Recap / Star Trek: Picard S1E10 "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2"

Blues skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies do I see...

"Mortality gives meaning to human life, Captain. Peace, love, friendship... These are precious, because we know they cannot endure. A butterfly that lives forever is really not a butterfly at all."

—Data

Picard has to figure out a way to stop the Romulans from wiping out the synths while also trying to stop the synths from calling the higher synthetics to destroy all organic life.

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Tropes:

• Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Seven of Nine and Raffi play the Vulcan game kal-toh.
• Alien Sky: At the end of the campfire scene, there is a shot of the Coppelian night sky with its distinctive two red moons.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's uncertain whether Altan Soong merely deactivated Sutra or terminated her.
• And This Is for...: As Seven kicks Narissa to her death, she declares, "This... is for Hugh!"
• As You Know: Narissa reminds her brother that "Our parents died for this, Narek. Many more gave their lives."
• Attack Pattern Alpha: Nedar orders her crew to ready Planetary Sterilization Pattern Number Five.
• Audible Sharpness: The familiar "schwing" sound of Elnor unsheathing his tan qalanq is heard before we see him on La Sirena.
• Back in the Saddle: Riker has returned to Starfleet as an acting captain for the rescue mission at Ghulion IV.
• Big Badass Battle Sequence: Zigzagged. On the one hand, there is a battle sequence between the Romulan armada and the Coppelian space orchids, with La Sirena flying through the chaos. The Romulans then do battle with illusory copies of La Sirena. On the other hand, when the Starfleet armada shows up, Oh calls off the battle and retreats to Romulan space.
• Bittersweet Ending:
  • The good news: Picard is able to persuade Soji to disable the beacon by risking his life to save Coppelius. Soong discovers Sutra's role in Saga's death and deactivates her, ensuring that Sutra cannot simply try again. With the immediate threat gone and the Federation declaring Coppelius a protectorate, General Nedar orders the fleet back to Romulan space rather than fire on the Starfleet armada. The Zhat Vash's role in the destruction of Mars is revealed, and the Federation lifts the ban on synthetics. However...
  • Dahj, Bruce Maddox, Hugh, Saga, and a lot of the xBs are dead, and knowing the truth about what happened on Mars doesn't change the fact that thousands of people died, and one of the Federation's oldest colonies was destroyed during the Zhat Vash's crusade, as was the Romulan Empire's capital world by extension. Picard succumbs to his brain abnormality, but his mind is transferred to the golem that Altan Soong built, allowing him a chance to say goodbye to Data's consciousness in a quantum simulation, who is allowed to die shortly thereafter. Nedar escapes with the Romulan fleet, and while her "Commodore Oh" identity is completely burned and she can no longer influence Starfleet policy, she's still free to pursue the Zhat Vash's agenda. Worst of all, the Higher Synthetics are still out there, and nothing is stopping them from investigating this attempt to call them.
• Black Sheep: Lampshaded by Narek, who's the failure in his Zhat Vash family, which also includes his deceased parents, so he's desperate to his prove his worth.
  Narek: I found her, Narissa. Me. The family disgrace, the Zhat Vash washout. I found Seb-Cheneb.
• Blatant Lies: After Seven of Nine forces Narissa to discard her disruptor, the latter claims that she's unarmed. Seven sees right through her fib and removes Narissa's concealed knives.
• Book Ends: "Blue Skies" is heard during the opening Picard/Data Dream Sequence in the pilot. It plays again when Picard terminates the simulation housing Data's consciousness and allows him to die.
• Borrowed Biometric Bypass: Jurati reluctantly yanks out Saga's good eye so she can gain access to Picard's locked room.
• Borrowed Catchphrase:
  Jurati: (to Picard) Make it so.
• Bottled Heroic Resolve: During the space battle, the dying Picard asks Jurati to inject him with polisinephrine to keep him going. This has the side effect of hastening his death, but he accepts that as inevitable anyway.
• Brain Uploading: Soong and Jurati manage to scan Picard's mind and then temporarily store it in a complex quantum simulation before his brain functions fully cease, and later they upload it into the android golem and then sculpt the golem into a copy of Picard's body.
• Break Them by Talking: Narissa tries this when Seven starts to get the upper hand in their fight, remarking that the latter should've put a phaser to her head over all the trauma that she'd been through as an xB, especially recently. Seven retorts that she still has something to live for: specifically, avenging Hugh.
• Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: A synth butterfly is fluttering around Rios, Seven, Raffi, and Elnor when they are reacting to Picard's death. While Picard's consciousness waits to be transferred and then revived within an android golem, a virtual butterfly appears in Data's hand, and it flies away when he explains why he wants his life to be finite.
  Data: A butterfly that lives forever... is really not a butterfly at all.
• Call-Back:
  • Jurati suggests using the Picard Maneuver, but Picard explains that it would be useless against so many ships. However, the core of the Picard Maneuver, using a warp microjump to create an afterimage as a decoy, inspires their Doppelgänger Spin deception.
  • Data's attitude toward mortality references a conversation that he had with Geordi in "Time's Arrow":
    Data: I have often wondered about my own mortality as I have seen others age around me. Until now, it has been theoretically possible that I would live an unlimited period of time. And although some might find this attractive, to me it only reinforces the fact that I am... artificial.
    [...]
    Geordi: Now that you know you might not?
    Data: It provides a sense of completion to my future. In a way, I am not so different from anyone else. I can now look forward to death.
    Geordi: I never thought of it that way.
    Data: One might even conclude that it brings me one step closer to being human. I am mortal.
  • As Data's consciousness dies, he puts on the smoking jacket that he wore in the anti-time "future", now ironically several years in the past.
• Catch-22 Dilemma: Rios needs to replace the fused intermix reactor, but to do that, he needs to use the maintenance replicator, which is powered by said reactor. Luckily, the repair tool that Saga gave him can solve the problem.
• The Cavalry: Starfleet shows up in massive force; not just a squadron of starships as Admiral Clancy stated, but an outright armada of the best starships in the Fleet to play chicken with the Romulan armada. Thankfully for all involved, the Romulans blinked.
• Chekhov's Gun: Saga's omnitool from the previous episode comes in handy when Picard and Jurati need a specific device that the ship doesn't have.
• Civilization Destroyer:
  • General Nedar's dialogue reveals that the Romulans have at least five different settings for planet-wide sterilization, and they very nearly obliterate the androids (and presumably all plant and animal life as well) on Coppelius.
  • The extragalactic synths intend to annihilate all biological life in the Milky Way, and there are robotic tentacles emerging from an interdimensional portal, but Soji breaks the beacon's console before they fully enter our space.
• Color Wash: In the scene where Narek and Narissa first meet on the Artifact, there's a greenish-grey hue.
• Combat Stilettos: When Narissa tosses away her disruptor, we can see clearly that the heels of her boots are high enough to be impractical for hand-to-hand combat, and they juxtapose Seven of Nine's flat-heeled boots. This may be a contributing factor to Narissa losing their Designated Girl Fight.
• Commonality Connection: After Picard passes away, Rios and Seven of Nine bond over the broken promises that they've made to themselves, and they're also tough, cynical Anti Heroes.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Seven and Raffi can be seen playing kal-toh in the ending, a game often played by Tuvok on Voyager.
  • It would be difficult not to think that the process of uploading Picard into a synth golem was similar to the process that Noonian Soong used to upload the mind of his wife, Juliana, into an android body long ago.
  • Once again, hyperpowerful AI has a thing for tentacles.
• Continuity Snarl: Narek states that the ancestors of Romulans and Vulcans "came" to Vulcan, rather than evolving there, resurrecting a longstanding question of where ancient Vulcans came from. Spock suggested the former origin story in TOS: "Return to Tomorrow"; T'Pol stated the latter in ENT: "The Forge". Meanwhile, TNG: "The Chase" indicated that all humanoid sentients evolved from a common ancestor seeding the galaxy, but declines to state whether Vulcan was one of the seeded worlds.
• Cry into Chest: Elnor cries into Raffi's chest, with the latter taking on a motherly role and the former is a son figure who's mourning for his surrogate father Picard.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: 218 Romulan warbirds face off against twenty or so Coppelian Orchids. After the onslaught is over, Jurati reports to Picard that 200 Romulan vessels remain.
• Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Lampshaded by Rios when he's concerned about the potential side effects of using Saga's omnitool to repair his ship.
  Rios: Honestly, I'm a little afraid of it. Like, if I use it too much, it's gonna eat my soul.
• Death Glare: It's evident from Elnor's threatening expression that he very much wants to kill Narek when he has the latter at swordpoint, and the murderous look in his eyes doesn't go away even after Narek puts his hands up in surrender and declares that he chooses to live. Elnor's ferocious glower reappears when he sits across from Narek at the beginning of the campfire scene, but it diminishes to a Disapproving Look while the latter is narrating the Ganmadan myth.
• Declaration of Protection: Riker states that, pursuant to the Treaty Of Algeron, the Federation has declared Ghulion IV as a Federation protectorate and therefore under Starfleet's jurisdiction. Oh tries to argue that their claim takes precedence, only for Riker to play back Picard's even earlier message asking for Federation assistance.
• Designated Girl Fight: Seven vs. Narissa. Seven comes out on top, being the stronger of the two.
• Destruction Equals Off-Switch: Soji smashing the control panel for the beacon immediately shuts it off.
• The Determinator: Picard is very clearly dying, yet he still flies La Sirena through a battle while making a Patrick Stewart Speech.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Picard succumbs to his neurodegenerative disorder while he's being held by Raffi, his friend and former second-in-command.
• Dirt Forcefield: After walking a long distance from La Sirena to Coppelius Station in the blazing heat, Elnor looks pristine when he arrives at the entrance, which juxtaposes Narek's sweaty appearance and the subtle but visible dirt marks on the latter's clothing.
• Disappointed in You: This is Altan's reaction to Sutra's murder of Saga, right before knocking her out with a stun device.
• Disapproving Look: Elnor glares at Narek throughout the latter's campfire story because he doesn't trust a Zhat Vash agent whose sister had murdered Hugh.
• Disney Death: Picard dies of Irumodic Syndrome, but is almost immediately brought back when his consciousness is uploaded into a new android body. It is unknown what became of his original body.
• Disney Villain Death: Seven kicks Narissa down a chasm in the Artifact, proving once again the importance of safety rails.
• Distressed Dude:
  • Picard is under house arrest at Coppelius Station.
  • Narek is subdued by the synths again and taken into their custody, but we don't see what happens to him afterwards.
• Doppelgänger Spin: To buy time, Picard and Jurati create fake sensor duplicates of La Sirena to confuse the Romulan fleet.
• Drowning My Sorrows: After Picard's death, Seven and Rios share "what passes for alcohol" on Coppelius.
• Due to the Dead: Picard gives Data a proper eulogy right before terminating him.
  "It says a great deal about the mind of Commander Data that, looking at the human race, with all its violence and corruption and willful ignorance, he could still see kindness, immense curiosity, and greatness of spirit, and he wanted more than anything else to be part of that. To be a part of the human family. 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.'"
• Enemy Mine: Narek brokers a truce with Rios and Raffi to stop the androids from summoning the higher synthetics.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: When Narissa reunites with Narek, she gives him a hug.
• Everybody Cries: Picard's death has everyone in tears, even the gruff, broody Rios. Elnor, especially, is a sobbing wreck.
• Eye Cam: After the synth Picard is activated, the first images that his new artificial eyes process are a hazy-looking Soji and Jurati.
• Eye Remember: The memories of a Soong-type android are stored in its optical processors, so when Altan Soong attempts to transfer the deceased Saga's memories into a V-module as a memento for her "twin sister" Arcana, he runs into problems because the damage to Saga's eye has corrupted the data stream. However, he's able to partially restore the final moments of what Saga saw before she died, and he's horrified to discover that Sutra is the actual murderer (while Narek, who was blamed for Saga's death, turns out to be the accomplice).
• Eye Take: For a couple of seconds, Narek's eyes almost look like they're about to pop out of their sockets because he's so frightened by Elnor and the latter's sword being so close to his neck.
• Face Death with Dignity: Data's consciousness. He has a glass of wine, prepares the sofa, and then lies down with a content look on his face.
• Fantastic Racism: Narissa continues to display her disdain towards the xBs when she belittles Seven of Nine.
  Narissa: You know, you're rather pretty. Or would be, if you weren't a disgusting half-meat.
• Finale Credits: The end credits for this episode feature a blue nebula instead of a plain black background. The music is arranged differently with a faster tempo and a more upbeat tone, with the over-all effect being that the crew of La Sirena is warping to a glorious new adventure.
• Foo Fu: Agnes asks Soong if he can use his "cryptographic kung-fu" to get into Maddox's encrypted files.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: After Picard confesses to not liking Altan Soong, Data acknowledges the status of the entire Soong family as this trope.
  Data: Hmm. The Soongs can be... I believe the phrase is... an acquired taste?
• Full-Name Ultimatum: After several failed attempts to contact "JL," Raffi tries "Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, retired" just to see if that will get his attention. Narek explains that comms are being jammed.
• Gilded Cage:
  • Picard is under house arrest and his cell is Maddox's old room. He's comfortable and there's plenty of sunlight, but he envies the freedom of a synth butterfly.
  • Data's simulated house is also a nice place, but it's still a prison for him because his mind can't exist outside of it.
• Give Me a Reason: Riker explains to Oh that he has a fleet of top-of-the-line Starfleet ships and is itching for an excuse to use them on her. Oh very nearly gives him one, but backs down when Soji decides not to summon the higher synthetics.
• Go into the Light: Inverted, as walking into the light brings Picard back to life.
• Go Out with a Smile: As Picard is dying, he grins at Soji because he's glad that she made the right choice, and he affectionately smiles at Elnor, who's the closest thing that he has to a son.
• Gory Discretion Shot: We don't actually see Jurati tear Saga's eyeball out of its socket with her bare hands, but we do hear a lot of gross squishy noises as she does so.
• Gratuitous French: Picard utters a mistimed "Adieu" (Farewell) after Riker ends their transmission.
• Gratuitous Spanish:
  • Rios whispers "Ay caramba (interjection which denotes surprise)" when he marvels at the effectiveness of Saga's omnitool as it repairs his ship's intermix reactor.
  • While waiting for Soji to get out of the way so that he can launch the modified drone, Rios mutters to himself, "Move, mija^note colloquial contraction for "my daughter," although in this case the meaning is "young girl", move."
• Gunboat Diplomacy: Starfleet sends a fleet of a couple hundred starships to convince the Romulans to depart peacefully.
• Gunship Rescue: The Federation fleet arrives moments before Oh can begin sterilizing the android homeworld.
• Heel–Face Turn: As soon as Altan Soong discovers that Sutra murdered Saga and then used Saga's death as a pretext to manipulate the other synths, he immediately helps the crew of the La Sirena by disabling Sutra during an intermission in the beacon activation ceremony, and giving Elnor, Rios, and Raffi the signal to attempt to destroy the beacon itself.
• History Repeats: Lampshaded by Narek, who thinks that the Romulan end-times prophecy isn't about the future, but something that happened in the past and will again if they don't stop it.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: Picard expresses to Data how he felt about the latter's sacrifice in the Scimitar incident so many years before.
  Data: Apparently, I had ended my existence in the hope of prolonging yours.
  Picard: That's right. Before I had even grasped the nature of our predicament, you had conceived and executed it. I was furious!
  Data: My apologies, Captain. But I am not certain I could have done otherwise.
  Picard: True. That might've been the most Data thing you ever did.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Data's consciousness asks Picard to terminate him because he feels that life has no meaning if it never ends, and he has no means within the simulation to end his own existence.
• If I Wanted You Dead...: When Rios asks Narek why he shouldn't blow him up with a photon torpedo, Narek holds up his bag of molecular solvent grenades and then points out that he's been chucking rocks to get their attention.
• Instant Death Stab: The footage that Altan manages to retrieve from Saga's optical processors shows that her systems shut down right after Sutra stabbed her left eye. Saga's right eye is still intact, but the fact that it doesn't record anything further proves that she's dead.
• Ironic Echo: Early in the episode, when Elnor suggests that the xBs might be better off dead, Seven sarcastically asks, "should I just put a phaser to my head and get it over with?" Fast forward to Seven's fight with Narissa, and Narissa (who's implied to have been watching the goings-on on the Artifact) asks Seven, "why didn't you just put a phaser to your head and get it over with?"
• Jacob Marley Apparel: When Picard meets Data's consciousness, he is still dressed in his Starfleet uniform from Star Trek: Nemesis. He changes into a smoking jacket when he is preparing to "die."
• Karma Houdini:
  • There's no mention or hint that Agnes is going to turn herself in for the murder of Bruce Maddox, although the suggestion that she was acting under the influence of the Admonition and a hostile Mind Meld likely explains this. Starfleet has a long tradition of overlooking actions taken under alien influence.
  • Similarly, Soji appears to get off scot-free despite having tried to initiate a galaxy-wide xenocide. The fact that it was a desperate effort to defend her people against anti-android fanatics who were about to massacre them because they thought she was an apocalypse-bringing demon probably has something to do with it.
  • Commodore Oh (a.k.a. General Nedar) gets away free despite being the mastermind of the destruction of Mars (although her usefulness as The Mole within Starfleet has come to an end). It should be noted, however, that had she continued the battle after Soji deactivated the beacon that was summoning the higher synths, it's likely that she wouldn't have gotten away with it. As it stands, she's almost certainly Persona Non Grata in Federation space because she had a colony massacred for a robophobic jihad, her life's work is ruined within the Federation because Starfleet knows that the A500s were hacked, and there's nothing stopping the Federation from warning other governments - including other Romulan splinter states not under the Tal Shiar's heel - about the Zhat Vash.
• Karmic Death: Narissa gets one of these, kicked into a Bottomless Pit to her doom aboard the Artifact by Seven of Nine.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Oh orders her fleet to stand down and withdraw when Soji destroys the communications array, demonstrating that she won't be the Destroyer.
• Living Is More than Surviving: The galaxy-wide Fantastic Racism against the xBs is so harsh that Elnor wonders aloud to Seven of Nine if their bleak existence is worth living.
  Elnor: Would the xBs be better off dead? Everyone hates them, they have no home. They don't belong anywhere.
  Seven: Am I better off dead? I'm an xB, I have no home, I don't belong anywhere. Why don't I just put a phaser to my head and get it over with?
• Manchild: Invoked by Rios when he attempts to persuade Elnor not to kill Narek.
  Rios: Hold up, kid, we've disarmed him, searched him.
• Manly Tears: Elnor sobs in Raffi's arms after Picard succumbs to his neurodegenerative disorder.
• Misery Poker: Rios and Seven of Nine engage in a brief game of this while sharing a drink after Picard's death. Seven declares herself the winner without Rios objecting.
  Rios: I said I would never do it again, and then I fucking did it again.
  Seven: Same.
  Rios: Never again do what?
  Seven: (scoffs) So many things. But in this instance, never again kill somebody just because it's what they deserve, just because it feels wrong for them to still be alive. You?
  Rios: (sniffs) Never again let another self-righteous, hard-ass, old starship captain into my heart. Never again have to stand there and watch him die.
  Seven: Was there anything you could've done to prevent it?
  Rios: No, I guess there wasn't.
  Seven: Hmm, then I win.
• Mourning a Dead Robot: Picard honors Data's wish to die peacefully after having his consciousness housed in a computer in the 18 years since Data's body was destroyed in Star Trek: Nemesis. He eulogizes Data while unplugging the memory sticks housing his consciousness, surrounded by Altan Soong (the son of Data's creator), daughter Soji, and roboticist Agnes Jurati.
• My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: Like Narissa had used the treaty to justify murdering the xBs and Hugh, Oh tries to use the Treaty of Algeron to claim Ghulion IV (Coppelius) as being under Romulan jurisdiction on account of arriving before Starfleet. Riker trumps her claim by replaying Picard's Priority One message formally requesting Starfleet's help, which he broadcast a day prior to her arrival.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Narissa is confused as to why Narek wants to use molecular solvent grenades against "flowers" (the Coppelian vessels are specifically called Orchids, but he doesn't seem to know that), and he clarifies that his intended targets are "Ship-killing flowers that fly."
• Oh, Crap!: Narek is so terrified when Elnor's tan qalanq is near his throat that he practically jumps out of his chair.
  Elnor: Feldor stam torret. (Please, my friend, choose to live.)
  Narek: (Eye Take) I do. I very much choose to live.
• Orange/Blue Contrast: The sapphire blue wings of the synth butterfly that Picard admires gradually become bright orange; it expands from the center, spreading outward towards the tips before receding and returning the wings to their original blue shade.
• Our Hero Is Dead: Picard's brain abnormality becomes lethal. Fortunately, the golem that Dr. Soong built hasn't been used yet.
• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Riker and Oh engage in a bit of it after the confrontation has passed. Riker offers to escort her fleet out of Federation space. She declines, stating that it won't be necessary. Riker insists.
• Patrick Stewart Speech: Picard is able to convince Soji not to be the Destroyer.
  Picard: Soji, please power down the beacon. Show them how profoundly wrong they are about you. You're not the enemy. You're not the Destroyer. If that doesn't convince them, then they will have to answer to the Federation.
  Soji: The same Federation that banned us and threw us on the scrap heap?
  Picard: If we wanted to destroy you, Soji, we would've joined forces with the Romulans. We would be training our phasers on you right now. We aren't. We won't. You know why? Because we trust you to make the right choice. I trust you, Soji. I know you. I believe in you. That's why I saved your lives, so that you could save ours in return. That's the whole point. That's why we're here. To save each other.
• Pet the Dog: Narissa initially wants to join Narek in stopping the synths, but when he rants about finding them despite being the family screw-up, she backs down and lets him take the lead while remaining behind to use the Artifact's weapons.
• Post-Victory Collapse: After succeeding in talking down Soji, Picard collapses from his brain abnormality because it has become fatal.
• Pragmatic Villainy: General Nedar (or "Commodore Oh") proves to be a Reasonable Authority Figure when she orders her fleet of Romulan warbirds to stand down and depart when confronted by the Starfleet task force under Captain Riker. It permits her to be a Karma Houdini and to advance her agenda elsewhere.
• Precision F-Strike:
  • Narissa asks Narek if he fucked any synths at Coppelius Station.
  • While talking to Seven, Rios berates himself for letting "a self-righteous, hard-ass, old starship captain" into his heart, and then having to watch him die.
    Rios: I said I would never do it again, and then I fucking did it again.
• Pretty Butterflies: A synth butterfly wanders into Picard's Gilded Cage and lands on his hand. He takes a moment to appreciate its beauty before letting it go.
• The Prophecy: Narek recounts in vivid detail the full story from Romulan mythology of Seb-Cheneb and her twin sister Seb-Natan ("the Foreteller," whose name is spoken for the first time in this episode), and it's far more violent and gruesome than what we've heard earlier in the series. Rios compares it to Ragnarök and Judgment Day. Elnor, a fellow Romulan, has heard this tale before and dismisses it as such, but Narek has a different opinion.
  Raffi: But do you really... you really believe that this is a prophecy?
  Narek: No. I believe it's history. And the fascinating thing about history is... it always repeats itself.
• Rapid Aging: As Picard shuts down his simulation, Data rapidly ages into an old man before dissolving into dust with the rest of his simulated environment.
• The Reveal:
  • Sutra murdered Saga, although Narek was an accomplice.
  • Narissa beamed to another section of the Artifact when the xBs were trying to kill her.
• Revenge: Seven of Nine states firmly just as she kicks Narissa to her death that she's doing this for Hugh.
• Science Fantasy: Because Saga's omnitool can mold itself into anything that the person imagines (which by the franchise's standards is closer to Fantasy than to Science Fiction), both Raffi and Rios are totally baffled over how it works as it repairs La Sirena's intermix reactor, and they're former Starfleet officers who would've seen a lot of strange things throughout their careers.
  Raffi: Uh, what's happening?
  Rios: Nothing that makes any sense.
• Screaming Woman: Narissa screams as she falls to her death.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Narissa taunts Seven about being an xB and suggests that she should just kill herself. Seven responds by kicking her ass and then kicking her down a massive shaft as revenge for Hugh.
• Space Battle: The Romulan armada unleashes a barrage of disruptor fire against the ship-disabling Orchids while they're in orbit around Coppelius.
• Stealth Expert: Elnor can out-stealth two spies. Narissa and Narek, who are Zhat Vash operatives, aren't aware that Elnor is listening to their conversation off-screen, and when Narek departs from the Artifact, he's clueless that Elnor is tailing him. Later, Elnor sneaks into a room on La Sirena and startles Rios, Raffi, and Narek; they don't notice Elnor's presence until his tan qalanq is right next to Narek's throat.
• Super-Strength:
  • As a Romulan, Elnor is stronger than a human, and he punches a couple of Soong-type androids with sufficient force to cause them to fall down.
  • Narek kicks an android hard enough to knock it over. Although he's soon overwhelmed by two of them, Narek is stronger than a human by virtue of being a Romulan, and being able to hit the android with that much force is still more than what an average human can do. He can also pin Saga to the ground, plus he falls from a great height and lands squarely on his two feet without getting hurt.
  • When Seven of Nine fights Narissa, the former is stronger than the latter, so that means Seven is stronger than a Romulan woman.
  • This is averted with synth!Picard. The golem that Soong put Picard's mind into is designed to be similar in physical function to Picard as a human at the time of his physical death, minus the illness, and also was programmed to eventually grow older and die per his desire not to be immortal.
• A Tankard of Moose Urine: Seven of Nine and Rios take turns sipping from a bottle with an unspecified green beverage that is the closest thing to alcohol on Coppelius. It tastes so gross that they both wince when they drink it, and Seven outright tells Rios that she doesn't recommend it, yet they don't stop passing the bottle. Any port in a storm.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Elnor doesn't like or trust Narek, but he agrees to work with him to destroy the beacon that will summon the extragalactic synthetics.
• Teleport Interdiction: Coppelius Station has transport inhibitors that prevent beaming, so Rios, Raffi, Narek, and Elnor have to find another way to sneak the modified drone which contains Narek's molecular solvent grenades into the colony.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill:
  • When told that the synths are concentrated in one settlement, Oh orders the entire planet sterilized just to be sure.
  • Upon seeing Narek throwing rocks at La Sirena, Rios threatens to blast him with a photon torpedo. That would surely obliterate Narek — and at that close range (just a few meters), La Sirena as well.
• That Came Out Wrong: Raffi suggests to Rios to "imagine a fix" when using the thought-controlled omnitool. She then has to clarify that she's not referring to drugs.
  Rios: Have you been, uh... hitting the horgl again?
• Trojan Prisoner: Narek volunteers to pretend to be the captive of Rios, Raffi, and Elnor so that they can turn him in for Saga's murder. It's a ruse so that they can enter Coppelius Station and get close enough to the beacon to destroy it.
• Unfolding Plan Montage: The scene switches between Narek, Rios, Raffi and Elnor discussing how they will gain access to Coppelius Station and being inspected by the android guards at the entrance. It fails when Soji grabs the solvent detonator and throws it away from the transmitter before it goes off.
• The Unreveal: So what was that thing that the synths almost summoned? And what would it have done had it emerged? And could Picard have reasoned with it?
• Wham Line: Data revealing to Picard in his simulation that the Captain's life isn't quite over yet:
  Data: When you leave...
  Picard: Leave? Sorry, I don't understand, I thought you said this was a simulation.
  Data: Yes, sir. But you are not.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • We don't see what happens to Narek after the synths subdue him. invokedWord of God is that he was taken into Federation custody,◊ but this was cut for time.
  • It's unknown what became of the xBs and the Artifact (although Michael Chabon would later clarify that a invokedDeleted Scene had Ramdha and the other former drones join the synth colony◊), as Seven has joined Picard's crew.
  • No update on Laris, Zhaban, and Number One, either, although one assumes that they wouldn't be in any trouble on Earth.
  • Ditto the murder charges that Jurati is facing in the death of Bruce Maddox, for which she seems to have been Easily Forgiven.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?:
  • Data believes that his life is meaningless if he cannot die, which is why he wants the simulation that houses his mind to be deactivated.
  • Soong and Jurati also make sure to design Picard's android body to die after what would have been his natural lifespan, assuming that he was perfectly healthy apart from the brain abnormality, because they overheard his conversation with Data and know that he wouldn't want to be immortal. That said, Picard semi-jokingly points out that them adding 10 or 20 years to his new body would not have ruined the moral.

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