I looked up reviews for "Monsters" and can't believe a lot of them are positive. Even some of the ones that are critical of this episode were bullish of the whole season. I feel like I'm going mad - how do people actually think this is well written? I'm not even talking about the nit-picks of things like the spotlight, or Picard's father's hair, I'm talking about the motivations of the characters, the overall plot - things that are basic to all good storytelling.
Here's another thing I don't get - Picard and Tallinn are becoming romantically involved based on the fact that she looks like Laris? Now that she's revealed to be Romulan (which makes even less sense why she's been made a "watcher" on 21st century earth, kind of contradicting any of the first contact scenarios that have been established), and possibly an ancestor of Laris, Picard feels even more connected to her. So, is this supposed to set up him getting together with Laris when they return to their original timeline in the 25th century? I can see how that will go:
Picard: "Laris, I can love you now because I met someone that looked like you in the past - maybe your great great grandmother! - and she rooted around in my mind and we fell in love. But it was really you that I love, baby, because she reminded me of you!"
