Fabula
Season 7 · Episode 25
S7E25
Tragic with redemptive undertones
Written by Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore
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All Good Things...

As Captain Picard begins erratically leaping through time, he must unravel the mystery behind a dangerous spatial anomaly that threatens to erase humanity from existence, forcing him to rely on his future and past selves.

Admiral Nakamura alerts Captain Picard to Romulan activity and a spatial anomaly appearing in the Devron System, setting off a chain of events where Picard begins to move between three different time periods: the present, his early days as captain of the Enterprise, and a future twenty-five years later. In the past, Picard's crew views him as erratic as he orders them to the Neutral Zone, while in the future, he is an old man struggling with Irumodic Syndrome. As Picard grapples with his time shifting, he learns from Q that humanity is on trial and that he is responsible for their impending destruction.

Seeking answers, Picard consults with Data, now a professor at Cambridge, and enlists the help of a retired Geordi. Picard must also seek help and passage from his former love, Beverly, now captaining a medical ship, to enter Klingon space to assess the Devron anomaly. The away team is faced with a moral struggle as they meet Worf, now a shell of his former self, but Worf agrees to assist them because Picard is clever, as always. While Beverly and Picard find warm affection with one another, the events take a turn for the worse when they are attacked by Klingon cruisers, resulting in damage to the ship's warp core and Beverly's death, but Picard is beamed back to the future onto the USS Enterprise.

Back in the present, Picard and the crew struggle to find a solution to both the temporal problem and the anomaly as it sends temporal waves across the universe. While visiting an injured LaForge in Sickbay, Picard visits with Beverly, and she discusses recent discoveries about the effects of the temporal anomaly, and then Ogawa loses her unborn child, becoming the next victim. Picard also revisits his past, entering Q's courtroom; Q explains it's been Picard all along, and now the trial has ended; mankind is guilty and has been sentenced to demise. Returning to the present once more, Picard is able to reason with his present crew and get all three time periods working together to find the source of the anomaly. All three Enterprises are able to converge in the Devron System to collapse the anomaly and restore the natural flow of time, and Q tells Picard the test wasn't about what he did to save them as a species, but the potential for expanding his mind. When Picard returns to the moment he first began time-shifting, his relationships with the crew shift, and he even attends a poker game with his crew--finally showing his humanity in a way he'd never attempted.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

122
Act 0

Worf and Troi share an intimate moment after a holodeck program, hinting at their developing romantic relationship. Their romantic tension is abruptly interrupted by Captain Picard, who bursts from a turbolift in a bathrobe, disoriented and frantic. He asks for the current stardate and reveals to a bewildered Worf and Troi that he is inexplicably "moving back and forth through time." This establishes the central mystery and the inciting incident of Picard's temporal displacement, immediately throwing the narrative into an unusual and urgent situation. The teaser quickly sets up Picard's predicament and the crew's initial confusion, signaling that a significant, reality-altering event has begun.

Act 1

Picard, still disoriented, attempts to describe his time-shifting experiences to Troi, recalling vague memories of being in the past (before commanding the Enterprise) and the future (as an old man in a vineyard). During their conversation, Picard is abruptly shifted to the future, where he is an aged man tending grapevines, suffering from Irumodic Syndrome, and is visited by an older, visually altered Geordi La Forge. He experiences disorientation and sees strange, jeering figures in the vineyard. Just as he struggles to comprehend this, he shifts again to the past, finding himself in a shuttle with a young Tasha Yar, on his way to take command of the Enterprise for the first time. He feels a strange familiarity with Tasha. He then shifts back to the present, still holding his teacup, confirming his erratic temporal jumps to Troi, who, now alarmed by the consistency of his stories and his distress, calls Doctor Crusher for medical assistance. This act establishes the pattern of Picard's involuntary time shifts and introduces the three key timelines.

Act 2

In the present, Beverly Crusher examines Picard, finding no evidence of temporal displacement but detecting a structural defect in his parietal lobe that could lead to Irumodic Syndrome. Picard, however, insists his experiences are real, and his conviction grows stronger with each shift. Admiral Nakamura then contacts Picard, reporting Romulan activity and a spatial anomaly in the Devron System, ordering the Enterprise to investigate. Picard abruptly shifts back to the future, where his Irumodic Syndrome symptoms are more pronounced, and he sees the jeering figures again. He insists on seeing Data for help, and they travel to Cambridge, where Data, now a professor, agrees to help despite Geordi's skepticism. Picard then shifts back to the past, arriving on the Enterprise bridge during his initial command ceremony. He sees the jeering figures on the catwalk, and in a moment of confusion and urgency, inexplicably orders a Red Alert, startling his new, unfamiliar crew. This act deepens the mystery of Picard's condition, introduces the external threat of the anomaly, and highlights the increasing impact of his time shifts.

Act 3

In the past, Picard struggles to command his new crew, who are confused by his erratic behavior, such as ordering a Level Two Security Alert and questioning Troi about alien presences. He overrides Starfleet orders to proceed to Farpoint, instead directing the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone to investigate the Devron System anomaly, which he knows about from his present and future experiences. He demonstrates foreknowledge by helping O'Brien fix warp plasma inducers and meets a naive, early-model Data, who is still learning about human idioms. Picard then shifts back to the present, where Beverly confirms his time shifts are real, noting a significant increase in acetylcholine in his hippocampus, indicating he is retaining memories from his temporal jumps. This scientific validation provides the first real confirmation of Picard's extraordinary claims, giving him and the crew a tangible understanding of his condition and its implications. The act showcases Picard's struggle to lead in an unfamiliar past while gaining crucial insights into his temporal predicament.

Act 4

In the present, Picard's staff grapples with the implications of his time shifts and the anomaly's presence across timelines. Riker observes the growing intimacy between Worf and Troi, showing his lingering feelings for Troi. Beverly expresses deep concern about Picard's health and kisses him, revealing her deep affection and worry about his Irumodic Syndrome, urging him to rest. Picard then shifts to the future, where his symptoms are more pronounced, and he struggles to convince Geordi of the anomaly's importance. Admiral Riker, now a more jaded figure, refuses to provide a starship for investigation, forcing Picard to seek passage on a medical ship, the USS Pasteur, captained by his ex-wife, Beverly. She reluctantly agrees to take them to H'atoria to seek Worf's help. Picard then shifts to the past, searching for Q on the bridge, only to be transported to Q's courtroom, where Q, dressed in his judge's robes, awaits him, setting the stage for a critical confrontation and revelation. This act builds personal stakes for Picard across all timelines and directly brings Q back into the fold.

Act 5

In Q's courtroom, Picard demands answers. Q, in his judge's robes, reveals the trial of humanity never ended and that mankind is now found "guilty of being inferior." He admits to orchestrating Picard's time shifts as a test, hoping to see humanity's potential for mental expansion. Q then declares humanity's sentence: annihilation, and shockingly, states that Picard himself is the cause of this impending destruction. Picard is left bewildered by Q's cryptic pronouncements about his role in humanity's demise, unable to grasp how he could be responsible. The scene abruptly shifts back to the present, where a determined Picard, now understanding the gravity of the situation and the personal stakes involved, orders his senior staff to Red Alert, recognizing they face a problem far greater than anticipated. This act serves as the central turning point, revealing the true nature of the threat and Picard's pivotal, yet confusing, role.

Act 6

In the present, Picard's staff grapples with Q's ominous warning, speculating that Q might be giving Picard a chance to save humanity by understanding the anomaly. On the Bridge, the Enterprise approaches the Neutral Zone, encountering Romulan and Federation starships in a tense standoff. Picard, using his future knowledge, hails the Romulan commander, Tomalak, and proposes a joint investigation of the Devron System anomaly, which Tomalak accepts. Picard then shifts to the future, on Beverly's medical ship, where he convinces a jaded Worf, now Governor of H'atoria, to grant them passage into Klingon territory to investigate the anomaly. Worf reluctantly agrees to join them. Picard then shifts back to the past, where he orders the Enterprise into the Devron System, despite his crew's confusion and concern about entering the Neutral Zone. Finally, in the future, Picard is perplexed when the medical ship's sensors detect no anomaly in the Devron System, despite his certainty that it should be there. This act shows Picard actively trying to solve the mystery across timelines, facing skepticism and resistance.

Act 7

In the future, Data confirms no anomaly exists in the Devron System, frustrating Picard. Worf, however, detects Klingon warships searching for a "renegade Federation vessel." Picard, desperate, pushes Data to find a way to scan beyond the subspace barrier, leading Data to propose modifying the main deflector to emit an inverse tachyon pulse. Beverly, though skeptical of Picard's sanity due to his Irumodic Syndrome, agrees to a six-hour search before returning to Federation territory. In a private conversation, Beverly confronts Picard about his erratic behavior and her concern for his health, but reaffirms her loyalty to him. Q then appears to Picard, disguised as an old man, cryptically hinting that Picard's past and future selves are his "help" and that Picard himself still causes humanity's destruction. Picard then shifts to the present, where he suggests the same tachyon pulse modification to Data, who is surprised by Picard's insight. The Enterprise begins scanning the anomaly, but the medical ship is suddenly attacked by Klingon cruisers.

Act 8

In the present, the Enterprise's tachyon pulse scan begins, causing Geordi to experience pain as his optic nerves regenerate, a bizarre sign of "anti-time" effects. Data explains the anomaly is a multi-phasic temporal convergence, an "eruption of anti-time" that causes temporal reversion, making things "younger." This explains Geordi's healing and why Ogawa lost her unborn child, as fetal tissue reverted to an earlier state, highlighting the anomaly's destructive potential. Picard then shifts to the past, where he directs Data to perform the same tachyon pulse scan, noting the anomaly is larger in this timeline. Terrellian transport ships arrive, seeking "the Light" from the anomaly to heal their sick, despite Picard's warnings about unknown dangers. Picard then shifts to a primordial Earth with Q, who reveals that the anomaly, now vast and filling the entire sky, originated from Picard's actions and has prevented the formation of life on Earth. Picard realizes with horror that he is indeed the cause of humanity's destruction, confirming Q's earlier pronouncement. This act is a major turning point, revealing the true, catastrophic nature of the anomaly and Picard's direct culpability.

Act 9

In the past, Troi reports that children on board are suffering from temporal reversion, confirming the anomaly's toxic effects. Picard orders the Terrellian ships to evacuate but decides to stay and find a way to collapse the anomaly. He, Data, and O'Brien theorize about the anomaly's origin, concluding it was caused by an "outside catalyst" and that a theoretical tomographic imaging scanner could penetrate its interference. Picard then shifts to the present, where Data confirms the Enterprise has such a scanner and detects three converging tachyon pulses, all originating from the Enterprise across three time periods. This revelation leads Picard to understand the paradox: they are creating the anomaly. He then shifts to the future, where he, disoriented and lost on his own ship due to his worsening Irumodic Syndrome, finally finds Riker, Beverly, Data, and Geordi. He frantically explains the paradox, and Data, understanding, confirms that the convergence of three tachyon pulses could have ruptured subspace, causing the anti-time reaction that travels backward through time. Riker, convinced, orders a course back to the Devron System, and Worf, after a moment of reflection, decides to join them, signaling a reconciliation and unified effort.

Act 10

In the future, the Enterprise arrives in the Devron System, where a small, newly formed anti-time anomaly is detected, confirming Picard's theory. Data explains that the anomaly is sustained by the continuing tachyon pulses from the other two time periods and suggests they be shut down. Picard shifts to the present and orders the tachyon pulse disengaged, then shifts to the past and does the same. However, the anomaly remains unaffected, indicating a more complex solution is needed. Data then proposes that all three Enterprises must enter the anomaly simultaneously and create a static warp shell to repair the rupture and collapse the anomaly. In the past, Picard inspires his skeptical crew to trust him and commit to this dangerous mission, demonstrating his leadership. All three Enterprises converge in the anomaly, creating the static warp shell. The past and present Enterprises are destroyed in the process, but the future Enterprise, with Picard, survives as the anomaly collapses. Q appears, confirming Picard's success in saving humanity and revealing the true purpose of the "trial": to encourage Picard to expand his mind beyond conventional thought. Picard then returns to the exact moment he first time-shifted, but this time, he is calm and aware, having retained his memories. The episode concludes with Picard joining his crew for a poker game, a gesture of newfound humanity and connection, signifying that the future has changed for the better, and Picard has grown personally.