Star Trek Picard: 5 Ups & 5 Downs From Episode 2 'Maps And Legends'

Downs...

5. The Slow Pacing & Short Episode Length

If last week's premiere episode was arguably a little too breathlessly paced for its own good, Maps and Legends goes in the entirely opposite direction, resulting in a disappointingly sluggish episode where compelling information unspools at a glacial pace.

Despite the various plates being spun, it didn't really feel like much happened in the grand scheme of things, and the frustratingly short episode length clearly didn't help it feel more substantial.

After all, once you remove the various credits and titles sequences, the "previously on..." montage and the teaser for the next episode, the 44-minute runtime is really only about 38 minutes of new content.

Above all else, the pacing issues in particular make it clear that CBS probably should've released all ten episodes at once rather than on a weekly basis.

Hopefully things might pick up next week when Picard finally appears to get airborne, but it's an inconsistent start to the season for sure.