Season 1, Episode 2: ‘Maps and Legends’

In the second episode of “Star Trek: Picard,” we learn about a super secret group of Romulans, called Zhat Vash. I admit I’m not sure if I’m spelling that correctly, which is partially a good sign: It means there’s something new being introduced in the familiar “Trek” universe (or old, depending on how you look at it).

I’ll also overlook the old television trope of there always being a villain that is truly behind the villains we are already familiar with. But I found this offering of “Picard” to be just as compelling as its premiere. It has some key elements of what made the best episodes of “The Next Generation” strong.

For example, characters like Laris and Picard, use deductive reasoning to solve a problem instead of brute force. The stakes are gradually raised as Picard finds out he has some sort of syndrome that is likely terminal. It is unclear whether this is the Irumodic Syndrome that Picard discovers he has in the series finale of “Next Generation,” but nevertheless, it gives Picard’s story a bit more urgency. By the end of the episode, we’ve uncovered a mysterious Starfleet-related conspiracy that could destabilize the Federation.

In this case, Laris refers to the Romulan group as a “cabal” and that the Tal Shiar, seen often throughout different “Trek” iterations, are merely a front for this cultlike institution with a secret. This organization of radicalized Romulans has a particular antipathy for synthetic life-forms for a reason that is yet to be revealed. There are other mysteries that need solving, like why the late Dahj seemed to be created only three years before Picard met her.