STAR TREK PICARD: Episode 307 and 308: “Dominion” and “Surrender”

Episodes 307 and 308 of STAR TREK: PICARD on Paramount+ finds Picard and his friends, including the crew of the Titan, fighting back against the shapeshifting alien captain and her crew then they take control of the Titan. Episodes 307 and 308 of STAR TREK: PICARD are the most riveting, exciting episodes of the final season to date and stress love, friendship, sacrifice, and freedom against a form of communist tyranny, but there is some foul language that warrants caution for older children.

In Episode 307, Jean-Luc Picard, his son, Jack, and the rest of the crew of the Titan try to unravel the mystery of the changeling game plan as time is rapidly running out. Vadic, the captain of the changelings on the other ship, has taken Commander Riker and his status is unknown, though his captors try to convince his friends that he is dead. Meanwhile, Picard tries to solicit from Data – or the “new positronic body” that seemingly houses the remains of both Data and Lore – an answer to the question of why the changelings have stolen the remains of Picard’s old body from Daystrom.

As the plot thickens and the battle between Data and Lore intensifies, so does the eminence of the Shrike’s crew finding and boarding the Titan. Jack suggests that perhaps they should give him up to the enemy to save the ship and its crew; but this is not an option that anyone is willing to consider and thus a choice to fight where flight is impossible is made. With Vadic and her men boarding the Titan, Lore battling with Data for supremacy, Jack’s fear that he may be something worse than he believed himself to be, and revelations regarding the history of Star Fleet and the changelings, the outlook for Picard and his crew is bleak regarding who will eventually have “Dominion.”

In Episode 308, Vadic and her crew take complete control of the Titan, including its bridge, while Picard, Jack, Geordi, Geordi’s daughter, and Jack’s mother, Beverly Crush hide below decks with Data’s body. She threatens to kill the officers on the bridge one by one unless Jack surrenders to her. Jack believes he can take back the bridge from Vadic, but they need Data to overpower his evil twin, Lore, and re-take control of the ship’s computer system.

Meanwhile, with Worf’s help, Riker and his wife, Counselor Troi, escape their captors. They manage to board the cloaked vessel that Worf and Raffi brought.

Episodes 307 and 308 of STAR TREK: PICARD are the most riveting, exciting episodes of the final season to date, and perhaps even the whole series. They capture the best of what made their predecessor, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION so beloved 30 years ago. The two episodes ratchet up the tension between old enemies and increase the camaraderie of old friends. They also ratchet up Picard’s relations with his son and a revived Data, and the tantalizing question of what is so special about Jack Crusher up to the Nth degree. The program’s excellent sense of humor also never flags. For example, Picard proves he’s not a changeling to Geordi by reminding him that, when Geordi said Picard’s gift of wine to him was too dry, Picrad replied, “Your taste in wine is pedestrian at best.” The battle between Data and Lore is epic and not to be missed. All in all, Episodes 307 and 308 both do a good job of being very entertaining on all fronts.

Despite a couple references to evolution, Episode 307 and 308 have a strong moral worldview stressing love, friendship, sacrifice, and freedom overcoming tyrannical, ruthless evil. The main characters work together to save and protect each other and demonstrate self-sacrificial love. Specifically, Jack offers to give himself up to save everybody on the Titan and uses his gifts to save many. Also, Seven of Nine offers herself to Vadic as a sacrifice to save the innocent lives of the other officers. Also, Riker and his wife reunite while imprisoned and work through the grief over their son’s death. Finally, Data combats Lore’s hatred and resentment with love in a way that’s wonderfully winsome and morally uplifting.

All that said, Episodes 307 and 308 of STAR TREK: PICARD contain intense action violence with some blood and some foul language. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and mature viewers.