The first episode of Picard season 3 comes out tomorrow, and I can't believe I'm letting myself get excited for it again. The reviews have been... pretty good! A sampling:

Please don't let me down again Star Trek. Please.

Still haven't watched season 2. Waiting for season 3 to wrap up, and hopefully done well.

Season 2 was better than Season 1, imho.

That was an enjoyable enough first episode. The tone is definitely different this season.

Are we going to get an explanation on what happened between the end of season2 and the beginning of this season at some point? Seems like we skipped over a ton of stuff.

Far better than the shit that was Season 2, which I finally bailed on midway through.

One complaint is what a complete over the top asshole the Titan captain is. No way in hell do a retired captain and admiral get put up in bunkbeds. While I assume he's fated to get whacked early on, pulling that kind of shit would get you the command of Star Fleet's equivalent of Adak. That was just silly.

Yeah, I could see a brash young captain trying to puff up on retired officers trying to get their way, but Picard and Riker with all they've done in their careers? Shit, most captains would take the helm themselves and plot a course to wherever for those two, because there wouldn't BE a Starfleet without those two.

BUT, the story needed him to be that big of a dick to justify Seven basically telling Shaw to go **** himself as she shat her career away because she couldn't take it anymore.

Do I need to watch Season 2 to get into Season 3?

I just want the Enterprise crew back together. I don't want to hear about Picard's weird time shit crap he does with Q

It felt more of the same to me. Sorry but old Picard just doesn't work for me.

Only one episode in, but I'd say probably not. It's more of a "you now know these people, here's what they're doing" instead of a continuous storyline with those characters from Season 2. So far.

He didn't bother me, there have been plenty of by-the-book assholes in Star Trek before. Captain Jellico and Admiral Bitchayev, off the top of my head.

Jellico was an asshole but he wasn't an idiot. I also recall his methods proved successful in the end.

Just finished the second episode. Shit definitely picked up when Raffi's "handler" identified himself. :D

I guess I'll spoiler this next bit for now.