8: The Warm Glow of Meaning

“Mercy” A childhood encounter with Vulcans can really play with your mind. It might even lead to obsession. Just ask Agent Wells. Convinced that Picard and Guinan are aliens just like those he found in the woods in the early ‘80s, he interrogates the pair about their intentions toward the Europa mission. Meanwhile, Queen Agnes rampages her way through Los Angeles eating batteries and Kore Soong learns the true nature of her existence. Rios serves cake aboard La Sirena and Guinan meets Q a century before their paths were meant to cross and finds that he is dying. But as he slowly disappears into nothingness, he reveals what may be the solution to the puzzle. In this episode of The Artificial Tango, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss “Mercy,” the eighth episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2. We talk about how the pieces of the story are finally converging, the spiritual implication of Q’s assertion that all humans are stuck in the past, what assimilating mercy might mean for a new incarnation of the Borg, the endgame of the Soong saga, Vulcans visiting Earth and, of course, eating batteries. Hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing Production C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Cornelia Reutner (Associate Producer)