With time running out before the launch of the Europa Mission, Picard and Guinan must free themselves from FBI custody, while Seven and Raffi come face-to-face with Jurati and the horror of what she’s become. 

After the lull of last week’s side quest into Picard’s inner demons, the many plot threads start bouncing along again, though if truth be told, the pacing still feels off. It reminds me of my frustration with the latter years of Game of Thrones where characters were moved from one place to the next… just because.

Raffi and Seven now have a better understanding of what Agnes/Borg Queen’s plans are, Kore discovers the dark secret about her origin, Rios and his new family replicate cake, and Picard and Guinan are interviewed by the FBI. Trawling through this mass we look for what’s relevant and/or interesting, only for the episode to end with a cliffhanger that promises action. The resolution of the FBI incarceration is frankly unbelievable, spending even more time on a trip back to someone’s past, and while John De Lancie’s Q is always welcome, there’s something missing still.

The imminent Europa space launch is mentioned many times, but we seem just as far away from influencing it as ever. Is the primary need now to stop the Borg Queen, and the whole Europa launch a red herring? With two episodes left, Picard and co need to stop ‘the event’ from happening, and then propel themselves into the future of the corrected timeline. That’s a lot to do when so much precious time has been expended on more trivial matters.

Verdict: ‘The trap is immaterial – it’s the escape that counts.’ Let’s see if the escape can measure up to the ever-frustrating and continually changing trap. 6/10 

Nick Joy