When they first brought up Picard's illness early on, they painted themselves into the corner. I get why they did it. It tied back to the All Good Things TNG finale and added some tension to the season, knowing Picard had a disease that would most likely kill him before the end of the season.

So what could they do?

A. Let him die and continue the show with his band of rebel space explorers. Picard is the anchor of this show, and I think you need him for it to work.

B. Find a magical cure. This would have been a cheap way out of the issue IMO.

C. What they did. Picard is now a synth, but one with a normal human lifespan. He will expire when Picard reaches what would have been the end of his natural lifespan sans illness. I dig this. Way back in TNG, Picard advocated for Data, establishing in a Starfleet hearing that synthetic life is life and should enjoy all the rights and freedoms that come with that. Then Picard was assimilated by the Borg, making him partially synthetic at that time. He was traumatized by Borg implants but overcame and later helped liberate Hugh. He has finished a journey that has constantly been tied to synthetic life. He helped synths gain freedom. A synth was one of his dearest friends, who sacrificed his life for him. Now he is a synth, and freed from the illness that would have ended his life prematurely.

I'm cool with it But I'm also looking forward more to the Pike series. They nailed that character, Number One and Spock IMO. Should be awesome.
[Post edited by hokiemas at 07/29/2020 12:19AM]