{"id":45720,"date":"2023-02-25T18:08:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T18:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/02\/25\/why-captain-shaw-is-the-best-character-in-star-trek-picard-review-geek\/"},"modified":"2023-02-25T18:09:43","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T18:09:43","slug":"why-captain-shaw-is-the-best-character-in-star-trek-picard-review-geek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/02\/25\/why-captain-shaw-is-the-best-character-in-star-trek-picard-review-geek\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Captain Shaw is the Best Character in \u2018Star Trek: Picard\u2019 \u2013 Review Geek"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Todd
CBS Studios<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The primary draw for Trekkies to observe the final season of Picard<\/em><\/a> is the return of the Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology<\/em> forged. However, two episodes into the defacto reunion particular, the character that\u2019s captured the imaginations of Trek followers isn\u2019t Worf or Riker; it\u2019s U.S.S. Titan<\/em> skipper Captain Liam Shaw.<\/p>\n

Warning:<\/strong> SPOILER ALERT! This text comprises spoilers for the ultimate season of Star Trek: Picard<\/em> as nicely spoilers for previous Star Trek<\/em> movies and TV reveals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Captain of a Ship in a Unusual Universe<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not a secret within the Trek<\/em> fandom that the primary two seasons of Star Trek: Picard<\/em> was not to the liking<\/a> of many basic Trek<\/em> followers. Many complained that the present was too darkish and dreary, overly violent, and portrayed Starfleet, its officers, and the Federation in a way that was not per the values these establishments professed through the 1966-2004 basic period of Star Trek<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The complaints have been so loud in 2022 that Paramount+ launched a teaser trailer for Picard<\/em> season three<\/a>, saying the return of the Subsequent Gen forged<\/em>, earlier than the second season completed airing. The message from the studio to the followers was clear: \u201cWe all know this stinks. Assistance is on the way in which!\u201d<\/p>\n

That assist comes within the type of Picard<\/em> season three showrunner Terry Matalas, who has remodeled the present from a Star Trek<\/em>-themed CBS melodrama right into a ten-part Subsequent Technology<\/em> characteristic movie within the fashion of the basic 1979-1991 films that includes William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as Kirk and Spock.<\/p>\n

The result’s the fusion of three totally different iterations of Star Trek,<\/em> that includes the forged of The Subsequent Technology<\/em>, the world of Picard<\/em>, with the basic movies\u2019 aesthetic, construction, and ethics. And sitting proper within the middle of that nexus is Liam Shaw performed by Todd Stashwick.<\/p>\n

Nice Characters Have Grand Introductions<\/h2>\n
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Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The animating issue for Picard<\/em> season three up to now is \u201cPicard wants to avoid wasting Beverly Crusher.\u201d She\u2019s injured on a ship in deep house and despatched the previous Enterprise-D<\/em> captain a coded misery sign warning him to not contain Starfleet. Picard recruits his outdated first officer William Riker for assist. Riker cooks up a plan to trick the captain U.S.S. Titan<\/em> into taking them to the sting of Federation house, the place they may take a shuttle to search out Beverly. Picard and Riker board the Titan<\/em> underneath the pretense of a shock inspection performed by two legendary Starfleet officers forward of \u201cFrontier Day\u201d celebrations.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t meet Captain Shaw till the latter half of the primary episode of Picard<\/em>\u00a0season three, but when this season have been structured as a 10-hour film (and it’s), he walks on stage precisely if you\u2019d anticipate him to. And like the principle foil of a very good Star Trek<\/em> film, he will get a memorable scene to make that entrance. Consider Star Trek II<\/em> when Khan made his first look\u2014a scene that may finish with a thoughts management bug moving into Chekov\u2019s ear\u2014and Star Trek VI<\/em> when Common Chang stepped off the transporter pad and greeted Captain Kirk with the road \u201cin house all warriors are chilly warriors,\u201d then proceeded to chew the surroundings whereas quoting Shakespeare within the well-known eating scene that adopted. Captain Shaw will get that stage of introduction, so you understand he\u2019s an necessary character that\u2019s going to stay round some time.<\/p>\n

From the start, Shaw is onto Riker and Picard\u2019s scheme. He is aware of their historical past. He\u2019s not silly. He\u2019s a Starfleet captain. Think about this was an episode of Star Trek: Titan<\/em>, and Captain Shaw and crew are on a routine mission. Then two legendary but inactive officers with an extended historical past of saving the galaxy and getting drawn into harmful conditions seem unexpectedly and begin poking round on the ship. Picard and Riker are enjoying the Evil Admiral trope on that episode of Titan<\/em>, and Captain Shaw can be silly to allow them to deceive him.<\/p>\n

Shaw reveals he\u2019s onto Picard and Riker earlier than they even step foot on his vessel by not greeting them once they board. Titan<\/em> first officer Seven of 9 informs the pair that Captain Shaw is \u201ccatching up with some logs,\u201d and can be part of them for dinner later. Shaw additional disrespects Picard and Riker by consuming midway via his meal earlier than they present as much as dine with him. Claiming that their \u201cpopularity preceded you up to now into the room that I began early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shaw\u2019s rudeness continues when he low-key insults Picard\u2019s present of a bottle of wine from his winery, stating that he\u2019s a \u201cMalbeck Man,\u201d and unsubtly jabs at Riker\u2019s command fashion by proclaiming to have \u201cpurged the bebop\u201d from the ship\u2019s techniques when he took the captain\u2019s chair 5 years in the past. The verbal jabs don\u2019t let up till the scene ends after Shaw declines Picard\u2019s request to alter course with a easy \u201cNo.\u201d Then follows up by saying that he gained\u2019t endanger his ship for this ruse and divulges his distaste for Picard as a \u201cformer ex-borg\u201d (It\u2019s unclear if this double-negative was intentional or not).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a riveting scene and reveals the care that showrunner Terry Matalas took to make Shaw a multi-dimensional character fairly than simply somebody who calls Picard names and swears at him\u2014as we’ve seen with different Starfleet officers in earlier seasons of Picard<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Echoes of Edward Jellico<\/h2>\n
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Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A variety of viewers might not personally like Captain Shaw\u2019s gruff demeanor. Not solely is he impolite to Picard and Riker, however up to now, he seems to deal with Seven of 9 with a little bit of disdain. However there are causes for his habits. Most cases the place we see him being less-than-nice towards Seven need to do together with her insubordination in taking the ship off track and serving to Picard and Riker commandeer a shuttle. There stay problems with his insisting that Seven go by her human identify (Annika Hansen) fairly than her Borg designation and his outright disgusted comment about \u201cformer ex-borgs.\u201d However I feel we\u2019ll see the genesis of that individual prejudice performed out in additional episodes.<\/p>\n

It comes all the way down to the truth that Shaw runs his ship otherwise, with a distinct persona than Trek<\/em> followers are accustomed to. It will postpone many viewers by design. Suppose again to the basic Subsequent Technology<\/em> two-parter \u201cThe Chain of Command,\u201d when Captain Edward Jellico took over command from the Enterprise-D<\/em> from Picard, tasked with a secret mission into Cardassian house. In these episodes, Jellico fully reordered the Enterprise<\/em> in a way harking back to how Shaw instructions the Titan<\/em>. It\u2019s a really no-nonsense, get-it-done, follow-your-orders fashion. And the crew hated each minute of being underneath the command of Jellico.<\/p>\n

The trick about Jellico is that whereas some view him as a \u201cdangerous captain\u201d, he was proper about every thing. If you happen to return and watch that story, you\u2019ll discover that Jellico was vindicated in each choice he made and ended up rescuing Picard by his wits. One thing comparable is going on with Captain Shaw proper now in Picard<\/em>. Rewatch the primary two episodes of Picard<\/em> season three and attempt to discover a spot when he\u2019s factually mistaken about one thing. He isn\u2019t. To not say he\u2019ll by no means be, however I’ve a sense we\u2019ll be nicely into the latter half of the season earlier than he makes a mistake\u2014whereas additionally being form of a jerk to individuals.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, for all his gruffness, he’s nonetheless open to recommendation and can change his plan of action. For instance, within the second episode of Picard<\/em> season three, Shaw decides to maintain the Titan<\/em> inside Federation house when he is aware of that Picard and Riker are in bother. It makes excellent sense that he would act that means. He knew that his ship can be outgunned if he intervened and weighed the lives of 500 crewmen in opposition to simply Riker and Picard. However when it got here all the way down to the ultimate choice to intervene, Shaw confirmed that he was open to taking Seven\u2019s recommendation (regardless that she had simply helped Riker and Picard of their plot) and determined to go save Picard and Riker.<\/p>\n

Trekkies can debate whether or not or not Shaw makes the morally appropriate name right here. Some will come down on Shaw\u2019s aspect, citing that Picard and Riker have been attempting to trick him all alongside, and now a harmful scenario is unfolding like he suspected it would. Others can say that leaving two individuals to certainly die goes in opposition to the rules of Starfleet. However, the wonder is that each side have a strong footing to face on, a very good motive for taking their positions\u2014Captain Shaw as a personality represents that.<\/p>\n

The same scenario performed out close to the tip of the episode when Shaw needed to make a crucial choice needed to be made handy over Jack Crusher to the dangerous guys or attempt to make a getaway. All through the episode, Shaw is adamant that he intends to present Jack to the bounty hunters. However when Picard revealed that Jack was his son on the final second, Shaw understood and determined to threat his ship and crew to avoid wasting him. So, as gruff as he’s, he\u2019s not intransigent\u2014an indication of a very good captain.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s Acquired a Actually Candy Experience<\/h2>\n
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Paramount+<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This may increasingly or might not have one thing to do with Shaw\u2019s character within the present. However there\u2019s simply one thing a few man who instructions a starship just like the Titan-A<\/em>\u00a0that instructions respect. It\u2019s a beautiful ship in and out. And arms down, my favourite starship Star Trek Universe<\/em> has placed on display screen since Discovery<\/em> premiered in 2017.<\/p>\n

The Titan-A<\/em> is a refit of the U.S.S. Titan<\/em>, first talked about in Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002<\/em>. It\u2019s the ship that William Riker left the Enterprise-E<\/em> to command on the finish of that movie. However, we by no means noticed it on display screen till Lower Decks<\/em><\/a> when Captain Riker and the Titan<\/em> warp in to avoid wasting the day on the finish of season one. And we see it extra within the first half of the Decrease Decks<\/em> season two.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this Titan<\/em> appears to be like a lot totally different than the Decrease Decks<\/em> model. The refit hooked up a extra intensive stardrive part onto the Titan\u2019s present saucer, rechristening it as a \u201cNeo Structure class\u201d ship (Titan<\/em> was previously a Luna class vessel). And true to its class identify, the Titan-A<\/em> has the distinct feel and appear of the Nineteen Eighties Enterprise<\/em> and Enterprise-A<\/em> (refit Structure class, attempt to sustain) featured within the authentic movies. Which, in flip, have been primarily based on the Structure class vessels of the unique Star Trek<\/em> TV present.<\/p>\n

What outcomes is a 2020s model of the unique Sixties starship Enterprise<\/em>, with all the burden, nostalgia, gravitas, and accountability that brings. And for individuals like me, you possibly can\u2019t assist however take a look at that ship, take into consideration the form of particular person it will take to command such a vessel, and admire the particular person sitting within the captain\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

Liam Shaw is Written and Acted with Care<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s clear after simply two episodes that Captain Liam Shaw is right here to remain. The showrunner and writers recognized him as one of many central characters within the plot of the ultimate season of Star Trek: Picard<\/em> and paid a lot thought and work to creating him a totally realized character.<\/p>\n

Within the arms of lesser Trek<\/em> writers, this character might have turned out to be as bland as a bit of bread like Enterprise-B<\/em> commander John Harriman in Star Trek: Generations<\/em> or the f-bomb-dropping Admiral Clancy from Picard<\/em> season one. As a substitute, we’ve a sophisticated, flawed, and plausible foil to affix us on this journey.<\/p>\n

After all, I couldn\u2019t let this text go with out praising the stunningly glorious efficiency of actor Todd Stashwick. We\u2019re solely two episodes in, and he\u2019s delivered a present for the Trek<\/em> ages. He\u2019s a type of character actors that pop up on TV reveals infrequently, however I by no means knew his identify. However I certain do now, and I\u2019ll most likely always remember it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n