When last we saw the crew of the Stargazer, there was a self destruct countdown ticking to eradicate the efforts of the Borg queen in taking over the fleet.
Poof, now Picard is getting a tour of his own home, with trembling Romulan staff, shaking in fear of him. Picard has a trophy room full of skulls of alien enemies with plaques that describe Picards triumph over them.
Horrified by everything he sees, feeling angry and powerless, Picard must get on a flight to take part in Eradication Day.
Most alien worlds have been destroyed with their populations. The last Borg is held in the basement of the President's dwelling.
Luckily Picard isn't alone in this alternate time line. Seven is President of the Confederation. Raffi is Chief of Security. Elnor is a rebel. Jurati is an expert in cybernetics. Rios leads the fleet destroying Vulcan.
They're all dropped into these new roles with full memory of who they are, and where they just were, aboard the Stargazer.
Intriguingly, the star of Eradication Day is the Borg Queen. She's being kept in a secure chamber in Jurati's laboratory. There is only her head and torso. She's confused because all of the Borg are gone but her. Something is wrong with time, she says.
She tells them that in the twenty fourth century, Los Angeles, the original timeline was changed. That there is a Watcher there.
Quickly getting everyone together, Picard plans to use Kirk's old trick of rubber banding around the sun to travel in time. The Borg Queen can do the calculation that Spock did in the original, if she will help them.
Seven convinces her by telling her re-setting the timeline gets her back with the Collective.
Rios transports them all aboard his ship at the last moment. The Queen is tied into his ship's computer over his protests.
Just then The President's husband (!) beams aboard with two security crew and shoots Elnor and threatens the rest.
What a place to end the episode! After the slow opening episode for the season, this glimpse into a totalitarian, hate mongering timeline was instantly a place to try to escape from.
Reading a few reviews, I like the idea that The Watcher in the 24th century is Guinan. I trust that our intrepid crew will defeat the bad guys on the ship (maybe the Borg queen will transport them into space).
In the future with the Stargazer, where the newly designed Borg ship has asked to join the Federation, maybe they meant it. Apparently the Queen is aware of different temporal phases (?). Maybe she remembers what they are about to do together in this alternate time. Maybe they succeed because they work together and everyone realizes they don't need to be relentless enemies.
