Picard and the crew of La Sirena track Soji to the Borg cube artefact in Romulan space, bringing back disturbing memories of his time as Locutus.

After last week’s palette cleanser diversion of a caper (albeit with violent moments) there’s a very clear direction for this episode, bringing it right back on the show’s critical path. We’ve been building up to Picard’s meeting with Soji since episode 1, though there’s still a number of obstacles in the way.

Harry Treadaway’s Romulan spy/ fake lover finally reveals to Soji what she has feared – she’s not a living being. There’s a desperate moment where she discovers that everything about her life is a 37-month construct, and when she undertakes a Romulan meditation ceremony – the Zahl Makh – she finally gives Narek and his sister what they need: the location of her home world. Narek seems to be shedding real tears as he leaves Soji to die in a sealed room, a Romulan Rubik Cube releasing poisonous gas – but you can’t keep the Destroyer down.

Patrick Stewart reveals a vulnerable side to Picard, the PTSD of his time as Locutus proving to be real for him as he visits a Borg cube again. His joy in meeting up with Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) is heartening, an ally in an environment crawling with Romulans. When Soji literally falls into their path, Hugh takes them to a vital location with the Cube and creating an escape plan. But what will the implications be?

With so much A-plot you’d think that other cast members would take a back seat, but the script by executive story editor Nick Zayas gives them all an opportunity to move along their arcs. Agnes lies to conceal her murder, and a romantic relationship has surfaced with Rios, who in turn is helping Raffi, who’s hitting the bottle after being rejected by her son. Elnor also gets a chance to jump into the action to protect his mentor.

Verdict: An exciting 54 minutes that delivers on some of the promises of the opening episode, finally uniting Picard with Soji and setting up the rest of the season and the next stage of the quest. 9/10

Nick Joy