“Vox” is the ninth episode of the third season of the TV show “Star Trek: Picard” and follows “Surrender“. It’s available in various countries on the Paramount+ streaming platform and in many other countries on Amazon Prime Video.
Note. This article contains some spoilers about “Vox”.
Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) helps Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) find the strength to open the red door in his mind to see what is hiding and who owns the voice that whispered to him. The answer poses a danger to him and beyond, also because Frontier Day has arrived.
Dr. McCoy didn’t trust the transporter, and apparently, he had good reason. Over the years, the plots of various episodes of various Star Trek shows were based on narrative tricks connected to the functioning, or malfunctioning, of the transporter. This also led to various discussions in the fandom regarding the sense of some characteristics attributed to the equipment that runs it but in fact, the teleportation process works as it serves the plot. This also applies to this episode, although it must be said that in this case, it’s not normal functioning.
After several episodes in which the writers bent over backward to keep a few secrets about Jack Crusher’s nature, the final revelation is once again the most obvious. The subplot about him was central at the beginning of the episode and then gave way to the one connected to Frontier Day. It seems obvious that the aftermath of what happened to Jack will matter in the season finale.
With “Vox” we are now beyond Trek fanservice and pornography. With the return of Enterprise-D, put back together piece by piece by Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the transformation of “Star Trek: Picard” into “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is complete. Honestly, the plot is more predictable than ever in most of its parts and is built only to stress the centrality of historical characters. It’s clear that all that matters is to stimulate the old fans’ emotions, and from this point of view, it works perfectly.
Throughout the season, the protagonists found themselves in situations that were at least on the surface hopeless, and that’s all the more true at the end of “Vox”. The Enterprise-D once again becomes the Federation’s last hope. You treat her like a lady and she’ll always bring you home. With decades of experience, the protagonists certainly know how to treat her and appreciate her merits, including the carpet.
