Star Trek: Picard’s unraveling continuity is the results of operator error | Engadget

The following accommodates average spoilers for the fourth episode of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.

Continuity is one thing that comes up in geek media lots, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Star Wars to DC’s TV Arrowverse. It was once a factor solely hardcore nerds actually cared about, however now it’s gone mainstream, with followers of all stripes cheering at callbacks and declaring inconsistencies. Star Trek was in all probability the primary main instance of an interconnected universe that most individuals had been conscious of, however because the franchise continues to develop, with no less than 5 exhibits in lively manufacturing and extra on the best way, is constant continuity one thing it might probably sustain with?

Out of all the present exhibits, Star Trek: Picard in all probability has the strongest ties to continuity proper now. It’s billed as a direct sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation and follows the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we noticed him and the Enterprise-E crew in Nemesis. Season one discovered him a damaged man, after a devastating assault on Mars and the banning of artificial life. This storyline truly made follow-up to the occasions of The Next Generation, by which the rights of a synthetic being like Data had been continually being known as into query.

Season two up to now has determined to deal with the connection between Q and Picard, with the all-powerful being thrusting the outdated admiral into an alternate actuality just like, however not similar to, the twisted mirror universe the place everyone seems to be evil. In this actuality Picard is an admired basic in a genocidal empire. He makes the choice to journey again in time to the purpose of divergence with the truth he is aware of, a typical Star Trek plot system.

It’s widespread sufficient that the episode makes two references to no less than two different earlier time journey adventures within the franchise: Seven and Raffi encounter a punk on a bus with a boombox blasting the music “I Hate You” at prime quantity, a recreation of a scene from The Voyage Home (even that includes the identical punk), and later they discover that their colleague Rios is being taken to a “Sanctuary District,” an idea first launched within the Deep Space Nine two-parter “Past Tense.”

And but, there’s a whole plot line that includes Picard heading to a set of coordinates solely to reach at 10 Forward Street, the placement of Guinan’s bar within the season premiere. Picard even laughs when he sees the road signal, displaying that even he’s conscious of the amusing similarity to the identify of Guinan’s bar on the Enterprise-D. Star Trek is not any stranger to coincidences, although the following scene makes me surprise if the writers had been conscious that Guinan’s bar is known as 10 Forward as a result of it was on the very entrance of deck 10.

Even although it’s 2024, Guinan does in reality occur to be there, although she’s closing up store. But as a substitute of a cheerful reunion between the 2, this model of Guinan doesn’t acknowledge him in any respect. This doesn’t appear to perturb Picard within the slightest — he even withholds his identify and the place he actually comes from in order to not disturb the timeline.

Long-time Trek viewers will instantly see the issue with this, specifically in that one other time journey journey, the TNG two-parter “Time Arrow,” Picard met Guinan within the nineteenth century. He saved her life, even. And that journey was truly a solution to a long-standing query on the present: How did the 2 turn into associates with out ever assembly earlier than she stepped foot on the Enterprise-D in season two of TNG? Guinan as soon as mentioned their relationship was “beyond friendship, beyond family” and whereas the entire journey may not have been the perfect resolution that followers needed, it was adequate on the time.

So, when Picard walks into 10 Forward Street, it looks as if the proper alternative to deepen the connection between the 2 characters additional. Reunited after 131 years! It’s a stage of “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” that Doctor Who is understood for and has managed to make work, particularly when establishing the connection between the Doctor and River Song. If the connection between Guinan and Picard is “more than friendship, more than family” there’s room for an additional journey between the 2 to determine why they look after one another so deeply.

Instead, it’s like they’re assembly once more for the primary time. This Guinan is jaded, nearly indignant on the state of Earth, which is why she’s leaving now. It appears uncharacteristically bitter for her, who’s normally a caring, curious individual. And, whereas Picard appears like he can’t reveal particulars concerning the future to her, he does really feel like he has to persuade her to not depart Earth.

But… why? Long-time followers know that sooner or later she returns to her homeworld, solely to turn into a refugee when the planet is attacked by (presumably) the Borg. And after we noticed her in “Time’s Arrow,” she was merely visiting, and was unlikely to remain lengthy lest her mom present as much as come gather her. It doesn’t actually monitor that she would have frolicked one other 131 years, even going as far as to open a enterprise or have a canine.

I beforehand argued that there’s a degree the place it turns into unrealistic to anticipate followers to maintain up with each little bit of continuity. There are nearly 30 movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and days price of TV exhibits to match. And it’s impractical to anticipate a brand new Star Trek author to look at 800-plus episodes of outdated Trek earlier than they’re allowed to put in writing a single phrase of script.

But to look at no less than a number of episodes of the present related to the present storyline? That’s not an enormous ask, particularly in a world the place all the things is out there by way of streaming. We’re long gone the times of the BBC erasing the tapes of Doctor Who or the unique prints of movies like Star Wars disappearing into the void. And not are TV present archives locked away in company storage amenities or stacked in basements of hardcore collectors. Just a number of clicks on Paramount+, and any episode of any Star Trek collection could be pulled up on demand. Which contains “Time’s Arrow.”

But it’s even comprehensible that beneath a time crunch, maybe the writers couldn’t watch each episode with Guinan. But even then the reasons are skinny, because the writers might do what I did earlier than scripting this submit: Google it. Pull up Star Trek wiki Memory Alpha, punch in “Guinan” and skim by means of the entry to get a full listing of her appearances. There’s even a piece particularly about Picard and Guinan’s friendship, which might have alerted any reader to the existence of the “Time’s Arrow” two-parter, even when the writers for no matter motive had by no means heard of it.

With 56 years of historical past and a lot of the writers born after the unique collection — and newer exhibits even using individuals born after The Next Generation — they will’t be anticipated to know all the things. But at the same time as all the things turns into “available forever,” there are individuals who’ve made it their jobs to kind by means of all of it and maintain monitor of each little element. Some writers argue that continuity could be stifling, and the jury’s nonetheless out on how a lot it issues, however within the case of Guinan and Picard the attraction is the characters’ shared historical past. A shared historical past that isn’t laborious to lookup on in the present day’s web.