In the thirteenth episode of the second season of The Next Generation, WHAT THE HELL. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
I certainly enjoyed watching the mindfuck that was “Time Squared,” but I also think that this is a case where the set-up and execution are far better than the actual ending. I’m actually very confused by the ending. Wait, and the beginning! LET’S START THERE, because first of all, those are scrambled eggs. That’s not an omelette? At all? Which is super nitpicky of me, I acknowledge that, but I’m also quite confused about the purpose of that opening scene. It felt so random and disconnected from anything else because there’s never a reference to it again. I don’t suppose I need one, and if we get more of these brief character-building moments, I’ll adjust to them. They’re cute! It’s nice seeing the crew do things together that have no relation to the job. So maybe this will become something I come to adore about the show!
Anyway, I love that “Time Squared” wastes approximately NO time before RUINING OUR LIVES. I mean, how long does it take for this episode to jettison itself into the stratosphere of the surreal? Five minutes? Ten? And then we’re staring at the face of an unconscious Captain Picard WHILE CAPTAIN PICARD STARES AT HIMSELF. Oh, and this is Picard from six hours in the future. Can we talk about that, y’all? Who does a time travel episode that’s about someone appearing from six hours away??? It’s a brilliant writing choice because it builds a natural sense of suspense into the episode. We are forced to worry about the eventual fate of these characters because we know how it ends… sort of. The logs show the Enterprise exploding, and Future!Picard’s presence lets us know he’s the only one who survived it. What would compel Picard to leave behind everyone on the Enterprise? How could that ever happen???
That’s one of the primary conflicts here, especially since Picard is so openly disgusted by the actions of his future self. He can’t imagine a future where he’d abandon his ship, and yet here’s evidence that he will do it. That’s not an easy thing to confront, and yet, Picard has to do it. But that confrontation is so confusing to me. I think the problem here is that while I appreciated the weirdness of all of this, I didn’t understand what it meant. Why couldn’t Future!Picard tell them what the other solution was? Was he bound by the immutability of his time stream? What was the vortex? Why did it want the “brain” of the Enterprise?
Now, I realize that one thing I’ve enjoyed about The Next Generation is their attempt to value the ambiguous, unknowable nature of space travel. I recognize that it’s probably hypocritical to then engage with this idea that the vortex is too unknowable for me. It’s a challenge, certainly, to attempt to piece all of this together because this is also an episode about time travel, so it was going to be confusing right from the start. I appreciate that challenge! At the same time, storytelling like this can be risky for the audience. With as much science and theoretical physics jammed into this episode, I felt like I simply wasn’t smart enough to understand what was going on. Of course, some of the “science” might just have been science fiction, too.
So why does that matter? It’s not like I’m surprised that The Next Generation dabbles in some high-end scientific theories. It’s a science fiction show and unapologetically so! And science is best pursued as something we don’t understand but are trying to understand. At the same time, I don’t watch this show for the science. It’s an added joy for me some of the time, but I care about the characters. I care about the stories and the adventures these people go on. I think that “Time Squared” approaches something truly revelatory for Captain Picard, but instead relies on the shock and surreality for the bulk of the story. What does Picard learn about himself? Is his loyalty as a Captain confirmed or challenged?
I know that ultimately, a lot of my criticism for The Next Generation stems from a desire to see more serialization within this fictional universe. This show is so episodic by nature that I find I have to manage my expectations for the kind of stories it tells, and that’s fine. I want to approach this show fairly, you know? At the same time, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to point out reasons why something doesn’t work for you. It’s part of how I do critical analysis because I understand that what I think doesn’t work for a story might be precisely what works for someone else. Which is a fascinating phenomenon in and of itself! In the end, though, I’m glad I’m so entertained by The Next Generation and that it’s left me so eager to discuss stuff like this. It’s a huge improvement on The Original Series, and I’d even say that season two has come together a lot better than season one.
The video for “Time Squared” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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