The reason for the diversion from the mission to Freecloud to Vashti makes sense, as Picard says, "I am an old man" and there will be close combat fighting to come soon.
Oh, I love that old man stubbornness. They never have enough of time zic-zacking around the galaxy. It has to happen now, because tomorrow there might not be a chance. It certainly is true to anyone of us, and to most of things in the Star Trek universe. The numbers alone suggests that there simply is too many places to visit, and as the Federation hasn't invented an extension to one lifetime, orders has to come first.
Picard is too old to accept any other way. He cannot sit in his chair and enjoy the comforting atmosphere at the vineyard, even if it's recreated at the holodeck. That would be a foolish, but he's unlike the other old man, Spock, who stole the prototype to cause the Kelvin incident. It suggested that the old men need speed. The fastest vessels in the universe. In Spock's case, it was able to break the quantum and temporal barriers and it Picard's case it looks super sleek, but I don't think it's breaking Warp 9.
Well, not yet anyway. But I also like that even though Picard is retaining his status, he is limited by the size of his wallet. The Romulan Space is still remaining and it's different now than when the Federation was all powerful. It was wonderful to see that they didn't made the daring run through the planetary defence network, but actually Picard had no choice but to pay the bill... or cheat with the old teleport trick.
The rules said that nobody could enter with the ship, unless a pass was granted, but the technology allowed him to pass the barrier, even more so than in the past. But I don't think that Scotty's trick of teleporting into a warping ship is allowed in this version of ST.
In case someone is unsure of the locations, this is the best map to show both quadrants at the end of the DS9.https://brilliantmaps.com/star-trek-map/
It was obvious when the small boy was introduced (with even more back-story info-dumping) that he would become the next member of the crew.
Oh, I like him. He wasn't taking sh*t when he was young and he ain't doing it now. I don't think they could have done the introduction any better. He is intense and exactly what the Old Man needs. Even when he was in Wolverine, he needed fierceness to complement his age. There is strong flame burning in Picard, and it can explode. I believe he's going all in to save Dahj. But he won't sacrifice his chips, unless it's needed.
However, with the addition of Seven of Nine too, isn't the crew getting a little large for them all to be given airtime and with some redundancy in the character's roles? Or is Seven not joining the crew?
No. Don't worry about the production, Sir Patrick Steward is more than talented to guide his people. I don't even know how many times he's been in Westend or in Old Vic in some role or another. He's classically trained and he can guide the other actors better than anyone. The directors and editors also show the quality as the whole thing has been cut perfectly together. I believe they could have even a bigger crew.
I also loved that the Romulan senator, before he lost his head gave Picard bollocking in Cockney. There was no hiding the accent. It also confirmed the theory that the federation managed to assimilate the pub culture outside its borders. Therefore also confirming the Irish Romulan theory.
Picard is not going throw a lady out from the ship, especially when she owns one for Seven-of-Nine. The interesting situation is that now there's two security officers and one supreme weapon. What will happen when Seven-of-Nine arrives to the Artefact?
