A few thoughts on the first season of Picard, now that I have finally seen it all. These are in addition to points made in the review linked above, most of which I agree with. Note: there are SPOILERS here:
The season started with a much darker view of the Federation than we normally see in Star Trek. But by the end of it, the Federation is largely redeemed, because they save the synth colony from genocide. For reasons noted below, I'm not sure the redemption makes sense.
The redemption happens because Picard managed to persuade the Federation to send a fleet to prevent the Romulans from exterminating the synths. But it's not clear why they would change their minds about synths just on his say-so. After all, they repeatedly rejected his recommendations on that subject before! If anything, the discovery that their may be uber-synths out there planning to exterminate all organic life should make the Federation MORE hostile to artificial life, not less.
It makes no sense that the fleet of 200 warships is commanded by Riker, a mere "acting captain" newly called back into service. Logically, the commander should be a top Starfleet admiral on the active list. Obviously, putting RIker in command happens because of the needs of the plot. It means more to the audience than if the commander had been some admiral we never heard of and don't care about.
If the Uber-synths are so enormously powerful, why do they have be summoned with a special beacon? Aren't they already observing the galaxy and already aware of what is going on?
If the beacon really is necessary, what is to prevent the synth colony from using it in the future? A faction hostile to organic life could potentially seize power in the synth colony and deploy the beacon before anyone can intervene. Why do the Federation and the Romulans simply ignore this ongoing threat? What happens when the Klingons, Cardassians, and other powers hear about it?
Picard's pseudo-resurrection really cheapens the sacrifice he made. In addition, if it is now technologically feasible to transfer the mind of any person into an synthetic body without any loss of consciousness and/or identity, this will have radical implications for society. Picard may not want immortality (as he indicates in his conversation with Data). But lots of other people would.
The synths seem very easily manipulated. They are easily convinced to summon the uber-synths to destroy all organic life in the universe, and then easily persuaded to change their minds. What's to prevent them from shifting back again the next time someone clever manipulates them? Leaving a group as easily deceived as this one in control of the beacon seems extremely dangerous.
While the plotting of the last 2-3 episodes was pretty flawed, I do like the character development here. Picard, Seven of Nine, and Raffi all had great arcs.
The end of the episode suggests that Season 2 may have a more traditional focus, with Picard having adventures among the stars, commanding this crew of relative misfits. But it may be more "Firefly" than "Star Trek," as Picard will presumably remain outside of Starfleet, and will have to rely on limited resources (though he does have powerful friends in high places).
Despite all the above criticisms of the last few episodes, I did like Season 1 overall. The premise was a very good one, and the first 6-7 episodes well executed, on the whole. The problem is that the plotting got screwed up in the last 2-3, in part because it seemed like they were in a rush to wind down the Synth/Romulan plotline and clear the deck for Season 2.
