History Recap / StarTrekPicardS3E04NoWinScenario

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: It seems very important to Picard that it be Jack who calls the oncoming asteroids, for reasons that are unclear when there's an entire crew available; surely that sort of thing is one of their jobs, not that of a non-Starfleet doctor. For that matter, when Riker tells Picard "You're the only one here with experience flying blind," he seems very sure of this without asking the existing crew, or for that matter, the ''helmswoman currently on duty.''

* MythologyGag: Picard's story about surviving in a crippled shuttle with Jack Crusher is similar to the FramingDevice of the Pocket novel ''Kobayashi Maru'', which has Kirk, Bones, Spock, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov trapped in a crippled shuttlecraft, with most of them passing the time during repairs by telling stories about their time at the Academy, with the exception of Spock (injured and unconscious) and Bones (Starfleet Medical doesn't do the Kobayashi Maru test).

* TwoDSpace: Par for the course, the Titan manages to escape and recharge energy reserves by matching the speed and riding a wave of energy coming from the center of the nebula, which is depicted as a standard PlanarShockwave that perfectly matches their position.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Though Shaw is aware of what Picard accomplished in the previous season in creating a kinder, gentler Borg, he disregards it: "The ''real'' Borg are still out there." JerkassHasAPoint.
** [[spoiler:Jack's hallucination while washing his face is nearly identical to the nightmare his father experienced back in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''.]]

'''Shaw''': Now you're starting to catch on.

Picard takes Jack to a holodeck simulation of Ten Forward LA, alongside some other crewmembers who are taking shelter there. The two start getting to know each other over (syntheholic) whiskey, swapping tales of their various adventures, but are interrupted by Shaw, who is still hopped up on painkillers for his broken leg, internal injuries and etc. He asks if Picard has told Jack about his adventures on Stardate 44002.3 -- [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorlds the Battle of Wolf 359]], in which Shaw, then a lowly engineer, lost tons of friends and barely survived. In addition to his fury at Locutus of Borg--"the only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name"--he is clearly haunted by SurvivorGuilt by being one of 10 people chosen to escape the USS ''Constance'' on its only remaining lifepod: "Why-- why me? I'm just some dipshit from Chicago. Now I'm lucky number ten." Picard, politely, withdraws from the holodeck; and Shaw, left with his crew, has a moment of self-awareness: "Forgive me. At some point, 'asshole' became a substitute for charm."

** The Changeling saboteur crippled the warp drive last episode. While there's obviously been enough time to repair it, it's simply never mentioned one way or another. Seven does tell Captain Shaw that she needs his help because all the other engineers were working on the warp core so presumably they did fix it in time.
** Riker, in "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS3E01TheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]", implies that he and Deanna are having marital problems. In this episode, he explains that the death of his son Thaddeus has weighed heavily on him, causing him to become a nihilist; and Deanna, TheEmpath, couldn't deal with that darkness. The only problem with this is that neither of them showed ''any'' evidence of this during "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E07Nepenthe Nepenthe]]". This gets addressed in a later episode; additionally, parents will do whatever they can to keep things together for the sake of their children, and there was still Kestra to think of.

** Riker, in "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS3E01TheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]", implies that he and Deanna are having marital problems. In this episode, he explains that the death of his son Thaddeus has weighed heavily on him, causing him to become a nihilist; and Deanna, TheEmpath, couldn't deal with that darkness. The only problem with this is that neither of them showed ''any'' evidence of this during "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E07Nepenthe Nepenthe]]". This one is justified in that people--especially parents--will do whatever they can to keep things together for the sake of their children.

-->'''Shaw:''' ''(to Jack)'' You know where your old man was on that day? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire! ''(to Picard)'' They have a name for you: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name!

* PaperTiger: A variation with Vadic during the communication with her Changeling superior. The figurative, if not literal mask, comes off and it's revealed Vadic's FauxAffablyEvil and AxCrazy persona is just that: a persona. The ''real'' Vadic is deferential, timid, and frightened.

** Picard's "Starfleet is the only family I have ''ever'' needed" rings hollow when you recall that this conversation took place in 2396, when ''he had already resigned from it'' in the wake of the Romulan Supernova and the destruction of Mars (''PIC'': "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E01Remembrance Remembrance]]"). This one is also justified, however, as Picard is talking to a bunch of starry-eyed cadets and obviously is going to play up the positive aspects of the organization he still believes in, regardless of its flaws.

** When Picard wants to exit the holodeck to give himself distance from the angry Captain Shaw, he commands "Computer - Arch". An Arch command is for when people inside the holodeck want to have the physical computer interface visible to be able to physically reprogram the simulation and/or to perform diagnosis of the holodeck systems while inside the holodeck. The proper voice command is "Computer - Exit" if a person wants to leave the holodeck.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Horrifically invoked by Shaw when he angrily lampshades how Picard, in contrast to other Borg drones, was given a singular designation by the Collective.
-->'''Shaw:''' You know where your old man was on that day, [Jack]? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire! They have a name for you, [Picard]: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name!

* RockBeatsLaser: The ''Shrike'' is noted to be armed to the teeth and is basically designed to be a ship used to fight in wars. So how does Riker finally beat it to get the Titan to escape? By just hurling an asteroid, essentially just a big rock, right at it! This is actually justified as it doesn't matter how advanced the ''Shrike's'' shields or hull is, being hit by something fast and big enough WILL do monumental damage to ''anything''.

* CastingGag: Vadic spins around in her command chair much as her late father did as General Chang during ''Star Trek VI''.

* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Shaw describes Changeling material as "goo" and "residue" before settling on "resi-goo".

* ThisWasHisTrueForm: Averted woth the Changeling, which doesn't melt into goo when killed, in contrast to all the other times a Changeling has been killed in the franchise. This becomes a plot point in the following episode.

** An angry Shaw confronts Picard over Wolf 359 the same [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary Sisko did]] aboard the ''Enterprise''-D. The difference is Sisko and Picard at the time were only a few years removed from the tragedy and the trauma was still fresh (and Picard was equally just as angry at Sisko). This time, Picard and Shaw have both had to live with their anger and trauma for three decades (and Picard allows himself to take the brunt of Shaw's grief rather than fight back).

-->'''Shaw:''' You know where your old man was on that day, [Jack]? He was on that Borg cube, setting the world on fire! They have a name for you, [Picard]: Locutus of Borg. The only Borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name!”

* EveryoneHasStandards: No matter how Jack feels about his biological father, even he's disgusted with Shaw using Picard -- who was just as much a victim of Wolf 359 as every one of the Starfleet casualties -- as a punching bag for all his unresolved trauma.

* ContrastingSequelCharacter: Shaw is finally revealed to be one to Benjamin Sisko from ''Deep Space Nine''. Like Sisko, Shaw is another survivor of Wolf 359 who lost everything and blames Picard. Shaw is what would've happened to sisko if he hadn't taken the Bajor assignment, encountered the Prophets, and finally begun the healing. Shaw is instead what would've happened had Sisko held on to that rage and trauma and let it all fester for 30 years.

** Upon being killed, 'Sidney'' doesn't revert back to a liquid state and ultimately ash (as had previously occurred with deceased Changelings throughout ''Deep Space Nine''). However, the next episode will reveal this ''wasn't'' an error and is actually a plot point.

* SeriesContinuityError: Shaw's first suggestion to find the Changeling is to find its bucket, as they need to periodically rest in liquid form. The need to rest in a container was a limitation specific to Odo, and he overcame it after [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E06TheAbandoned being taught by the other Changelings]]. Neither this Changeling or the one Worf and Raffi captured, being renegades from the Great Link, should have any need for a bucket to rest in their gelatinous state. For that matter, the prop bucket is a replica of Rene Auberjonois' bucket from [=DS9=] so Seven knows what to look for, when literally any sufficiently large container would serve just as well (Odo, for instance, [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E17TheForsaken was once forced to rest in Lwaxana Troi's blouse when the pair were trapped in a turbolift]]). This actually got pointed out by a fan on Twitter, leading Terry Matalas to [[https://twitter.com/TerryMatalas/status/1634233469676163077 joke]] that it would be explained in a 12-issue IDW comic detailing the Changeling's backstory.