Probably the best episode of the whole series? Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes actually did proper acting. I actually felt like I was watching STAR TREK during the escape scene, even with the silly space jellyfish at the end (Star Trek can be silly!) Frakes as director DESERVES CREDIT for actually making me forget all the stupid shit from the first two seasons for a moment.
Shaw's actor is good too, but did they really have to make his backstory Best of Both Worlds again? Wonder if he served on the same ship as Sisko.
Is Vadic a changeling or does she just have a changeling for a hand?
Still some dumb shit! Odo's bucket wasn't some changeling cultural artefact! There's no reason AT ALL a changeling spy would bring an identical bucket on the ship; Odo himself stopped using the bucket in later seasons and just lounged around in good form. And they definitely don't leave "resi-goo" behind! That would make them easy to catch!
Four episodes in and we still have absolutely no clue who the real villain behind everything is (it's Lore though.)
Basically my sentiment.
I'm still irritated at how many times I dropped my guard in the episode, only for another dumb bit of quip / self-referential dialogue to come our way - more so than previous seasons, because the stuff that's good IS good. Dumbass dialogue that springs to mind: "Residue ... resi-goo", "To seek out new life ...", "Bob's ya uncle and Fanny's ya Aunt" (???), Picard swearing was cringe.
As for Shaw - do all Wolf 359 survivors pull this shit with Picard? It's the 25th Century - you'd think everyone involved would get that Picard had no agency and was a victim of The Borg as much as anyone. The man was mind raped for his tactical knowledge. As their puppet, he was forced to aid The Collective in the murder of thousands of his fellow Starfleet Officers. But yeah, let's rub his fucking face in it 20 years after the fact, why don't we.
But as for the good stuff - I enjoyed the quieter, character-focused opening. Frakes is the standout among the original cast. Vadic has improved dramatically from her cartoonish debut. The Titan's dilemma was classic Trek, as was the solution. The shot of the Titan ramming an asteroid into the Shrike was more satisfying than all the other NuTrek star wars-y space battles put together. The Changeling angle is intriguing - I haven't got a clue what they're up to, but I'm interested.
I pride myself on being memberberry-resistant, but in this episode they got me good. When Picard took the conn and started giving orders and barking coordinates, I had a stupid smile on my face. I almost slapped myself. It was like - there he is.
At this juncture, if they go all-in on the fanwank and deliver a great story (that doesn't go off the deep end in the next couple of episodes), I might be satisfied.