I found Picard being transported while he was walking kinda weird at the beginning of the episode.
I have to say I somewhat like the fact that they are showing more of the evolution of Picard. I think it's natural that people either soften or harden as they age. A guy who couldn't stand kids at the beginning of TNG to being a happy old grandpa sort is somewhat endearing.
I like the angle of trying to delve deeper into Romulan society. I like the idea of the emotionally candid nuns; contrarian to Vulcan society. I think nearly every society has some religious institution and if you are going to rally people for a noble cause, appealing to those who care for society is a great angle. I just kinda thought that ninja warrior was dumb and that the time that it took for Ninja boy to resolve his mixed emotions about Picard not having visited in 14 years was a little ridiculous.
Picard picking a fight with the Romulans at the end of the episode was not Picard-like. That bothered me a lot. Whoever said that was way to self righteous was right. I thought that being harassed as he walked by would have been much more believable.
As far as the Soji plot, the "skating" scene was just absolutely stupid. Now there might be more Soji's?
Frakes did a nice job directing. The camera was much more still. I didn't feel like I was on a visual roller coaster. The lens flares are still annoying.
You mentioned a few things that I've felt but didn't put in my thoughts before.
I, too, thought that it was a little weird that Picard was transported while walking. It certainly makes sense that it's technically possible, since people are often beamed from moving ships (like at the end of the episode), but people standing still while being transported is just one of those things that's iconic in Star Trek. I wouldn't want it to be common for people to be transported while walking just so that the show can try to be progressive. Besides, an old guy like him should stand still, even if it's unnecessary, because that's how he's always done it and it's just habit.
I liked the explanation of the law of Absolute Candor. I'm not sure if the ideology behind it is new to Romulans, but it does make a lot of sense to me that a people related to the Vulcans would still have strict rules surrounding the expression of emotion that makes them different from humans. It was also just a good reminder of the stark difference in ideologies between the Romulans and Vulcans. I didn't like that the doctor had to ask what it was, though, considering that it's kind of obvious from the name and she's supposedly really smart. Surely, the writers could've come up with a smarter line of dialogue than "What's that?" to prompt Picard's explanation.
I really didn't like Picard ripping down the sign and giving the Romulans a dirty look (i.e. picking a fight, as you said). If he were still 25-year-old Picard, I could believe it, but not 80-year-old diplomat Picard. The Picard that we know may've still trespassed and taken a seat, but done so passive aggressively, not by causing a scene. It feels like the writers did it just to anger the Romulans even more and justify ninja boy coming to save him. They still could've had that without it, though, and it would've been more in character
and put us more behind the character (as is, he picked a fight, so I felt like he deserved the aggressiveness in return).
Finally, I agree about Frakes' direction. I liked it. It's the plot and dialogue that were boring. Good direction can't totally make up for that.