Those who picked up Picard Season One in Steelbook fashion will be happy to know that Picard Season Two has received the same treatment to go alongside it. While the first season’s case was bright and vibrant, season two has a much darker tone to it, which suits the themes presented this season, as well as wonderfully showcasing the season’s main protagonist and antagonist side by side.
On the cover we’ve got Picard front and center, with Q looking ominously over his shoulder. The show’s title is presented in a nice gold colouring, while both Picard and Q are left black and white. While the matte finish and plentiful black does leave the chance of the Steelbook showing dust or scuffs a bit more, it really does highlight these two characters and the tone of the season beautifully and I’m a big fan of the decision to go this route because of it.
The back is incredibly simple, with the Starfleet insignia in the center in the same gold colouring as the title on the front. Because of the way the front was done I can understand why this choice was made, though I would’ve preferred had they kept the front simple and straightforward the way they did, while possibly putting the USS Stargazer, or the fleet facing off against the potential Borg threat that appears in the first episode. Something that takes advantage of the black while not leaving so much dead space. Even one of the many quotes from the season would’ve worked well here, but it is what it is. That’s not to say the insignia isn’t iconic or doesn’t work here, it’s just that it’s somewhat lacking in punch.
On the inside we’ve got a wide shot of downtown Los Angeles, where the majority of season two takes place. This is a gorgeous shot of the city, and it fits well for the inside slip, as there’s no wasted space, and it looks great on both sides without anything of importance being interrupted by the spine of the case. The first season’s Steelbook had Picard and his crew on the inside, and while that would’ve worked here too, I think the choice to go with this beautiful scenic works really well – especially with how it contrasts with the more achromatic cover.
The second season of Picard takes place roughly a year-and-a-half after the first season came to a close and our heroes that were heading off to explore the unknown at that time now find themselves in various new positions and places in life. Picard (Patrick Stewart) is now an Admiral in Starfleet and chancellor at Starfleet Academy, passing on wisdom to the newer generation of space explorers. He also continues to relax at his vineyard, though things get a bit awkward in the season opener when his housekeeper and long-time friend Laris (Orla Brady) makes romantic advances towards Picard that Picard somewhat hesitantly rejects.
This moment is one of the catalysts for the season though, as Picard is challenged by his long-time nemeses Q (John de Lancie) by being sent to an alternate timeline where humanity is xenophobic and instead of the Federation we’ve got the Confederation. Picard isn’t alone, however, as the entire crew from season one joins him on this quest to figure out what Q is up to and why it is they’ve been sent to such a horrifying alternate future. What they do find out is that Q made one simple change back in time to cause the dominos to fall and in order to stop it the crew must travel back to the year 2024 with the help of an unlikely ally.
That crew consists of Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Elnor (Evan Evagora). Noticeably missing is one of the first season’s breakthrough characters, Soji (Isla Briones), who does appear in episode one and indicates that her mission now is to help people regain trust in androids by going planet to planet as an ambassador of sorts. With Picard creators having a three season goal in mind if everything went well, it’s not surprising to see characters come and go a bit quicker than they may when a series is simply ongoing with no set end in sight.
Season two is a well-rounded, strong tale about moving forward and not being held down emotionally by the past. Each character faces this theme in a different way, and it really is handled beautifully across the board. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few points where the overall story drags a bit, mainly in the middle episodes of the season, but it’s not enough to hurt the wonderful themes the show focuses on and how well they make the landing by the time the season comes to a close.
Lifelong fans of Star Trek will get a lot more out of this season than your average fan. I’ve always meant to go back and watch The Next Generation, but with how much is out there these days and time just not being as available as I’d like, it’s just not something that will likely happen any time soon. That said, I still really do enjoy Picard, and do grasp everything that’s happening and feel the emotional notes as well as one should when watching a show. That said, I’m well aware of the Easter eggs and plentiful nods and throwbacks to the vast history of Star Trek that this show consistently touches upon that sadly don’t impact me in the way that lucky long-time fans will get to experience.
The season was also delayed due to the pandemic and didn’t begin filming until early 2021, filming back to back with the upcoming season three. While precautions were taken during filming it doesn’t really affect the storytelling at all, from what I could tell. There’s a gala that takes place in the middle of the season, and it’s maybe the one thing that would’ve been a bit bigger in scope had nothing happened, but it still works well enough that I can’t be certain even that would’ve been any different had circumstances not been what they were.
All in all, Picard’s latest season is one filled with heart and a lot of emotion. All the characters go through a lot, and the actors really brought it up a notch from the already high level they were at the first time around. The interactions between Picard and Q are top tier, even to someone who doesn’t know their history that spanned seasons over the course of TNG. That’s how good both Stewart and de Lancie are together here, and with how much I loved it I can only imagine how fantastic their interactions were for Trekkies out there. But Trekkie or not, be it the Steelbook or the Blu-ray in general, Picard Season Two is something you should beam yourself up a copy of without hesitation.
Overall Rating: ****/*****
Blu-ray Video and Audio
The 1080p transfer of Picard looks solid throughout, with no real distractions in the picture that will take people out of an episode unless you’re actively looking for them. The picture of often crisp and clean, with the daytime scenes in L.A. showcasing extra details on both the characters and their surroundings. The outfits and makeup done on various characters and aliens are top tier and look great on Blu-ray. As a whole, any complaints about the picture would be minimal and fans should be happy with this transfer.
On the audio side things are even better with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that really brings things to life, from the show’s score to the sound effects throughout. The dialogue is nice and clean and never a strain to hear, while the show’s score brings out its emotional core while never overpowering a moment and taking away from it. As a whole this is a great audio transfer that allows for exactly the type of full on immersion a viewer hopes for.
Special Features
Disc One:
The USS Stargazer – This feature is just over 18-minutes in length and focuses on the building of a new Borg-enhanced starship for the Federation this season. It’s a fun watch, even though we unfortunately don’t spend too much time aboard the ship!
The Chateau – This feature is just over 15-minutes in length and spends time in a place where the viewer does as well, which is Picard’s chateau. We did visit it in season one a few times, but it plays a much more important role to both him and the story this time around.
Deleted/Extended Scenes – We’ve also got a few minutes of scenes here for those who like to watch them.
Disc Two:
Deleted Scenes – This disc has the least amount of special features, which are a pair of deleted scenes if you want to give them a look.
Disc Three:
The Trial is Over – This 12-minute feature has the viewer journey back to watch the history between Q and Picard that happened over the course of The Next Generation, as well as him coming back for season two of Picard and the importance of it.
Rebuilding the Borg Queen – This is an 11-minute feature that focuses on Annie Wersching as the Borg Queen, the character design, the character returning, and all that jazz. Both fun and interesting watches for those looking to find out some more about these characters.
Picard Props – This is a 12-minute feature that focuses on some of the major props that are showcased over the course of season two. It’s a fun jaunt behind-the-scenes for those who enjoy doing so.
Picard Passages – This is the beefiest of the extras, coming in at 25-minutes in length. We get to delve into Picard’s character here, the arc he goes on this season, delving into his past, as well as the arcs of some of his friend’s throughout the season. This is a solid watch, and caps off a good amount of extras for fans to enjoy.
Gag Reel – There’s a 4-minute gag reel here as well that has some laughs and shows the fun that everyone had on set, despite the much different circumstances surrounding shooting at the time.
Deleted Scene – There’s also one final deleted scene as well.
Paramount Pictures Presents Star Trek: Picard – Season 2. Created by: Alex Kurtzman. Starring: Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, Brent Spinner, Orla Brady, John de Lancie, Annie Wersching, Sol Rodriguez, Whoopi Goldberg. Running time: 489 minutes. Rating: PG. Blu-ray Released: Oct. 4, 2022.
