The third episode, The End is the Beginning, closed with retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) aboard an unregistered vessel as it warped away from Earth. Patience, something that was referenced a few times in m previous article, has been rewarded with an exemplary episode.

The first three episodes, despite many people expressing great impatience, were necessary to establish a firm footing. If Spock or Data were here, something they would possibly agree upon, they would observe establishing a firm foundation is vital. There exists within this fourth episode a forward momentum.

Even though much of the ship’s crew has been assembled, this fourth episode introduces us to the remainder of that ensemble. The ensemble, a motley crew of mostly former Starfleet officers, consists of Picard, Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), Cristóbal “Chris” Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Dr Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), and various holograms that look like Chris. Elnor (Casey King) has yet to board the ship.

It is during this lates episode that we meet Elnor. Elnor, one of the Romulan refugees Picard helped, is the person he is in adulthood because of the admiral and the literature that was given. The interest Elnor has in hand-to-hand combat can be attributed to such books as Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. Elnor, whilst he’s fiercely loyal to Picard, harbours anguish and resentment toward the retired admiral because of what occurred. Although Elnor doesn’t possess the full picture, he feels Picard abandoned him.

Image Credit: IMDb.com

Picard’s detour to Vashti, because there is a lingering sense of abandonment felt throughout the community toward the Federation, creates a tension in the air which could be cut with a butter knife. Actions always have consequences. With him having captained the USS Stargazer, the USS Enterprise-D, and the USS Enterprise-E, Picard knows the significance of consequences.

Picard, as a last-ditch attempt to get Starfleet to reverse course, offered his resignation as an ultimatum. He never thought Starfleet’s top brass would accept it. His resignation meant he could no longer help the Romulans he fought so vigorously to relocate.

The final member of Picard’s crew, Seven (Jeri Ryan), makes her presence felt in the closing seconds. In fending off a mid-twenty-third century Romulan Bird of Prey, even though Raffi was able to beam her out, this selfless act cost Seven her ship.

Absolute Candor continues to provide us with a sense of what transpired more than a decade earlier. Picard was determined to assist with the Romulan refugees resettle. The Federation used the Mars attack as justification for abandoning the Romulans in their hour of need. Many Romulans, the cause of much hardship and resentment, were left stranded on an underdeveloped world.

Elsewhere, aboard the Artefact (the Borg Cube), Dr Soji Asha (Isa Briones) continues to push forward with her work. Narek (Harry Treadaway), with him being a Romulan Zhat Vash operative, is beginning to show a heightened degree of duplicity as he interacts with Soji. Even though Narissa Rizzo (Peyton List) spent time undercover at Starfleet Headquarters, Narek is more adept at concealing that villainy than his sister.

Narek, as seen with the “ancient Borg ritual,” approaches his work with a sense of humour and finesse. This approach is obviously designed to disarm Soji. She’s less likely to question his motivations.

The Ready Room …