Star Trek Picard Episode Five

 I was in tears the first few minutes of this episode... more on that later but first here's a quick synopsis of Episode Five "Stardust City Rag".

In a flashback, Seven of Nine mercy-kills her foster son and Starfleet officer Icheb, a fellow xB, after his Borg implants have been ripped out by the black-marketeer Bjayzl. In the present, La Sirena arrives at Freecloud, where Raffi discovers that Maddox is being held prisoner by Bjayzl, who intends to sell him to the Tal Shiar. Picard's crew plan to recover Maddox by staging a prisoner exchange, with Seven (whose Borg implants Bjayzl covets) as the bait. When Bjayzl recognizes Seven, Seven drops the charade and reveals her true intention: to kill Bjayzl to avenge Icheb. Picard persuades Seven to relent, and Maddox is safely recovered and beamed to La Sirena. Afterward, Seven returns to Freecloud and kills Bjayzl without Picard's knowledge. In sickbay, Maddox tells Picard what he knows about Soji and Dahj, explaining that he sent them to Earth and the Artifact in order to discover the true motivation behind the synth ban. After Picard leaves them alone, Jurati tearfully kills Maddox, saying "If you'd seen what I saw". Meanwhile, Raffi tries to reconnect with her estranged son Gabriel, who is married to a Romulan woman, but is rebuffed and rejoins the La Sirena.

As I said at the start of this blog, two minutes in an it felt like my heart was being ripped out. The scene of Icheb's dissection was horrific, and actually a bit to much (for Trek). And when Seven had to mercy kill him I was a mess. I knew this was going to be a rough episode to watch. I loved watching Seven and Picard interact. Seven's life hasn't been the best the past 20 years. I like that she's helping the helpless, but at what costs. Jeri Ryan's acting (which is always amazing) was on point in this episode. My heart just broke for her and everything she's been through. When she confronted Bjayzl you can hear the hurt that she caused, the pain of being betrayed and the lost of Icheb really has effected her life. She felt responsible for his death since Bjayzl found him through Seven. I loved that Seven went back down the the planet and killed Bjayzl. I wish it as a slower more painful death but I guess it looked and sounded painful enough, for at least a few seconds before she disintegrated.

We had a side story with Raffi and her estranged son. She tried so hard to convince him that she's clean and sober but he's been hurt to much and for to long to accept it. Raffi tried so hard but in the end was rejected and went back to the ship. I'm sure she's going to go down a deep dark hole in the next episode. 

I knew something was up with Dr. Jurati but I didn't expect her to kill Maddox. I mean she was obviously shown something so horrific that will happen if things aren't changed to kill the man she loved. I'm not sure how her story is going to unfold. I actually liked her in the beginning but once Commodore Oh visited her I knew something was up. My speculation is that Commodore Oh mind melded with Dr. Jurati and showed she something, maybe a future where synths take over or destroy humanity. I think time travel is part of this series, but what Commodore Oh showed her was it real or fabricated? I mean I could be complete wrong about all of this but that's one thing I love about this series is I have no idea where this story is going and that's exciting.

Can't wait for the next episode.