Star Trek: Picard Thoughts – Elnor

[labingi]

It's been a great pleasure to watch Star Trek: Picard. My feelings about its ups and downs (mostly ups) are very well summed up by selenak here, so I won't do a general review here. Instead, I want to post some thoughts on dear underdeveloped Elnor, who I hope will get more to do in season 2.

Elnor really is underdeveloped. His relationship with Picard, which is his emotional center, is much more "tell" than "show," despite a lengthy flashback when he's first introduced. I can't say he's one of the series' standout characters, but I do think he may be conceptually the most interesting for me.

Elnor is an example of one of the things I yearn for most in science fiction, one of the key reasons SF&F are useful genres for me: an exploration of a truly different cultural perspective, a truly different stance toward life. Though it isn't yet deeply explored, I have never seen a concept like the absolute candor of his culture. At first blush, the concept sounded to me like Lwaxana Troi's persistent honesty or some antithesis of Vulcanness where people shout their emotions all the time. [1] But Elnor's people don't do that.

In fact, for absolutely candid people, they are quite quiet and restrained. For me, that characteristic is both surprising and perfect: surprising because it plays against the "let it all hang out" that candor suggests, but perfect because, really, if you're going to be honest all the time and live in a society without hating each other, you'd better be circumspect. They're candid, but they don't say everything they're thinking or feeling, only a selection of what seems important to mention, it seems. They have a space for showing emotion, but it is generally subordinated to a low affect demeanor: the words are often candid while the tone is flat.

It's actually been a long time since I've encountered a sci-fi cultural concept that feels this fresh and interesting. I am intrigued and want to see more of it, and I do hope Elnor will get a chance for more development in season 2. (And as a bonus, I would like to see a bit more delving into the gender dynamics of his culture. He's a man raised by women to be in a woman's role. That didn't get addressed in season 1—except perhaps insofar as he seems quick to bond with female authority figures like Seven and Raffi. The gender dynamics are also worth more exploration.)


[1] By the way, I get that it's really the antithesis of Romulan secrecy, and that's interesting and good society-building; I just don't have much to say about it.

Comments

[sovay]

For me, that characteristic is both surprising and perfect: surprising because it plays against the "let it all hang out" that candor suggests, but perfect because, really, if you're going to be honest all the time and live in a society without hating each other, you'd better be circumspect. They're candid, but they don't say everything they're thinking or feeling, only a selection of what seems important to mention, it seems. They have a space for showing emotion, but it is generally subordinated to a low affect demeanor: the words are often candid while the tone is flat.

That's really cool. I don't know if I want to watch an uneven first season just for the character, but I hope he (and his culture) are more thoroughly explored in fuure seasons, because I feel like the last time I saw anything like that was in Le Guin. Even if "Elnor," as a name, really sounds like one of Tolkien's elves.

[labingi]

Interesting that you mention Le Guin, who is my all-time favorite sci-fi writer. I think there is a commonality there in my connection to a lot of her works and my connection to Elnor's culture. And, yes, it does sound really Elvish--and the hair looks Peter Jackson Elvish--which is an interesting choice. :)

[sovay]

I think there is a commonality there in my connection to a lot of her works and my connection to Elnor's culture.

She was so good at different ways of being, and at different ways of being that are not as conventionally expected.

And, yes, it does sound really Elvish--and the hair looks Peter Jackson Elvish--which is an interesting choice.

Hah! That is.

[labingi]

She was so good at different ways of being, and at different ways of being that are not as conventionally expected.

She really made use of the anthropological background. I've been reading The Overstory, which I love in many ways, but the relentless focus on Western culture as universal "humanity" is making me miss Le Guin.

[lilacsigil]

I just love that he speaks with a totally ordinary Australian accent! It's so rare to hear that, even from Australian actors, in any kind of historical or future setting. I wasn't thrilled that we got the one male character from that culture instead of the 99% women, but at the same time I did love how he bonded to Seven of Nine and listened carefully to Raffi.

[labingi]

I totally couldn't place the accent. Thanks for that context. It's interesting that they showed so much variety in the Romulan accents. It threw me a little, but, hey, humans have tons of accents, so why not Romulans? They are also a huge population with many subcultures (and coming from two different planets).

I agree it's problematic to showcase the one man. That also needles me a bit in Trigun: a species almost entirely made up of females (or beings that present as female), but we get to follow the only two males for the entire series! Still, there are interesting concepts to explore.