Picard season three has been a great surprise after two lackluster seasons, but that doesn’t mean fans aren’t on guard. Things could shift anytime, especially when the plot requires a new focus. Enter Picard season three episode 7, “Dominion,” which is frankly the season’s weakest episode. The show has juggled multiple plots, like the U.S.S. Titan falling into a gravity well and escaping, as well as Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd), going undercover and rogue. Now, it appears the show is focusing on Amanda Plummer’s Vadic, the series’ main nemesis.
“Dominion” opens with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) interrogating Tuvok (Tim Russ), who Voyager fans will delight in seeing. She’s alone on the bridge, or at least we think she is, until we see other characters off to the side trying to detect if Tuvok is a Changeling. The shape-shifting aliens have taken over the Federation, and our heroes are trying to figure out how to detect them. It’s a nice way to remind viewers that our heroes have their backs against the wall and can trust no one. They’re looking for Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who was kidnapped in the last episode by Vadic.
This episode is obviously a setup for a two-parter, which unfortunately means a lot of build-up and not much payoff. Riker is in the wind, with Geordi (LeVar Burton), Picard (Patrick Stewart), and Beverly (Gates McFadden) waiting on Worf and Rafi to return. That leaves the entire episode to focus on a plan to stop Vadic and get Riker back. With mixed to bad results for our heroes.
Meanwhile, Lore/Data (Brent Spiner) are established as separate and in control of themselves but trading off in controlling the synthezoid body. There are some good bits of dialogue here, like when Lore says Picard is “Spewing their morality as if vomit was somehow virtuous.” A battle of the minds is clearly being set up here, although likely we must wait for the next episode for that.
Photo: Trae Patton/Paramount+.
Whoever the villain behind it all is becoming clearer, and it might not be the Changelings. In a key scene early on, we see Vadic speak to the hovering blob made of her body, and it’s made quite clear they aren’t the same species. Picard’s son Jack (Ed Speleers) is established as the McGuffin in this scene as well, though we kind of already knew that. If you’re looking for some answers, this is all you get. Likely the big reveal as to who is controlling Vadic won’t be revealed till the last two episodes.
Meanwhile, Jack’s hold of his “sickness” continues to wain. He seems to be able to read minds now, and he’s also seeing things on the walls. Conveniently, it appears his power set is changing and evolving at opportune times for the plot to work.
The episode picks up from there, jumping forward in time to reveal the U.S.S. Titan dead in the water. It’s nice to see the episode jump ahead and keep the viewer on their toes, although the rest of the episode plays out in janky and unearned ways. It’s easy to see it’s a setup, though with time running out, Vadic has few options. Once again, Vadic is enjoyable as Plummer chews up the scenes.
This gives the writers a chance to explore Vadic, especially when Beverly gets to question her about wanting her son. There are bits of dialogue that give hints at what is really going on, like the line, “We could bond over that since he was never meant for you either.” At this point, your enjoyment may vary, though, as we’ve been strung along about Jack and where he came from or what his deal is since episode one.
This season has been good at reminding us of the hopefulness of Star Trek, but the “dark-trek” as fans have called it, creeps back in. We learn about “Project Proteus,” and it turns out it was the Federation prodding and testing Changelings to make them into weapons. Once again, the Picard series shows the Federation is much darker and straight-up evil. I know history repeats itself, and absolute power governments like the Federation could become corrupted or stray from the path, but Star Trek has always been about a positive, hopeful future. It appears we can only find it now in the characters, not the government and society as a whole, sadly.
A lot of the conflict in this episode is forced. From Lore forcing Geordi to face Data, who is putting his daughter in danger, to Vadic somehow gaining the upper hand when she’s only got two guards surrounding Picard’s kid. Seriously, there isn’t a free Federation officer around to attack Vadic’s men from behind?
In a key scene, our heroes are forced to make a decision, yet it seems like there are many options the heroes refuse to even consider. On top of that, it’s hard to believe Picard is actually considering murdering Vadic. I get that the showrunners want to push our characters and make viewers question their actions, but it’s all so forced and too quickly presented to feel genuine.
There’s also convenient new info Picard and Beverly come by, all to progress the plot. It involves figuring out who Changelings are, which is great for them but comes so out of nowhere you’ll question what even just happened. Considering how the episode plays out in the final minutes, the whole episode makes the heroes seem poor at planning on top of everything else. Vadic wins, and she honestly deserves it.
Aside from Plummer getting to steal most scenes, this episode is mostly set up for episode eight. It’s also filled with convenient plot twists and a frustrating reminder the Federation has done many evil things in the name of justice. A lot of what made previous episodes work, like solid plotting and hopefulness in our heroes and the future, are simply gone. The show goes too dark and loses much of its cheer with Riker and Worf absent. What we’re left with is a table-setting episode in a show that hopefully rights the ship sooner than later.
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