It is the most gruesome Trek has gotten
on screen, and yes, that does, in fact bother me. However, it hardly is the worst we've actually heard of happening outside of Federation space. In fact, we know of these kind of terrible things happening as early as
season 1 of TNG. I mean, what happened to Icheb was terrible, but it was ONE specific group doing that; however, back in Season 1 of TNG an outside the Federation colony world is mentioned,
Turkana IV, homeworld of one Tasha Yar, and the home of multiple groups of [
Rape gangs. Then there of course was the story of
Tarsus IV where fully half the population was executed by the governor, Kodos. Witness and survivor of this event? One James Tiberius Kirk. For a more personal form of torture that we see directly on screen, see the unnamed colony world in Deep Space Nine's "
Paradise", where Ben Sisko is hotboxed and pushed to suffer under cult torture and attempts at indoctrination. Further we know that outside the Federation there is a large and thriving organized crime networks, as again, seen in DS9 in "
Honor Among Thieves".
What was done to the xBs was cruel and terrible, yes, but one thing that has, in fact, been consistent in Trek is that outside of Federation space all sorts of cruelty and terrible things happen. Not all the time, no, but they DO happen, and good people suffer under them. Does this excuse the graphicness of Picard in this episode? No, like I said, I'm not happy about that, but to pretend that Icheb dying while on a personal mission (the episode clearly stated he'd taken personal time to work with the Rangers, he was not acting under Starfleet aegis) outside the Federation against dangerous criminals is somehow outside the vision of Trek previously established is to, fundamentally, whitewash the vision of Star Trek.
It's the ultimate in show versus tell. Telling us something awful happens outside Federation space is far less effective than taking a beloved character and cutting him apart on screen. It had to be graphic to demonstrate how devastating it was to Seven. We had to watch, so it was devastating to
us. We have to be angry, we have to feel like one of our people was murdered, so we know Seven is
right and Picard is
wrong. That's why we have to see Icheb cut apart, in a Starfleet uniform. They broke faith with Icheb, and he had more right to expect Starfleet to hold the faith than many people on the frontier. Icheb wore the uniform, he died in it, and Starfleet owes him justice. Because that's the point -
Starfleet has shirked their duty.
Blasting Bjayzl with a phaser is far more merciful than she deserves. And you have to be angry, so you don't retreat into the fantasy that Bjayzl could be hauled into court, or a prison cell somewhere. The only justice Icheb will ever get is from Seven's gun, and we have to know that. If you don't want Seven to assimilate Bjayzl, listen to her scream as Borg nanoprobes rip her body into a new configuration, then vivisect Bjayzl alive to pull those parts out of her again, you're not human. That's what Seven is trying to tell Picard. Borg don't avenge,
humans do. Borg don't have kin, nor do they show or earn loyalty.
Humans do. Talking Seven down is no different than Clancy telling Picard to go home.
The big difference between what was done to Icheb, and what was done to La Forge, or Sisko, or Yar, or Picard himself, is that the cavalry do not show up in time. Starfleet does not show up in the nick of time to save the day. COLEMAN does not blast in from warp, phasers firing, photon torpedoes locked and loaded, and MACOs ready for the kill. And we know that's exactly what Archer, Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Picard, Riker, Sisko, Worf, Jellico or Janeway would have done, were this set in any of those serieses. Because we do have multiple episodes where they arrive in time, and the character lives.
The other big difference is who comes to the rescue. It's not Seven's place to roll in to blast Dr. Mengele von Bubblegum and abbatoir of horrors. That place belongs to COLEMAN's captain or XO, just like it's his or her job to shout for the immediate beamout, and COLEMAN's medical officer to save Icheb in the nick of time. You have to be loyal to your people, and previous incarnations of Trek ere adamant about that. That's how things worked when Starfleet did it's job. We have seen Kirk, Spock and McCoy, Picard, Riker and Crusher, Sisko, Kira and Bashir, or Janeway, Chakotay and the EMH do that hundreds of times. Picard fought a god to save Wesley Crusher, after all. Hell, we just saw Seven show up in the nick of time in Absolute Candor. Even where they fail, as they did with Marla Aster, they try.
The only cavalry coming for Icheb is Seven. She's late. All Seven can to is put an end to Icheb's suffering. That's a major turn of events. The only way it could possibly be sadder is if QJr showed up too late. That's the devastating lesson - Starfleet should come, and Starfleet should as hell avenge. And they don't!
We also don't know if Icheb was acting outside Starfleet's aegis or not. Seven gives us two versions of the story. One is that it happened when Icheb was on leave, but the other is that Bjayzl lured Icheb's ship (presumably the COLEMAN) into a trap simply to capture him. Icheb is in uniform, and with combadge, as he is tortured. That tends to suggest the latter, that he was back on duty and on COLEMAN when Bjayzl captured him. It also indicates she is absolutely not worried that Starfleet will come looking for her. Note how, in TNG at least, the first thing the bad guys do is confiscate the com badges, because you can both call out and be located by them. Similarly, Seven has concluded Starfleet has no interest in protecting or avenging their own. On duty or on leave, no organization worth a damn is going to let you kill their people and get away with it, and they're sure as hell going to get pissed. Wars have started by a sailor on liberty getting knifed in an alley. Or, for that matter, any situation of a cop (on duty or off) killed.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. If this was any other Trek series, ENTERPRISE, DEFIANT or VOYAGER would have arrived in the nick of time. Or gone rogue to avenge him. It's a very important point that Starfleet doesn't care Bjayzl murdered Icheb. It shows, vividly, just how far and fast Starfleet has fallen.
Not only do they not care about people on the frontier,
they don't care about their own. Which is something we have to see and feel, not just hear about.
I'm not happy about it. I'm about as angry as you can get about the death of a fictional character. Icheb was a character I liked, and, more importantly, he died almost alone, unsupported by his ideals, abandoned by those he had the right to expect to hold the faith with him in a place that is literally Planet Forgotten. But I also know why the writers did it: it's the most effective way to show us how rotten and broken Starfleet is, and just how out of touch with reality Picard is.
Now, your point about revenge is absolutely well placed and DOES contradict the prior themes of Star Trek. Revenge has always been something Trek has warned against, most strongly, interestingly, with Kirk, as he had three major stories that revolved around revenge, his encounter with the aforementioned Kodos years later in classic "
The Conscience of the King", then when revenge was sought against him by Khan in "
Star Trek II" and then finally regarding Klingons and his son in
Star Trek VI". All bear the same message that revenge should not be sought, rather justice and forgiveness.
It is a concerning turn, as episodes prior to this had been driving in a more optimistic direction. We shall see what transpires.
Which goes back to why we had to see Icheb being butchered. So we shout out "yes it is!" when Picard tries to talk Seven out of vengeance. Because vengeance is the only justice Icheb will ever have, and the only court Bjayzl will ever see is the barrel of Seven's phaser. We have to know, viscerally, just how wrong Picard is. And the only way to do that is to show Icheb dying alone and unavenged, except for Seven.
Because there is no justice in the Federation in 2399. Which is, frankly, probably the most important theme in Picard - the Federation has lost it's way, lost it's soul. And that Picard has been isolated from it, running away to his chateaux. He can talk about justice and principles all he wants, because he's not seen how far the Federation has fallen. Rios knows better, which is why he slips Seven the pattern enhancer link.
I'd say that Picard has always been heading to this moment. Yes, there's optimism, but it's the optimism of the last stand - people heading into danger because they're needed. We saw that with Elnor; Romulan warrior monks and nuns only bind their swords to a lost cause, and they generally expect to die in the attempt. It's very Klingon. And human, but more Dr. Who than Star Trek.
Which leads to the other subplot of Stardust City Rag: Raffi trying to make amends. Pair that with "The Icarus Factor," where we see the Rikers deal with paternal abandonment in the face of overwhelming loss. Riker makes amends with his father, but Raffi's son tells her to piss off.
Picard is getting dark, but it's always been dark. Because it's about what happens when the people sworn to administer justice . . . don't.
