Star Trek Picard: Ranking All 10 Episodes From Season 1
4. "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2"
Like the first installment, the second part of Star Trek: Picard's first season finale is imperfect.
"Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" fails to deliver any new turns or reversals, taking the revelations from "Broken Pieces" and Part 1 and mostly playing them straight. The advanced synths, much hyped in the previous episode, barely play a role in Part 2 and the big battle between the Federation and Romulans is diffused abruptly. Narek, Seven of Nine, and the XBs, ostensibly key components in season one, are given limited screen time and no real resolution, and even Narissa's death is perfunctory at best. The surprise return of now Acting Captain Will Riker is welcome, but a little too easy, raising the question why other TNG vets like Worf, Geordi, or even Doctor Beverly weren't also there to lend their former captain a hand. Also, after Star Trek: Discovery's second season finale showdown between Starfleet and Control just a year before, did we really need another space hole and another set of anonymous CGI starships facing off against one another?
All that being said, "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" is saved in its final moments when it progresses the story at the heart of Star Trek: Picard's first season and provides closure for Lieutenant Commander Data once and for all. An open wound for TNG fans (and Picard himself) since 2002's Star Trek Nemesis, Data's fate was never properly resolved and Star Trek: Picard wisely tied up those loose ends in this episode. And did so beautifully.
With an excellent reprise of "Blue Skies" from both Star Trek Nemesis and Picard's premiere episode "Remembrance", sung by Isa Briones aka Soji herself, Data's goodbye to Picard and ultimate death scene are perfectly shot, perfectly acted, and wholly resonant.
At its heart, Star Trek: Picard's first season was about reconciling the past with the passage of time, moving past the way things once were to what they are now. The death of Data in "Et In Arcadia Ego, Part 2" is the perfect encapsulation of that core theme and a mission statement for Star Trek: Picard season two: It's time to move on.