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Episode 23: We'll Always Have Paris

Time based shenanigans always get me excited. We also have a focus episode on Picard and many Casablanca references.

So, we'll talk about him first. Fencing is a fine hobby and it's nice to open on a character's downtime. Stewart plays his repressed emotions brilliantly, with the irritable towel slapping being a highlight. Angrily shutting down the holodeck therapy was quite a real moment. I find it quite brave for the show to admit that it's main character is a vain coward. Throwing away love for the sake of puffing up your image is a very common problem, but it's not particularly heroic, so, props for allowing Picard to have an uncommon flaw.

Riker mostly just shares exposition duty with Data. Shares some interesting looks, too, as Picard's love life is gradually revealed.

La Forge didn't seem too thrilled at beaming Data down to the lab.

I doubt the writers actually cared, but I like to think that the quest for shore leave is due to Yar's death. Last time she gets her own paragraph.

The delay in rescuing Worf from the transporter incident briefly made me wonder if he might have a greater role to play.

Crusher's sucking lemons when she sees Jenice. Her half bemused, half irritated look when she figures out why Troi is paying a house call is great.

Speaking of Troi, the poor lass just wants to do her job and keeps getting brushed off. At least she gets to escort Jenice to the holodeck date.

Data gets along well with his other selves. Thinking so little of himself as to believe he's replaceable comes close to breaking my heart. A rare passionate outburst at the end with his other two.

Wesley is still in mourning. Don't blame him.

Jenice is one of the two leads in this romantic runabout and, while she's played brilliantly, I don't think there's all that much to her character. She falls into generic lost love territory and her chemistry with Stewart only squeaks out in occasional exchanges. Manheim doesn't do much for me, either.

Some pretty inspired directing. Setting the camera inside Picard's locker and using opening and closing for shot cuts is fun. Having the camera aimed at Picard's back, with his arms folded, whilst Jenice is at the other end of the room is a fine metaphor for being emotionally closed off. The cafe is a beautiful set. I didn't mention it in the last episode, but the music for both that and this is fantastic. Mystery and tension are done perfectly. The score had become utterly brilliant. I don't understand why middle Data is apparently the correct one. Given who the camera has been following, surely it should be future most Data.

The time distortions are a pretty obvious metaphor for memories. They're representing Picard (and possibly Jenice) running the same scenarios in their head over and over again, looking for all the ways it could have gone better. Picard finally setting up the holodeck so he can say goodbye is then his moment of catharsis: a way to deal with his emotions and stop feeling bitter. There's an additional kernel of interesting thought, where its suggested that fear and pride are what are ultimately responsible for us losing and wasting time in the first time.

Unfortunately, the theme only works with Picard due to this catharsis. Manheim's obsession with conquering time also stems from vanity a bit and he admits to neglecting his relationship with Jenice. Yet come the end and he's ready to get back at it with a token promise of it being better this time. Jenice can barely muster any resistance and just follows along like a dutiful wife and she doesn't have enough character for actually loving him to seem like a valid reason. If anything, it's like a sunk cost fallacy, making the one character who should be above everyone else's flaws into the biggest example of it. This story is meant to be a tragedy on the part of Picard, so, why is he the only one who seems to have his act together? I'm aware that this episode was a victim of the writers' strike, so, there's a good reason for it, and it's an overall pretty good piece, but the ending isn't just abrupt and unfinished (I mean, all this set up for the holodeck date and Jenice has one swig of booze before fucking off) its thematically unfinished. Even an early draft usually has a better idea of what it's main point is. Even by the standards of an episodic show, it feels like little was accomplished here.

The guest star does her best, but an otherwise fine tale is let down by a nothing of a main character and even less of an ending.

Smells like plot arc time. Conspiracy is afoot.