Tag: science fiction

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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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

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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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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 3: The End is the Beginning Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

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And we’re off! The action picks up in episode 3 of Star Trek: Picard, with Jean Luc acquiring a ship and skeleton crew, then setting off into space. Before that happens, the Romulan assassins find him and Agnes, he and Raffi negotiate a delicate peace, and we’re introduced to the eccentric captain of the new ship, Cristobal Rios, and his look-alike EMH.

Over on the Borg cube, Narek’s sister, Rizzo, arrives in person, Narek and Soji continue to grow closer, and Soji is allowed to interview an important ex drone.

Recap

Every episode so far, including this one, has begun with a PTSD vision of the destruction of Mars in 2385, an event which, 14 years later, collectively haunts the Federation the way 9/11/01 haunts the US and WW2 haunts the entire world. Once the worst of the nightmare recedes, the scene changes to Starfleet Headquarters, not long after the attack on Mars. Picard’s personal nightmare isn’t over yet.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Episode 2- Maps and Legends Recap

~ Metacrone ~ 3 Comments

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Admiral Picard stays earthbound again this week, as he continues his search for clues into Dahj’s origin, sister and killers. The show, however, does not, as the audience is treated to an extended visit to the decommissioned Borg cube known as the Artifact. The cold open shows the synth rebellion on Mars from the perspective of one synth, giving viewers a glimpse into how Picard’s Starfleet career ended.

The CBS All Access companion series Star Trek: Short Treks season 2 released a companion episode about the day of the Mars attacks, titled Children of Mars, that’s worth checking out. Besides showing the day of the attack from a different perspective, the episode shows a slice of modern day life in the Federation and contains hints of conspiracy similar to those in ST:Picard. All of the Short Treks season 2 episodes are delightful and worth watching for long time Trek fans. (More in the commentary section.)

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Avenue 5 Season 1 Episode 3: I’m a Hand Model Recap

~ Metacrone

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The passengers and crew are in for more startling revelations in episode 3 of Avenue 5, as their true predicament sinks in and the situation further unravels. Mental health declines, leading to a sphincter-shaped guest towel, an emotional video sent from the guests to Rav, and a new assignment for Karen.

Judd, Iris, and the crew continue to work on new plans to get the ship back to Earth, ranging from an unethical fundraising vigil to an unethical method of reducing the ship’s weight. Ryan, the fake captain, continues to be shocked at the level of fakery on Avenue 5. Billie continues to be the lone voice of sanity and reason.

Recap

The 3 dead passengers and late engineer Joe continue to orbit the ship and frighten the passengers like 4 small, gruesome moons. Captain Ryan checks in with the bridge on the regular, comforted in the fact that while he might be fake, the hard-working, good-looking bridge crew know what they’re doing.

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Avenue 5 Season 1 Episode 2: And Then He’s Gonna Shoot Off… Recap

~ Metacrone

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This week on Avenue 5, the passengers learn even more about the mysteries of gravity. NASA reaches its/their/her/zir limit. Everyone discovers that patience really is a virtue, but not many of the souls onboard Avenue 5 are virtuous. And the sexual tension begins to mount between Ryan and Karen.

Yes, it’s another wild and unpredictable week for the cruise ship that might become a moon of Saturn, a ship which now has a few of its own moons. More on that later.

Recap

Episode 2 picks up at the exact moment where episode 1 left off, with Ryan about to address the passengers in the atrium. Karen quickly tells him not to insult them by lying, because they already know the truth. Once the truth is involved, Ryan is already in over his head, so he passes the baton to Billie, who isn’t used to speaking to laymen and uses fancy words like “propellant” that future people can’t understand.

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