After Season 1 and 2, I was ready to drop Picard...bad written characters, the main protagonist mainly a bystander in his own show. Strange and unlogical story development (even for Sci-Fi), just not a series I could enjoy as a Star Trek fan (same with Discovery, after Season 2 - I dropped it, because the overemotional, overexpressed characters and cringy dialogues drove me crazy). Strange New Worlds was a mixed bag, but many episodes were decent - a positive trend. Not even wanting to watch Picard Season 3, I gave myself a push - after watching the episode I can say I am positively surprised. Apparently, many of the producers of Season 1 and 2 are not involved anymore, which is in my opinion the best decision they could have made to save the series. Not to spoil anything, it feels like a TNG movie and not as rushed and confused as previous seasons of Picard. Overall more mature. Still quite dark (more like ST Nemesis, ST First Contact). The new writing and directing staff seem to actually like the Star Trek franchise and its characters. Some fan service in the episode as well, but that is to be expected. Based on this episode it gives me hope that Picard and the TNG crew finally get a decent and well-deserved send-off with this last season. This season could actually be the Star Trek Picard the fans have been waiting for since season 1. Let's see if the upcoming episodes can keep up. I will update the rating when the season has progressed.