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Star trek: picard finale’s shocking end-credits scene explained.

Star Trek: Picard season 3's finale contains a post-credits scene that sets up both something old and something new for Star Trek: Legacy.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard's Series Finale - "The Last Generation" The series finale of Star Trek: Picard has a shocking end-credits scene that sets up a continuation of the 25th century in Star Trek: Legacy. Further, the Picard finale end-credits scene sets up a brand-new version of a classic rivalry from Star Trek: The Next Generation , but this time centering on Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and Q (John de Lancie).

In Star Trek: Picard' s finale, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D managed to save the galaxy from the Borg by rescuing Picard's son, Jack Crusher . After the final destruction of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) and her Collective, Picard season 3's finale flash forwards one year. As Picard and his legendary crew enjoy themselves in 10 Forward, Jack's newly minted career as a Starfleet Ensign begins aboard the new USS Enterprise-G under the command of Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). But Jack, Seven's new Counselor to the Captain, receives an unwelcome surprise visitor in the Picard finale's end-credits scene.

Star Trek: Picard's End-Credits Scene Explained

In Star Trek: Picard finale's end-credits scene, Jack's unpacking in his quarters is interrupted by Q. Just as he tormented his favorite human, Jean-Luc Picard, the omnipotent being has found a new plaything: Picard's son, Jack, "a chip off the old block." Q admits that Picard's trials in judgment of humanity are over, but Jack's are just beginning. True to his word, Q has finally moved on from Jean-Luc Picard, but the son must now bear the curse of being tormented by Q just as his father did for decades.

As Jack pointed out, Q supposedly died at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2 . The omnipotent meddler used up the last of his powers to transition into a new state of being after declaring his love for Jean-Luc. But reports of Q's death were greatly exaggerated and his remark that he hoped "the next generation wouldn't think so linearly" indicates Q is not bound to linear time in spite of his death. Now that Q is back, empowered, and singularly focused on Jack Crusher, what began with Captain Picard and Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint," now resets anew with Jack Crusher in the end-credits scene of Star Trek: Picard 's finale, "The Last Generation."

How Star Trek: Picard's End-Credits Scene Sets Up Star Trek: Legacy

Star Trek: Picard season 3's ending and end-credits scene are clearly setting up showrunner Terry Matalas' proposed continuation series, which he calls Star Trek: Legacy . At the end of "The Last Generation," the USS Titan-A has been re-christened the USS Enterprise-G, with Captain Seven of Nine and First Officer Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) leading the Titan's bridge crew, including helmsman Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut).

When Jack comes aboard, Seven launches the Enterprise-G on a shakedown cruise. Historically, however, Enterprise shakedowns are rarely free of incidents. Indeed, Q's return means Jack Crusher has a cosmic destiny akin to his father after he has overturned his prior fate to be Vox of Borg. Q's interest in Jack passes the torch from "the last generation" to the "next generation" and gives Q a new male of the Picard bloodline to continually test. Whether Jack becomes as impressive and beloved by Q as Jean-Luc Picard remains to be seen, but Star Trek: Picard' s ending is clearly poised to keep exploring the 25th century - and Q's newfound attachment to Jack Crusher - in Star Trek: Legacy .

Star Trek: Picard season 3 is available to stream on Paramount+.

Yep, The Picard Finale Has A Credits Scene, And We Need To Talk About It

This post contains spoilers for the series finale of "Star Trek: Picard."

The third season of "Star Trek: Picard" was long ago declared to be its last . Lead actor Patrick Stewart is hanging up his communicator and the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" will finally split up for good. The final season of "Picard" largely served as their encore, a late-in-life reunion that allowed the character to have a few conversations — and to be in utter peril — one last time. It seems the Next Generation is no longer their generation.

Indeed, "Picard" ends with a Next Generation of its own. Flashing forward to a year after the season's climactic Borg battle, a new crew has been assembled. Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharp Chestnut), the daughter of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), is already sitting at the helm of the U.S.S. Titan-A. Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the son of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), has passed through Starfleet (in only one year!) and will sit as the special counselor to the captain of the Titan. The captain, incidentally, is Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and her first officer will be Raffi (Michelle Hurd), her one-time girlfriend. This is "Star Trek: The Next, Next Generation."

Also, to assure that legacy is on everyone's mind, the U.S.S. Titan is, at the last minute, rechristened the U.S.S. Enterprise-G (it seems that the Enterprise-F was wiped out quickly). Jack will begin his career on the namesake ship of his father's two most famous commands.

With the circumstances so arranged, naturally, the showrunners decided to fold in one last notable guest star to link everything back to NextGen. In a mid-credits scene, the presumed-dead trickster god Q ( John de Lancie ), alive again, appears to Jack.

The trial never ended

Q died during the finale of the second season of "Star Trek: Picard." So how can he be back to wreak inconvenience on Jack Crusher? Seeing as he is an omnipotent being that lives beyond the normal laws of time and space, there's no reason why he couldn't have lived another several billion years, only to return to the time when Jean-Luc Picard was alive to bid him farewell. He explains to Jack that humans think in linear terms and that his death was not to be taken as permanent.

Jack tells Q that he knows all about his appearances to Jean-Luc, and how Q infamously put humanity on trial for their aggression and brutality. Q first appeared in the "Next Generation" pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" (September 28, 1987) dressed as a post-apocalyptic judge in control of his own kangaroo court. In the show's final episode, "All Good Things..." (May 23, 1994), Q declared that the trial never ended and that Picard, through his own witlessness, will accidentally destroy humanity. It wasn't until Picard could understand the real existence of paradoxes that humanity began to show a glimmer of promise. Q withdrew, having proven his point.

Q would return a few times on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager," and would close out his story in "Picard," hugging Jean-Luc in a bizarrely sentimental farewell. It seemed that his infinite lifecycle came to an end.

But, as audiences now see, the trial seemingly continues in perpetuity. Q says to Jack that his own trial is just starting. Picard's progeny now bears the responsibility of proving humanity's worthiness to continue existing.

What does it mean?

Audiences have long been trained to accept mid-credits teasers as previews for an upcoming film or TV series; we have the Marvel Cinematic Universe to thank for that. As such, the appearance of Q might serve as a miniature pilot for another new "Star Trek" TV series. Showrunner Terry Matalas has even said that he would love to make a series called "Star Trek: Legacy," which would presumably be about life on the Enterprise-G with a young ensign Crusher and Captain Seven seeking out new life and new civilizations.

With a new Enterprise, a new crew, and a godlike antagonist, it seems that we're exactly back to where we were in 1987 with the launch of "Next Generation." Only this time, a whole season of television presaged it, establishing characters and scenarios the way a pilot episode might. The groundwork has been laid. It seems all Matalas needs is a green light.

As for reusing the "Next Generation" premise of a Picard standing in as humanity's avatar while Q puts our species on trial, I have no problem. Repeating an idea may be cheap from a writerly perspective, but it makes logical sense given Q's nature. He is pretty much immortal, we see, and experiences time on a vast scale. When one can live billions of years, a millennium is but a drop in the bucket. Q knew Picard for, what, five decades? That's not even the single beat of a bumblebee's wing to Q. It makes sense that the trial of humanity would continue into the next generation, or even into multiple generations beyond. Q is the Picard family Devil now.

Whether or not audiences see it happening, we can rest assured that Q will make Picards miserable for thousands of years to come.

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Picard says goodbye with a mysterious hint at Star Trek’s future

The finale has one of Star Trek’s only credits scenes

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Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard, sitting in his captain’s chair and making his classic “engage” gesture, in Picard.

Never let it be said that Paramount Plus hasn’t brought the Star Trek franchise into the modern era of interconnected television: Star Trek even has credits scenes now.

And while the award for “first credits scene in Star Trek” would go to Star Trek: Lower Decks , with its season 3 finale, “The Stars at Night,” the award for “first Star Trek credits scene to point at a mysterious future installment of the franchise” can go to Star Trek: Picard and its finale.

[ Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for the final episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3, “The Last Generation.”]

Jack Crusher, in his Starfleet ensign uniform, standing in his quarters, raises his phaser and looks confused in Picard.

The denouement of “The Last Generation” makes sure we know exactly where our faves old and new have wound up. While the Next Generation crew largely wound up with promotions, renewed relationships, or just a return to their peaceful lives, Picard built a new future for some of its younger old characters.

Former borg drone Seven of Nine was promoted to captain of the Titan, which was renamed Enterprise. Thanks to some calculated intelligence leaks, her girlfriend Raffi’s record was cleared, freeing her up to act as Seven’s first officer, and Jack Crusher — son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher , interstellar adventurer, recently freed from Borg control — was fast-tracked to the rank of Starfleet ensign to serve as captain’s counselor.

The credits scene takes us right back to Jack, in his quarters on the newly christened Enterprise, as he’s visited by none other than the cosmic being known as Q (John de Lancie). Q was thought to have died at the end of Picard season 2, but when Jack points that out, Q admonishes him for thinking so linearly. The long and the short of it is: Q is eternal, and he has something in mind for the progeny of his longtime fixation, Jean-Luc Picard.

Does this mean Star Trek: Legacy is real?

Ltr: Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher in season 3 of Star Trek: Picard. They stand abreast in a line, smiling. Riker and Seven are in uniform.

About a month ago, Picard showrunner Terry Matalas tweeted that “#StarTrekLegacy is what I’d call a spin-off show from #StarTrekPicard. A 25th Century show that explores the Last Generation and the Next.” Since then, he’s been either teasing an upcoming show or just having a hearty good time retweeting coverage of his tweet and clips of veteran Star Trek actors agreeing that a nostalgic spinoff for 1990s Trek fans sounds like a good idea .

So it’s not entirely clear whether “Star Trek Legacy” is a real show or what. But it’s hard to imagine what else Picard ’s final moments could possibly be pointing to. The next Star Trek show on the Paramount Plus lineup is the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , then the fourth season of the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks , and then the second season of all-ages cartoon Star Trek: Prodigy . None of those seem like a good fit for Picard ’s hints, being set in completely different eras or produced in a completely different medium.

Paramount has also confirmed at least two more future Star Trek projects, but they also don’t seem likely as answers either — Starfleet Academy will take place the better part of a millennium after Picard , while the recently announced Section 31 film starring Michelle Yeoh just simply doesn’t seem particularly relevant.

It’s possible that Paramount is sitting on a Star Trek: Legacy show about Jack Crusher, Seven of Nine, Raffi, and Sidney La Forge (the Titan/Enterprise’s helmswoman and daughter of Geordi La Forge) going on some epic Q-uest. But we won’t know until it’s actually announced — and so far, Paramount is keeping quiet.

Update: Speaking to Entertainment Weekly , Matalas said “Jack’s got a lot to do, let me tell you.” The showrunner confirmed that Paramount does have a plan for Jack Crusher’s character moving forward, but declined to elaborate or confirm the existence of another new Star Trek show.

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Star Trek: Picard finale post-credits scene explained: Showrunner confirms big things to come

Showrunner Terry Matalas says Ed Speleers is gonna be a busy man after Picard.

Warning: Spoilers from Star Trek: Picard 's series finale are discussed in this article.

There might be another Star Trek series coming our way — or at the very least, another home for Ed Speleers ' Jack Crusher.

The series finale of Star Trek: Picard , which dropped on Paramount+ Thursday, came with a post-credits scene that teases big things ahead for the character. Showrunner Terry Matalas confirms in an interview with EW, "Jack's got a lot to do, let me tell you."

He wouldn't tell us exactly what, of course, but the producer — who has guided the Patrick Stewart -led spin-off to break into the Nielsen Top 10 ratings for the first time with season 3 — confirms his story isn't over.

After Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart) and Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) save their son from the Borg Queen with help from their longtime comrades, the finale episode jumps forward a year to see where these characters ended up. Among the reveals is the U.S.S. Titan, which has been rechristened as the Enterprise-G in recognition of Picard and his crew's efforts.

Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ) has been promoted to captain, with Raffi (Michelle Hurd) as her No. 1. A few members of the Titan join them, including Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut). Jack is now Ensign Jack Crusher, as he was placed on an accelerated track by Starfleet.

The post-credits scene cuts to Jack in his quarters on the Enterprise-G. He settles into his room when Q (John de Lancie) makes a surprise appearance.

"Young mortal, you have much ahead of you," he tells Jack.

"You told my father that humanity's trial was over," the young Crusher replies.

"It is... for him," he clarifies. "But I'm here today because of you. You see, yours, Jack, has just begun."

Matalas had the idea for this moment deep into season 2 when he was mapping out the trajectory of season 3. "Once I had the genesis of this idea and I knew it would be about Picard's son, I had envisioned a post-credit sequence in which you passed the torch to [him]."

He points to "Encounter at Farpoint," the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1. "The first major interaction is Q and Picard," he says. "Where better to end than at the beginning?"

A Star Trek: Legacy series has been rumored for some time, with a few of the Picard actors teasing how season 3 leaves the door open to continue that story with the next generation of characters. Alex Kurtzman , who's been shepherding the new golden age of Trek, had even teased during San Diego Comic-Con last year that fans should expect more shows with female leads. So, perhaps, we're getting a Seven of Nine series for Ryan, with Jack as part of her crew.

The only new Trek titles that have been formally announced so far are Star Trek: Starfleet Academy , which Matalas says is part of a different timeline than Picard ; and Star Trek: Section 31 , the event movie starring Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou from Star Trek: Discovery .

Matalas won't disclose what the plans are for Speleers as Jack moving forward, only that he knows what they are. "Oh yes. I do [know]," he says. "Oh yes."

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'Star Trek: Picard' Season 3 Finale Review: One of the Most Satisfying Series Endings Ever

“What began over thirty-five years ago, ends tonight.”

In today’s streaming landscape, few shows are afforded the chance to deliver happily ever afters, and even fewer of those—who are given the chance to wrap up their stories—take it upon themselves to deliver finales that are satisfying from beginning to end. From the start, Star Trek: Picard has been one of the best series on television. It smartly paid homage to the past, while charting its own course through the stars, and with the final season it returned fully to its Star Trek: The Next Generation roots with legacy-making success.

Other franchises could learn from what Star Trek has delivered with Picard . Your beloved heroes can be flawed, and their offspring can be tormented by galactic baddies, and everyone can still make it home at the end of the day. Franchises like Star Trek are precious and generational and when you’re bringing something so monumental to a close, you don’t want to leave your audience in tears of sorrow, you want to leave them with tears of joy.

To perfectly bookend the Season 3 premiere, which was aptly entitled “The Next Generation,” Star Trek: Picard comes to a close with stunning visuals and a deep well of emotion with “The Last Generation. ” The episode opens with a dire message from President Anton Chekov (voiced by the original Pavel Chekov actor Walter Keonig ) who warns that Earth’s planetary defenses are falling to the Borg’s attack, and while he urges listeners to save themselves from the young who have been turned against them by the Borg, he remains hopeful that there is a way out of the situation.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Picard's Gates McFadden Talks 'InvestiGates' Season 2, Dream Guests, and What She Loves About Beverly Crusher

The crew of the Enterprise accesses the damage that Spacedock is sustaining and, while it is managing to hold its own against the fleet’s attack, Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) questions where the cavalry is to save Earth. Unfortunately, as Data ( Brent Spiner ) reveals, the hails from the Federation and all other ships in the vicinity have gone completely silent. They are all that remains of the cavalry. With the realization that they are all that stands between Borg destroying Earth, they track down where the Borg Cube has been hiding within the gasses of Jupiter, and discover that they are using Jack ( Ed Speleers ) as a Command signal to broadcast their assimilation. With the solemness of a parent and the determination of a captain, Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) explains that in order to save Earth, and the galaxy, they will have to sever the beacon’s connection: no matter the cost.

From there, the episode is split into three distinct locations: the Enterprise , the Titan , and the Borg Cube. Each of which is gorgeously and impressively designed; lit and flawlessly designed to build on the intrigue and the anticipation of the unfolding story. Even the camerawork at times increases the sense of foreboding, creating a very off-kilter and uncertain sensation. While you may feel confident that Picard will deliver a well-crafted ending, you’re not entirely certain if everyone you care about will make it out alive.

Aboard the Titan , Seven ( Jeri Ryan ) and Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ) try to make the most of their reduced crew, even though the over twenty-five crowd isn’t exactly their best and brightest. They do manage to take back the bridge by setting their phasers to the portable beam-me-up, and transporting all of the Borg-infected crew to the locked-down transport room. While they do technically have the upperhand, Seven realizes that the Titan is still connected to the fleet formation and, in order to get out of the situation alive, they are going to have to figure out a way to disconnect from the fleet without the Borg realizing what their doing—which proves to be quite the challenge. Once they locate the Enterprise and piece together that Picard and the crew chose that ship because it wasn’t compatible with the fleet, Seven concocts a plan to cloak the Titan , scramble the fleet’s scanners, and hope like hell that they have enough firepower to shoot their way out of formation. Like a true Starfleet Captain, Seven delivers a short but rousing speech to the crew to instill them with hope that they can get through this situation and that the risk is worth it.

Back on the Enterprise , Deanna ( Marina Sirtis ) remarks that she’s never felt anything like this version of the Borg Cube before—all she feels is quiet suffering. Naturally, Beverly ( Gates McFadden ) asks if she can feel Jack, but all she can feel is that he has been completely consumed by the Collective. Worf ( Michael Dorn ), who is prone to practical nihilism, theorizes that Jack is likely past the point of no return, but Picard is confident that Jack is still in there. After all, Picard should know what it’s like to be used and abused by the Borg.

While the Borg Cube is doling out a lot of damage with their broadcast, Data reports that it’s only 36% operational and almost all of its resources are being used to send out their message. Rather than attacking the Enterprise , the Borg Cube lowers their shields and—as Picard recognizes—it’s an invitation. Their plan comes together quite quickly after that: in order to sever the connection between the Collective and the assimilated fleet, they’ll have to find the beacon on the Cube and destroy it. Unfortunately, Geordi ( LeVar Burton ) is certain that the only way they’ll be able to destroy that beacon is by beaming down onto the Cube and accessing the system directly. Beverly and Data manage to pull the life signs from the Borg Cube and isolate the one that is Jack’s, which will help them locate where he is too.

In another long-awaited moment for the season, Picard finally seems to fully accept what it means to be a parent. While he’s come a long way throughout the back half of the season, it’s the moment between him and Beverly on the Enterprise bridge, where he acknowledges that she has brought him this far, and now it’s his turn to bring home, which feels like a monumental shift for the character. We’ve seen Picard go through a lot across the three-season series, but this is truly his final frontier: fatherhood. The weight of the moment is alleviated soon after by an unintentionally hilarious line delivered by Worf. After Riker agrees to go down to the Borg Cube with Picard, Worf offers to go with them to make it a “threesome.” There are a lot of 'eyes, look your last' vibes as the trio departs the Enterprise , made all the more ominous by Picard’s parting words.

As one may expect after the crushing defeat the Borg faced decades ago, the Borg Cube is not the hive of activity it once was. It’s quiet—too quiet, as Riker points out grimly. It is, for all intents and purposes, a tomb filled with Borg who have died and been consumed by the remaining Borg. Once Beverly sends over Jack’s location, Picard recognizes exactly where he is because he’s still somewhat compatible with the Collective. With this realization hanging heavy between them, Picard explains that it’s time for them to part ways. He has to go be a father. The trio says farewell to each other and, if you didn’t know better, you may truly believe that we’re going to lose one or all of them. Before Picard goes headfirst into danger, he once again assures Beverly that she did everything right with Jack, which serves as their farewell too.

Picard descends further and further into the eerie depths of the Borg Cube, which is where he finds Jack in his full Borg glory being used to broadcast their message of assimilation. Where Jack failed to use his phaser on the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige ), Picard has no qualms about firing upon her twisted, gaunt form. This season of Star Trek: Picard has focused heavily on the theme of “home,” particularly with the notion that crews become families and starships become home. It’s not lost on the audience that Picard is steadfast in his belief that he’s going to bring Jack home, and the Borg Queen makes a point of saying that Jack is already home.

The Borg Queen is so sickeningly pleased with herself when she calls herself Jack’s mother, taunting Picard with the fact that she and Jack share a common loneliness—one born out of Picard abandoning them both. Picard tries to bargain with her, offering himself up to her in return for freeing Jack. But these Borg aren’t looking to assimilate: they’re looking to evolve. Which happens to be another theme consistently used throughout Season 3. At last, we get the answer about why the Changelings and the Borg joined forces, and it’s extremely simple. Revenge. They both had their reasons to lash out against Starfleet, and together they saw a path forward toward evolution, using biology against Starfleet, and propagating their new future throughout the galaxy. They wanted to create a new generation of Borg who were designed to not only assimilate but to annihilate.

While this is unfolding, Worf and Riker manage to track down the location of the beacon and relay it back to the Enterprise . But their victory is short-lived, and a few of the remaining Borg awaken and attack them. They both take quite a few hits, with Worf sustaining the worst of them—enough to make the audience nervous about his fate. Things really start to reach a fever-pitch at the halfway point, as the Enterprise starts to take fire from the Borg Cube and the Titan starts to draw the attention from the fleet. Everything is going wrong, and hope feels fleeting.

One of the best moments in the episode comes about in the midst of the chaos. When Geordi points out that he didn’t have time to get the weapons systems fully up and running, Beverly jumps right into handling the weapons manually. Everyone aboard the Enterprise looks equally impressed and terrified that their beloved doctor didn’t even hesitate when unloading the full array of weapons. She makes a good point, however, a lot has happened in the last twenty years! And a lot is continuing to happen. And another incredible moment comes right on the heels of this one.

The path to the beacon at the heart of the Borg Cube is an impossible journey, according to Geordi. It’s essentially a maze, one filled with tight turns and impossible navigational requirements, and even the best of the best wouldn’t be able to safely traverse it. At least that’s what he thinks. The new and improved Data giddily assures Geordi that he has it. It may be statistically impossible, but he is confident in what his gut is telling him. Of course, Geordi is willing to put his faith and trust in Data—even when the outcome seems bleak. They manage to work their way through the Borg Cube, thanks to Data’s impressive navigation skills, but it feels like too little too late. Back on the Titan , they watch in horror as the Spacedock falls, leaving the Earth utterly defenseless to the Borg’s planned attacks, and every major city and every major populated area becomes their target.

As the Borg Queen warns Picard that he will kill Jack if he severs his connection to the collective, the crew of the Enterprise discovers that destroying the beacon will kill everyone on the Borg Cube. It’s do or die and, unfortunately, the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. While they’ve all played fast and loose with who they’re willing to risk to save Jack, reality starts to set in. Deanna solemnly points out that if they wait too long to make a decision, the Borg will kill everyone, and with the subtlest of nods Beverly acknowledges that they have to do this—no matter the cost. Geordi relays this information to Riker, offering to beam him and Worf back aboard the Enterprise , but they also know what must be done. Once they destroy the beacon, they’ll have less than a minute to escape, and Riker is willing to risk his life for the lifetime of friendship he’s shared with Picard.

Riker and Worf locate Picard right as he makes the decision to connect to the Collective again in order to save Jack. After decades of running from his history with the Borg, Picard acknowledges that he finally has something worth fighting for again: Jack. Inside that connection, Picard locates Jack, and he’s completely drunk on the euphoria of the Collective. He rhapsodizes about how he can feel all of them and the fact that he’s no longer lonely. He’s convinced that what he feels is perfection, but Picard tells him what he feels is death. The euphoria isn’t real.

Picard and Jack have had their fair share of father-son moments, though none of them have had the emotional resonance of Picard’s desperate plea to save Jack from the Borg. Jack is fully convinced that the Borg is where he belongs, something that was set into stone before he was born—his fate. They’ve preyed upon the loneliness he’s felt and Picard sees right through that. He tells Jack that he is the piece of him that he never knew was missing, and promises that he won’t leave him. As the Borg Cube starts to implode and the ground shakes beneath their feet, Picard tells him that Jack changed his life forever. The realization that his father is willing to die for him is enough to pull Jack free of the Borg, but it almost seems like it’s come too late. Still, the Borg Queen fights to keep her control of Jack, but he’s fully aware of the fact that he is no longer alone.

The Enterprise desperately tries to lock onto them, but it’s an impossible task. With the dark shadow of death descending upon them, Riker reaches out Deanna through their telepathic bond and tells her that he loves her and that he’ll be waiting for her with their boy on the other side. This heartbreaking farewell proves itself as an unexpected salvation. Now that Deanna can sense Riker, she is able to navigate the Enterprise through the Borg Cube so they can beam them up directly.

With the Borg once again—and hopefully permanently defeated—all is right in the world once more. Aboard the Titan , the younger crew breaks free of their assimilation before they can dole out any serious damage against Seven and her makeshift crew, prompting a sweet reunion between her and Sidney ( Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut ). On the Enterprise the relief is palpable as Picard and the rest of the crew reunited with their loved ones. Jack in his full Võx glory all but collapses into his mother's arms; Riker and Deanna share a much-needed kiss, Data and Geordi share a tender moment with an exhausted Worf who immediately falls asleep, and Picard welcomes Jack to the Enterprise, and it fully feels like welcoming him home.

As the series finale of Picard begins to draw to a close, Riker narrates his Captain’s Log, which starts at Stardate 1—the first of a new day. Through Riker’s narration, we learn that Beverly discovered a way to fully purge the Borg DNA from all the young officers, and developed technology to allow them to root out any of the remaining Changelings hiding out within Starfleet. This development leads straight into a long-awaited Star Trek: Voyager reunion.

In the aftermath of everything that went down on the Titan , Seven meets with Tuvok ( Tim Russ ), who luckily survived the Changeling attack, to tender her resignation. Instead of accepting her resignation, he shows her the officer review that Captain Shaw ( Todd Stashwick ) submitted long before Picard arrived on the Titan . While Shaw was tough on Seven, the report reveals just how deep his respect for her actually ran. Addressing her as Seven of Nine, rather than Hansen , he recommends her for a promotion to Captain—praising her for her ability to break rules and push the limits. He may be “by the books,” but he was looking forward to seeing how great the book she wrote would be. It’s a beautiful send-off for Shaw and the perfect closure to their embattled dynamic.

Raffi gets some satisfying emotional closure too, by way of her family embracing her again and her son happily agreeing to set up a time for her to reconnect with her granddaughter. When Worf comes in to say goodbye to her, they talk around the fact that someone—Worf—leaked information to her family about her classified valor commendations, which helped tip the scales of her relationship with them. Elsewhere, we learn that Data is still adjusting to his newfound emotions, which include seeing Deanna for therapy. After everything they’ve been through, one has to wonder just how many people are seeing her for counseling! The hilarious part of the therapy session is that she’s busily looking at vacation spots to get away with Riker instead of giving Data her full attention.

From there, the episode jumps a year into the future and a lot has changed. Despite being reluctant to the idea earlier in the season, Jack has finally joined Starfleet and landed himself on an expedited track. Jack is convinced it’s due to nepotism—he’s the son of Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard after all—but Picard is confident that he succeeded on his own merit, and assures him that names mean almost nothing. Jack is clearly nervous about getting his post, but not exactly for himself: he’s nervous about the big thing that he and his mother have been keeping a secret from Picard. He reveals that he has been assigned to the U.S.S. Titan , only the starship has been newly christened, in Picard’s honor, as the U.S.S. Enterprise G. This reveal allows Jack to echo his father’s words with a twist: “Names mean almost everything.”

Aboard the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise , Jack is greeted by Captain Seven and her Number One, Raffi. But before he gets his official placement, Jack pulls out his typical Jack charm, jokingly ordering the crew to head to Matalas while commandeering the Captain’s chair. After cooling his jets, Jack questions Seven about what role he’s going to be assigned to, and advocates for why he fits practically every role, except maybe science. Instead of posting him somewhere far away from the bridge, Seven smartly decides to keep him right where she can see him, as Special Counselor to the Captain.

With that out of the way, Seven takes her seat in the Captain’s chair and Jack questions her about what her catchphrase is going to be. Connecting back to what Shaw said about the rule-breaking book that Seven will write as Captain, Jack refers to her catchphrase as her “writing the opening line of your legacy.” Rather than reveal what it will be, Star Trek: Picard leaves audiences anxiously waiting for Paramount+ to greenlight Star Trek: Legacy .

In a beautiful homage to the final chapter of The Next Generation and a fitting end to a series that started with Picard largely isolating himself from the world, Star Trek: Picard ends at 10 Forward, with Picard surrounded by friends and playing a captivating round of poker with not just his crew, but his family. So much of the season has centered around this idea of crew as family and starships as home and this final scene with the cast of The Next Generation truly exemplifies that theme. That idea extends even beyond the realms of fiction, bleeding into reality with this cast and, by extension, the audience that has found comfort and belonging within this corner of the universe.

The second season of Star Trek: Picard ended with the heartbreaking departure of one of the most constant fixtures of Picard’s life , Q ( John de Lancie ), and the series as a whole once again narrows in on the permanence of him in this universe. As Jack settles in aboard the Enterprise and begins unpacking his belongings (including a photo of his parents together) he quickly realizes he isn’t alone in his quarters. In the intervening time, Picard clued Jack in on Q’s existence (oh to be a fly on the wall for that conversation) and he quickly recognizes that he has now been caught in his web. While Q told Picard that humanity’s trial was over, it turns out that was just for Picard—not Jack. Star Trek: Legacy may not be greenlit at this time, but Picard ends on the perfect note to drive fans to demand more. Q tells Jack that his trials have only just begun, paving the way for so many exciting adventures for the thief, pirate, and spy that Starfleet gave a ship to.

As much as I fell in love with the new cast members from Seasons 1 and 2, in the end, all I needed was exactly what Picard needed: the crew of the Enterprise (new and old). Mix in the Borg and a Q after dinner delight and Star Trek: Picard became something that felt uniquely created for me. It’s difficult to put into words what Star Trek: Picard has meant to me, as a lifelong Star Trek fan and as someone who genuinely loves incredible storytelling that has the ability to reach out and leave echoes of itself within its viewers. From start to finish, the series has soared above and beyond expectations, but they left the best for last. How can you tell Picard’s story, especially one that pushes him into situations he has never faced before, without giving him the moral support of the people who know him better than anyone else in the world? It’s also a testament to what beloved franchises can do with their legacy: paying respect to the generation that ignited a passion in the hearts of fans while showing the next generation that they too can have adventures that resonate with audiences long after the credits come to a close. It’s not hyperbole to say that Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard is one of the best series finales to ever grace television screens, and hopefully, it’s the beginning of more stories that explore the final frontiers of characters we all love until the end of time.

Star Trek: Picard is streaming now on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Picard Series Finale Recap: The Next Generation Crew Gets a Fitting Send-Off… But What’s Next?

Dave nemetz, west coast bureau chief.

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Star Trek: Picard signed off after three seasons by giving Jean-Luc and his Next Generation pals the final mission they’ve always deserved… but maybe this story’s not over just yet.

star trek picard series finale season 3 episode 10 watch paramount plus

While Seven and Raffi manage to retake the Titan by transporting the Borg-infected crew off the bridge and locking them in the transporter room, Jean-Luc prepares to beam down to the Borg cube to stop the transmitter and find Jack: “Let me bring him home,” he implores Beverly. Riker and Worf volunteer to go with him, and on the Borg cube, it’s oddly quiet and littered with a bunch of Borg corpses, which explains why they need the reinforcements. Jean-Luc sends Riker and Worf to locate the transmitter while he searches for his son, finding Jack wired into the cube and fully Borgified, spouting Borg-approved rhetoric. Jean-Luc says he’s here to bring Jack home, but the Borg Queen interrupts to say Jack is already home… and so is Jean-Luc: “At last, Locutus has returned.”

Star Trek Picard Series Finale Riker Worf

They send the transmitter coordinates to the Enterprise , and the ship would have to fly into the very center of the Borg cube to reach it, but Data is confident: “My gut tells me I can do this.” (Hey, Data has a gut now!) He pilots them right into the heart of the cube with breathtaking agility as the Borg-infected ships take out Earth’s defense system and start targeting the planet’s most populous cities for destruction. (Plus, the Titan is a sitting duck after the Borgified crew escape and knock out their cloaking device.) Data reaches the cube’s core and finds the transmitter, but to stop it, they’d have to destroy the cube… and everyone on it. A tearful Beverly nods her approval, and Geordi warns Riker and Worf that they’ll only have a minute or so to get off the cube after the Enterprise fires. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc realizes that the only way to reach Jack is to become a Borg himself.

The Borgified youth, including Geordi’s daughter Sidney, all come to their senses now that the Borg have been eliminated, and Jean-Luc proudly gives Jack a tour of the Enterprise bridge. Starfleet fixes all of its ships’ transporters to purge all Borg genetic code, thanks to Beverly’s efforts, and figures out a way to detect Changelings, too. Seven informs Tuvok that she intends to resign from Starfleet, but after seeing the glowing recommendation left for her by the late Shaw (aw!), he promotes her to captain instead. Worf helps Raffi reconnect with her son and granddaughter, and Data now has so many human emotions, he’s boring Troi to tears with them during their therapy sessions.

We flash-forward to a year later, as Jack nervously prepares for his first Starfleet posting. He’s been assigned to the Titan … which has been rechristened the Enterprise-G ! Seven is the captain, with Raffi as her first officer, Jack as “special counselor to the captain” and Sidney onboard as well. (“A bunch of ne’er-do-wells and rule-breakers, really,” Jack notes with a sly smile.) The Next Generation gang gets drunk at a bar together, and Jean-Luc toasts with a quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar . (“We must take the current where it serves, or lose our ventures.”) They clink glasses, and then Jean-Luc pulls out cards for a game of poker! The old friends laugh as they play a few hands, with Jean-Luc taking home a big pot: “I’ve come to believe that the stars have always been in my favor.” And as the cards are dealt, the camera pulls overhead, just as it did in the Next Generation series finale.

Whoa… once you’re recovered from all of that, Trekkies, give the Picard series finale a grade in our poll and then beam down to the comments and tell us: Would you watch a Jack Crusher and Q series?

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Bring on #StarTrekLegacy.

I wasn’t entirely a fan of more Borg when we had Borg last season, even if a bit different, but overall it was a near perfect send off while also setting things up nicely for a spinoff that they hopefully confirm soon. The Anton Chekov name was a nice touch.

Very Satisfying! I enjoyed the series!

This was so exceptional! I want Star Trek: Legacy!!!!

Well done. All we needed was a Sisko appearances

Oh, that woulda been great.

Shaw! I want Shaw to somehow be alive. Q! Can’t you help???

Loved season 3 overall but a couple of things bugged me. 1) Laris should´ve had a closure scene in the finale. 2) Why did Vadic communicate with the Borg Queen in such a nasty way (cutting her hand)?

So apparently we will indeed have a Picard season 4 but focused on Jack with nice cameos from Patrick Stewart and friends. It would be nice if Jack gets to meet his brother Wesley.

The point about Laris is a good one. All it needed one was just one more midcredit scene of them reuniting maybe. But I think they probably wanted to leave open possible reconciliation between Beverly and Jean Luc? To be honest I was hoping for it until I realized Laris is still out there.

They’ve backtracked a bit on the final season though and said they could come back to Picard at a later date. It just is planned and meant to be. I just am glad we got to see enough of Seven of nine and was happy with where she ended her arc. I was a bit scared considering after she got left behind but I should’ve had faith. The show runner has always seemed to be a huge a fan of her and done right by her.

Terry Matalas is the best thing that could´ve happened to Trek Universe. Let him helm more and more projects.

At the very end, Jack had a wedding photo of Picard and Beverly on his nightstand. Apparently they completely forgot about poor Laris.

Was that a wedding photo? They were both very young in that picture; and in reality it looks like it might have been the actors at an Emmys ceremony. back in the day.

It was obviously a picture of Gates McFadden and Patrick Stewart from some event in the 90s.

Correction, that image is from 1988. No idea why that images makes people believe, they got married.

I don’t think it means we will see a season 4 of Picard. I think there is a chance it transitions into another Star Trek series (either Legacy , which it was confirmed it isn’t in devopment, but doesn’t mean it won’t or another series) especially how Q was at the end of it.

I loved this ending and this season so much. It was amazing to see the big “D” get to do all the things I wanted it to do during the series. It wasn’t “perfect” but it was perfect.

Very nice to have that tip of the hat to Anton Yelchin – he did make a fine Chekov on J.J. Abrams’ movies!

We need to know Seven’s command line. Very mean to tease us like that… she and the crew on the Enterprise G better return! Really enjoyed this season and most of the OG crew got better storylines than in 7 years of TNG – especially Troi and Crusher! But Patrick Stewart really is looking a bit old for this action!

Yeah, most of them look great but Sir Patrick is really showing his 80+ years, bless him. Lol. My wife thinks Q is hot, now.

Really loved this season. This season and Strange New Worlds has proven they can get New Trek right when they try hard enough. Walter Koenig playing the voice of “Anton” Chekov in honor of Anton Yelchin made me tear up a bit. A true class act there.

Agreed! Nice touch.

I absolutely loved. It really managed to make me feel similar to what I felt when I watched the original series finale of TNG. Very satisfying and thank god they didn’t kill anybody of. I didn’t know I needed the episodes to end with my favorite Star Trek crew once again seated at a round table, playing poker.

Thank you Terry Matalas and the whole cast and crew, what a wonderful gift. See you soon.

Wish we could’ve seen Wesley one last time.

Agree 100%. I find it hard to believe Wesley never met his brother and has not visited his mom is 20 years.

Or at least done a drive by & saw them, but not lets them see him.

Agreed. I was holding out hope for a Wil Wheaton cameo. TNG was always my favorite and Picard is my hands down my favorite captain. That last episode was near perfection. Great to see all those characters together for a final ride.

96.74% gave the finale and A (87.46%) or a B (9.28%). Verrrryyyy impressive, Terry Matolis.

What a great end ( well hopefully not) Thankfully they had the time to give it the ending it deserved. Having been a trek fan for over 50 years, TNG has always been my fav..Hats of to cast and crew. Now lets see the Enterprise G, Boldly return to our screens with captain 7 and her crew

It was great until the final scene. I thought he died. He rui Ed it for me.

What a massive improvement over the first two seasons. Amazing what comes of getting somebody in charge who actual respects what came before. (Retconning Q’s death was a perfect way to end things.)

Wow. That was so perfect. I knew the OGs would be playing poker at the end. Looking forward to the (hopefully inevitable) spin-off with Seven and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise G!

Surprised when they were in 10 Forward Guinan wasn’t tending bar instead of having a mention.

Finally Deanna had something to do besides sit next to the captain’s chair and offer advise. Didn’t know she could navigate a star ship.

Is Seven officially Captain Seven or they call her that out of respect to her service to Star Fleet?

Since this is on streaming and shouldn’t have a time limit per episode like the previous episodes with 45 minutes they could have added a few minutes to fill in the gaps in the plot like Laris missing at the end and use the time to make the last episode a 2 parter if the series ever goes on commercial TV.

Keep Q out of any future Trek shows!!! He’s the single most disgusting reason why I didn’t take to Next Gen. Until the Borgs came, anyway. This ressurecting the dead trick is also soooo old that it really deserves to be put to rest in the Trek universe. Permanently!

This season was so good I almost forgive Akiva Goldsman for ruining Batman. ALMOST.

And this episode should be made available to all showrunners – this is how you end a series.

One of the most recognizable and popular video games of all time is Tetris.

I felt so disappointed with S1, S2 was a little bit better, and S3 ruined my childhood and TNG series. The only good and the best thing about S3 was the return of Q. Did anyone really think he would “die”? lol

This was absolutely THE BEST season out of the 3 seasons of Picard! It is what it always should have been!! I loved this season! Wish they would do more. I totally agree with the commenter above saying Terry Matalas should helm more Star Trek projects. He absolutely hit it out of the ballpark with this! Oh and 1 more thing about Terry Matalas. I LOVED all the easter eggs from his TV Series 12 Monkeys! That was an absolutely amazing show also! You guys should definitely check it out!

1 thing I was really hoping for was the Kate Mulgrew would return as Admiral Kathryn Janeway. They kept name dropping her during the season and I was certain she would be in the finale. I guess they couldn’t work it out. It was Awesome to see Tuvok tho!! Hopefully they will do a spinoff of Voyager with Jeri Ryan, Kate Mulgrew, Tim Russ(Tuvok) and the rest.

A+++ to this entire season!!!

The return of Mulgrew as Admiral, this time; Ryan as Captain of the ex-Titan became Entreprise, Russ’s Tuvok as Janeway’s/Seven’s counselour would be great. But please, no more Chakotay or Harry Kim!

I was surprised by the snubb of the Doctor, though the whole 3 seasons. I mean, I’m pretty sure that Robert Picardo would have been happy to be called so what’s happened behind the scene? As for Mulgrew, it seems that she was stuck to Prodigy even if Picard and Prodigy are produced by Krutzman. But yes, I’d like seeing her return in a show.

I despise all the NuTrek for being mostly dumb(ed down) and hip. But Picard S3 was excellent. Yes, they overdid it with the nostalgia at times and yes, the finale did not quite live up to expecations (whatever does ?) but still. Even with its flaws, it was excellent !

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Star Trek: Picard Series-Finale Recap: Captain’s Log, Final Entry

Star trek: picard.

Star Trek: Picard began as a series partly dedicated to giving Jean-Luc Picard, the aged but unbowed former captain of the Enterprise , a late-in-life shot at returning to the stars and partly as a torch-passing exercise that surrounded Picard with new characters (a kind of next generation, you could say). Across three seasons, that mission didn’t so much drift as grow in scale. This third and final season has extended the autumnal adventures to almost all of the original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation (while keeping Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd around from the preceding Picard seasons) and making the torch-passing theme even more explicit by bringing in Picard’s previously unknown son, Jack Crusher, and a pair of Geordi LaForge daughters to boot.

That’s a lot to ask of any series, much less one that has to give the beloved TNG characters the proper send-off (maybe?) they were denied by the less-than-beloved Star Trek: Nemesis. And, by and large, the season has shouldered that burden well. The TNG characters have all had their moments in the spotlight as the show reassembled the team, Ryan’s Seven of Nine and Hurd’s Raffi have had plenty to do (as did Todd Stashwick’s Captain Shaw, RIP), and Jack has proven to be a charismatic addition when he could have felt like an interloper shoehorned in to bring down the cast’s median age.

But does this final episode stick the landing? Pretty much, yeah. “The Last Generation” both brings the season-long story — which began as a confrontation with the Dominion before that dread foe essentially handed over villain duties to the Borg — to an exciting conclusion and gives the original cast a nostalgic valedictory moment while also leaving the door open for future adventures.

As it opens, however, any possibility of a happy ending seems unlikely. Federation President Chekov (not that one but his son) issues a dire warning that the Federation’s younger generation has been assimilated, and there’s little to be done about it, but in the words of his father, “There are always possibilities.” Picard and the crew are not an easily dissuaded bunch, and recognizing, as Data puts it, they “are the cavalry,” they come up with a plan.

Sure, it’s a desperate plan, but a plan nonetheless: Head to Jupiter, board the Borg vessel, and shut down the beacon that allows the Borg to do what they do. (And hopefully rescue Jack in the process.) For Picard, it’s personal. The Borg have his son (whom he’s come to like quite a bit despite a messy start), and he’s been plagued by their threat for over 35 years. For everyone else, it’s, well, also pretty personal. If this is truly a last stand, it’s a last stand against an enemy with whom they have a long, nasty history. The newly emotional Data sums it up as they approach: “I hate them.”

No one knows that better than Seven, of course, who leads a party to reclaim the Titan. She and Raffi will play a crucial role in the confrontation that follows, but it’s the newly reunited TNG crew that drives the action. And, in classic Trek faction, that means breaking into smaller groups. Picard, Will, and Worf head into the cube. (“And I will make it a threesome,” Worf says, by way of announcing his intentions.) Their farewell is one of the episode’s first heart-tugging moments. Could this be the last time these characters see each other? The look on Deanna’s face as Will walks away says it all.

On the cube, they find a lot of rotting Borg drones but little action. Then it’s time to split up after another wrenching farewell scene in which Picard can’t bring himself to tell Will how much he means to him. “You know that I know. Always,” Will says, letting him off the hook while making the scene that much more intense, with Worf’s own final words about Klingon’s not knowing the words “defeat” and “farewell” providing poignant punctuation.

When Picard reaches Jack, it’s worse than he feared. His son appears fully Borgified and the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige and looking more like a nightmarish H.R. Giger creation than ever) looms over him. She’s mostly interested in mocking “Locutus,” calling his arrival a homecoming. The Borg Queen also announces that assimilation is old news. The new Borg goal is evolution. And it looks like that plan is working out for them. Thanks, unwittingly, to Jack, Starfleet is now filled with unwitting hybrids walking around with Borg DNA just waiting to be told what to do.

But despite the odds stacked against them, our heroes prevail via a series of pretty good fight scenes that mix aerial combat, a hand-to-hand battle with Borg drones, some fancy flying from Data, and a battle for Jack’s soul. The latter involves Picard plugging himself into the Borg network and selling Jack on the pleasures of life outside the Borg cube, despite the possibility of loneliness and fear. Picard’s pitch includes freely expressing his emotions (never an easy thing for the captain), including his feelings for his son. “You are the part of me that I never knew was missing,” he says. Later, they hug. (This episode just does not let up on big emotional moments. Will’s farewell to Deanna, if anything, hits even harder: “I’ll be waiting. Me and our boy.”)

Star Trek is a franchise dedicated to following intriguing science fiction concepts wherever they lead, but it’s also one in which occasionally love saves the day, and the Borg Queen’s dying shout of “No!!!” shortly before her cube explodes signals that this is one of those Star Trek installments. (Even Seven’s in a hugging mood when the Borg control lifts from the Titan crew.) It’s a happy ending for all, and the tableau of everyone posing on the Enterprise bridge (an image that includes Will and Deanna embracing and Worf asleep) could be a fitting end to the series.

But there’s more to be done. That includes giving the TNG crew some more time together and setting up future adventures. Will’s log reveals that Beverly has developed a method to eliminate Borg DNA and scan for Dominion holdouts. Tuvok, the real Tuvok, is still alive, it’s revealed. Seven learns that Captain Shaw actually liked and respected her, even recommending she be promoted to the rank of captain. Data is still sorting through his new emotions with a lot of help from Deanna, who’s a little distracted planning a vacation during the latest of their marathon sessions. But, essentially, all is well.

One year later, the long good-bye continues as Will, Picard, and Geordi put the Enterprise D to bed. A bit later, Picard and Beverly escort their son to his first Starfleet assignment aboard … the Enterprise ? Rechristened in honor of Starfleet’s fabled flagship, the Enterprise is now under Seven’s command, with Raffi and Jack by her side. That looks like a setup for a whole new series featuring this crew. (I would watch.)

We’re not done: Over drinks and a stirring recitation of one of Brutus’s speeches in Julius Caesar from Picard (“There is a tide in the affairs of men”), the TNG crew spends the evening in each other’s company, reflecting on their time together before, in a nod to “All Good Things …,” the original TNG finale, a game of poker breaks out with Picard enthusiastically participating. It’s an indulgent moment that calls on decades of accumulated affection for these characters, and boy does it work. It feels like a fitting farewell, albeit one that suggests all good things, or at least all good shows, don’t always come to an end. They just kind of lay around waiting for someone to pick them up again.

Captain’s Log

• Hello! No, I am not your regular Picard recapper (though I did cover the first season). I’m just filling in for the excellent Swapna Krishna, who was unexpectedly unable to cover this episode.

• This episode pretty clearly sets up a Seven/Raffi/Jack–focused series and that’s a pretty exciting prospect. Ryan is, of course, already a Trek legend and her reprise of Seven has broadened the character and confirmed she has a range we never saw on Voyager . Hurd was always a Picard highlight and Ed Speleers has fit right in when Jack could easily have been the series’ Poochie.

• If there is a series, please, please find room for the “Ma’am, I’m just a cook!” guy. He’s great.

• Over the end credits, there’s one last surprise: Q is back and ready to put Jack to the test. Nothing really ends or dies with this franchise, does it? (Okay, except for Ro Laren, Capt. Shaw, etc., etc.) After a first season partly dedicated to putting Data down, he’s back and the Data who wanted to die got hand-waved away. Now Q’s mortality, a big part of the second season, is out the window. It’s inconsistent, but is any going to complain, particularly after a season this strong?

• That said, the sudden transition to a mostly different supporting cast hasn’t been without some awkwardness. Whither Laris?

• Is this the last time we’ll see the TNG characters all in one place together again? Another reunion seems unlikely, but then this reunion seemed pretty unlikely. If it is the end, it’s a warm, affectionate send-off. If not, let’s hope the next reunion strikes as deft a balance between nostalgia and adventure.

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Michael douglas requested to be killed off in ‘ant-man & the wasp: quantumania’: “there’s got to be some fantastic way”, ‘star trek: picard’ renewed for third season on paramount+; new trailer reveals season 2 set for february 2022 debut.

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In a seemingly sprawling 10-episode Season 2 that sees Picard and his crewmates view a totalitarian future and leap back to a 21st century City of Angels to make things right, the trailer that dropped Wednesday had a few more intimate peeks too. There was more of the return of John de Lancie’s Q and a first look at Annie Wersching as the Borg Queen. The latter Bosch alum was announced as an addition to Picard just a few days ago.

In addition to Stewart and Ryan, Picard Season 2 sees Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Orla Brady and Brent Spiner back in the fold and the days of future past.

Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Stewart, Terry Matalas, Michael Chabon, Doug Aarniokoski, Dylan Massin, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth all serve as executive producers on Picard Season 2. Aaron Baiers and Kirsten Beyer serve as co-executive producers. Goldsman and Terry Matalas are co-showrunners for Season 2.

Star Trek: Picard is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Akiva Goldsman (@ajgoldsman1629)

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The last season of Picard is truly wild, and while it’s filled with action, it never seems to lose that sense of wonder that makes Star Trek Star Trek.

By Alex Cranz , managing editor and co-host of The Vergecast. She oversaw consumer tech coverage at Gizmodo for five years. Her work has also appeared in the WSJ and Wired.

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Two old men stare at a younger blond woman. They are all dressed in Star Trek uniforms.

After two middling but slowly improving seasons of Star Trek: Picard , the show has returned for one last hurrah — and god damn, was it worth the rest. If you have ever considered yourself a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation (or even, to a lesser extent, Deep Space Nine or Voyager ), then get ready for the love letter coming your way on February 16th.

While this season puts its characters in terrible spots, and there are rumors a few will die by season’s end, this wild ride has a real genuine affection for all the players. It's the absolute most fun I’ve had watching Paramount Plus’ myriad of Star Trek shows. And part of my love of this final season comes from how excited the show is to take some of Star Trek ’s most flawless heroes and find the humanity in them. These characters are messy dumbasses, and it makes the adventure all the better.

Back in Deep Space Nine , Worf, new to the station and struggling with the many conflicting personalities of the crew, speaks fondly of the crew of the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation. “We were like warriors from the ancient sagas,” he says wistfully, “there was nothing we could not do.” Which was true. The crew of TNG fought gods, survived wars, discovered new species, traveled through time, got turned into monsters and back to people again, and occasionally got busy with alien ghosts inhabiting antique candles (you had to be there).

An older woman points a phase rifle at someone off-screen.

But the problem with TNG was the characters seemed to be without significant flaws. Sure, Picard liked Shakespeare a bit too much, Riker had his love of the trombone, and Troi’s fatal flaw was her love of chocolate. But when put up against other crews, like the Deep Space Nine one (it had a terrorist on the team!) and Voyager (it had multiple terrorists on the team!), the TNG crew felt more sanitized. For many fans, this was the boring crew.

Yet, if you squinted, you could see where the show glossed over what might be some significant character issues. Picard’s love of adventure got him killed multiple times, while Crusher was so sure of herself she’d regularly ignore commands and once even was convinced the universe was the broken one. Riker cracked jokes and put his career first to avoid intimacy, and Geordi LaForge was so obsessed with engineering he fell in love with a hologram. These characters have always had flaws, but they rarely, if ever, drove the action.

Until Star Trek: Picard .

Twenty years after Nemesis , this crew’s last big adventure together, they’ve all returned, and they finally feel like messy humans instead of warriors from the ancient sagas. Picard and Riker race to save Crusher, Worf deals with a new threat to the Federation, and Troi, Geordi and whoever Brent Spiner is playing this time around get caught up in the action too. They all still feel like the characters of TNG — only pried out of the 1990s syndicated space adventure mold and put into the 2020s prestige streaming show mold.

A young Black woman dressed in a Starfleet uniform stares at something off screen with concern.

Watching the first six episodes of this season, I kept thinking this was what it must have felt like to be a fan of the original series and finally get great movies like Wrath of Kahn and The Voyage Home . These are still the same characters, played by the same actors, but we’re seeing them in a way the original show never could have allowed. And I don’t just mean that it’s more violent, although Worf does dismember some people. Sometimes the characters make bad decisions in Picard . They mess up. They fight.

But when you worry Picard is starting to feel like a too-edgy sequel, there will be little moments of wonder you can only get in Star Trek . New discoveries. Clever puzzles that get solved. Old villains reappear and feel more menacing thanks to the bigger budget and better special effects of Picard .

Picard and Riker flank Seven of Nine on the bridge of the Titan. They are all seated, with Seven seated in the center.

Like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, this feels like a proper Star Trek show in a way a lot of live-action Star Trek has failed to. But because these are characters we’ve known since 1987, there’s real emotional weight to these adventures. And some shockingly good acting. Jeri Ryan is back as Seven of Nine, and she continues to steal every scene she’s in by virtue of just being that good, but she’s not carrying the whole show on her back like she sometimes did the last two seasons. Patrick Stewart seems to sometimes doze his way through Picard , but there’s a scene with him and Gates McFadden’s Crusher that will have you sitting up straight — eyes glued to the screen. Michael Dorn and Michelle Hurd both have their own scene-stealing moments as Worf and Raffi, respectively, and in one scene, Brent Spiner reminds us of why he and his characters Data and Lore had such fervent followings in the ’90s. There’s something a little electric as all these characters come together.

There are still four episodes of Star Trek: Picard I haven’t seen, and the show could drop the ball spectacularly. The wildness of this show (you should really make an effort to avoid all spoilers) could veer into absolutely absurd territory. But in these first six episodes, you have a very goofy, very thrilling, and very fun sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek: Picard airs weekly on Paramount Plus beginning February 16 .

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Star Trek: Picard season 3’s ending, explained

Since it debuted in 2020, each season of the sci-fi spinoff Star Trek: Picard has had its own unique story and tone, guided by a different showrunner’s vision for the series. The first season was a drama about Adm. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), now a 100-year-old Starfleet legend, leaving his lonely retirement and confronting his grief over the loss of his friend, the android Data. Season 2 took Picard and his new crew back in time to our present day to save the timeline while exploring Picard’s childhood trauma.

What is Star Trek: Picard season 3 about?

Return of a familiar foe, how does star trek: picard season 3 end, where do all the picard characters leave off.

For its third and final season, new showrunner Terry Matalas has taken the series in a more traditional direction, reuniting Sir Patrick Stewart with the rest of the cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation for an old-school space adventure in the style of the classic Star Trek film series. Where previous seasons have received mixed reviews from Trekkies and critics alike, this more traditional iteration of Picard has, naturally, garnered almost universal praise from the fan base, to whom it has been painstakingly catered.

Littered with Easter eggs and cribbing liberally from the franchise’s greatest hits, Picard s eason 3 gives the people what they want: the same stuff they already have, with a happy ending and a hook for a spinoff.

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Spoilers ahead for the final season of Star Trek: Picard.

Set decades after their last appearance together in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis , Picard season 3 sees Picard reassemble his crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation , one member at a time, while trying to solve a mystery of galactic proportions. Stationed aboard the shiny new USS Titan (which they have sort of hijacked), Picard, Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and a new version of Data (Brent Spiner) work alongside the Titan’s younger crew to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the entire Federation.

They learn that Starfleet has been infiltrated by Changelings, the malevolent shape-shifters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , who brand Picard and company as fugitives in order to protect the secret of their existence. Alone and on the run, the crew of the Titan search for a way to foil the Changelings’ plans to attack the Frontier Day ceremony, a gathering of the entire active Starfleet in celebration of its 250th anniversary.

Interwoven with this larger mystery is the revelation that Picard has a son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers), who his mother, Beverly Crusher, has kept a secret for 20 years. A roguish Robin Hood type, Jack has little interest in getting to know his stiff, absent father, but when he and his mother are targeted by the Changelings, they have no choice but to go to Picard for help, setting the entire season into motion.

Over the course of the story, it becomes clear that there’s something very unusual about Jack. Though he can’t explain how, Jack gains the ability to read the minds and even control the bodies of several officers aboard the Titan, and is being tormented by strange voices and visions in his head. It’s only after the Titan has picked up the entire old Enterprise crew that they’re able to discover the secret behind Jack’s strange abilities, which propels them toward Star Trek: Picard ’s climactic two-part finale.

Though they don’t appear until the final two episodes of the season, the finale pits Picard against his greatest enemy from The Next Generation : the Borg. The Borg are a race of cybernetic beings who evolve by assimilating other species into their hive mind, absorbing their knowledge and technology. then transforming their individuals into zombie-like drones. In the popular Next Generation two-parter The Best of Both Worlds , Captain Picard is captured, assimilated, and forced to command the Borg’s invasion of the Federation. Though the invasion is thwarted and Picard is rescued, neither the Captain nor Starfleet are ever quite the same.

Picard would later confront the Borg again in the movie Star Trek: First Contact , coming face-to-face with the personification of their evil, the Borg Queen. Picard and his crew once again foil her plans, but it’s Kathryn Janeway and the USS Voyager who land the killing blow against the Borg years later in the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager . Through a combination of cunning and time-travel shenanigans, a version of Janeway from an alternate future infects the Borg Queen with a nanovirus that collapses the entire Collective, and neither the Queen nor her cyborg army have been seen since.

In season 3’s penultimate episode, Võx , Troi uses her empathic abilities to help Jack overcome a mental block and discover the source of his strange abilities. Jack is revealed to have been genetically altered before his birth through experimentation that was performed on his father by the Borg 35 years earlier. While Picard was under the Borg’s control, his DNA was altered so that his offspring would be the first of an all-organic next generation of Borg. As a result, Jack’s brain is a transmitter that allows him to connect with and control any life form whose own DNA can receive his commands.

During their infiltration of Starfleet, the Changelings altered transporters throughout the fleet to insert this receiver DNA into the genetic code of anyone who beams up or down, giving Jack the ability to reach into their minds the same way that the Borg Queen uses nanoprobes to command her drones. Through her Changeling agent, Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer), the Borg Queen has been trying to capture Jack so that she can control him and, by extension, everyone to whom his biological transmitter has access.

After learning of his true nature, a confused Jack goes looking for the Queen himself. She plugs him into the Collective, instantly assimilating countless Starfleet officers by proxy. The fleet, which is assembled over Earth for the Frontier Day ceremony, quickly falls under Borg control and turns its weapons toward the Earth. There is, however, some hope: the alterations to the officers’ DNA have not affected individuals over the age of 25. This means older people, such as Picard and his friends from The Next Generation , still have control of themselves and a chance to fight back.

Leaving the assimilated fleet behind, the old crew retreats to the Starfleet Museum, where its curator, La Forge, reveals his pet project: a fully restored and refurbished USS Enterprise-D. Too outdated for the Borg to reprogram, the Enterprise approaches the Borg’s massive control ship, where an away team of Picard, Riker, and Worf beams aboard to rescue Jack and stop the Queen’s mind-control broadcast. La Forge, Beverly Crusher, Troi, and this latest incarnation of Data remain on board the Enterprise, awaiting the opportunity to destroy the Borg Cube.

Meanwhile, the surviving unassimilated crew of the USS Titan, led by first officer Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), retakes the ship, locking away the Borgified junior officers in the transporter room. The captured Borg include La Forge’s two daughters, Sidney (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and Alandra (Mica Burton). The Titan has no hope of defeating the entire assimilated Starfleet, but she can create enough of a distraction to draw their fire away from Earth, buying precious time for the Enterprise to complete its mission.

In-between fighting a handful of Borg drones, Riker and Worf search the Cube for the source of the Queen’s transmissions and discover that there’s a massive antenna at the center of the Cube. The Enterprise will need to navigate through a seemingly impossible maze in order to reach it, but Data believes that, despite the odds against it, he can pilot them there. Trusting his “gut” for the first time in his life — a development made possible by having fused with his more emotional twin brother, Lore — Data successfully navigates to the heart of the Cube.

However, there’s a further complication: the antenna is, essentially, load-bearing, and cannot be destroyed without bringing the entire Cube down with it. Picard, Riker, and Worf are still on board trying to free Jack, but every moment that antenna is intact brings the Earth, and possibly the entire galaxy closer, to destruction. La Forge, now in command of the Enterprise, makes the painful decision to sacrifice his friends below to save the rest of humanity, and Beverly fires torpedoes, knowing that this may mean the death of her son.

At the same time, Picard is struggling to free Jack from his mental enslavement to the Borg Queen. The Queen taunts Picard by explaining that only Jack can disconnect himself from the Collective, and that he’s too far gone to be reached from the outside. Driven by his love for his newfound son, Picard faces his fears and voluntarily plugs into the Collective himself so that he can have the chance to communicate with Jack.

Inside the digital limbo of the Collective, Picard pleads with Jack to unplug himself, but Jack, who has struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness his whole life, finds the profound connection of the Borg hive mind difficult to resist. Picard confides in his son about his own struggle to connect with people and in the fulfillment he eventually found with the Enterprise crew, arguing that Jack can still make a life for himself in the galaxy. However, should Jack choose to stay in the collective, Picard offers to stay there with him and to be a family together, regardless of the circumstances. This act of love convinces Jack that he has something to live for after all. He unplugs himself and his father from the Collective, but only after the Enterprise has fired its torpedo barrage at the Borg Cube.

At first, it seems as if interference from the explosion will make it impossible for the Enterprise to get a transporter lock on the four stranded crewmembers. However, when Riker whispers a final goodbye to his wife, Troi is able to sense his thoughts and, by extension, his location. This is an ability she has demonstrated since the first episode of The Next Generation and has come in handy occasionally in the decades since. She beams Will, Worf, Picard, and Jack safely aboard moments before the Cube explodes, vaporizing the Borg Queen and theoretically ending the threat of the Borg forever. The assimilated young people in the fleet and on Earth are instantly freed, and billions of lives are saved.

The final episode of the series ends with an epilogue set one year after Frontier Day and the battle with the Borg Queen. In that time, Beverly has been promoted to Admiral and appointed the head of Starfleet Medical, having successfully removed the Borg programming from the young officers’ DNA and rooted out any remaining Changeling infiltrators. La Forge has deposited the Enterprise-D safely back in the fleet museum, where it will be preserved indefinitely.

Riker and Troi, whose marriage was on the rocks at the start of the season, are planning a romantic getaway together, assuming Deanna can manage some time off from the newly emotional Data’s daily therapy sessions. Worf, who is now an open-hearted warrior pacifist, is giving seminars about meditation. However, in-between their various obligations, the old gang gets together at Guinan’s Ten Forward Lounge in Los Angeles to have a drink and a friendly game of poker with Picard, echoing their game in the final scene of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Meanwhile, Star Trek: Picard ’s younger contingent of characters has all assembled aboard the Titan — or as it’s been rechristened, the USS Enterprise-G — bound for new adventures. These voyages will be led by Captain Seven of Nine, her first officer and off-and-on girlfriend Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), helm officer Lt. Sidney La Forge, and “special counselor to the Captain,” Ensign Jack Crusher, who has received an accelerated commission. The new Enterprise warps out into the final frontier in the hopes that the proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy , receives a green light.

If that’s not enough of a tease, the finale also includes a mid-credits stinger in which Jack gets a surprise visit from Picard’s old frenemy, Q (John de Lancie). Jack correctly points out that Q died during season 2 of Picard , but Q dismisses this, implying that he is a version of himself from a point in time before his death. Q tells Jack that his trial against Humanity, which has been ongoing since the first episode of The Next Generation , is now Jack’s responsibility.

To be continued, theoretically, in future installments of the Star Trek franchise.

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Every Star Trek series is someone’s favorite (Star Trek: The Animated Series stans, we see you), but when it comes to the 18-year Golden Age of Trek between 1987 and 2005, the prequel series Enterprise is easily the least beloved. Airing on UPN for an abbreviated four-season run, Enterprise was meant to shake things up after three consecutive series set in the late 24th century. Imagined as a sort of origin story for Star Trek in the style of The Right Stuff, creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga wanted to capture the danger and excitement of United Earth’s early interstellar space program, even planning to spend the entire first season on Earth preparing for the launch of Starfleet’s very first Starship Enterprise. The network, however, had other ideas, insisting that Berman and Braga not meddle with the consistently successful Star Trek formula. Thus, despite taking place two centuries earlier, Enterprise became, essentially, “more Voyager,” which in turn had been “more Next Generation,” a once-great sci-fi procedural that was nearly a decade past its peak. That’s not to say that the series didn’t improve throughout its four-season run. After two years of struggling to justify the show’s very existence, Berman and Braga swung for the fences with a radically different third season that reinvented Enterprise (now renamed Star Trek: Enterprise) as a grim and gritty serialized drama unpacking the aftermath of a 9/11-scale attack on Earth. While immediately more compelling, the revamp failed to boost the show’s sagging ratings, and it was reworked yet again the following year, and leaned further into the “prequel to Star Trek” angle under new showrunner Manny Coto. This, many fans will argue, is where Enterprise finally found its legs, but it was too little and too late to prevent its cancellation. Still, each iteration of the troubled spinoff had its highlights and our list of the 10 strongest Enterprise episodes is spread fairly evenly throughout the run of the show. Warning: This article contains spoilers for each listed episode.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10 Review – The Last Generation

The Star Trek: Picard series finale sticks the landing in every way that matters.

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LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, Brent Spiner as Data, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Michael Dorn as Worf, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Patrick Stewart as Picard in "The Last Generation" Episode 310, Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Trae Patton/Paramount+. ©2021 Viacom, International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This Star Trek: Picard review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10

All good things must come to an end. Even the things we might wish wouldn’t. Such is the case with Star Trek: Picard , a series that, to put it mildly, struggled to find a coherent identity and purpose during its first two seasons, but which blossomed in its third and did so by finally embracing the very legacy it at first tried so hard to run away from. I’m as surprised as anyone to find myself wishing this story could last just a little bit longer, that we could somehow spend a little bit more time with these people, that we didn’t have to say goodbye to this piece of Star Trek: The Next Generation , grown older alongside us in rich and fascinating ways.

Look: If you, as a viewer, haven’t been enjoying the purposeful fan service of Picard season 3, you probably aren’t going to like this finale all that much, which aims itself like a laser directly at the heart of anyone who loved The Next Generation and its characters. Yes, there are some narrative hiccups and shortcuts, but if you ask me, “The Last Generation” sticks the landing in nearly every way that matters.

The final confrontation with the Borg and the assimilated Starfleet armada is pure spectacle, dotted with the sort of ’90s-style action movie hero moments that exist for no other purpose than simply to delight viewers. (Seven’s captain’s speech to her ragtag new Titan crew! Beverly Crusher’s surprising tactical skill with photon torpedoes! Worf refusing to fight with phasers because swords are just more fun!) Yet, as has been the case for most of the season, the hour’s best moments are its most emotional ones, each grounded in the decades-long relationships between the Enterprise’s legacy crew.

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From Picard’s choked-up inability to express what his Number One has meant to him over the course of their lives together, to Riker’s wordless telepathic goodbye to Deanna and Geordi’s wonder at Data’s enthusiastic embrace of the new emotions he’s only now finally experiencing, these are all moments that carry extra weight simply because these are relationships we’ve spent literal years watching grow. We love these people as much as they love each other, and the result is a climax that feels both utterly earned and deeply satisfying.

Picard , of course, knows that the specifics of its conclusion aren’t all that important in light of these facts, but it does manage to (mostly) tie up its larger story in a generally solid way. (Certainly, it does a better job here than in either of its previous season finales.) Picard’s willingness to risk becoming Locutus again in order to save his son is the thematically rich stuff that Patrick Stewart lives to play, and seeing him face off with the Borg Queen one last time is probably where this series was always destined to end. Do the specifics of Jack Crusher’s assimilation and rescue—including his sudden ability to throw off Borg control—really work? Not entirely. But Picard leans fully into the cheesy heart of the moment, and Stewart and Ed Speleers sell the heck out of Jean-Luc’s decision to finally choose his son over everything he’s always put before things like family in the past.

To the episode’s credit, “The Last Generation” also features some remarkably tense moments, despite all of us essentially knowing going into this that there was no way anything irrevocably awful would happen to any of our The Next Generation faves. Yet, at various moments I was genuinely nervous about the fates of several characters, particularly when both Riker and Picard got the whole “tell your loved one how much they mean to you just in case” treatment on the Borg cube. (Riker did it more than once!!) But, thankfully, this isn’t a bleak and gritty sci-fi drama, it’s a warm fuzzy affirmation that love is still humanity’s greatest achievement. (And a story in which its central romance just happens to share a telepathic bond that conveniently allows one to somehow emotionally track the other in a moment of great distress. We love love!)

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Picard Season 3

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Perhaps the most unexpected part of the Picard finale is how quickly the episode wraps up the threat of Borg invasion . “The Last Generation” clocks in at over an hour’s runtime, but the last quarter of the episode is basically devoted to giving us a last few moments of our faves together and determining what’s next for all of them. (And maybe setting up an unexpected spinoff in the process.) Geordi returns the Enterprise -D to the Fleet Museum, where she’s given pride of place among the other classic Starfleet ships and a proper goodbye from the three men who loved her best. (Which includes a callback to The Next Generation ’s very first episode.) Data’s talking out all his new Big Feelings extremely extensively during sessions with Deanna. The Troi-Rikers are planning what’s likely their first vacation together since their son’s illness forced them to retire to a planet it turns out they both actively hate. And, of course, everyone’s getting totally bombed together at 10 Forward, playing poker and quoting Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar just like the good old days and reminding us all that these are the sort of relationships that, once again, will keep going on long after the series’ final credits roll.

In many ways, Picard’s finale doesn’t feel as much like a definitive ending as it does a “to be continued,” the conclusion of one adventure in the lives of these characters and the start of many others, whether we ultimately see them play out onscreen or not. It’s incredibly heartfelt and lovely, and maybe the best thing any of us could have asked for from this series’ conclusion. If that is, in fact, what it is. Star Trek: Picard may be over, but if the finale’s credits sequence is anything to go by, there’s plenty of story to tell in this corner of the Star Trek universe.

Jack Crusher, as we all likely expected, ends up in Starfleet, and is assigned to the newly rechristened Titan —now the Enterprise -G, in honor of Picard—under her new captain, Seven of Nine. (Sorry, Enterprise-F, at least that one shot of you last week was a banger!) Raffi’s her First Officer and while there’s no direct confirmation that the two are back together, if hope springs eternal anywhere, it’s probably going to be on this show. But what will inevitably leave everyone talking is the incredibly welcome reappearance of John de Lancie as Q (with predictably incredible outerwear), a twist that not only wipes out his season 2 death but appears to have extended his original obsession with Picard to his son. And I…surprisingly don’t hate it.

Yes, the one-year time jump to what appears to be happy families between Jean-Luc, Jack, and Beverly speeds us past all the difficult and necessary emotional work it surely must have taken the group to reach this point. (And, personally, I’m taking the utter lack of any mention of Laris as a hopeful sign on the Picard/Crusher romance front, do not judge me.) But it’s such a natural extension of the Picard universe that I’m eager to see where it all might go next.

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Fandom’s clamoring for a Star Trek: Legacy series, after all. And even if I’d personally rather see Jonathan Frakes get his shot at the captain’s chair—No, Star Trek: Lower Decks doesn’t count—I’m definitely not averse to the idea of a series in which Jack’s established relationships with his father’s former crewmates and BFFs are part of the larger world of his story either. After all, Picard Season 3 has taught me nothing so much that sometimes, impossible things can happen if you want them bad enough. But if this is the true end of an era, and our time with The Next Generation crew is over, I’m grateful this is how they got to go out, and that we all got the chance to be part of it.

Lacy Baugher

Lacy Baugher is a digital producer by day, but a television enthusiast pretty much all the time. Her writing has been featured in Paste Magazine, Collider,…

Picard Season 3 Post-Credits Scene Reboots A Classic Star Trek Concept, 36 Years Later

Why is he back?

Riker and Picard in the 'Picard' Season 3 finale.

After the curtain falls on the finale of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 , there’s one last surprise in store. In a twisty post-credits scene, we revisit a classic theme from the very beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Here’s what happens, how it tweaks Trek canon, and what it might mean for a possible Picard spinoff series. Spoilers ahead.

Generally speaking, the Star Trek franchise avoids post-credits scenes. Lower Decks Season 3 had a quick one , but none of the Trek films have indulged, and even the 2018 Discovery scene where Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) joined Section 31 was released separately as a “bonus scene.” But now, with “The Last Generation,” Picard Season 3 delivers a true post-credits scene in the Marvel style that seems to tease a new storyline, complete with a very familiar character.

Picard Season 3 Post-Credits Explained

Jack Crusher in the 'Picard' Season 3 post-credits scene.

Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) pulls out his phaser in the post-credits scene of Picard Season 3.

After Geordi La Forge , Will Riker, and Jean-Luc Picard park the Enterprise- D in the Fleet Museum and play a game of poker, we jump to Jack Crusher settling into his quarters on the newly christened USS Enterprise- G. But suddenly, Q (John de Lancie) appears.

Jack wonders why Q isn’t dead, and Q says, “I was hoping the next generation wouldn't think so linearly.” So this is either a version of Q from before his death in Picard Season 2, or something else entirely. Q also implies that he’s putting humanity back on trial. Jack protests, saying, “You told my father humanity’s trial was over.” Q retorts, “But I’m here today because of you. You see yours, Jack, has just begun.” Q implies that Jack is about to have some kind of trial, though whether that means Jack is being judged or will undergo some tribulations is unclear.

Either way, Picard has brought things full circle. In Next Generation’s “Encounter at Farpoint,” Q appeared and framed the entire series as the trial of humanity. And now, through Jack, that concept has been rebooted. Or has it?

Picard's post-credits scene could set up a new Trek— but there’s a catch

Q (John de Lancie) in the Picard Season 3 finale.

A spinoff to Picard Season 3 has not been formally announced. In fact, as showrunner Terry Matalas made clear in several interviews , “there is nothing in development.” While it’s possible Paramount could greenlight a Picard spinoff, the concept isn’t on the large slate of Trek shows currently rolling out.

So is the post-credits scene just a tease? Does Matalas actually have an idea for where this new Q story with Jack Crusher would go?

“I know exactly ,” Matalas tells Inverse. “ I know how this would all go if we were lucky enough to come back.”

So, there is a story in mind that would continue from this post-credits scene. But whether we’ll actually see it remains up in the air.

Is Picard Season 3 Channeling the MCU?

Jean-Luc Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise-D in 'Picard' Season 3.

Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D in Picard Season 3.

Because Picard Season 3 has several codas and endings, and a legit post-credits scene, it might seem like Terry Matalas intentionally pushed this season of Trek into MCU territory. After all, back in the ’90s, The Next Generation was responsible for a burgeoning shared universe that would eventually span three different TV shows and several feature films, a scope unheard of for sci-fi franchises back then.

“I love, love that comparison,” Matalas says of likening Picard Season 3 to Marvel. “We did try to make this big and grandiose. But I’m not sure it was entirely conscious on my part, though that is the kind of storytelling I gravitate to. There was a sense of finality to it that we were hurdling toward for sure. We wanted to make this feel like a gigantic final [ TNG ] movie.”

But unlike Endgame, Picard’s grand finale very pointedly didn’t kill off any of its major characters. The big seven of Jean-Luc Picard, Will Riker, Worf, Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi, and Data all lived, as did Seven, Raffi, Jack Crusher, Alandra, Sidney La Forge, and most of the remaining crew of the Titan . The writing of “The Last Generation” only made you think some of them might bite it.

“It’s good old fashion manipulation,” Matalas laughs. “We put some scenes in there that are scenes you play where characters are going to die; those goodbye scenes. Honestly, it would be very easy to kill off one of these characters, and it would be entirely appropriate. But I didn’t have it in me to do it. In a weird way, I wanted the surprise ending to be that it was a happy ending.”

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams on Paramount+.

This article was originally published on April 20, 2023

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Star Trek: Picard season 3 ending explained

What happens to The Next Generation Crew and other characters in Star Trek: Picard.

It has been a thrilling and nostalgic ride during the third season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+ . Starfleet is facing a large galactic threat that it wasn't prepared for, and what better people to come to the rescue than the old crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation . As weeks went by, we gradually saw the return of old cast members with the reunion culminating in last week's final scene with them all on board a reconstructed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).

With the gang all here and an old trusty starship, they race to save the Federation, the planet Earth, and in Picard's case, a son. That's a whole lot of rescuing for an episode. Are the wily group of veterans up to the challenge?

Let's dive into the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale 'The Last Generation.'

Vanquishing an old foe on Star Trek: Picard

We discussed earlier in the season the return of the Changelings as antagonists, but they were serving a higher power. It turned out the Borg Queen, played by original actress Alice Krieg from Star Trek: First Contact , was pulling the strings behind the scenes. She tasked the Changelings to implant Picard's Borg altered DNA into the members of Starfleet 25 years and younger via transporters that are commonly used. Then using a beacon from the Borg cube, she, with the help of Picard and Beverly Crusher's son Jack, who has the same altered DNA, could control all the assimilated crewmembers.

The Enterprise crew find the Borg cube hidden in the clouds of Jupiter. They launch a multipronged attack where Worf and William Riker find the beacon and relay its location to Data, Geordi La Forge, Crusher, and Deanna Troi on board the ship to destroy it. Meanwhile, Picard searches for Jack to free him from the Borg Queen's influence.

Things don't go entirely to plan, but in the end, our heroes prevail. When they destroy the beacon, it's tied to the integrity of the Borg cube and blows up the ship with the Borg Queen along with it.

What are Seven of Nine and Raffi up to in the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale?

Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker and Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine in

In the previous episode, Seven of Nine and Raffi remain onboard the Titan while the others escape to the Enterprise. They team up with other survivors to form a resistance against their assimilated crewmembers.

Eventually, they are able to regain control of the USS Titan and use it to perform sneak attacks on the Borg controlled Starfleet ships. They are greatly outnumbered and are unable to prevent the destruction of spacedock and Earth's planetary shields, but they are able to delay the assault on Earth long enough for Picard and company to save the day sparing millions of lives on the planet.

What happens to the Star Trek: The Next Generation characters in Star Trek: Picard?

With such a grand adventure, the final minutes of the season finale serve as an epilogue to catch up with everyone. The USS Enterprise-D is retired and stored at the Fleet Museum. Data is still adjusting to his emotions (it's his gut feeling that helped him fly through the Borg cube) and becoming more human. He is in therapy with none other than Counsellor Troi. Speaking of which, she and Riker have settled their marital problems and have a big trip planned to rekindle the romance and grow closer together.

Elsewhere, Admiral Crusher has rejoined Starfleet as the head of its medical branch. She ensures that all those affected during the most recent Borg assimilation are returned to normal, and develops new scanning technology to identify the remaining Changelings within the Federation. She and Picard are proud that Jack decides to follow in their footsteps and accompany him to his first assignment.

In a nice callback to how Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, the entire crew meet up for drinks and play some cards as the end credits roll. A fun grounded way to celebrate saving the day for the umpteenth time.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 ushers in the next, next generation

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher in

While Picard and company are ready to take a back seat and relax, a whole new generation of Starfleet officers and ensigns are ready to explore the galaxy. Due to its heroics in the battle with the Borg, and as a nod to the ship that protected Earth, the USS Titan is rechristened as the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G).

As a result of a complimentary performance review from the late Captain Shaw, Seven of Nine is promoted to captain of the Enterprise. We also learn her Star Trek: Voyager compatriot, Tuvok, is alive and well (The Changelings conveniently didn't kill their targets for intel purposes).

Joining her is the new first officer Raffi, and Jack, who serves as the captain's counselor. He is on an accelerated track in Starfleet due to a combination of nepotism and merit. Who would have thought that "Starfleet saw fit to give a thief, a pirate, and a spy a ship." Throw in Geordi's daughter Ensign Sidney La Forge, who is a helmsman onboard, and we have an interesting new crew with a mix of experience and youth with older and new characters.

Is there a post-credits scene in the season 3 finale of Star Trek: Picard?

If you stay past all the cardplaying, there is a post-credits scene. While Jack unpacks his things in his cabin, the extra-dimensional being Q pays him a visit. Though Picard's trials for humanity are over, Jack's are just beginning. For those unfamiliar with Q, he first appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot, and is a known mischief maker. He would serve as a recurring antagonist to Jean-Luc in multiple episodes and series.

Will there be a Star Trek: Picard season 4?

Jonathan Frakes as Riker, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, Sir Patrick Stewart as Picard, Brent Spiner as Data, LeVar Burton as Geordi, Michelle Hurd as Raffi, Michael Dorn as Worf, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher and Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher in Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+

Star Trek: Picard season 3 was initially confirmed by Paramount+ to be its last. That's why they went big with bringing the old cast back for one last hurrah. In a group interview , Akiva Goldsman stated how the series was always planned to be three seasons.

More recently in an interview with TV Line last January, both executive producer Alex Kurtzman and star Patrick Stewart were open to another season. Kurtzman said, "If a show blows the doors off the place, as we’re certainly hoping it will, and we’re very, very proud of Season 3, who knows?" Similarly, Stewart added, "If we can maintain the work that we did on Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Picard, then absolutely, yes. Because there is still enormous potential for narrative in what we’ve been doing, and there are doors left open, still. We didn’t close all of them." There still isn't any formal announcement for a fourth season.

What could be more likely is a spin-off, especially with the post-credits scene implying more to the story. At the 2022San Diego Comic-Con, Kurtzman told fans to expect more shows with female leads. We have Seven of Nine and Raffi as the commanding officers of the new USS Enterprise. Even showrunner Terry Matalas tweeted about Star Trek: Legacy , "a spin-off show from #StarTrekPicard. A 25th Century show that explores the Last Generation and the Next." As with a fourth season, there is no formal confirmation from Paramount about the development of Star Trek: Legacy.

Watch Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Kate Mulgrew, Jameela Jamil and more at NYCC's Star Trek Universe panel .

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John de Lancie doesn't think it was expected that season three of Star Trek: Picard would be so well-received

P roducing a television (or streaming) series is a gamble. There's no way to know if the show will be liked enough or watched enough to continue. The chance of cancellation always looms over practically every series (unless it's NCIS or Law and Order: SVU). Star Trek: Picard was always meant to be a three-season series so the producers knew the show was wrapping no matter how well received the final chapter would be. But, according to John de Lancie , in an interview he gave Trekmovie, [ via Comicbook ] he didn't think anyone expected season three to be as good as it was. So, obviously, the fan clamor for a spin-off must have come as a surprise as well.

The way de Lancie describes it, the powers-that-be had already decided on what the next series would be—Starfleet Academy. So there was no opening for Star Trek: Legacy.

"I don’t think that they expected that Season 3 was going to be as good and as well-received. They had already decided on another show. They were already moving in another direction. But it was certainly a really valiant and well-appreciated finale to The Next Generation.”John de Lancie

I find it hard to believe that the producers and the studio wouldn't have known how successful the final season of Picard would be since they were bringing back practically everyone from Star Trek: The Next Generation. That series has maintained its fanbase over the years, and seeing them all together again onscreen was a big draw. It was akin to announcing another movie with the cast. Had season three of Picard unfolded on the big screen, I have no doubt there would have been major numbers at the box office.

If no one was prepared for the success of the final season of Picard, then the door to a possibility of a spin-off shouldn't have even been opened. Though showrunner Terry Matalas has said the series finale wasn't intended to be a set-up for a spin-off, there's really no other way to interpret it the final scene. Q, who supposedly died in season two of Picard, appeared before Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), who just happens to be Admiral Picard's (Patrick Stewart) son with, essentially, a promise of troubles to come. That's quite a big carrot to dangle if there was never any intention of feeding the horse.

As of now, we don't have any news on Legacy, and with Star Trek moving forward with Starfleet Academy, it doesn't seem like it's on the studio's radar at present.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as John de Lancie doesn't think it was expected that season three of Star Trek: Picard would be so well-received .

John de Lancie doesn't think it was expected that season three of Star Trek: Picard would be so well-received

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April 25, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reflects On Its Choices In “Mirrors”

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reflects On Its Choices In “Mirrors”

| April 25, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 102 comments so far

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 – Debuted Thursday, April 25, 2024 Written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco Directed by Jen McGowan

A solid episode with plenty of lore and character development gets weighed down with a bit too much exposition.

No, I didn’t kiss you in the past last week, what makes you say that?

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“Maybe we’re not so different.”

As the crew regroups following the time bug incident that lost them 6 hours, they try to trace the trail of their main rivals in the search for the Progenitor tech. Book takes this time to reflect on the choices he has made in life and how it isn’t too late for Moll; perhaps he can redeem the daughter of his mentor and namesake Cleveland Booker. Stamets and Tilly figure out the trail didn’t disappear into nowhere: Moll and L’ak went through a wormhole. The aperture isn’t big enough for the Disco, so the captain assigns herself to shuttle duty—over the objections of her new XO, who is still struggling a bit. After a little bonding over old Kellerun poetry, she leaves him with “I know you can lead this crew” and heads off with her ex. Returning to their old banter, including some teasing about what happened during her time tour last episode, Book and Michael head through the wormhole. Things get really choppy as they fly through exotic matter “deaf and blind,” losing comms with the Disco, and dodging debris. Skilled piloting and good ol’ Starfleet engineering saves them, but things aren’t so hot for Moll and L’ak, whose ship is spotted cut in half. Their only hope for survival is another relatively intact ship that looks familiar. A 24 th -century scientist hiding a clue in this pocket dimension on a shipwreck from another universe makes as much sense as anything. It’s the ISS Enterprise—and that’s no typo. If the “Mirrors” title wasn’t clue enough, the ISS does it: Things are about to get Terran, again.

After docking, Michael and Book make their way through the mess of a ship to the bridge with more playful banter. The warp drive has been bricked and all shuttles and escape pods are gone, very out of character for ruthless Terrans. They track three quantum signatures in sickbay, but start with a trace in the transporter room, which looks more like a makeshift refugee camp. A chronicle reveals the crew mutinied after the Terran High Chancellor (aka Mirror Spock) was killed for making reforms. A certain Kelpien rebel leader (aka Mirror Action Saru) led refugees to the Prime Universe, where they abandoned ship. While Book expositions, Michael puts a piece of her badge (and its important Prime Universe quantum signature) in a locket she finds. Pay attention BTW, or you will be confused later. In sickbay, they find Moll and L’ak, Moll and L’ak, and Moll and L’ak—until they take out the holo-emitters so the four former couriers can face off for real. Book tries the “I knew your father” gambit and is immediately rebuffed by Moll’s serious daddy issues. The baddies figure they have the clue so they have all the leverage, but Michael uses that locket as a bluff, claiming she has the real clue. Still, no deal with the Federation is good enough because they need the Progenitor tech to get rid of an Erigah… a Breen blood bounty. That’s right, L’ak is Breen. Holy refrigeration helmet , Batman.

Mirror McCoy was a bit of an evil pack rat.

“You both still have choices .”

Cut to a series of Burn-era flashbacks when Moll was delivering dilithium to the Breen Imperium. The “bucket heads” are not amused by the wisecracking courier who gets into a fight with one of them, but she turns the tables, revealing she knows he’s a disgraced member of the royal family—and she even knows his name. It’s L’ak, of course. He is intrigued by her plan to skim more latinum, getting payback for being humiliated for this cargo duty demotion. Soon enough, this unlikely pair is hooking up between cargo containers and he even takes off his helmet to show her his face, as well as his “other face.” It turns out the Breen have two: the one we have been seeing with L’ak and a glowing eyed translucent one. Later, the star-crossed romance is threatened when Moll is drawn to the lure of even more latinum by delivering to the Emerald Chain. Before they can sort out if he should join her, Uncle A-hole shows up, not happy about his nephew’s little interspecies exchange program. He’s also not cool with L’ak using that old face and not the “evolved” glowy face. L’ak is given one chance at redemption: Kill Moll. He picks door number 2, killing some guards but sparing Primarch Ruhn, who declares the Erigah. L’ak knows this means they will never stop hunting him, but Moll is all-in on being a fugitive, so they escape together. Ah, true love.

Back on Mirror Enterprise, the standoff devolves into another quick firefight as the Breen/Human duo chooses not to take the offered off-ramp before going too far down the bad guy road. Moll and Book end up outside force fields that pop up around sickbay, so she reluctantly agrees to a ceasefire. The current Cleveland Booker tries again to connect, but Moll only has bad memories of a brutal childhood of abandonment after her Cleveland left her on her own at age 14. L’ak is all she has. L’ak feels the same about Moll, telling Michael that he would die before being separated, but seems open to the idea of them sharing a cell in the Federation pen. On the bridge, Book pivots to use his relationship with Michael to connect, but Moll’s need to get back to L’ak means no waiting for computer hacking, so she starts yanking out wires. The resulting short does lower the forcefield, but now the ship is out of control. Their shuttle is flung off with the jolt and there’s only eight minutes until the Big E is squished in the little wormhole. Book takes his final shot, handing over his phaser and telling Moll she is the only family he has left. She finally relents and they head to sickbay, where Michael and L’ak have resumed fighting. The captain gets the upper hand and ends up with the clue L’ak was holding and the Breen is left with a knife in his side, but impressed by the locket bluff. Moll arrives and is super pissed, so the Disco duo makes a quick exit before things escalate into yet another phaser fight. This former courier couple’s double date is over.

Uh, can you go back to the other face now?

“Maybe we can shape our own futures too.”

As Moll tries to patch up her boyfriend, Michael and Book work through the problem on the bridge, deciding that the tractor beam as their only hope. Over on the Disco, they detect an oscillating pattern, 3-4-1-4, which means something to Rayner. He now wants the nerds to figure out how to open the wormhole aperture big enough for a ship, offering kegs of Kellerun booze for the best idea. Adira sparks a team effort and Rayner rallies around the crowdsourced solution involving a hexagon of photon torpedoes. “We are only going to get one shot at this. I trust you will all make it count, red alert.” That’s the stuff. With what may be the last seconds of her life, Michael lets Book know she shared a “happy” moment with his past self during the whole time bug incident. Discovery fires the torpedoes and the crew is surprised to see the ISS Enterprise emerge at the last minute from the permanently collapsing wormhole. Everyone releases their tension as the captain informs her crew they saved her… but why is the Enterprise about to fire? A warp pod is launched! It’s Moll and L’ak. Before you can say “plot armor,” they escape to another episode. The captain returns to the Disco to tell Rayner she’s impressed with how he handled the crew during her time away, and he tells her how impressed he was with her subtle “3-4-1-4” message using the Kellerun “Ballad of Krull.” Alien poetry FTW!

In the background of the episode, Tilly has been noticing that Dr. Culber seems out of sorts. Everyone else leans on him, so she offers to be a friendly ear. As things wrap, Hugh takes her up on her offer over drinks at Red’s, admitting that ever since he was possessed by a Trill a few episodes back, he has been feeling a bit off, and he’s beening having some trouble coming to grips with the quest they are on with questions “so big and impossible to grasp.” He is not sure his matter-of-fact husband will understand what Tilly points out is a sort of spiritual awakening. This thread is left unresolved, unlike Adira’s mini-crisis of confidence: They were losing their science mojo due to guilt over the time bug, but got it back through Rayner’s tough love and being the one to come up with the hexagon of torpedoes solution. Things wrap up with Michael and Book looking over their prize, the latest piece of the map and a mysterious vial of liquid hidden inside, ready to set up the next episode once Stamets unlocks its secret. Burnham is starting to see a pattern with these clues and how the scientists who left them were trying to teach lessons along the way to the successful questers. The clue hidden in the ISS Enterprise came from Dr. Cho, a former Terran junior officer who later became a Starfleet Admiral. This happy ending for her and the others from Saru’s band of Mirror refugees fills them with hope as they can’t wait to find out what they will learn when they put the map together. There are just 2 more map pieces and 5 more episodes to go.

I think I have a thing for being possessed—no judgment.

Love stories

This halfway point episode is a bit of a mixed bag. Strong performances were a highlight, bringing extra life to welcome character development for both heroes and villains. But valiant attempts to expand upon franchise lore got weighed down in overly complicated exposition. And for an episode with a strong (and yes, often repeated) theme about choices, some of the directorial choices just didn’t work, potentially leaving some audience members confused or requiring a second viewing to follow the narrative. On the other hand, the episode carried on the season’s reflection on Discovery’s own lore and the evolution of its characters. David Ajala stands out as the episode MVP as he shows Book’s struggle to navigate the emotional complexities of his own choices and those of Moll while desperately trying to forge a new family connection. While some of the action scenes in this episode felt a bit perfunctory, the show is still getting better (for the most part) in finding moments for those character sidebars to talk about their emotional journeys and relationships. That was especially important in this episode, which took a closer look at how the events of the season are impacting some of the key romantic pairings of Book and Michael, Paul and Hugh, and Moll and L’ak.

Eve Harlow—and especially Elias Toufexis—stepped up to add layers and nuance to Moll and L’ak, with Discovery finally embracing how fleshing out adversaries and their motivations goes a long way towards making your plot hold together. The nicely drawn-out reflection of their love story with the rekindling one between Michael and Book adds another layer to the more obvious meaning behind the episode title “Mirrors.” Moll’s single-minded anger and L’ak’s desire for safety now all make sense, as does their unshakable bond. The episode also did a good job weaving in a handful of substories, including Rayner’s growing connection with the crew, with a nice sprinkling of Kellerun lore-building — adding some color to his character. Callum Keith Rennie continues to be a stand-out addition for the season, although Doug Jones is sorely missed, presumably not appearing in two episodes in a row for some scheduling reasons. Culber’s spiritual journey also gets just enough time, as it and these other substories all feel like they are heading somewhere without distracting or spinning their wheels, something that often weighed down mid-season Discovery episodes in past seasons.

Okay, let’s just agree we both have daddy issues.

Under the mask

The reveal that L’ak is a Breen was a surprise, but also nicely teased through the previous episodes. Fans of Deep Space Nine should relish finally getting some answers about this enigmatic race and finally having a first look under those helmets. “Mirrors” picked up on many elements from DS9, including the Breen language, refrigeration suits, neural truncheons, and the position of Thot , while adding lots to the lore, including some worldbuilding behind this new Breen Imperium and its “faction wars.”

Setting the Breen up as what appears to be the real big bads for the season involved a lot of data dump exposition here, surely keeping the editors of Memory Alpha busy for the next week. The notion that Breen have two forms with their signature suits and helmets allowing them to hold the more “evolved” form and face makes sense. If one were to get nitpicky, the Breen aren’t supposed to bleed, but perhaps that was a function of his suit; fill in your own headcanon. L’ak’s desire to hold the other, less evolved form making him a pariah in Breen society has echoes of allegorical episodes such as TNG’s “The Outcast.” That being said, the nuances are still not entirely clear, and fans who like the lore shouldn’t have to rewatch scenes to pick up the details. It feels like some details were cut, perhaps because this episode was already trying to cram in too much exposition with the Breen, Kelleruns (they boil cakes?), and the Mirror Universe.

Like the previous time travel adventure, this was a mid-season bottle show, this time using the conveniently located Strange New Worlds sets. Bringing back the ISS Enterprise was clever and fun, with the twist of how this time the Mirror Universe came to us. If you follow closely, “Mirrors” did a nice job of filling in some lore gaps and tying together the MU storylines from the first visit in “Mirror, Mirror” to follow-ups in Deep Space Nine , Enterprise , and Discovery . There is now a nice throughline from Emperor Georgiou saving Mirror Saru through to Mirror Spock, killed for the reforms he instituted after being inspired by Kirk. However, the redress of the Enterprise sets was not very inspired, with only a smattering of Terran wall sconces and some repainting, instead of demonstrating the brutality of the Empire with elements like agony booths. But what was even more missed was the promise of any character crossovers. There was a lot of talk about Mirror characters like Spock, Saru, Dr. Cho, and others, but we don’t get to see any, one of the many examples of how this episode broke the golden rule to show not tell. There were plenty of opportunities for a flashback or holo recording. Burnham longingly gazing at her brother’s science station is no substitute for Ethan Peck with a goatee.

We’re back!

Final thoughts

“Mirrors” is a decent episode, but it could have been much better with a few tweaks here and there. While not falling into the pointless plate-spinning trap of past mid-season Disco outings, it still dragged a bit for something so jam-packed with lore and revelations. Still, it provided a nice hour of entertainment, and possibly more with rewatches to catch up on the little details. The episode also continues the season’s welcome trend of weaving in the show’s own past, which makes it work better as a final season, even if they didn’t know that when they crafted it. Season 5 hits the halfway mark, and it’s still the best season yet, and hopefully the second half of the season will nail the landing.

Wait, we’re in this episode too? Anyone remember their lines?

Like the previous episode, “Mirrors” began with a warning for flashing images.
The episode is dedicated “to the loving memory of our friend Allan ‘Red’ Marceta ,” the lead set dresser who died in a motorcycle accident in 2022. Presumably the USS Discovery bar “Red’s” was named in his honor.
This is the first episode where Book’s personal log starts it off.
Stardate: 866280.9
Booker examined wanted notices for Moll from the Federation, Orion/Emerald Chain (who have a new logo), and the Andorian Empire.
Tilly was able to reveal the wormhole by compensating for the “Lorentzian Coefficient,” referencing the real Lorentz Factor used in special relativity equations.
A new ensign on the Discovery keeps a Cardassian vole as a pet.
The ISS Enterprise was built at Tartarus Base, possibly referencing Tartarus Prime , from the TOS novel The Rings of Time .
Moll refers to Breens as “bucketheads” (just as Reno did to Emerald Chain Regulators last episode). This could be a nod to the use of “ bucketheads ” in Star Wars as a derogatory term for stormtroopers.
Moll’s mother died on Callor V in a mine for Rubindium , a substance first mentioned in TOS “Patterns of Force.”
Linus can play the piano.
Breen Primarchs may be a nod to the genetically engineered Primarchs from Warhammer 40,000 .
How does Book know that Pike’s catchphrase is “Hit it”?
This is the third (of five) season 5 episodes in which Oyin Oladejo and Emily Coutts do not appear, but their characters, Detmer and Owosekun, are mentioned when they get the honor of escorting the ISS Enterprise back to Starfleet HQ.
Even though we didn’t see it warp away, presumably the missing intermix chamber was replaced, otherwise Owo and Detmer’s trip is going to take a very long time.
Tilly says her long day makes her feel like she has been through a Gormangander’s digestive tract.

Remember when Mudd hid inside a Gormagander? Gross.

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts , Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Discovery will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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waste of ISS Enterprise

While I enjoyed the episode overall, the ISS Enterprise was a huge letdown and not even worth being an easter egg with what little they did with it. They should have just made it a generic constitution class ship from the mirror universe.

It felt like it was nothing more than a budget saver. Use existing sets from the other show. Which is weird because one of the arguments in favor of mini seasons is it allows more money to be spent.

That’s exactly what it felt like. Along with the missing, yet again, Detmer and Owosekun.

There must have been some deep budget cuts for the season.

Detmer and Owosekun were replaced by other characters so I don’t think they are missing for budget reasons. It’s more likely that the actresses were unavailable.

I get the budget issues considering what’s going on with the studio. But the end result was it showed that there isn’t much difference at all in the 900 years between the SNW Enterprise and the aesthetic of Star Trek Discovery. They both look as if they were set in the exact same era.

And there really shouldn’t be much. Discovery is from the same era, as the Enterprise. While the ship gets a technological upgrade, why would it get an interior design makeover?

Since it was deemed important (Stamets certainly makes since) that the crew stay on the Discovery, I would certainly think that psychologically having its design aesthetics stay similar to what it was would help give the crew a little bit of their past to hold on to, versus having all physical interactions be with a timeline that they aren’t native to.

Now where we should see it is in native places in this time. And we have seen some differences in design from standard Starfleet settings, versus Starfleet settings on this time (I actually wish we got more).

I did wish for a little more of self reflection from Burnham’s point of view as the ISS Enterprise should of course remind her of Spock (the Enterprise tie in), but also Georgiou (the ISS tie in). We get a small brief nod to Spock, but nothing to Georgiou (and while I still question the use of the character, there is no question that Burnham did have a connection with her, even if its primarily transference from her former Captain, not the mirror Universe Empress.

That’s always been my issue with Discovery.

Agreed. The last two episodes just felt very budgeted and basically bottle episodes. And this just felt like a twofer, a way to use an existing set and add a little fan service but that’s all it was. I thought the Enterprise itself was going to be a viral part of not just the episode but the story overall.

Instead it was just a backdrop. And yeah it’s obvious they cut the budget for this season but all the live action shows have felt this way starting with Picard season 3 and SNW season 2. That all felt pretty bare a lot of the times. I guess this was all during Paramount+ belt tightening and probably not a shock why the show was cancelled.

And maybe the I.S.S. Enterprise should have been the refit or maybe the Phase II Enterprise? That would have been a lot of fun but combine a lack of vision with a reduced budget and this is what you get.

Looking back on “In a Mirror: Darkly”, season 4 of Enterprise was dealing with a reduced budget but managed to recreate sets from TOS, introduced a few new set pieces and did a lot of great effects work.

This was a missed opportunity.

Which was added by stretching that story over two episodes, so that they had the budget to recreate the sets they used. Having half the episode count, doesn’t really help avail yourself to planning out a two parter for a way to save costs.

If Picard could pull off recreating the bridge of the Enterprise D for three days of shooting with barely half the budget of Discovery season 5, they could have done something equally as fun for Discovery on the cheap without actually having to building anything new and using the Enterprise as a crutch. They could have come across Deep Space Station K-7, where the exterior would have been immediately familiar and with interiors served by redressed sets from virtually anything available from Discovery or SNW.

I thought Discovery is basically the PII Enterprise?

The Phase II Enterprise looks like a slickly modified version of the Enterprise from TOS, falling squarely between the Enterprise from TOS and the refit. The “Star Trek: Phase II” fan series did a great job bringing it to screen.

No, Discovery resembles the Enterprise concept for the Planet of the Titans movie.

I don’t get that. I never assumed that the Enterprise (or its mIrror Universe history) was going to feature in significant manner (certainly the producers and promotional department didn’t make a significant deal about it). Perhaps it’s the time difference. But I literally assumed it would be as significant as the Defiant going in and out of phase like TOS “Tholian Web” the time difference. And that was primarily set dressing. That’s not a bad thing. I mean Tholian Web is considered one of the better third season episodes.

And the only reason I assumed it was the Enterprise versus another Connie, is simple to give Burnham a moment to reflect on Spock. Now I do freely admit that I wish this was a slightly larger moment. But I never expected it to be anything but a small moment. Roughly my preconceived notion would be something like Spock’s Mind Meld scene with La’an in SNW where she is able to get a peak into Spock thinking about his sister and the emotion that comes with it. It’s a very brief scene, but I thought SNW did a good job in conveying the emotional aspect, especially from a half Vulcan/ Half Human.

Ok fair enough. This is probably more my hang up and to be fair since they never really promoted the the Enterprise being back then clearly they weren’t trying to make it that big of a deal.

But same time a lot of people do feel there could’ve been more done. The main problem is it just feels like a ridiculous stretch this ship itself is even there. It’s a ship from 900 years ago from a DIFFERENT UNIVERSE that conveniently happens to be the ship that gives them their next clue. I know it’s Star Trek so whatever lol. But when you go through the effort to present it I think it would’ve nice to build a bigger story around it. It could’ve just been any ship.

When you feel like the Mirror Universe has been nothing but a let down after the initial TOS episode, It’s really not a surprise. There’s really nowhere to go with it, but I did find that the fulfilling of the promise that Prime Kirk spoke to Mirror Spock about from the original TOS episode quite satisfying. The ship’s inhabitants embraced the benevolence of the prime universe, and I thought that was great.

I felt the idea that the MU people just easily adapted was pretty ridiculous. But then, they admitted SNW was an alternate timeline. It’s not a stretch that alternate extends to all the Secret Hideout productions.

I’m not sure I would feel the same about Picard given it depicts the Prime events of ST:2009. The others tho yeah I think of it that way too. Although The Chase does make that harder to swallow about DISCO

I liked the MU in DS9. It was fun to revisit and a great reminder of the Prime Directive. But… after that it got tiresome.

It was pretty benign there, but the problem with it, is finding it plausible. It was a fun idea in the 1960’s, and it had a good message. After that, it an indulgence. The notion that that the same people would even exist in the same fundamental places, and that the same ships would exist with virtually the same crew just seems like too much of a stretch even for modern Star Trek.

That’s my only complaint about this episode. Seeing the tantalus field show up would have been really cool. When Michael talked about how she was sure that Mirror Spock was a savage just like the other Terrans, I was sure that we would see a recording or something of Ethan Peck in a goatee to prove her wrong. Or flashbacks with Ethan Peck and Paul Wesley as their mirror counterparts would have also been cool.

All the stuff with the Breen and Mol and Lak was really cool though.

“ waste of ISS Enterprise” should be the official episode description.

waste of series

They ate Mirror Saru in season one…

Was that Saru or another Kelpian? It’s been a while since I watched Season 1, but I recall Mirror Saru saving Burnham from Tyler just as Voq’s personality re-emerged. I know Mirror Georgiou served Burnham some Kelpian, I just didn’t remember it being Mirror Saru.

Mirror Saru saved Michael from Tyler in The Wolf Inside, which was the episode that preceded the one in which they ate the food made from a Kelpien (Vaulting Ambition).

Looking at Memory Alpha now, it says that the chosen Kelpien ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVQSipQlJR8 ) was played by someone other than Doug Jones, but they look so much alike that I thought for sure she had chosen Mirror Saru.

As per Memory Alpha, we never saw him again after The Wolf Inside until season three, but that was in the alternate timeline Carl sent Georgiu to, so it wasn’t the same Mirror Saru.

Nope, that was another Kelpien.

“They ate Mirror Saru in season one…”

They didn’t.

Wasn’t Mirror Saru established as having survived in Season 3 (can’t remember the episode name).

A s per Memory Alpha, we never saw Mirror Saru again after The Wolf Inside until season three, but that was in the alternate timeline Carl sent Georgiu to, so it wasn’t the same Mirror Saru.

Loved this episode. I liked seeing the I.S.S Enterprise though i would of loved to of seen maybe a video log of Mirror Spock.

As a big fan of DS9 I’m glad we finally get to see what a breen looks like and the 32nd century breen outfits look great.

I enjoyed seeing Book/Burnham trying to get through to Moll/L’ak and i hope they can eventually get through to them. With this season about connections and 2nd chances i can see Book and Burnham talking both of them down before they do something that they can’t come back from.

The shot of the I.S.S Enterprise coming out of the ‘wormhole’ is probably one of my favorite CGI scene in all of Trek.

I’m glad they didn’t. I think the conceit of using the I.S.S. Enterprise was not much more than a budgetary decision to be able to use the sets. Could have made it a different constitution class, but then they don’t get to tell the story of the crew’s transformation into our society. Just don’t think about it too much.. because that universe is just pushing out its own doppelgängers into our universe.. which seems problematic. lol.

As a big fan of DS9 I’m glad we finally get to see what a breen looks like and the 32nd century breen outfits look great.

Any kind of big reveal was bound to be disappointing, I suppose. Still, the idea that they were just another latex alien was a letdown. I had always hoped that the Breen were gaseous or plasma creatures.

Ethan Peck with a goatee would have been EPIC

“This is the way.” 😉

But seriously that was a pretty good episode. I’d like to see a 31st century restored Terran empire that never went through “the burn.”

“ The reveal that L’ak is a Breen was a surprise ”

It really wasn’t, though. That was many viewers’ guess since the beginning of the season, and it’s been a common discussion on many websites. The surprise would have been if he HADN’T been a Breen.

I am on a lot of other sites and I haven’t heard anyone thinking he was Breen. And I don’t believe anyone voiced that in Trekmovie either.

LOL. It’s been a common theory.

Obviously not THAT common. LOL

I’ve seen the theory mentioned in the comments here on TrekMovie.

Yes, quite common from what I’ve been reading. I just commented on this very site a couple weeks back that I liked the idea, when somebody else theorized it (forget who it was)!

I guess it’s just where you go for these discussions but yeah the first YouTube review of episode one I saw theorized Lak was a Breen in the first scene he was in when he took off his helmet. And this was obviously before the species was mentioned on the show.

So yeah some people caught on the first episode the way others theorized Tyler was Voq the first time he showed up. Others needed more convincing.

I never saw it but I certainly don’t read the majority of comments. And almost never watch video reviews. Now Voq, was something I remember seeing in many places. Though in fairness, the amount of conjecture done about any Trek series for its Pilot and early couple episodes has been in my experience far more than what you see for most regular episodes. So that shouldn’t;t surprise me.

It was a surprise to me.

The Breen being so ordinary looking was a bit of a surprise.

Well, one of their forms are. It explains the frozen wasteland/tropical paradise. Their “evovled” form needs cryo suits, their “normal form” doesn’t

Was a surprise to me. Then again, I don’t run around the internet and over analyze the show.

This season started out so well. What happened? It’s falling apart.

I hate to a agree. But its once again a long slow burn (pardon the bun) that I fear is going to lead to another whimper of a conclusion. I feel like the season could have been a movie instead. Where is Chapel?!

Wrong show. Chapel is on SNW. The ending was rewritten and new scenes were shot to make it a series finale. They had already started shooting when they got the word that it was ending after season 5.

presumably on Her show, SNW?

“pardon the bun” …🍔⁉️

What’d that poor bun do for it to be in need of a pardon? 😋

This is what happens in every single season of Discovery. Two lovers who want to destroy the galaxy so they can get to paradise was the plot of season four, and now they are recycling the exact same plot for this season.

Did you watch the show. In no seasons has two lovers wanted to destroy the galaxy….Period. L’ak and Moll want to pay off their bounty. Nothing about what they are doing is about wanting to destroy the galaxy.

Outside of the destruction caused by the aliens referred to as 10-C, did any character want to destroy the galaxy let alone a couple. The only couple we had, was one person wanting peaceful means of communication to prevent destruction, while the other wanted to use force to ensure the destruction doesn’t occur. In no case does that equal people wanting to destroy a galaxy.

I can understand not liking the show, but to have such a misconstrued concept of the plot of the seasons shows a shocking lack of basic understanding of what the plot and motivations of the characters are.

I mean the show has plenty that one can find legitimate issues with. Thats not one of them.

They want to pay their bounty by giving a weapon of potential mass destruction to the Breen, thus destroying the galaxy, as seen in the time jumps last episode. They want to do that so they can escape to the Gamma Quadrant while the Breen take apart the Alpha Quadrant.

Last season the scientist wanted to let the 10-C species bulldoze the Alpha Quadrant so he could get across the galactic barrier to meet his lover in paradise, without caring what happened to trillions of other lives.

It is the same basic plot point. Your analysis is incorrect, Wood.

I think you’re overreacting a little. As always.

This episode was disappointing and fell flat. The return of the ISS Enterprise from the mirror universe was of no interest. I had hoped to possibility see a video log from Kirk, Spock, or another familiar character. Why not explore other Constitution Class Starships like the ISS Lexington, Hood, or Potemkin? Enterprise, Enterprise, Enterprise. (Sigh)

Maybe cause the enterprise is the trek ship pretty much everyone knows even if they are a new trek fan or a casual trek fan or not even a trek fan it is so engrained and intertwined with the name Star Trek that is why they chose to make it the iss enterprise instead of one of the others you mentioned

Because exploring a random ship isn’t the plot of the episode. It’s basically set dressing. Having it be the Enterprise versus a different Connie, gives it a tie to the lead character and part of her family she left behind. That it sorry wise. Another ship wouldn’t have any emotion aspect to the characters. Now production wise its to save a ton of money, as creating a random ship with multiple settings to take use of takes money (if your trying to give it the same level of production that you see for the primary ship). Now of course they could have just created a redress of an existing set to be random alien ship of the week. Those usually aren’t done to the same level of using the existing bridge set of another show. So it serves a small story purpose (ie a setting), it serves a small character purpose *reflection for Burnham, and it serves a production purpose (having high quality set pieces without having to build or do a serious redress and thus saving some money).

Seems rather obvious, to me.

I’m annoyed by what they seem to be doing with Owosekun and Detmer this season. I assume that the actors are absent because Paramount wanted to pay them less, and that’s poor treatment for characters who have been around since practically the beginning of the series.

“ I’m annoyed by what they seem to be doing with Owosekun and Detmer this season. ”

…as opposed to the previous four seasons, when all they did was sit in chairs and look meaningfully at each other?

Which is all Sulu and Chekov do in the average TOS episode. So yes, it’s aggravating for them to be replaced by other actors who are doing the same thing.

I doubt they are paid exorbitantly as recurring guests. It could be similar to what happened in season 4 and Bryce Ronnie Rowe Jr’s absences – he had another gig.

I have a theory that before it was decided that Disco would be cancelled, they were going to replace some of the characters. I think Owosekun and Detmer were going to be replaced, and also that Rayner would become captain and Burnham would go away to do something else. But then that didn’t work out, and so to us it just makes no sense why those two main characters are suddenly missing.

You might be right — I hadn’t considered that revamps due to cancellation might be involved.

Well… It is what it is . This was easily the worst episode of the 5. Tropes galore and really bad plot contrivances.

It feels like the reshoots for when they got the cancelation news are getting dropped in throughout the season. A lot of scenes appear grossly out of place. It feels like they just aren’t even trying anymore to be honest. As flawed as the show has been one thing that never came across among the other problems was a lack of trying.

I am loving the addition of Rayner and the professional Starfleet officer energy he is bringing to the ship. I also liked when he told Burnham the mission was too dangerous for the captain to go on. He is turning out to be a nice counterbalance to the unusual way Discovery has been run as a Starfleet ship after season 2.

I hope he doesn’t get killed off.

Sorry but this was another big fat ‘meh’ for me. This was very very disappointing. Nothing of consequence happened. We learn Mol and Lak backstory basically and it is cool we learn that Lak is a Breen which has been the leading theory since he showed up but it just felt sooo bare overall. Like another Discovery infamous spinning wheel episode where they do the bare minimum to move the plot along but just through a lot of action scenes and inconsequential dialogue to feel like we were getting any real development.

And the biggest elephant in the room (or dimensional wormhole) was the ISS Enterprise. Such a let down. It almost felt like a gimmick or just shoehorned fan service. There was no real reason it needed to be there other than HEY THE ENTERPRISE IS BACK!

Again one of the problems with this show, no real development just there for another connection. Think about what they did with In a Mirror Darkly on Enterprise. They brought in the Defiant as obvious fan service from TOS but the ship had a very vital part to the story. It helped changed the dynamics of the MU. It wasn’t there just for show like this was. And Anthony made a great point the redress felt like a joke. It just felt like an excuse to use the set but little else.

Here it was nothing more than just a backdrop and a really forced one at that. And the whole Saru thing just felt very contrived.

I did like all the Breen stuff though and hopefully they will be the big bad the rest of the season. I still think they should’ve used the Breen as the main villain for SNW instead of the Gorn but I digress.

But yeah this is probably the weakest one for me which is disappointing since last week is my favorite so far. I’m getting a little nervous now. It’s usually the second half of the season this show begins to falls apart but still open minded. Still enjoying it overall but please don’t end up a tedious bore like last season felt once it got to its mid season.

You have one last chance Discovery, make it count!

I never considered the Breen in SNW before, but that’s a cool idea. Yeah, I would’ve liked that much more than the Gorn.

For me it was literally the first Gorn episode I thought the Breen would’ve been a better idea. You get the same type of stories and it doesn’t feel like it’s breaking any canon like the Gorn obviously does. I ranted enough about it but nothing about their appearance on SNW feels remotely canon anymore.

But the Breen could’ve been a great substitute if they wanted a known species not named Klingons and zero canon issues.

Agreed. I always enjoyed the mysterious quality of the Breen. Seems ripe for exploration.

This season is largely working for me. Not as good as last week, but the chase is enjoyable. I have a little trouble buying that Mol and L’ak fell in love so fast. I would have liked to have seen that handled better.. but the slow burn of the plot works because of what they do to sustain individual episodes. Only episode I thought was kind of wasteful was the one on Trill.

That is a big part of the problem, yes. The characters have little chemistry.

The flashbacks took [place over an extended period of time, it wasnt THAT fast

They both felt like outcasts in their family/society, fusing them together like lightning. I had no problem with that as it gave me a Bonnie & Clyde-vibe which is historical.

It’s fine, but the romance piece just isn’t clicking for me.

“ it’s still the best season yet ”

Well, it was for the first two episodes, but the three since then have been a downward spiral. Seasons one and two were much better than this week’s episode and last week’s.

I’ve enjoyed it all except for the Trill episode. I think it’s been fun with a faster pace.. which has helped with a lot of issues that haven’t gone away. Raynor has been a very welcome addition to the cast.

Overall, very entertaining!

For complaints: any other constitution ship would be cool – but I also feel like we don’t know what happens next – there could be some Prime Mirror Universe people out there. & the “hit it!” joke felt like Dad was in the writer’s room.

Otherwise, I the pairings felt very TOS. Rayner is a little bit Serious Scotty when performing a captain’s role. And he took pride in rescuing her – which is feels good.

For me, this season has been 5/5.

Personal Log. Stardate: Today.

Week 4 of not-watching Discovery continues without incident. Opinions gleaned from critics on the latest episode seem to confirm that ‘mid-season malaise’ has been reached right on schedule.

Based on the collective opinion of commentators, there have been a grand total of one episode out of five that qualifies as “actually good”.

In conclusion, it appears the decision to not-watch until the penultimate episode has been vindicated. The plot points I am privy to following the one episode I watched are:

– There is a chase (or ‘The Chase 2.0’) for the Holy Grail / the technological marvel Salmone Jens left behind.

– The Cylon is now the First Officer.

– The Trill and the Robot are no longer together.

All in all, I remain confident that the recap at the beginning of the penultimate episode should be sufficient to fill in all the key points required.

Again, my thanks go out to the resolute souls who manage to endure what I could not.

these threads are for people to talk about the episodes they have seen. CLOSED.

Am I wrong or did the DS9 episode Through the Looking Glass make a reference to the Mirror Spock being on Romulus? Also given all the DS9 cross overs with the Mirror Universe you would think Burnham would have known something more about her brother’s counterpart.

Spock was not mentioned in Through the Looking Glass. We know between Crossover and the new dedication plaque of the ISS Enterprise that he reformed the Terran Empire and was killed for it. Burnham has clearly boned up on a lot of info since coming to this century, but easy to assume the future history of the mirror universe wasn’t part of that. Also, that info could have been lost or been classified.

Wow! The Breen. From CGI to burn victim.

Does anybody think the Commander Rainer is gonna become the Commandant of Starfleet Academy?

Everything involving Book is incredibly tedious. They brought back the ISS Enterprise as a way to resurrect the OG Enterprise in continuity. Perhaps it ends up as the Enterprise Q or whatever, if Saru is in command then ok. Burnham insisting on going on the away mission is diametrically opposed to how TNG dealt with this – e.g., when Riker as captain insisted on boarding the Borg cube in Best of Both Worlds, and his senior officers reminded him his place was on the bridge. I guess everyone got much dumber in the 32nd century, but “dumber” is Discovery’s whole concept.

This post missed an important Easter egg towards the end: Morn was at the bar “Red’s” just like he did on Quark’s on DS9.

We don’t call out or find every little egg, but when the bar was introduced last season we noted the Lurian (Morn’s species), who has been there ever since. We don’t usually do repeated easter egg bits for each episode

Yay! Good seeing the Breen again and their evolved design in the 32nd Century is great.

Boo! Pretty much everything else except Rayner who is the best character in the show.

Imagine they used the Star Trek: Tour set in Trekonderoga for the ISS Enterprise? What a cool surprise that would have been. But nope, we got the generic canon-breaking Discoprise. Not surprised.

I swear if they make the new Enterprise in the 3190s a refitted Constitution, I will facepalm. Just a stupid idea, when you have far superior tech and designs in the future time period. Please don’t, Disco-writers. Bad enough they did it with the Ent-G (one of my few criticisms of the great PIC S3).

Would it have been too much if Dr. Cho was instead Marlena Moreau? Just saying. Kind of like Dax in Jinaal… I feel like they are making all of these deep cuts, why not make them count a bit more to the overall lore, instead of just throwing the ISS Enterprise in with no good reason. Making these deep cuts actually count towards the overall lore might make the obvious (potential) budget cuts, set reuses, etc. be a bit more forgiving. Giving loved characters some finality that affect the course of this in our face galactic scale quest… might make it hit harder? Maybe I’m wrong, I’m sure someone here will think so lol

Overall the episode was okay. I do understand using the ISS Enterprise since this is supposed to be the final season of Discovery it was a nostalgia play and kind of wrap up the history of that ship in regards to the series. But overall it just seems kind of mashed together. Have to see how it ties in with the rest of the season.

I would say this episode along with the one before it were definitely the weakest of the season. They started out with a bang on the first few, and while I know that they tend to slow down in the middle of the season before ramping up the action for the final few, this episode dragged. There were also a few things with the Breen and the Enterprise that seemed a bit confusing:

– The Breen have 2 faces…great! Awesome twist to the species and fantastic to finally be able to see them after all the mystery around them in DS9. If the second face is supposed to be the more evolved one though, why do they need the masks and the suits? Can the more evolved face not breathe in a standard atmosphere? When L’ak and his uncle opened up their masks, they seemed fine, so there’s still quite a bit we don’t know about why they use that whole setup, especially when they’re around their own people

– Does the more evolved form extend past the face?

ISS Enterprise

– The stardate on the commemorative plaque is 32336.6. Popping that number into a couple of online stardate calculators puts that around mid-2355, which would be a few years before the prime universe Enterprise-D was commissioned in 2363. They mentioned that Dr. Cho came back to the Enterprise to hide the clue, so the assumption is that she also placed the plaque there at the same time. The timing doesn’t quite add up though because The Chase took place in 2369. Nobody would have known about The Progenitors or their technology before that, so they were at least 14 years off with the plaque

– If this Enterprise has been caught in extradimensional space since at least 2355, that means it’s been there for over 800 years by the time it’s discovered. How does it still have power?

– It’s been discussed by the Disco production team that the Discovery-era Enterprise was designed so that it could eventually be refit into the TOS Enterprise. The ISS Enterprise was contemporary with Kirk’s version and was seen on screen in TOS in that configuration. Why is the version in this episode the Discovery one? I know the real-world explanation is that it was easier to just re-use that model to align with the sets, but we saw a TOS-era Constitution class USS New Jersey at the Fleet Museum in Picard, so they had that model available to use. Just a bit sloppy

– How did Stamets immediately know that the ship exiting the wormhole was the ISS Enterprise and not a different prime Constitution class ship?

Photon Torpedo

– The solution to hold the wormhole open for the Enterprise to escape was to remove the payload from the torpedoes and replace them with antimatter. Photon torpedoes are matter/antimatter weapons, so this is a little confusing. Are they taking out the matter and just loading them with more antimatter?

I don’t know that it’s been there for 855 years.. not sure if it’s kind of like the Nexus or the black hole in Trek 09, where time does things differently. My guess is, that’s how the people on board were able to integrate into society. Their doppelgängers were long deceased.

Here’s the other thing… if the idea of revolution started with Mirror Spock, and the crew of the Enterprise more or less went along with him.. this is a way of explaining how they didn’t spread the idea to teh rest of the Empire.. they were lost in space and didn’t have much, if any, influence off of their own ship.

Yeah I was wondering that also. It’s possible since it was extradimensional space that it didn’t put them in exactly the same time that they left. Also odd that they said Dr. Cho went BACK to the Enterprise to hide the clue. That’s a pretty risky trip unless the wormhole was more stable back in the 24th century.

I feel like I’m seeing the same episode over and over, what a waste this series is became.

Great episode! This season has really been fantastic so far. The writing has been consistent, the acting of the principals is fantastic, and the pacing has been great.

I really loved the scenes with Rayner in command. That worked so well!

Loved getting the backstory about Moll and L’ak – it really did add layers to their characters and their story. And the reveal that L’ak was a Breen! I never saw that coming! Was great to know more about the most underdeveloped and mysterious alien race in Trek history.

Seeing the ISS Entreprise was a treat! I am guessing it was lost quite some time after mirror Spock took over from mirror Kirk. Nice Easter Egg… better than having some unknown ship in there.

Looking forward to the remaining episodes.

Did anyone else see “Morn” (or one of his species) sitting at the bar in Red’s?

Yes, I did catch that. It was a fun detail.

Seriously, an episode doesn’t go by without at least one eye roll over the touchy feely huggy share my feeling vibe that is shoe-horned into worst places. I wonder what this series would be like if Bryan Fuller had stayed on…

IMAGES

Picard Season 3 Ensemble Poster
Paramount+'s Star Trek: Picard S3 Reveals Teaser Art
John de Lancie
Star Trek Picard season 3 trailer reunites Next Generation crew
‘Picard’ Producer Explains the Story Behind Season 3 Twist
Star Trek Picard Season 3 Teaser Trailer: First Look at TNG Cast Return

VIDEO

Data Takes the Enterprise inside the Borg Cube
Star Trek: Picard Season 4 Release Date, Everything We Know
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Picard Kept Its TNG Crew Alive For One Bold Reason
The Enterprise D Warps to Jupiter
Star Trek: Picard

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When Picard reaches Jack, it's worse than he feared. His son appears fully Borgified and the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige and looking more like a nightmarish H.R. Giger creation than ever ...
Star Trek: Picard
For years Picard blamed his father for her death but it was revealed that she had actually committed suicide. All of this left deep scars on Picard, ones the writers were eager to explore as they ...
[WATCH Star Trek Picard Renewed For Season 3, New Trailer ...
Unveiled Wednesday in the series' Star Trek Day slot, Season 3 of Picard is expected to hit the ViacomCBS streamer in early 2023. Knight of the realm Stewart was not at the now-annual Trekverse ...
Star Trek: Picard season 3 review: you are not prepared
The last season of Star Trek: Picard follows the title character teaming up with the old crew of the Enterprise-D to save the Federation from a new threat. It airs on Paramount Plus.
Star Trek: Picard season 3's ending, explained
Since it debuted in 2020, each season of the sci-fi spinoff Star Trek: Picard has had its own unique story and tone, guided by a different showrunner's vision for the series. The first season ...
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10 Review
This Star Trek: Picard review contains spoilers.. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10. All good things must come to an end. Even the things we might wish wouldn't. Such is the case with Star ...
'Picard' Season 3 Post-Credits Scene Reboots A Classic Star Trek
Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) pulls out his phaser in the post-credits scene of Picard Season 3. After Geordi La Forge, Will Riker, and Jean-Luc Picard park the Enterprise- D in the Fleet Museum and ...
Star Trek: Picard season 3 ending explained
Follow Star Trek. It has been a thrilling and nostalgic ride during the third season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. Starfleet is facing a large galactic threat that it wasn't prepared for, and what better people to come to the rescue than the old crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation. As weeks went by, we gradually saw the return of old ...
John de Lancie doesn't think it was expected that season three of Star
Q, who supposedly died in season two of Picard, appeared before Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), who just happens to be Admiral Picard's (Patrick Stewart) son with, essentially, a promise of troubles ...
Recap/Review: 'Star Trek: Discovery' Reflects On Its Choices In
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 ... yeah it's obvious they cut the budget for this season but all the live action shows have felt this way starting with Picard season 3 and SNW season 2

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Picard says goodbye with a mysterious hint at Star Trek’s future

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The last season of Picard is truly wild, and while it’s filled with action, it never seems to lose that sense of wonder that makes Star Trek Star Trek.

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