YMMV / Star Trek: The Next Generation S6E14 "Tapestry"

---

• Canon Fodder: Q's line about how Picard originally took charge of the Stargazer's bridge when its captain was killed was expanded upon in the TNG novel "The Valiant." Lt. Commander Picard was only the second officer of the Stargazer, and had to take command when the captain was killed and the first officer incapacitated.
• Hype Backlash: While it's commonly regarded as one of TNG's best episodes, it's also attracted its share of detractors over the years, mostly those who feel the message over the bar fight undermines the core themes of the series.
  • Fans also criticize the alternate future where only Picard has changed, with little regard given to how he influenced the development of his core crew. Often missed is the scene during Riker and Troi's interview with alternate "Lieutenant jg. Picard", they essentially tell him, in a roundabout way, how dull and boring they thought he was. However both of them now come off as typical contemporary passive-aggressive corporate middle management types who get their jobs because they conform to company culture.
  • Another point of criticism is that the changes to Alternate Picard's life are entirely subtractive, i.e., not being captain has only taken things away from Picard's life, without adding anything. Couldn't he have used his extra time and lower stress levels to focus on other things? How about raising a family, or pursuing his other interests? Granted, this vision of the alternate universe was created by Q, who has an interest in making it look as bad as possible.
  • Also, if Picard sees holding a low-profile position as being a Fate Worse than Death, what does that say about how he views his subordinates? That said, writers have observed that the problem is not that such a job is bad in general, but that it isn't a good fit for Picard.
• Misaimed Fandom:
  • Fans criticize the revelation that Picard's life would have turned out far worse had he not started the bar fight believing Star Trek should always promote solving problems via brains rather than brawn. However, Q clearly states that it was Picard specifically learning from this particular mistake that made him the man he was.
  • Some fans didn't see what the problem was with Picard's alternate existence where he didn't initiate the fight with the Nausicaans, pointing out that "Lt. Picard" still had a decent life and a posting aboard the flagship that many Starfleet officers would kill for, and considering that a fair exchange for being able to potentially live decades longer than he might otherwise have done. As writer Ronald D. Moore pointed out, however, just because that might be the right life for a lot of other officers, that doesn't mean that it's the right life for Picard.
• Squick: Though Picard appeared in his 20's to the other characters, the audience still saw him the way he is in the series: In his early 60's, kissing/making out with a woman in her early to mid 20's. The actors' ages don't make it better, either, since then it's a man in his 50's kissing a 17 year old.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: If, as Q claims, Lt. Picard "never, ever got noticed by anyone", then it's probably a fairly safe bet that the Borg never kidnapped him, Mind Raped him, and used him to slaughter tens of thousands of fellow Starfleet officers. Yet there's never any discussion over whether ending up with a less prestigious career would be worth it to be rid of the truly horrific memories that he would have from his time as Locutus.

---