Author: Metacrone

Lifelong film, television and theater enthusiast. Choose love.

Star Trek: Picard- Is Zhaban a Member of the Zhat Vash?

~ Metacrone ~ 6 Comments
Star Trek Picard S1E1 Jamie McShane as Zhaban
Is Zhaban a member of the Zhat Vash?

Since Zhaban/Jamie Mcshane is listed on IMDB as appearing in episode 8, I want to quickly write about a theory I’ve been considering since early in the season. Could Zhaban, who we know is a former member of the Romulan secret police known as the Tal Shiar, also belong to the even more secret Romulan spy agency, the Zhat Vash? It’s possible that he’s been living with Picard for the last 14 years as a deeply embedded spy, watching for a synth to arrive.

I don’t want to believe this of the kindly caretaker and vintner either, but hear me out.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 7: Nepenthe Recap

~ Metacrone

Star Trek Picard S1E7 Picard & Soji on Nepenthe

In episode 7, Jean Luc and Soji arrive on the planet Nepenthe seeking refuge with old Next Generation friends Will Riker and Deanna Troi, who now live there with their teen daughter. Elnor, Hugh and the xBs face Narissa’s wrath on the Artifact, while La Sirena is stuck in the cube’s tractor beam. Once the ship gets free, Narek follows them in a small ship. On La Sirena, Agnes tries to cope with the magnitude of her betrayals, with the help of Raffi, Chris and the EMH.

Nepenthe has two meanings: It is referred to in Homer’s Odyssey as a potion which induces forgetfulness of pain and sorrow, such as opium or a medicinal herb like borage. The second meaning is more interesting and just as pertinent to our story.

Nepenthes is a genus of carnivorous plants, the tropical pitcher plants, which act as a literal honey trap, using bright colors, an attractive smell and sugary nectar to lure prey to the edge of their tube shaped trap. The slippery digestive fluids on the lips and inside of the plant then stop the prey from escaping, acting like quicksand so that the harder the prey fights to escape, the further entrapped it becomes.

Both senses of Nepenthe are being used on Star Trek: Picard this season.

Nepenthe(s) as a honey trap is what Narek did to Soji all season and, on a smaller scale, Seven did to Bejayzl in episode 5. In the past, Bejayzl used herself as a honey trap on Seven, so Seven was only returning the favor. Will someone return the favor for Narek?

Nepenthe as a balm for your pain is Counselor Troi and Auntie Raffi’s department, depending on whether you want to go the mellow or intense route. Do you want to try pizza, wine and conversation with old friends or cake, snakeweed and casual sex with people you’ve recently met? Or maybe you’re the type who goes for adrenaline rush-inducing sword fights on an empty stomach with your archenemy. On a Borg cube.

No judgement here. Everybody’s just trying to survive. Not that I condone murder as stress relief, of course.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 6-The Impossible Box Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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In episode 6 of Star Trek: Picard the separate storylines finally meet, as the La Sirena reaches the Artifact, Soji figures out her true nature with a little help from her favorite Romulan spy and Jean Luc is reunited with Hugh and a few dozen of his former Borg compatriots. As you might expect, none of this goes smoothly. In fact, the themes of the week are emotional breakdown in the face of trauma, trust vs coercion vs betrayal, family vs fellow hostages, recovery vs repression vs mental illness and the general sense that we don’t control as much of our lives as we wish we did, even our own feelings and actions.

Recap

We begin with a dream instead of a flashback, or maybe a flashback disguised as a dream. The dream belongs to Soji, so it’s her creative brain working to make sense of her world, much as ours do and eventually Data’s did.

In Soji’s dream, there may also be elements of inserted memory that belong to someone else. Narek is counting on it. The Alex Kurtzman version of Star Trek is taking more than a few cues from Blade Runner 2049.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 5- Stardust City Rag Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 1 Comment

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With episode 5, season 1 of Star Trek: Picard reaches its halfway point and finishes its set up. I love the show so far. The characters and storylines are complex and modern. The cast is excellent and balanced between men and women, humans and aliens, and is diverse in other ways as well. 😉 The show is following the Star Trek model by exploring topical and moral issues, using space and aliens as a metaphor. But it’s putting its own twist on that model, as each series needs to do, by focusing on the characters’ journeys and the effect that certain huge events have had on them.

ST:P is particularly focusing on issues involved with differences such as ageing, illness, addiction, mental illness, failure, loss and disability, which are issues that Star Trek has tended to avoid, since it takes place in a more successful society than ours. These are all issues which are especially relevant in our current world, so they are important for fiction to explore. Jean Luc Picard is a perfect choice as the lead character, since he has faced loss before and has always been an introspective man.

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Reprisal Season 1 Episode 5: The Tiniest Battle Recap

~ Metacrone

Reprisal S1Ep5 Katherine, Earl & Percy

Episode 5 of Reprisal is both a character study and a turning point. We learn who all of the main characters are, at their core, and where their true loyalties lie, before Katherine Harlow makes her return to Brawlers territory and sets her revenge in motion by sowing a little chaos. Her tiny battle has the effect she expects and by the end of the episode, Bash has sowed much more chaos and likely incited a war.

Recap

We begin with a flashback to a young, wild-haired Joel as a Phoenix. Johnson is also a laughing, chatty Phoenix. The biggest surprise is that the third Phoenix, who already has her embroidered jacket, is Lyla’s mother, Rita. The 3 River Phoenixes pull up in front of an establishment which belongs to a rival gang, strut in and start a fight for no apparent reason, then come out less than 5 minutes later, with Joel and Johnson injured. Rita tries to stop the bleeding in Joel’s abdomen. He takes the opportunity to tell her he’s in love with her.

As Matty says, fighting breeds loyalty amongst the gang members. But why has Johnson been a Phoenix for so long, while Joel rose to the top of the heap? Johnson never complains, but he never says much of anything, period. The Brawlers give him a purpose and a life, if not exactly a home. It’s a life that largely keeps him and Joel separated, but lends consistency to the Phoenixes. Were they both in love with Rita, or was there some other major falling out between them? Or is Joel doing him a favor by leaving him a Phoenix rather than promoting him?

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 4- Absolute Candor Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 2 Comments
Star Trek: Picard S1E4 Elnor, Agnes, Jean Luc
A Lost Cause

OMG, JERI RYAN IS IN THE OPENING CREDITS!!!!

Picard insists on a side trip to a Romulan refugee planet on the way to Freecloud to pick up Bruce Maddox, but the neighborhood has gone downhill since the last time he was there 14 years ago, on the day the synths attack Mars. The Romulans are still a little bitter and in a stabby, slicey mood. The crew get to know each other better and get used to the ship. Picard picks up yet another Romulan assassin, a Borg pilot and we meet two more emergency holograms.

Recap

As always, we begin with a flashback/nightmare having to do with the synth attack on Mars. This time, we find out what Picard was up to on the day of the attack 14 years ago. He was visiting the Romulan resettlement planet Vashti, in the Beta Quadrant, where he was working with a group of warrior nuns, the Qowat Milat, who were in charge of the resettlement effort.

Picard is a hero on Vashti, seen as the man who is saving the Romulan people, and everyone greets him accordingly when he arrives. The leader of the Qowat Milat, Zani, greets Picard and encourages Legolas Elnor, a young elfin orphan boy who is staying with her until a suitable home can be found, to stop hiding and say hello to their guest.

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Book Review: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World- A Novel by CA Fletcher

~ Metacrone

dog-at-the-end-of-the-world

This review is dedicated to my dog Max, who passed in November, 2019 at the age of 17, and to his lifelong companion, our 20 year old cat, Brody, who followed him a month later. I love you til the end of the world, guys.

Griz, the first person narrator and titular boy of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World, lives in an empty world. Unlike our crowded world full of 8 billion people, Griz’s world went through a population collapse a few generations ago, reducing the global population to less than 10,000 people. The Baby Bust, as it was ironically known, happened over the course of one generation. No one is quite sure why, but almost everyone became infertile, worldwide, all at once and without warning.

Those who remained fertile were locked up for a time, theoretically for their own protection, in a sort of reverse witch hunt, then eventually allowed to leave. Most went into hiding in remote areas until the infertile population grew old and died off.

Now, everywhere is a remote area. Griz has only seen a few people outside of his family in his entire life, mostly the members of the family who live on a neighboring island off the coast of what used to be Scotland.

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Emergence Season 1 Episode 13: Killshot Pt. 2 Recap

~ Metacrone

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Okay, kids, let’s buckle up for the uneven, slightly nonsensical ride that is the season 1 finale of ABC’s scifi series Emergence. As of this writing, 2/13/20, Emergence hasn’t been cancelled, so maybe there’s some truth to my wild theories that it has a place in the wider ABC/Disney universe. Or maybe ABC just likes to torture fans.

The finale dissolves into a game of cat and mouse in a haunted science lab with a love quadrangle thrown in to prove things can always get worse. Shockingly, not everyone gets out alive. Because if no one dies, there aren’t any real stakes. Isn’t that what you all find in your lives?

Recap

After she and Brooks lock themselves in a room to escape Helen, Jo realizes that the sounds in the pipes are Helen’s nanobots scurrying after them. Maybe hiding in a spot without an exit wasn’t such a great idea. Macho man Brooks pounds on a locked door that’s appeared since last week, until it breaks open, just as Helen materializes. Helen finds a drop of blood next to the door and follows them through.

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Charmed Season 2 Episode 12: Needs to Know Recap

~ Metacrone

Charmed S2Ep12 Maggie Macy & Mel

This week, Helen, the original Whitelighter, returns, along with her Darklighter twin. After an altercation at the Tulipe Institute, Maggie and Harry follow Darklighter Helen back to Plymouth. Macy fears that her demon powers are blocking the return of her witch powers and seeks help from Abby. Mel takes a chance on love.

Recap

It’s time for Darklighter Helen’s dinner at the Tulipe Institute where she and Whitelighter Helen are held. A guard unlocks her room to let in a nurse with her food. When they leave, they aren’t careful about closing the door, which allows Darklighter Helen to escape.

In Seattle, Mel, Macy and Maggie attempt to engage the Power of Three. Mel and Maggie call up and connect their witch power, but Macy’s power is still absent.

Abby has cooked dinner for Harry in her apartment. She made his favorite meal and makes everything she says to him sound like she’s talking about sex, but he still resists her advances because she’s a demon.

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Charmed Season 2 Episode 11: Dance Like No One Is Witching Recap

~ Metacrone

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This week, Mel and Harry return to rescuing witches from demons, which leads to Harry developing a mysterious illness after he’s injured during a fight. Macy enjoys time in Aspen with Julian. They take their relationship to the next level, then she meets the aunt who raised him. When Harry gets sick, Macy and Abby have competing ideas on how to save him.

Maggie and Jordan travel to New Orleans to pursue the buyers who purchased the chakram and black amber from Ray. They visit a magic survivors support group, where another man approaches them with an invitation to an exclusive party.

Recap

We begin with the aftermath of a terrible car crash on a dark and stormy night. Young Julian Shea’s parents are dead and he’s trapped alone in the backseat, crying for help. Cut to the present day, where he tells Macy that there’s been an empty place inside him ever since. He and Macy commiserate over the amount of bad luck and family trauma they’ve each had.

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