Note: This post was written after watching the available 8 out of the total 10 episodes of the season. As such I don't yet know the resolution to Captain Shaw's storyline in Picard.
When, in Episode 1, "The Next Generation," we first meet
Star Trek: Picard's
Captain Shaw (played masterfully by
Todd Stashwick), he’s…well, he’s a bit of an ass. In one scene alone, he starts dinner
before his invited guests—no less than
Admiral Picard and
Captain Riker—even arrive; he uses a sarcastic tone to compliment the wine Admiral Picard brought (his own, from Chateau Picard) before proceeding to share that he prefers something else; and the ultimate insult: he says a curt “No” to their request to take the ship to a different destination.
And that's just the beginning. For one thing, he keeps deadnaming
Seven (
Jeri Ryan), across multiple episodes, even after we see her (in Episode 4, "No Win Scenario") subtly—but forcefully—express her preference to be called "Seven." Definitely not cool.
This is not the kind of behavior we generally expect of a Starfleet captain. So what gives?
We don’t find out the origins of Shaw’s assholery for a few episodes, which is also fitting, since the Titan and her crew certainly have bigger issues at hand. But when we do find out (also in Episode 4), we realize that Shaw’s not just being a jerk for the sake of it. He has
been through some shit. It seems the man has a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder. And with good reason: he was not only
at the
Battle of Wolf 359, where it seemed “like space itself was burning,” he survived it. But…ah, that carries with it its own pain: “Why-why me?” indeed. He only survived that infamous battle because “some lieutenant” pointed at nine other people and then him and ordered them to get on the only remaining, 10-seat life pod.
This is the kind of event that can cause trauma, and this is the kind of trauma that can mark a person for life.
And while I’m on the subject, the writing of his Wolf 359 monologue (by
Terry Matalas, also the showrunner, and
Sean Tretta) is of note. Partway through relaying the story of that terrible day to
Jack Crusher (
Ed Speleers), Shaw starts switching back and forth between present tense and past tense. When I first noticed it, I thought, “He meant ‘was.’” But I rewound and saw that no, he was definitely speaking in the present tense in that instance. And that’s when it hit me: He was, at least in part, reliving it through the telling of it. This rings true because one thing that trauma does is keep a part of us “in” the traumatic moment.
So Captain Shaw has seen some hard times, and, as is often true to life, they've stayed with him and have shaped him. And while that certainly doesn't excuse his assholery, we at least know it comes from a real place.
Fortunately for him, said assholery hasn’t kept him from rising to the rank of Captain, despite Starfleet being aware of his issues (which we're given a hint of when Vadic, the season's villain, mentions his official pscyh. profile). One could reasonably wonder how he kept getting promoted, given his behavior. But we don't know enough of the backstory yet to answer that question.
In any case Captain Shaw is quite high-functioning, regardless of his mental illness. This also rings true because, contrary to what many in our society seem to think, having a mental illness does not necessarily mean one is incapacitated.
And of course I know what rings true about all of this because of the trauma I've experienced (most of which remains unresolved as of this writing). Thankfully I am, like Captain Shaw, able to be a rather high-functioning adult—holding down a challenging job, paying the bills, and trying to be a contributing member of our society.
My point is: I have never related to a Star Trek character more than I do to Captain Shaw. (Having said that, I do try not to be a jerk. :)
Before Captain Shaw, I certainly liked Star Trek; I would've even said I loved it. But having a Trek character I can actually relate to, especially to this degree, feels...new. And it kicks that love into fucking overdrive.
It should be noted that Captain Shaw does have redeeming qualities that we've caught glimpses of. Most notably, in Episode 7, "Dominion," when he realized he was alone in a turbolift with Vadic and another changeling, he called out, "Blow the turbolift!" as a command to those on the bridge. Commander Seven spared Shaw's life by disobeying that order, which Shaw gives her grief for in the next episode (8, "Surrender"). He's willing to sacrifice himself to save his crew. Like any good captain. Also it was stated elsewhere that the whole reason he doesn't worship Picard and Riker like so many others do is that the two of them had made many decisions over the years that put their crews in more danger than was necessary. He cares enough about his crew that he'd never make those same kinds of decisions in the first place. Granted, Picard and Riker doubtless care about their crews as well, but...try telling that to Shaw.
So—he does care. And doubtless a great deal. But for him, being perpetually pissed off gets in the way of showing it.
Another aspect of Captain Shaw that I dearly love (and am certainly not alone in) is his sense of humor: he's got a razor-sharp, acerbic wit, and he's even unafraid to use it on our heroes.
Heroic characters (and those treated as heroes even when they go rogue) are great—and I'm not here to say otherwise. But to also have characters who are flawed, complicated, traumatized, and perpetually pissed off but deeply caring, hilariously sarcastic, and high functioning? Yes. Please. These are all notes I am more than happy to see Star Trek playing.
So...thank you to Terry (who originally wrote the character), to Sean and the rest of the writing staff, and to Todd for bringing him to life.
And I definitely want to see more than one season's worth of Captain Shaw.
