Star Trek: Picard - 7 Ups & 2 Downs From Episode 4 'Absolute Candor'

Ups...

7. Fleshing Out The Romulans

Starfleet is a military organization, and thus when they meet other species in the galaxy it makes sense that they, likewise, are meeting their institutional counterparts. All the major players in the Alpha Quadrant from the Klingons to the Romulans to the Cardassians, tend to send their own spacefaring "peacekeepers" out to meet the Federation.

But that only shows us a tiny piece of their cultural puzzle. Romulan culture diverged from The Vulcans many years ago, and thus their social castes and societal makeup is likely one rooted deeply in tradition and philosophy. Where previously they've been presented as secretive and duplicitous, we see in this episode that, really, we've seen virtually nothing of them as a species. Introducing the Qowat Milat - a sect of warrior nuns - busts the lore wide open.