History Recap / StarTrekPicardS1E09EtInArcadiaEgoPart1

* TransitionTrack: Picard's dialogue with Elnor is heard before the scene cuts away from Soji looking at a graduation photo of herself with Dahj.

* ShoutOut: The planet where the androids are based is called Coppelius. [[invoked]]WordOfGod [[https://i.imgur.com/qUQsytd.jpg confirms]] [[https://i.imgur.com/I7MVOgl.jpg that it's named]] for the antagonist in the short story ''Literature/TheSandman'', written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816 (the source, although much-altered, of the ballet ''Theatre/{{Coppelia}}''), which had as a theme the creation of automata-- as well as a motif of [[EyeScream plucking out of eyes]].

** Most people would freak out when they see a Borg Cube approaching, but Rios responds with a flat, "That's unexpected."

* EntertaininglyWrong: Romulan mythology speaks of two sisters, one who dies and one who becomes "The Destroyer" who summons an army of demons to end all life. Ramdha and the Zhat Vash become convinced that these sisters are Dahj and Soji, but the events of this episode show that they were almost certainly Jana, who was killed aboard the U.S.S. ''ibn Majid'' (by Rios's former commanding officer under orders from Starfleet Security) and Sutra, who advocates the idea of using the Admonition's information to summon higher synthetic life-forms to exterminate all organic life in the galaxy.

* FalseFlagOperation: Sutra allows Narek to escape then uses the fact that he killed Saga on the way out (which, under the circumstances, should be taken with a grain of salt) as proof that organics can't be trusted, thereby justifying calling the higher synthetics to wipe the organics out wholesale.

** A mild case, as Elnor goes sleeveless by the time Picard arrives on the Artifact.

* GreaterScopeVillain: The extragalactic synths end up being this. Not only did their Admonition cause the Zhat Vash to kick off the plot, but they explicitly declare themselves to be [[OmnicidalManiac Biocidal Maniacs]] who are ready, willing and able to swoop in and kill every organic lifeform they can get their hands on.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: The Artifact, crewed by Seven, Elnor and the surviving ex-Borg, arrives in a GunshipRescue to stop Narek's ship from destroying ''La Sirena'' -- and then the synths' Orchids swarm all three ships and drag them down to crash-land on the planet's surface.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Bruce Maddox, in his heroic capacity as a creator of the synths, decided to be devious and lock away the knowledge of the synth homeworld in Soji's mind. As a consequence, she didn't know she had to keep it a secret, and gave it away to Narek and the Romulans. She earns forgiveness for bringing the Romulans down on the synths' heads for precisely this reason.

* OnceMoreWithClarity: It turns out the Romulans have misunderstood the Admonition all along because it wasn't meant for their hardware (their brains). They thought it was a warning for organic life that AIIsACrapshoot, when it was actually instructions for synthetics on how to send a DistressSignal when threatened by organics. It's a bit like putting a Blu-ray disc into a CD player, or trying to run a Mac program on a PC without an emulator. Best case, nothing happens; worst case, you might need a new CD player.

* PatrickStewartSpeech: While Picard's gift with oratory is acknowledged by Altan Soong and the colony of synths, they believe Starfleet will ignore him again the same way as it ignored him after the attack on Mars, and that letting him loose with his superb diction in the colony would cause the synths to start wavering -- hence they place him under house arrest to prevent this.

* ProperlyParanoid: When it appears that they've disabled Narek's ship, Soji thinks it's a trick and wants to finish him off. Picard instead chooses to save his life, at which point Soji is proven right when it turns out to be a projection.
* RedAlert: For the first time (onscreen, at least) on ''La Sirena'', alert sirens and lights go off when Narek attacks.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The Admonition warns synthetic life that organic life will seek to wipe them out if the latter feels threatened by the former, and that whoever created the message will come to provide aid if summoned. The Zhat Vash hijacking this warning and misinterpreting it -- thinking synthetic life will ''automatically'' cause the extinction of organic life -- led them to persecute all synthetic beings, meaning Sutra is far ''more'' inclined to summon the higher synthetic beings and destroy organic life in turn.
* ShoutOut: The planet where the androids are based is called Coppelius. [[invoked]]WordOfGod [[https://i.imgur.com/qUQsytd.jpg confirms]] [[https://i.imgur.com/I7MVOgl.jpg that it's named]] for the antagonist in the short story ''Literature/TheSandman'', written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816 (the source, although much-altered, of the ballet ''Theatre/{{Coppelia}}''), which had as a theme the creation of automata -- as well as a motif of [[EyeScream plucking out of eyes]].

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Sutra speculates that the Admonition was meant for android minds, and the Romulans are simply being driven insane by a message that was never meant for them. This is partly true, in that the destruction the message warns of is quite real, but it's meant to be for the benefit of synthetic life.

* NotSoDifferent: Sutra equates the Federation's ban on synthetic lifeforms with the Romulan policy to hunt them down to extinction.
-->'''Sutra:''' Are you and your Federation any different from the Romulans? Banning synthetics was just a way of exterminating us in advance.

* GenerationXerox: Once again, Creator/BrentSpiner plays a member of the Soong family, as he did before in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]''. In addition, Altan's extreme protectiveness of his creations mirrors that of his ancestor Arik.

* MythologyGag: One of the android women is wearing an outfit clearly inspired by (although [[invoked]][[TheissTitillationTheory not as revealing as]]) the costume worn by android girl Andrea in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E7WhatAreLittleGirlsMadeOf What Are Little Girls Made Of?]]".

** Jurati told Picard that Maddox's "fractal neuronic cloning" technique creates synths in pairs. Synthville is populated almost entirely by twins, except Altan (who's not a synth) and Sutra (whose twin, Jana, is dead). Presumably, Beautiful Flower's surviving twin is also there.

* TranquilFury: Soong is furious at Agnes killing his friend and partner Maddox, and tells her so without even raising his voice.

--->'''Altan''': You owe a great debt. Would you like the chance to repay it? To give a life instead of taking one?\\
'''Jurati''': Yes.

-->'''Altan''': Perfect golden eye. What did [Narek] do to your beautiful eye?

-->'''Picard''': Anyone who treats me like a dying man will run the risk of pissing me off. Is that clear?

--->'''Rios''': How many?\\
'''Raffi''': Uh, 218 warbirds.\\
'''Rios''': Oh, 218.\\
'''Raffi''': Mm-hmm.\\
'''Rios''': That's not so bad.\\
'''Raffi''': True. We only really have to worry about the first 109.

* GenerationXerox: Once again, Creator/BrentSpiner plays a member of the Soong family, as he did before in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]''. In addition, Altan's extreme protectiveness of his creations mirror that of his ancestor Arik.

--->'''Jurati''': Am I ''inolvidable'' (unforgettable)?\\
'''Rios''': ''Absolutamente'' (Absolutely).

* MythologyGag: One of the android women is wearing an outfit clearly inspired by (although [[invoked]][[TheissTitillationTheory not as revealing]]) the costume worn by android girl Andrea in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E7WhatAreLittleGirlsMadeOf What Are Little Girls Made Of?]]".

-->'''Picard''': Poor Hugh. It must have taken ''appalling'' brutality to turn such a gentle soul to violence.

-->'''Sutra''': A mother would die for her children. Would you? I will know if you're lying.\\
'''Jurati''': Yes.\\
'''Sutra''': Good.

-->'''Picard''': El... I'm very, very proud of you.

-->'''Picard''': ...What just happened?\\
'''Jurati''': They hit us with a flower.

* VillainHasAPoint: The Zhat Vash aren't entirely illogical in their crusade to prevent the development of synths. Even if they had correctly understood the message centuries before, it would have still have given them justification to stop the development of synthetic life in order to prevent such a situation from arising in the first place. Additionally, there have already been synthetic lifeforms in the past of the Franchise/TrekVerse who would have called the synthetic alliance had they known of them.

--->'''Elnor''': You're dying. [...] I'm torn, you need protection now more than ever.\\
'''Picard''': The xBs need your protection much more than I do.

** Jurati told Picard that Maddox's "fractal neurotic cloning" technique creates synths in pairs. Synthville is populated almost entirely by twins, except Altan (who's not a synth) and Sutra (whose twin, Jana, is dead). Presumably, Beautiful Flower's surviving twin is also there.

-->'''Rios:''' ''¡Puta madre!'' Our Romulan shadow is back! [...] ''¡Malparido!

-->'''Rios:''' ''¡Puta madre!'' Our Romulan shadow is back!

* SpaceBattle: Narek's Snakehead fighter attacks ''La Sirena'' when they both reach Coppelius. Just before the Artifact can join in their firefight, all three vessels are incapacitated by the Orchids.