’s dream with his sister, Narek is playing with a tan zhekran, or Romulan puzzle box, which requires time, and patience, in order to figure out what is keeping it closed. Oh, hey, this is exactly what he needs in order to crack Soji’s complicated, recurring dream. Narek plants little seeds of doubt in Soji’s mind, giving her puzzles of her own to solve, and now she’s busy questioning her own existence. As she discovers during this questioning, nothing she owns, all of the items from her childhood, are no older than 3 years – which leads her to confide in the person she is closest to on the Artifact – Narek. And this Romulan spy offers her a way to find an answer to her puzzle, the Zhal Makh, a traditional form of meditation forbidden to round ears, but hey, when you’re a covert Zhat Vash operative, why not break a few rules to get what you need.
3. Hugs
Give us all the meaningful hugs, please. Picard must beam onto the Artifact alone, after Raffi, with some difficulty, secures Picard credentials to board the cube. And once he beams aboard, a reunion to make Trek fans smile, Picard and Hugh reunite with a hug; long lost friends, or even more than that after their experiences together on TNG. Hugh takes Picard on a tour of the Artifact, showing him how the Romulans are working with the xBs, or former Borgs, returning some of their own personal, non-Borg existence back to them. Surprisingly, Picard praises Hugh’s work on the Artifact, telling him “You’re showing what the Borg are underneath. They’re victims, not monsters,” perhaps also referring back to Picard’s experience with Hugh himself on the Enterprise D.
4. To know oneself
Soji is desperate to figure out what is going on in her own, suddenly confusing life, so she readily agrees to Narek’s suggestion of Zhal Makh, a journey into the center of the mind where our deepest secrets are hidden. After leading Soji through her dream, she finally sees past the orchids, and doesn’t like what she discovers: herself, in pieces on a table, being worked on by her father. But most importantly to our Romulan spy, she sees two red moons and lightning through a window, letting Narek and his sister know the location of her “birth,” what they’ve been searching for this whole time, which means they are now done with Soji. Narek’s parting words are cruel, he tells her she was never real, locks her inside the Zhal Makh room, and lets loose a radioactive gas, but of course, she’s suddenly activated when her life is in danger as her sister was, and Soji escapes. Luckily, Picard and Hugh are looking for Soji right at this point, and find her, and who can’t trust Picard, so Soji puts her faith in him and the three escape into the bowels of the Borg cube, eventually into the Queen’s chamber. Elnor shows up, saves the day, and stays behind to ensure the escape of Picard and Soji. What. A. Guy. He better not die.
Continued below5. Random thoughts
Dr. Jurati is obviously struggling with the choice she made to assassinate Dr. Maddox, but it’s tough to buy her sleeping with Captain Rios. Ditto with the love between Soji and Narek; is it really that difficult for the Romulan operative to decide to kill her because he’s fallen in love with her? This episode is filled with TNG episode and movie connections; I guess now we know why the Borg Queen always escapes.
Soji is on a journey of self-discovery; the series started with her twin sister, Dahj, but her journey was cut short and Picard will not rest until Soji discovers the mystery behind her origins. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have the Admiral on my side.
