Romulan

So everybody's gathered around a table for Picard to explain their orders, and it turns out they are not being sent to the front to defend the Federation against the Borg attack.

They are instead being sent to patrol the neutral zone in case the Romulans decide to try anything while the Federation is distracted dealing with the Borg.

Uh, the crew commanders are obviously n- not happy with this, but their orders stand.

And then afterwards there's a scene of Picard alone in his quarters listening to an opera by Berlioz.

But they've got another plan, which is to override the function of the ship's navigational deflector beam to send a message to Borg space in 2063 saying like, "Hey, there's a really important, currently defenseless planet right here.

Come get them before they can technologically mature."

Which is, again, a fascinating plot point because, like any non-Borg civilization, like that sort of call would be, uh, highly suspicious and also would be the kind of thing where it's like, okay, like future, say, future Romulans are meeting past Romulans.

Um, avoiding the pitfalls of time travel and paradox, uh, like they probably wouldn't see eye to eye on this.

[upbeat music]

The Romulan Star Empire as a blob with no things inside of it in the map feels portentous given the things that have been happening with La'An lately and the fact that we're getting closer to the end of the season.

And a mystery ship that can cloak.

[laughs] Which is unaccounted for as of the end of this episode.

And if you were wondering, um, because it feels very solidly like it's like new cloaking technology and all that.

It's like, it's the Romulans, right? It's very clearly a Romulan bird of prey.

This is in advance when we don't, you know, they haven't done balance of terror yet.

Now they did the episode where Pike saw an alternate future where they did balance of terror, but in this regular timeline, we haven't done balance of terror yet.

Again, in the comedy version of this, in the Lower Decks version of this, he says, I don't know what's going to happen next, but that balance of terror is on your head.

He doesn't quite say that, but the use of the word terror there is very pointed.

That is the wink at the camera of like, yes, of course, this is the Romulan ship from Balance of Terror.

That's what this is.

Yes.

The Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulans, the Ferengi, all of them mobilizing their top personnel and resources, descending on one single obscure location.

and they're being driven by pure, unfiltered paranoia.

Well, let's set the stage here because this doesn't just happen in a vacuum.

And this is exactly where Bradford Jr. decides to hold the auction.

And everyone is headed there.

But why? I mean, if Zorka is just an eccentric professor, why are the Klingons and Romulans rushing to buy his old microscopes and chalkboards?

Because of what Zorka claimed to have invented in his final years.

to balance of terror.

Alan, I was wondering if the prominence of the Romulan neutral zone on the map was important in some way.

Yes, yes.

This is the ship that Kirk will end up confronting later.

What I think they missed the opportunity of tying the two stories together, which Star Trek used to do, they'd have an A and B story.

And in the final act, they'd come together and they could have had this group of Andorian smugglers or whatever be part of the Romulan plot.

and and and really do that and i'll be honest again the the romulan thing i can't help it i get these twinges and it's like all right you're fucking with canon again okay uh you know that that that oh you know and again they think they're adding to star trek lore when they do these scenes i think it cheapens it even and it was a throwaway scene but when um When Kirk and Spock are talking about how the Admiral is making Kirk his first officer, Pike is on this away mission.

Una is on this away mission.

And He was great in this episode.

I got to give it to him.

I also wonder about La'an's watch from the Toronto time travel Romulan episode with her and Kirk that happened in an alternate universe.

But she still has the watch.

I don't know.

Is it the Borg, the Hivemind, the Romulans, or the Ferengi?

I would think Borg because a cyborg.

So that's all.

Carry out.

Captain, we have confirmed that the debris is from a Romulan vessel, but the debris doesn't suggest a ship of that size being destroyed.

How unfortunate.

Really?

Ugh.

Now what do we do? I believe we have to put our trust in the crew of the Vigilance.

Have you informed the Romulan Senate?

Yes.

Where to next? What's that, Micah? Yeah, I guess we're going to have to deal with that.

Yeah, I got a note, and by the way, I owe Joey and Giraffry and Joey to the Kangaroo and Junior a Romulano rim shot here.

I had a note from Joey earlier today, about first thing I saw when I opened my eyes, saying it's a little known fact that when they came here from Europe, before they shortened their name, The Fettermans were actually known as the Fettermansions.

I told you that was a dandy, Fettermansion.