I don’t remember last season all that well but wasn’t Isaac back on the crew after the Kaylon 2 parter? I don’t recall any crew having problems with him. It’s been three years since watching any of these episodes so I don’t remember all that much.
Yep. Apart from one episode later on where Finn has a feel-good day with the others on how to cope with a breakup's aftermath, there was zero discussion about Isaac or Finn's kids. So, yeah, this episode is just a tad awkward.
Disclaimer: I'd seen the teaser and read a couple spoiler-loaded reviews to get a handle, since I'm waiting for the DVD and wanted to see how much would be changed before bothering. and partly because the season 2 rewatch had more nitpicks stand out than I'd seen originally, though the nitpicks I saw originally were really glaringly bad ones (despite most of the episodes generally being genuinely impressive).
I'll still see season 3 and am still eager overall, but am not as hyped compared to when the season 3 trailer that was released a few weeks ago. The teaser had that glaring issue about a race of robots hell-bent on exterminating all but they're demanding their enemy just surrenders (despite their prey being infinitely weaker... Voyager's cheesiest Borg episodes had far better scripting than everything I know of the Kaylon as presented since "Identity pt 2", an episode which also goes so far out of its way to stretch credibility to allow the heroes to win. ) Yes, season 2's finale hints at timeline changes causing some changes, but that's a bit of a stretch.
This premiere is a tad late in the day with addressing the aftermath, but why not since wasting episodes on a lame star trek ripoff involving a fake personality created from video recordings isn't anything near an improvement on Barclay (quite the contrary, to be frank. It's the series' worst episode by far.) Or spending more time on playing "9 to 5" when they could have tweaked some scenes and wind down the Finn denouement with more deftness. Or deal with Issac as a season finale rather than a season opener...
... complete the usual triped-up trope of "backup system" - seriously, they were there. TNG did it for Data once or twice. Even Worf had a spare part right on cue (in an episode that comes across as **** for the same reason too. Even back then it was unsophisticated plotting. If you want a backup, try "Contagion" as they did a far better job with the trope in the first place. And by far than any other story saying "Oh look, we have a backup!!") I'd be more surprised if they actually do a spin and really say Isaac truly is deactivated forever, but that would be cheaper than to redo the opening credits to take Isaac's name out of it. And considering Isaac saved the crew and committed suicide before his sappy and unbelievable revival in "Identity 2", from what I've read I can't really swallow very easily what's been told about him deactivating himself out of guilt. It'd have been far easier if they didn't shoehorn the Finn/Isaac subplot to the side for what episodes and time remained in season 2.
All that said, the opener had a few good scenes and a twist they needed to do (who wrote "MURDERER!" on Isaac's door), though the crew forgot that Isaac saved their hides from his fellow race and their reactions are arguably a bit uncalled for. Maybe a later episode will really drop the other shoe in a bigger and related issue, but I get the feeling they won't.
Oh, Yaphit in the spacesuit almost makes up for every last nitpick because that was freakin' brill.
But, yeah, it's a letdown - but maybe seeing the whole thing proper might change some of that. Am waiting to sign up until a few more episodes in. But after season 2's dropping the ball, some of what I've read sounds like par for the course - a mix of the good with the awful. But who knows, there could be another payoff later on that more than makes up for it.
