Looks like Picard is trying to sneak into the Bad Place

By Allison Shoemaker | February 20, 2020 | 6:00am

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Looks like Picard is trying to sneak into the Bad Place

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Sir Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan, Evan Evagora Photo: Trae Patton

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, February 20. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access, 3:01 a.m.): Today’s Picard sees Jean-Luc and the La Sirena crew head to Freecloud to extract Bruce Maddox, and the big news is that Seven Of Nine (Jeri Ryan) is along for the ride. But the thing we can’t stop fixating on is this: Is Freecloud in the Bad Place? Because these costumes sure do make them look like they’re trying to crash a party in the Bad Place.

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We kid, of course. Here’s Zack Handlen on last week’s episode:

I’m not sure what to make of the Picard we’re seeing in Picard. It’s been a few years since I’ve watched much Next Gen, but I can’t help thinking there’s a gap between the way Picard is now, and the way he once was, which I’m struggling to reconcile. To an extent, I believe this gap is intentional. Much of what we’ve seen in these first four episodes has been a commentary on the way Picard looms in the popular consciousness (a figure of compassionate, benevolent authority) and the way such an impression can fail to live up to its own standard. And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing some piece of the puzzle to explain how then became now, something more complicated than simply “time.”

Perhaps we’ll learn more on Freecloud, but regardless, we definitely get to see more of Seven Of Nine, and that’s great. Keep an eye out for Zack’s recap.

Regular coverage

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, 8:30 p.m.)
The Sinner (USA, 9 p.m.)

Wild card

Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones (Facebook Watch, 3 p.m., season 2 premiere): The second season of this Blumhouse anthology series kicks off this afternoon, with Juliette Lewis and Kimiko Glenn in tow.