star trek picard season 2 finale recap

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Star Trek: Picard 's Season Finale May Be One of the Most Unhinged Hours of Television This Year

Less an episode of tv and more a collection of vignettes, "farewell" ties picard 's season together with a bow made out of sentiment and sheer incredulity..

Reader, I have to admit: it has been several days since I first saw the Star Trek: Picard season two finale by the time you’re reading this. And I still cannot tell you if I mean to say “unhinged” here as either a good or a bad thing.

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“Farewell” is, of course, an episode of goodbyes—farewell to the series’ time travel plotline, farewell to some pretty major characters, farewell to many ideas about how an episode of television should have paltry elements like “coherence between scenes” and “a plot that lasts most, if not all, of the episode.” After the back half of season two has meandered here and there in its time travel story , the episode is a madcap dash to close off every dangling plotline that’s left, while also setting up some fascinating hints for the show’s final season . And in some respects, in certain moments, “Farewell” hits , anchored in some truly wonderful performances and some emotional character work. In others, it’s, uh... frankly kind of insane, this bizarre sprint to a finish line that involves flinging scenes at a wall and seeing if they stick—and if they don’t just sprinting on to that finish line anyway, consequences or coherence be damned.

This unhinged feeling begins relatively early on in the episode, when you suddenly realize that “Farewell” is a 50-minute episode of TV that somehow only has about 20 minutes of plot—and all of it is front loaded. With the Borg Queen dealt with last week (well... at this point it’s not a spoiler to say more on that later), Picard, Tallinn, Rios, Seven, and Raffi quickly hatch a game plan to ensure that Dr. Soong can’t prevent Renee Picard from launching the Europa space mission and securing the future they’ve spent much of this season breaking every rule of time travel to safeguard. While the latter trio are left to go investigate just what Soong is going to do exactly—because for a disgraced scientist he has an absurd amount of pull over the Europa mission and, uh, apparently armed weapon systems out of nowhere?—Tallinn and Picard make a dash for the Europa launch site, finally deciding that Renee needs to meet her guardian angel if she has a chance of getting on the mission alive.

And... really, that’s it. Tallinn reveals herself to Renee in an emotional scene, Soong runs around the base being hilariously assholish for no real reason other than that we know he has to be an evil asshole, Picard meanders about too, and then in the background Rios, Raffi, and Seven try to disable a quartet of killer drones Soong has launched to assassinate Renee. How does he have drones? It doesn’t matter, because as soon as we learn of their existence they’re dealt with, and they’re not even Soong’s only assassination plan—he also has snuck in a toxin graft attached to one of his hands, which he uses to seemingly poison Renee when he bumps into her in a corridor. But surprise! It’s Tallinn in disguise! And she dies in Picard’s arms and we’re all very sad, but happy too, because the real Renee got onboard the ship while Tallinn was busy getting poisoned, and the day is saved.

Once again: I cannot stress enough that all of this is delivered in the first 20 minutes of the episode. And that’s it . The big threat of the season that has taken about seven episodes of build-up has a climax hyper-condensed down to this opening act, and it makes everything about it feel so weird. There’s some good stuff in there—the emotional farewell between Tallinn and Picard where both of them each realizes that they’ve found peace in sharing themselves with the people they care about is wonderfully done. But it feels like such an absurd way to end a series that has struggled with issues of pace by wrapping up this major arc with a breathless, almost uncaring level of haste.

But it’s not that that makes “Farewell” such a bizarre, rollercoaster of an episode. If this is all it was, it would be perfectly fine—a little demure, but solid. Instead, “Farewell” spends its remaining runtime with an... it’d be too diplomatic to call it an epilogue considering it’s the bulk of the episode, but that’s really what it is. A collection of scenes that just about barely flows from one to the text, as if the script was developed by throwing a dart at a board labeled “A Big List of Things We Should Probably Deal With/Set Up This Season.” And it starts big, because no sooner than we’re done with the Europa plot... Wesley Crusher shows up .

Yes. He wasn’t in that big Picard season three TNG reunion news a few weeks back , but Wil Wheaton is here, out of nowhere, to barge right into one of Picard season two‘s most underdeveloped plot threads: Korre, Soong’s daughter. She’s largely been out of the spotlight since the reveal that Soong artificially constructed her as the latest in a long line of genetic experiments, but her role is made all the more incomprehensible by the fact that, just as she’s done enacting vengeance against her dad by remotely deleting all his research, Wesley arranges a meeting with her. And... recruits her to join the Travelers, the mystery transdimensional beings Wesley left the Enterprise -D to join all the way back in “Journey’s End” nearly 30 years ago? Don’t worry about the fact we saw him back in Starfleet for Nemesis , because Picard certainly doesn’t care, and doesn’t spend the time to explain: Wesley Crusher is here, he scoops up Korre (hopefully meaning Isa Briones will actually get something to do next season, as her time in this one was a major injustice compared to her role in season one), and that’s it. Boop, onto the next plot point to deal with out of nowhere!

This is at least an actually good moment however, instead of an out of nowhere “what the what ??” like Wesley. Back at Chateau Picard, the Admiral and his friends are all preparing for what their lives will now look like in 2024, considering the Borg Queen took their ship last episode. They’re content they’ve secured their future, but there’s also a strange melancholy—Raffi and Seven have each other, and Rios now has Teresa and her son, but Picard, after learning to be so open with the people he loves from Tallinn, is all alone... until Q shows up, that is. And what we get is not one last trade of barbs, but arguably one of the strongest scenes not just in this season, but in the entirety of the show.

It’s a wonderfully tender and loving performance from John de Lancie, who conducts what are to be Q’s final moments with Picard with an elegant grace—revealing to the man the reason for all these games was not to test, but to teach Picard to love himself as much as those around him, Q included, love him. He doesn’t say love, of course, but the scene absolutely plays out as something incredibly intimate and romantic between the two men. That in confronting his family’s past and his trauma with his mother, Q believes, he can now face death knowing that Picard, one of his favorite people in the entire cosmos, has a chance at a happy future. Q decides he’ll us what little remains of his energy to die in an act that will transport Picard, Raffi, and Seven back to the 24th Century in the process—after Rios decides to stay back in 2024 to be with the person Picard’s mentorship allowed him to find, and love—and it’s a genuinely touching finale for a character that’s persisted mostly as a bit of comedic relief over decades and decades of Star Trek appearances .

And yet, once again, Picard isn’t over just yet—and it’s arguably saved some of its most batshit moments for last. Seven, Raffi, and Picard all find themselves transported by Q’s sacrifice back on the Stargazer where they left it at the end of the season premiere: about to seemingly die at the hands of the Borg Queen. But then, at a breakneck pace, the scene just explodes: it’s not the Queen, it’s Borg Jurati! She’s here not to be evil, but to warn the Federation of an impending giant space hole that’s gonna kill billions of people with a blast! But also the space hole can be fixed by the actually not really-that-big Starfleet taskforce linking their shields up to stop the blast! Seven of Nine gets a Starfleet field commission to become a Captain! Oh, and Elnor’s back too! But they gotta stop the blast! And they do! The Federation is saved! And this is... five minutes of screen time, maybe? On the one hand, yes it does conveniently tie the entire season back together thanks to a causal loop, and it’s a fun way to have the decision for Jurati and the Borg to merge to turn over a new leaf last episode have an immediate ramification, for the better. But it all happens so fast that you just can’t take it in properly, especially right after the tender, emotional farewell between Picard and Q just before this.

You don’t even have time to relish in that, either, because the episode ends on an even wilder reveal: the space hole and its associated fallout was actually the creation of a new Transwarp Conduit—the method of FTL travel through interconnected subspace tunnels the Borg heavily used in Voyager —but, the Borg don’t know who made it . So, Queen-Jurati offers a proposal: the Borg Collective wants an alliance and temporary membership into the Federation while they deal with whoever and whatever made the conduit, together. It’s wild . Last week I said I was unsure just how Star Trek could possibly deliver on the bold idea of essentially negating one of its most iconic villains in the entire franchise’s history—it’s like the transition the Klingons made between TOS and TNG , but on a factor of 10 considering how much longer the Borg were the ultimate evil of the franchise —and yet, here we are, it’s seemingly doing it an episode later. Obviously, there’s caveats: Queen-Jurati makes it clear this is not an entirely permanent status quo, but at the same time, her demeanor as the new leader of the Borg Collective is unlike anything we’ve seen from the Borg in the past. There is, seemingly, genuine evolution here—and that’s an incredibly exciting set-up going into Picard ’s third and final season. When you actually get a few minutes to breathe and think about it as the episode concludes, it’s a quite lovely way to tie together this season’s themes about connection and openness with other people.

But that’s really “Farewell” writ large. When you get a chance to hone in on individual moments and ideas, they work, and in some cases, are even actually really quite good and full of potential. But the episode itself does not give you the chance to hone in on those moments, because as a whole it is absolutely and utterly bizarre. The pacing and tonal disconnect as it flitters from one unconnected moment to the next is such a rollercoaster that it, taken as that whole, can’t be anything other than a complete mess. It’s just like someone proverbially dumping what was left to deal with this season on the floor and then yelling “HEY REMEMBER WHEN WE SAID THE TNG CREW WAS BACK NEXT SEASON YEAH SEE YOU THEN BYEEEE !” as they ran out the door.

Was that stuff dealt with? Yeah. But it’s just dealt with so weirdly that the good ideas and the promise of it gets lost in the muddiness of just what a wild episode of TV this was. We’ll have to see how it all plays out, now that we know that Picard ’s third and final season has some truly big ideas and ramifications to play with—and that’s even before all of Jean-Luc’s friends come back for one last huzzah. Hopefully though, next season being the last means that we can ask for one thing: maybe pace things a little better so we don’t have to have such a bananas finale again?

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 2 Finale Review: Even Gods Have Favorites 

The season finale manages to send fan favorites off into new lives with happily ever afters amid tearful farewells.

The second season of Star Trek: Picard has come to an end with its aptly named finale, “Farewell.” While the penultimate episode offered closure on most of this season’s plots last week, the finale ties everything up in a neat little bow and finally sheds light on why Q ( John de Lancie ) set all of this into motion in the first place. The episode tugs at the heartstrings at every corner—ushering fan-favorite characters into new lives, killing off others, and bringing an air of finality to Q’s “final act.” Despite all of this, “Farewell” feels like a happily ever after, so long as they don’t pull an Into the Woods (undoing the happy endings established before the final act) when they return for the third and final season.

The episode opens with the crew trying to unravel the prophecy that Agnes ( Alison Pill ) provided them with last week: one Renée must live, one Renée must die. Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) realizes what the prophecy means at roughly the same moment that Tallinn ( Orla Brady ) realizes that in order to save the future, she is going to have to be the one to die. As Tallinn sets off to save Renée ( Penelope Mitchell ), Picard decides at the last minute to go with her, much to her chagrin. Picard wants to be the hero, he wants to save her from her impending death, but Tallinn is having none of that. She points out that saving Renée is her job, and it’s her decision, and her decision alone, if she chooses to die to fulfill that duty.

Seven ( Jeri Ryan ), Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ), and Rios ( Santiago Cabrera ) head to Dr. Soong’s lab, following a hunch that he has a larger plan to sabotage the Europa Mission. When they arrive he is nowhere to be found, but he has rigged the lab to make them think he’s inside. Instead, Picard spots him at the Europa launch, charming (strong-arming) his way through quarantine protocols.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Long Live the Borg Queen

In a race against time, Tallinn suits up in a flight suit and heads off to find Renée before it’s too late. Renée is startled by a stranger barging into her quarters, but then she realizes she’s seen Tallinn before. Not just at the gala a few nights ago, but throughout her life. Tallinn reveals what her purpose was, how she had been watching and guiding Renée throughout her life, and she warns her about what will happen if she doesn’t go up with the Europa Mission. Before the launch happens, Soong seemingly finds Renée alone, wandering the hallway and alarmed about a strange woman who was talking to her. Thinking that he has finally caught her, Dr. Soong uses a neurotoxin attached to his hand to poison “Renée.”

Back at Dr. Soong’s lab, the crew discovers that he has programmed a small fleet of drones to shoot down the space shuttle. Things seem dire once the drones take off, but with a little fast-thinking from Rios and Raffi, Rios is able to commandeer one of the drones and cause the rest to crash into each other, essentially saving the day.

Tallinn dies in Picard’s arms, but her death is not in vain. As she takes her final breaths, Picard urges her to look up—the sentiment that has been repeated throughout the series—and she watches as Renée and the flight launch off into orbit. With the future safely secured, Tallinn dies having accomplished her life’s mission. Her death becomes even more poignant when the crew returns to the chateau where Q is waiting for Picard in the solarium. Picard wants answers for why Q put him through all of this turmoil and, for once, Q is ready to pull up a chair and explain himself.

Q is dying, which is something that we learned two episodes ago, but now he clarifies that he’s not just dying, he’s dying alone . He doesn’t want Picard to face the same fate as him, which is why he’s meddled with time and space to teach him a lesson. Ironically, this is something that fans had qualms about when this series premiered. Picard had stepped out of public life, pulled out of his commitments with Starfleet, and was living a quiet life on his vineyard. This didn’t seem like the Picard we knew and loved from The Next Generation , and clearly, Q felt the same way. Picard pushes back, wanting to know why he matters so much to Q, and the answer is quite simple. Even gods have favorites and Picard happens to be Q’s favorite.

As Picard hashes things out with Q, Seven and Raffi finally have a moment alone to consider where their own relationship stands. But first, they talk about Rios, who is happier than either of them has ever seen him while he plays house with Teresa ( Sol Rodriguez ) and Ricardo ( Steve Gutierrez ). Seven and Raffi finally share a much-deserved kiss and make their amends. Their relationship still hasn’t been the most developed in the series, but at least they’re making headway on getting on the same page with each other.

Dr. Soong returns home and discovers that Kore ( Isa Briones ) is slowly deleting every file on his computer, ensuring that he can’t play mad scientist with any more of her siblings. Soong may have failed to stop the Europa Mission and his daughter may have thwarted his project, but he still has one more trick up his sleeve—Project Khan. Time has a way of connecting everything together, soon, rather than later. Speak of time. After deleting all of Soong’s files, Kore is contacted by someone who she assumes is Q, playing another trick on her. Only it’s not. It’s the Traveler, formerly known as Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ) who wants to recruit her into becoming a Traveler, to help him protect the natural flow of time. With all those mentions of Watchers and time travel, we should have known Wesley would show up. If this isn’t a major plot point in the final season, Star Trek: Picard may have just set up a backdoor pilot for a Doctor Who -ish spin-off. There’s definitely an audience for it.

At Picard’s prompting, the crew leaves the chateau to meet up with Q on its grounds. Raffi is understandably not thrilled about coming face-to-face with the man responsible for Elnor’s ( Evan Evagora ) death and Q points out that he didn’t technically kill him. While Picard, Seven, and Raffi deal with Q, Rios, Teresa, and Ricardo huddle together in the background, and you know what’s coming. Q presents them with the opportunity to go home and Rios decides he’s not going with them. He’s found home with Teresa and Ricardo. Raffi, who has been his closest friend for years, is the most torn up about him staying behind, but she also understands that he’s always been looking for home. Picard tells him to “Make a good future.” and that’s that.

Before the trio is transported back to the future, Picard and Q share a heartfelt farewell that feels like a genuine goodbye. Not just to the character Q, but to this era that has been underscored by Q’s meddling. Q didn’t just torment Picard—he was a frequent nuisance on Star Trek: Voyager and an anchor point for this particular era of Star Trek . Saying goodbye to Q feels like saying goodbye to an old friend and Picard beautifully plays out those emotions. With one last “Mon Capitaine,” Q sends Picard, Seven, and Raffi back into the future they belong in.

Once more, they’re transported back into the moment they were yanked out of—a ship set to self-destruct and a Borg queen taking control. Only, the voyage to the past has given Picard new information. Everything they set into motion in 2024, already came to pass in the present they were living. The Borg queen is Agnes and everything comes full circle at that moment as Picard fits it all together.

The Borg are trying to save their quadrant of space from a “Galactic Event” that is primed to destroy everyone living and traveling through the region. In order to deflect and contain the power of its explosion, they required the use of the entire Starfleet fleet’s shields, and Agnes knew that she could count on Picard to help her. Once the crisis is averted, they realize that a new trans-warp conduit has been born, and the Borg!Agnes explains that they desire to become the Guardians of the Gate. In order to fulfill this new role, they request a provisional membership in the Federation. Only Agnes could have brought the Borg to a point in time when they could feasibly become members of the Federation. It’s actually quite remarkable that Star Trek: Picard was able to pull off this evolution so flawlessly. At every turn, they built up this plot and pulled it off with perfect execution.

In the midst of all of this chaos, Raffi learns that Elnor is alive—Q’s last little surprise for them. Picard also places Seven in charge of Renée , making her Captain, at long last. A well-deserved promotion for someone overlooked by Starfleet.

After the dust settles, the crew makes their way to 10 Forward for a round of much-needed drinks. Picard and Guinan ( Whoopi Goldberg ) catch up about everything that has now come to pass for Picard, and she shares a bit about Rios’ life in the 21st century. He and Teresa started a medical supply initiative to help people in need. Renée became part of their lives, with Guinan referring to her as Ricardo’s “Auntie Renée.” Teresa lived to a ripe old age and Rios died like he lived—fighting and smoking cigars.

If you have been reading my reviews each week, then you will know that Rios is my favorite character in Picard . Like, Q, I have a favorite too. It was clear when Teresa was introduced that something would happen with this duo—either she would go to the future or he would stay in the past, and the decisions made in this episode work so well with the roguish character we’ve come to know and love. Rios becoming the Captain of a Starfleet vessel at the onset of the season felt like a disingenuous journey for the character, yet it came full circle with his decision to stay with Teresa and Ricardo. It felt like a bad fit for him because it was. He had a life in the future, but he wasn’t fully alive until he arrived in 2024.

As excited as I am about more original cast members from The Next Generation arriving in Season 3, I had my reservations about how they would fit into the cast of characters that have been the lifeblood of Picard . Allowing Rios to gracefully bow out of the future by providing him with a life well lived and loved is more fitting than relegating his character into the background without giving him a happily ever after. That’s a fate worse than dying in a bar fight over medical supplies in Morocco. Besides, should they decide they want Santiago Cabrera to make an appearance, there are five holograms aboard La Sirena that happen to look like him.

Despite all the heartbreak in this episode, the second season of Star Trek: Picard featured brilliant storytelling from start to finish. It built on key aspects from the first season, fleshing out this new world while connecting to the much larger Star Trek canon. Characters were smartly utilized to propel the central part along while developing their own storylines and giving them as much closure as the overarching plot received.

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is streaming now on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Episode 10 “Farewell” Review

In Star Trek: Picard ’s season two finale, our major questions are answered within a confident episode that practices some well-worn finale trends to mostly satisfying effect.  

Having lost Agnes Jurati ( Alison Pill ) and La Sirena to the Borgified Jurati’s quest to create a new collective, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) and his crew fight the clock to prevent Adam Soong ( Brent Spiner ) from interfering with Renee Picard’s ( Penelope Mitchell ) vital mission to Europa.

Tallinn ( Orla Brady ) determines the best way to help Renee is to go to the launch site and ensure her continued survival. After all, the departing words of the Borg Queen asserted that one Renee must live and another must die. Tallinn thinks this means she will ultimately have to sacrifice her own life if it means saving Renee’s, but Picard takes issue with that assessment and ultimately follows Tallinn through her transporter to the Europa mission’s launch site.

At the site, Soong is trying to gain access to the room where Renee is waiting, alone, for launch, using his financial influence and a bit of aggressive negotiation to get his way past the mission’s organizers. Tallinn, through a bit of costume work, is successful at that goal first and comes face-to-face with Renee. This moment is a profound one for Tallinn, as she has been watching over Renee for the younger woman’s entire life, and now her watch is coming to an end if one believes Tallinn’s assertion that she will sacrifice her own life.

Tallinn spills the beans to Renee about her life being in danger and devises a simple plan to foil Soong’s plans. Predictably, Tallinn’s handy camouflage technology – the tech she uses to hide her Romulan ears as seen in “Monsters” – allows her to assume Renee’s features and adequately fool Soong. When Soong thinks he has poisoned Renee and leaves her for dead, he actually poisoned Tallinn. The dying Romulan makes her way to Picard for her final breaths as the pair watches the Europa mission take off successfully.

Not knowing that Soong would be at the launch site, Cristóbal Rios ( Santiago Cabrera), Raffaela Musiker ( Michelle Hurd ) and Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan )beam to Soong’s office to try and stop him. He isn’t there, but his backup plan is: a series of explosive drones that are programmed to intercept and stop the launching rocket. Thanks to some ingenuity by Raffi and expert piloting skills by Rios, the drones are stopped.

Our major complaint about this episode is that this little side quest is as cut-and-dry as it sounds.  Honestly, this episode could have gone without this drone complication, as it just seems like a way to find something for the aforementioned trio to do while more important things are happening elsewhere, and we must ask what does it add to the episode? A chance for Rios to show off his unrealistically adroit drone piloting skills? To put it another way, nothing of consequence would change if this sequence was removed from the episode.

“Absolve yourself. Or the only life left unsaved will be your own.” A dying Tallinn to Picard

In any case, the entire crew (sans Tallinn) reunite back at Chateau Picard, safe in the knowledge that their mission to ensure the launch of the Europa mission was successful – but also knowing they are stuck in 2024. In a profound moment for Picard, he places the skeleton key, the one he found during the battle for the Picard estate, back to the place where young Picard ultimately finds it and uses it to unlock the door to his mother’s room. Consider this: in this moment, the elder Picard has the option to try and prevent that horrible loss of life from happening – perhaps by hiding the key somewhere else and thus changing the course of history – but he resolves himself and chooses to let history run its course. What a brave and selfless act.

This act does raise some questions, however. Picard indeed returns the key to the place he found it the night his mother took her life. But earlier in the season, Picard noted how that skeleton key migrated all around the house when he was growing up, so the reasoning for placing the key where he did loses a bit of rationality. It isn’t guaranteed the key will be behind that brick when that fateful night comes. In any case, the symbolism is there.

As this is such an important moment for Picard, we wish this scene played out a bit more. As it is, we see Picard reflect only briefly on the momentous act of returning the key. Alas, the moment comes and goes, but this isn’t even the most important scene to play out in the chateau, as Picard finds Q waiting for him in the observatory. How or when Q got there is anybody’s guess. Finally, the pair have a chance to talk about the season’s events, and this exchange turns out to be the most remarkable part of the episode.

Q praises Picard for returning the key to its resting place instead of destroying it. Picard’s question to Q is: why this trial? And moreover, why Q’s interest in Picard at all? Q admits he is dying, something Picard already gathered based on their previous interactions. But beyond just dying, Q is dying alone , with no one to be with him in his final days. In a remarkable act of compassion, Q wanted to avoid that same fate for Picard, as the admiral was always resistant to forming relationships thanks to the emotional baggage his childhood caused. So, Q’s goal all along was the make Picard see how letting go of that baggage is vital – but of course, he couldn’t just tell Picard that; the man had to experience the journey, with all the trials and tribulations that came with it.

“Humans. Your griefs, your pains, fix you to moments in the past long gone. You’re like butterflies with your wings pinned. My old friend… forever the boy who with the errant turn of a skeleton key broke the universe in his own heart. No more. You are now unshackled from the past.” – Q to Picard

Yes, this is a touching moment and a remarkable conclusion to a rivalry that began more than 30 years ago. But Q has one last surprise in store for Picard: he can bring the admiral and his crew back to the future, but at the cost of his remaining life force. This is a slightly jarring promise; whereas we were led to believe Q had lost his powers entirely, he actually is merely “weakened” and still possesses substantial god-like abilities. In their final farewell, Picard asserts to the dying being that he isn’t actually dying alone, and hugs him. Q’s last words to Picard are the same parting words he said to the then-captain in “All Good Things”: “See you… out there.”

Thus ends Q’s foreseeable involvement in Star Trek , and we must say his final plan – his final trial – for Picard was quintessential Q. Even though his methods appeared more sinister than usual, his message to Picard about letting go of emotional baggage is an excellent sentiment for the audience . Who among us can’t take Q’s lesson to heart?

We have to wonder: when did Picard pass Q’s trial, the trial that began in “Encounter at Fairpoint” to prove that humanity is not a savage race? Was it when Picard returned the key to its resting place, thus ensuring his pained childhood still happens (in which case our aforementioned critique about that scene is more valid)? Q does say “bravo” when Picard does this. Or was the trial over when Picard hugged Q, as the admiral showed compassion for a superior being even in the aftermath of such sacrifice and hardship? Or perhaps the trial really does never end? This answer will likely be debated for some time to come.

In any case, Picard and crew (sans Rios, who predictably opts to stay in 2024) are snapped back to the bridge of the Stargazer , where they face, once again, a Borg entity trying to get into the ship’s systems. Our heroes are wiser about what is going on, though, and they know who the person is inside the Borg mask: Jurati. There’s a good reason she is trying to take over the Stargazer and other ships in the Federation fleet: a transwarp portal of some kind is opening nearby, and only the combined strength of the fleet’s shields can stop a burst of energy from wreaking havoc on the entire quadrant. Interestingly, Jurati, for all the knowledge she has amassed in her travels, does not know who is opening the portal, but the fleet springs into action anyway.

Picard recognizes that in Rios’ absence, Seven, the ex-Borg, is the most qualified person to captain the Stargazer in this moment, and grants her a battlefield commission. Thus, Seven suddenly gets the Starfleet commission she wanted ever since returning from the Delta Quadrant. Placing her trust in the Borgified Jurati, Seven orders the fleet to follow Jurati’s lead and block the energy discharge from the portal. The move is successful, leaving a massive gateway in space needing to be guarded against whatever was trying to get through. Jurati, asking for provisional membership in the Federation, offers the massive Borg ship to guard the gateway.

So, the major question left from this finale involves this mysterious gateway. Who made it, and why? Jurati calls it “a piece of the puzzle whose final image is unclear, but is tied to a threat.” That’s pretty vague. In an episode that answers all the season’s remaining questions, this thread is peculiar. Is there a plan in season three for this gateway? We’ll put money on us seeing this portal again in some way.

With the day saved, our heroes return to 10 Forward on Earth, where Guinan ( Whoopi Goldberg ) apologizes for not being able to tell Picard sooner about the events witnessed in this season, and thanks the older man for “setting her straight” back in that downtrodden part of her life. She also explains what happened to Rios, Teresa Ramirez ( Sol Rodriguez ), and her son, Ricardo ( Steve Gutierrez ) as they lived the rest of their lives in the 21 st century. The two adults headed their own medical movement, Mariposas, which is Spanish for “butterflies,” delivering goods to people who needed them. The name of their company is a neat full-circle reference to the butterfly imagery we’ve seen the entire season.  

More importantly, Ricardo grew into a person of great intellect and leadership. He was able to utilize the microorganism brought back from Europa by Renee to clean the Earth of its pollution and climate change-related environmental damage. While it’s a bit convenient that Ricardo of all people was the one to do this, it’s certainly a happy ending for the trio and helps explain why Renee’s mission was so important to history.

Picard isn’t quite done with the aftermath of his adventure, as he learned a valuable lesson from Q and opts to take advantage of it. He returns to Chateau Picard, where Laris ( Orla Brady ) is actually getting ready to leave until Picard makes the move he couldn’t make back in the season premiere. The episode ends with a strong hint that the two are striking up a relationship. Call us crazy, but knowing about this burgeoning relationship now, is it possible the paper Picard is writing on in the season three cast announcement is a wedding invitation?

While we appreciate the tone this season ends on, we have to say the last shot of the episode – the camera pulling back from Picard and Laris to the sky above the chateau – is jarring. It appears to be a completely CGI shot (besides the actors) of iffy quality, and the room Picard and Laris were standing in just seconds before was not the same room the last shot shows. It’s a strange continuity break that takes away from the tone the episode’s final moments are trying to present. So, in this way, Picard did not stick its season two landing.  

Let’s touch on how this season left two other characters: Adam Soong and Kore ( Isa Briones ). Remember, Kore had stormed out of her father’s house in “ Mercy ” when she learned she was just another of her father’s vain experiments. Well, she has some retribution in store for Adam. Working from a library, Kore hacks into her father’s computer using a Microsoft HoloLens and deletes everything on it – presumably his entire life’s work. Adam notices this as it’s happening, and understandably is distraught. With his work gone, and nothing left to lose, Adam immediately takes out an all-too-conveniently placed file folder with an ominous name from his desk: Project Khan.

Of course, this name should perk up the ears of any Star Trek fan. Khan was a major villain in The Original Series episode “Space Seed’ and the TOS movie that bears his name. By showing Soong with this folder, what this episode is seemingly implying is that Adam is responsible, in some way, for Khan when the genetically altered villain was rising to power in the 1990s amid the Eugenics Wars . The folder Soong takes out is a “confidential funding report” dated June 7, 1996. This could help explain why Soong’s reputation was already damaged when we first meet him in “ Fly Me to the Moon .” We don’t think we’ll necessarily find out what Soong is planning by returning to his previous work on Khan, but the tease is exciting. And continuing a theme revisited over this season, this episode helps shed some light on a rarely discussed topic in Star Trek lore.

And speaking of shedding some light on Star Trek lore, we learn a bit more about the Watchers, the people like Tallinn who are assigned to protect and observe certain individuals or species across the galaxy to ensure their survival and success. In a scene that would have made a great post-credits tease if Star Trek did such things, Kore, after nuking her father’s work, gets a mysterious message that tells her to come to a park to meet someone.

When she gets there, who happens to meet her? Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ). Talk about an out-of-left-field cameo. Wesley explains that he is a Traveler (a storyline described over a few The Next Generation episodes) and that the Travelers are the ones who dispatch Watchers and help keep the tapestry of the universe from unraveling. This is a welcome reveal, as knowing who sends Watchers around the galaxy has always been a point of interest ever since we met Gary Seven in “Assignment: Earth” back in 1968.

Wesley has taken in interest in Kore, although the reason why isn’t exactly clear, and it’s for this reason this cameo doesn’t exactly work for us. Kore is a person who has never felt safe anywhere thanks to her medical condition, and that mindset apparently lends itself well to being a Traveler, but surely there are plenty of other people who also don’t feel safe in their lives. What makes Kore so special?

Wesley invites her to join the club, and she agrees. Like the reveal of Soong’s work on Khan, we don’t think Kore’s involvement with the Travelers will be elaborated on in future Picard episodes; rather, this conclusion serves two purposes: 1) it’s a happy ending for someone who suffered a great deal of emotional trauma thanks to her father, and 2) in typical season finale style, it’s an opportunity to shock the audience with a surprise cameo.

As a season finale, “Farewell” certainly does the job. It adequately answers just about all of our remaining questions, questions that the show started asking in the season premiere. With that in mind, kudos to this season’s behind-the-scenes architects for crafting a story that offered both intense interpersonal conflicts and wider galactic-scale storytelling. One last remaining question we have is what exactly was afflicting Q. How or why a seemingly omnipotent and immortal being started dying is curious, but perhaps this answer is best left to mystery. After all, the nature of the Q is mysterious unto itself.

“Farewell” is also a prime example of this season of Picard taking stock of Star Trek lore and exploring it where it could. In just this episode alone, we gain some small measure of insight into the Travelers, Watchers, and Khan; elsewhere in the season, we saw references to pre-First Contact Vulcan observers, the return of the Stargazer in a way that was thematically important to Picard’s life, some vital details of the Q-El-Aurien conflict, and a million other small references that show Picard ’s producers clearly know their stuff. This alone made this season of Picard fascinating to watch.

More importantly, however, this season gave us incredible insight into Jean-Luc Picard himself. Thanks to episodes like “Monsters” and “Mercy,” we can never look at the character the same way again, which is a pretty cool experience after watching Jean-Luc Picard for more than 30 years. While the pacing of this season wasn’t always consistent, and there were some questionable narrative decisions that took us out of the immersion from time to time, we’re thankful Picard is as retrospective as it was.

The adventures of Picard certainly aren’t over yet, and we’re amazingly curious to see what season three brings to the table besides the promise of a full-fledged, season-long The Next Generation reunion. Not that there isn’t plenty of Star Trek to watch until then…  

Stray Thoughts:

• We want to praise Orla Brady’s fantastic acting when her character realizes Tallinn’s fate is sealed. It’s a subtle but powerful reaction, and we can’t help but feel for her.  
• Tallinn gets into Renee’s room way too easily. She clearly wears the wrong ID badge, which doesn’t seem to concern the security guard she has to walk past.
• Soong gets angry that pre-launch quarantine procedures mean he can’t get “five minutes of face time” with the astronauts, and the mission organizer crumbles quickly and allows him in. But there are quarantine procedures for a reason, most important of which is the safety of the astronauts from external contaminants. Flashing some money around shouldn’t allow Soong access, no matter how angry he gets, and the mission organizer should know that.  She should have simply suggested a phone call to Renee, or a socially distanced meeting. Instead, she places the entire mission in jeopardy because Soong started to get annoyed.
• When Raffi first discovers the drones, the timer has three minutes and forty-five seconds left. Later, when the drones actually launch, the timer reads three minutes and thirty seconds. Was Raffi able to increase the timer duration and buy more time to hack the drones, or is this a major continuity error?
• Astronauts are usually seated and ready to go in their rockets a couple hours or more before launch. Such is not the case for Renee, who seemingly only must get into the rocket mere minutes before liftoff.
• How does Soong rationalize Renee surviving his neurotoxin? He obviously doesn’t know he actually poisoned Tallinn. He must think poorly of the Europa mission’s flight protocols if the mission organizers allowed an obviously sick Renee to board the rocket.
• Soong doesn’t keep backups of his data? Are we meant to believe all his work is gone?
• Why doesn’t Kore assume Wesley is a lunatic and just walk away from his crazy-sounding pitch?
• When we last saw Teresa and Ricardo before this episode, Rios had just left them in L.A. while he beamed back to Chateau Picard. In this episode, we see them back with the rest of the crew at the chateau. Why exactly did they come back from L.A. to Chateau Picard?
• The planets and star systems labeled on the Stargazer ’s viewscreen when we first get a look at the transport portal are: Inferna Prime , Vega , Maxia , 61 Cygni , Altair , Arcturus , Benzar , Draylax , Sol , Wolf 359 , Yadalla , Calder , and others.
• Beyond the obvious reason of Raffi and others learning Q brought Elnor back to life, why would Elnor, a brand-new graduate from Starfleet Academy, be the one who answers hails on the Excelsior ?
• The First Contact theme makes a nice reprisal during the scenes in 10 Forward as Picard and crew celebrate the end of their mission.
• This episode sure does gloss over what Tallinn said to Renee to get her onboard with the latter’s plan to save her life just before the launch. We have to wonder: does Renee stay quiet for the rest of her life about her run-in with Laris?
• We’re just noticing this in this episode, but doesn’t Renee, played by Penelope Mitchell, look a lot like Picard’s mom, played by Madeline Wise? Kudos to this show’s casting director for keeping an eye on family lineage.
• Tallinn awkwardly mentions in “Monsters” that her camouflage tech needs an eight-hour cooldown, but such a strange requirement never came into play.
• As this episode showed the last interaction between Picard and Q, was the lack of trial imagery a missed opportunity? We have to figure the show’s architects considered it, but opted not to. We’d be curious as to why.
• Jurati’s 400-year-long journey recruiting Borg for her new collective would be a great subject of tie-in media.
• Wasn’t it remarkably foolish for Guinan to include a picture of Rios in 10 Forward? She was counting on Picard not observing the photo. If he had, that would have major implications for the timeline. Guinan sure got lucky on this one.
• The final second of this episode shows a quick flash of light as the camera is looking out at space. Is this an innocent little visual effect, or is that hinting at something else, possibly Q-related?

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on  Star Trek: Picard ,  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ,  Star Trek: Discovery ,  Star Trek: Lower Decks ,  Star Trek: Prodigy , and more.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

May 5, 2022 at 8:13 pm

I’m a bit of a wreck right now so I’ll try to make this coherent.

I can’t praise John de Lancie’s performance this season enough. He did such a great job. It’s some of his best work as the character. A different plane of existence for Q, maybe? I hope he’s not gone for good, but the two farewell scenes were amazing. I lost it when Picard told Q he wasn’t alone and embraced him.

Of course, I’m not sure how Q would be alone if there were still a Continuum. Or if he still had a son. Which begs the question…what happened to them?

An omnipotent being who believes he’s immortal suddenly begins to feel as if his existence is coming to an end doesn’t go to his compatriots and ask, “Hey, guys, I kinda thought we were immortal but I’m feeling a little weird. Any thoughts?”

There’s no dialogue to address where the Continuum is, why Q is “moving on” and why they allowed a 400-year change to the galactic timeline that impacted countless civilizations.

Isn’t the Continuum supposed to look after stuff like this? Did they just decide to hand that job over to the Travelers?

So Q saved Picard and crew from the self-destruct and put them in an alternate timeline that he caused so that Picard could get over his commitment issues?

* Field commissions usually only last as long as a crisis. Seven may not last long in that chair.

* When Picard orders everyone not to resist the Borg, did not a single captain out there think, “Oh, no, he’s Locutus again!”?

* Agreed that Guinan was terribly irresponsible for keeping that photo of Rios.

* How much did Rios change the future by staying in the past? What was supposed to happen to Ricardo? Yeah, it’s great he cleaned the oceans. Was that before or after WWIII which is supposed to begin in a couple of years? In 40 years, Zefram Cochrane is going to fly his ship and make First Contact. Does none of that happen?

May 10, 2022 at 9:45 am

There’s no reason for Picard’s relative from the Picard line to have any resemblance to his mother, who is a Picard by marriage.

May 10, 2022 at 10:03 am

Excellent review. Great insight and clarification, we needed it, a lot happened and too much for a single “dialogue scene” to explain it all. Your article will help “The Next Generation” of trekies whom may have missed all the references to previous movies and episodes.

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Star Trek: Picard Boss Answers All Our Burning Series Finale Questions, Starting With: Is This Really the End?

Dave nemetz, west coast bureau chief.

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

Star Trek: Picard wrapped up its three-season run with an immensely satisfying series finale — but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have plenty of questions.

The finale served as a proper send-off to Jean-Luc and his Next Generation pals, giving them one final victory over the Borg as well as one more chance to play poker together. ( Read our finale recap here to get the full rundown .) But it also looked like it was introducing a new story, with Seven of Nine captaining a new Enterprise and Raffi, Jack Crusher and Sidney La Forge all aboard as well. Plus, that trickster god Q showed up again to annoy Jack just like he used to annoy his dad Jean-Luc. So is Star Trek: Picard really finished? And will the story of Seven’s new ship continue in a new Trek series?

TVLine reached out to Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, who wrote and directed the series finale, to get the scoop on a possible continuation of the story, what it was like shooting that final poker scene with Patrick Stewart and his Next Generation co-stars and why a number of key characters didn’t return for the finale.

TVLINE | Let’s start at the end, which seemed to set up a new story with Seven, Raffi, Jack and Sidney on the new Enterprise . Would that be a fourth season of Star Trek: Picard , possibly, or a new series altogether? Well, really, it was an ending to Picard , which was a proper beginning. That was what was designed to be the most satisfying thing: the passing of the torch. So having said that, it does feel like something new, with Captain Seven and her crew. It feels like a new mix. I don’t know how much everyone would be involved, but it definitely feels like a mix and match of old legacy and new. But again, there’s nothing in development, currently. It’s just a pie-in-the-sky sort of fan wish at the moment.

TVLINE | What’s the vibe like on that new Enterprise ? Jack called them a bunch of ne’er-do-wells and rule breakers. It is a little different, isn’t it? It does feel like Starfleet has seen that this particular crew has a very particular set of skills that’s a little bit different than your typical Starfleet flagship. So that kind of gives you a glimpse as to how this Enterprise might be different than previous incarnations.

TVLINE | What made you decide to bring back Q, after we got what we thought was a farewell to him in Season 2? It felt like a really amazing way to honor the beginning of Next Gen by seeing him once again at the very, very end, and also pass the torch to Jack. It was the first thing, literally the first encounter, so to speak, with Jean-Luc. And how amazing would it be for Jack to have that same encounter at the beginning of his journey?

TVLINE | This finale definitely served as a very fitting goodbye to Jean-Luc and the Next Generation cast, but if this did continue, would we possibly see them pop into whatever continuation comes about? Definitely. Everybody wants to come back. Even Patrick said he’d love to come check in on his son, and I think he used the phrase, “provide some comedy.” And that’s unique. You don’t often get that, where everybody wants to come back.

TVLINE | That final scene with Jean-Luc and the crew playing poker was such a great callback to the Next Generation finale, and we could feel the love in the air among the castmates in that scene. What was it like shooting that on set that day? Very natural. What I wanted to do is make this a little different than “All Good Things…” because so many years have passed. At this point, they’ve been playing poker, they’ve played it hundreds of times, I would imagine. So I wanted to capture what it’s like to really be in the room with that cast. So I just rolled the camera for 45 minutes and just caught them really playing the game. So that’s a lot of improv. A lot of genuine smiles, real laughs. The only bit of scripted dialogue are the last few lines.

TVLINE | It felt inevitable that Jean-Luc would have to face the Borg again, but how did you come up with them resurfacing in Season 3, and specifically having Jack be sort of their unwitting conduit? That was the logline of the season. “What if Jean-Luc found out he had a son and had inadvertently passed on the Locutus gene to him?” That was essentially the core question that I asked right away, and we built it from there.

TVLINE | OK, some quick questions about some characters who were missing. Why didn’t Jean-Luc reconnect with Laris at the end of the season? Was that to leave the door open for him and Beverly? Two things: The first answer is time and money. At that point, Orla Brady [who plays Laris] had returned to Ireland and was no longer stateside. So we couldn’t really wrap that up. It would have been amazing to see her again mid-season, to come in and help out. The second reason is I think none of us were really sure exactly where Jean-Luc would end up. I think that included Patrick. And the season wasn’t really about that. It wasn’t a particularly romantic season for any of the characters, whether that was for Jean-Luc and Beverly, or for Seven and Raffi, or for Jack and Sidney, or the Rikers. So we deliberately left it open for the audience to decide, and if we are coming back, we can dig into it.

TVLINE | What about Wesley Crusher? We know he’s zipping through the universe somewhere as a Traveler, and it seemed like Beverly already considered him a lost son. We definitely would have loved nothing more for Wesley to return again. It’s one of those things where he has a lot of omniscient power that would have helped them if he turned up too early. So if he were to have turned up, we would have had him turn up very, very late. So a tricky character to drop in.

TVLINE | And what about Guinan? We kind of expected to see Whoopi Goldberg in the bar at the end there. Again, I’d love nothing more than to have the time and money. Whoopi lives on the East Coast, and to get her to leave her amazing show The View to get out here in time to shoot is no easy feat.

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As for Wesley… I would have loved to have seen him pop up in the finale and just see Beverly’s reaction. Even if he showed up after all the action was done.

Oh, please let “Star Trek: Legacy” happen with Captain Seven, Raffi, Jack, Sidney and the rest of the crew!!!

Please please please please!!

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!

Don’t forget Q.

I was more surprised by the absence of Jurati and her own Federation-aligned collective. It felt like they would have been obvious allies to lend a hand against a resurgent old-school-Borg threat. I know they were on an important mission sitting at the transwarp conduit, but surely they could have made time.

I’m not a huge Star Trek fan and I found the existentence of these separate Borg lines a bit confusing although I think I’m starting to put it together.

I’m only now figuring out the differences between Vulcans and Romulans…please don’t come for me Trekkies!!!! Although I can’t yet tell them apart. I appreciate that the writers are good about having characters point out their races in dialogue!!

Yeah, I don’t actually know if there’s an official answer on how many Borg Queens/Collectives exist, or if they are interconnected in any way. – And as for Romulans and Vulcans, some confusion is understandable. Their physical appearance is almost exactly the same (by the era of Discovery, the two races have basically recombined on a single home planet). Generally, Romulans are a bit more severe in appearance and behavior, while Vulcans are more calm and passive, but there are plenty of exceptions.

Romulans are the descendants of renegade Vulcans who rejected Surak’s life of logic and left the planet. Vulcans forgot about them, but the Romulans remembered their origin.

Okay, here goes: . It has yet to be made clear what the nature of the Borg Queens is, other than that Agnes Jurati merged with one and she/they have created her/their own Borg Cooperative in which anyone joins of their own free will. . As to the other Queens, the one from First Contact (played by Alice Krige) died at the end of First Contact when she was defeated by the D Team. The first one from Voyager (played by Susanna Thompson), who is the Queen of the Borg collective (hive/cube system) that Seven of Nine was assimilated into, was last seen at the end of the two-parter “Unimatrix Zero,” on the brink of a civil war with numberous drones that had been de-linked from her Collective (hive). The Queen from “Endgame,” the final episode of Voyager (played by Alice Krige in that episode and voiced by Krige but played by Jane E. Not That Jane Seymour, is definitely not the Queen from First Contact because that Queen died) was believed to have died at the end of Endgame, but we see in this season of Picard that she survived her isolation in deep space by consuming nearly all of her drones. And now she’s really, most sincerely dead. . To summarize: . The Borg Queens, in chronological order of appearance: . 1) First Contact Queen (Alice Krige) — Dead at the end of First Contact. . 2) Voyager Queen 1 (Susanna Thompson) — The Queen of the Collective Seven came from. Last seen starting to fight a civil war against unlinked drones, presumed dead because it’s been twenty years with no sign of her. . 3a) Voyager Queen 2 (Alice Krige) — Presumed dead at the end of the Voyager series finale, “Endgame.”

4) Picard Queen 1 (Annie Wersching) — merges into Agnes Jurati to become the leader/”Queen” (my air quotes) of the first Borg Cooperative. . 3b) Voyager Queen 2/Picard Queen 2 (Jane Edwina Seymour, Voiced by Alice Krige) — Really, most sincerely dead now. We can infer that the Voyager 2/Picard 2 Queen is not the Voyager Queen 1 because she bears little interest in Seven of Nine other than seeing her as a drone to be threatened, seduced (if possible) and used (ie: because Seven had never been a part of this Queen’s collective.) . What we don’t know factually for sure: Since the Borg have an insect-like hierarchal structure, one can infer that all three of these queens (Four, counting Jurati) are different queens. We don’t know how many queens there are besides these four, nor do we know if there is a level of hierarchy above that of the Queens — although, if the Borg are like bees, there is no higher level and each collective is its own collective. . Another interesting inference: Given that Alice Krige played both the First Contact Queen and the Voyager/Picard Queen, it begs the question of why those queens look the same: were they twins who were assimilated at the same time into a single collective? And if so, how did they become queens and how did they break off into their own collectives?

And to be AR about it, there’s supposed to be a space between items 3a and 4.

The finale had some SG-1 moments, it seemed: Riker dropping quips like Jack O’Neill in the face of danger, was waiting for ‘and when we’re done…there’s cake!’ As well, when links were severed to the queen, the replicators fell apart, just like when Borg queen died, everyone’s complexion cleared instantly. Ah, and the NCIS homage to Gibbs, Data adamantly makng the case of his correctness because of the feeling ‘in his gut’…classic Gibbs!

The Titan renamed as the Enterprise-G? The Kirk and Picard Enterprises were the flagships of Star Fleet. Why the demotion of the Enterprise to a ship of the line instead of the head of the line ship?

Couldn’t have a bunch of ne’er-do-wells crewing the flagship but still…?

I think the Titan was the first of the new Titan-class.

Neo-Constitution class (Or Constitution III). This ties it to the original Enterprise, which was a Constitution class. The seeds were planted pretty early in the season when you look back on it.

The most wild thing is that there is a loud and clear voice of the fans demanding the Legacy show and Kurtzman is like “no, you don’t really want that, you want this, we already worked on this so this is what you get”. I’m guessing they didn’t plan for the massive response to this last season of Picard.

I was of the impression from what Beverly said, that Wesley had died.

Oh wait, I remember the Traveler thing now.

Yep, and cannot interact with Anyone he has met before becoming one

Nope. She knows that he’s a Traveler. I mean, he ascended while she was there! . But since he’s rarely, if ever, come back, it’s as if he’s all-but died, so she feels his absence as a loss. He’s a prodigal son in that way, except that he doesn’t have a serial killer doctor played by Michael Sheen as his doctor parent.

All the cliches that plague every reboot – characters from the old series just happening to show up, and the idea of yet a new series — where the crew is made up of the children of a previous crew? Who wrote that fan-fic, Mary Sue?

Why is Q, so old ?

Next time we’ll use a young CGI version of him just for you. Just like Mark Hamill’s appearance in The Mandalorian.

In season two, they aged his appearance so they wouldn’t have to use that de-aging CGI that isn’t very convincing. In story, the character reason for aging himself was that Jean-Luc had aged, and Q didn’t want to make his old friend feel bad by looking so much younger.

As I’m sure you know he was his younger self in his 1st few seconds on Picard but wanted to fit in with the Admiral’s appearance. I am betting there are two reasons. 1: Respecting John de Lancie’s true appearance and the man himself, the whole art over technology thing. 2: CGI de-aging costs a lot of money. Apparently Michael Douglas’s de-aging in the latest Ant Man cost more than the actor himself.

I have been a Star Trek fan since the beginning and loved this last series of Picard, and seeing them all together again. They should all come back, and impart their collective wisdom, and to bring back Q is a great idea I love his character!

I personally don’t want Raffi on the Enterprise, I’d rather have her on a spin-off with Worf the Chemistry between the two characters was amazing and had a great buddy cop type vibe. A section 31 spy/thriller type show would be different.

I know it was probably more budgeting issues, but I was really disappointed not to see Elnor among Seven and Raffi’s crew. Especially considering how much of Raffi’s storyline in season two was built around first her pride in Elnor joining Starfleet and then her grief over him dying in the past. (Which was negated by the return to the present/reset of the timeline.) I’m hoping if we ever get a Legacy spin-off that Elnor will be assigned to the Enterprise-G.

I have a couple of questions. Anton Chekov, Pavel Chekov’s son, was a voice over by Walter Koenig. On a pod cast on YouTube he said he wasn’t sure if all the lines in the Picard finale were said by him. Humorously Koenig said he is 86 and recorded his lines a year ago so how did that turn out? Was Riker’s wondering if he and Deanna Troi should vacation in Orlando a Disney support tag?

What happened to the Enterprise F? Was it destroyed?

Yes, right after the Borg shot. Admiral whatever her name was.

No it was decommissioned, not clear in the episode but this was the final flight of the F according to the shows instagram account.

It would have been nice if they would have asked them about what happened to the Borg from Season 2 which ended with the Borg being provisional members of the Federation. But it seems that they just completely retconned that and Agnes being the new Borg Queen from happening. Normally I don’t mind retcons, but this was last season not 20+ years ago.

The truth is, the first two seasons don’t work. The people making them had probably never seen Star Trek before and were basing their ideas on Wikipedia entries. It was a mess. Most people (not all people, but most) didn’t like it, and the ratings were low. Tying themselves to that would have been damaging to everything going forward. They did a good job of not necessarily erasing it, but not necessarily embracing it either, and that seems to have worked for most fans. Think of those seasons as being like some of the cringier TNG episodes that we all acknowledge but still kinds look right past when it comes to continuity.

1 – the first 2 seasons worked – even if there might any elements that didn’t satisfy some people (ie. yourself or others) – the point of a continuing serialized story is to be different each season and build on things – which the show did, including bringing former characters … introducing new characters and exploring new stories that hadn’t been done before which after 50+ years can’t be easy

2 – nothing in season 3 contradicts anything from season 1 or 2 – and as it’s apparently clear – there can be more than one Borg queen/ leader — and very likely in the future Agnes & her “new” Borg will return

3 – the people who made season 3 are the exact same people as season 1 & 2 – including showrunner & Jonathan Frakes directing multiple episodes each season … and clearly he knows Star Trek as well as or BETTER than most fans (besides super duper uber fanatical fans who have knowledge on virtually everything and little detail)

4 – and I think most people did like season 1 & 2 (may be just not people you know or talk with ?) – thus the reason it was renewed twice after season 1 – if people weren’t watching they would have stopped – as it’s not a cheap show to make

5 – but hey everyone is entitled to their own opinions

Look at ratings, or audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Look at how many people are talking about season 3, compared to season 1 or 2. Look at how critics of the first two seasons are responding to season 3. It is fine to say that some people liked the show. I’m sure that is true. But to say that the overall audience response to it was positive is just demonstrably untrue. And I’m sorry, but you are not fully aware of the behind the scenes history of the show. In season 2, Terry Matalas was brought in to help the showrunner at the time, but he wasn’t able to make any major decisions himself or craft the story until season 3.

This collective were a temporal creation and separate to the rest of the Borg (Agnes said they remained out of histories way). Shaw does mention them in episode 4 and states that the ‘real’ borg are still out there as well.

I love that his answer to the Q question was the very pat, safe answer, instead of what was probably his actual motivation. Namely that the decision to kill him in season 2 was astronomically stupid and he just wanted to retcon it.

In theory Q did still die at the end of season 2 as he says don’t be so linear! But you could read it another way and that he tricked Picard.

it wasn’t a retcon decision – it was simply a write off of all the characters – not knowing for sure if they’d be coming back for season 3 and more importantly with all the original cast aging – it was a way to end his story – even though John DeLancy looks great (same as all the cast) – but they are all over 65 or older

with season 3 – it’s and that tag on surprise it was just a new idea to still hopefully bring Q back once they knew they had a hit season and were confident fans would want more with the potential new Enterprise crew

and I’m guessing if/ when it all happens – if John Delancy is no longer able to work (or sadly passes away too soon) – they’ll recast the role with a new actor as Q can of course alter his appearance whenever he wants

The season was a really great farewell to the TNG crew. Not as much like a TNG season as it was like a trilogy of classic Star Trek movies, and that’s cool. I didn’t like Nemesis, so to jump from Nemesis right to Picard season 3 works for me. And I liked what they did with Seven. It felt like a continuation of her Voyager arc, and it’s nice to see how that worked out. I will say that while I liked what they did with Raffi this season, I don’t really want to see her as the first officer. Serving with Seven is weird, since that whole thing was weird to begin with. Plus, I think she worked best with Worf, working in intelligence. She doesn’t work on a bridge, exploring strange new worlds. If Legacy goes forward, I’d prefer to see a new first officer, and of course a couple of new crew members. Star Trek doesn’t usually just spin off characters from previous shows, so it’d be cool to meet some new people. The question is whether a streaming show like this could ever develop characters in the way that the past shows did. DS9 spent so much time on small moments and exploring different sides of characters, but I don’t think that’s possible with a 10 episode order.

I would love to know if Season 3 was always planned that way as it felt like a different show from the previous 2. Did they respond to feedback and change it I wonder?

The people who ran the show in seasons 1 and 2 moved on to other jobs and kicked the last season down to Terry Matalas because they didn’t really care what happened anymore. Matalas got his start working for Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise, and has been a lifelong fan of the franchise (unlike other modern Trek producers). I don’t know if he was listening to fans, or just knew what he was doing all on his own. He probably had a lot of the same thoughts that most Trek fans had, but he’s also shown that he pays attention to what fans are saying and he engages with them a lot more than other modern Trek producers.

They were filmed back to back and Season 3 was basically in the can before Season 2 even aired.

Great season. As many times as they referenced her, I expected a Janeway cameo.

I see Wesley as a post-credit scene…

Returning from the Jupiter Borg battle, Dr. Crusher catches a glimpse of something at the communications station. The chair spins around and Wesley smiles at his mother. Time seems to have stopped for everyone else. Wesley tells her not to be alarmed. “They are just fine. I just wanted to see if you were ok. And I wanted to see him…” He points to Jack. “So that’s my kid brother?” He moves next to Jack. I can see the family resemblance.” He reaches up to the Borg attachments and pulls them off as if they were glued on. “Let me save you the trouble of removing them in sick bay, Mother.” He hands them over to her. “It’s a Traveler’s ability. This, I can do, but I could not interfere with your recent battle. There were too many variables in play, and it needed to play out as it would.” “Do you plan to stay a while, Wesley?” “No. I am just making sure you are all ok. And I was interested in meeting Jack. He has a quite interesting future ahead of him.” Wesley brings Jack up to speed with him and their mother. Jack, seeing his mother is not alarmed, awaits an explanation. “I know you both want explanations but I can’t give them. I can only guide, not direct your paths. Jack, I am your half-brother. You will face some problems in the future, but not right now though. A few years from now, a man Mother knows as Q will approach you. When he does, think of me and I will travel to be by your side and help you deal with him.” “Who is this Q character, Mother?” “You should ask your father, Jack. I had few dealings with him. Your father has many stories to tell you.” “If he tells you Q is gone, Captain Picard believes that to be true. So pay attention to his stories. They may help you to understand Q better. And when you need me, call out for me. I will hear it and help if I can.”

With that, Jack vanishes and time speeds up for everyone else. Jack turns to his mother with one question. “I have a brother???”

Matlas should make a new series. Three big ropes left untied. 1. Jack said to Seven “Now you can start your own Legacy. 2. Seven was going to say the captain’s order to go to warp and she was cut off and we never found out. And the big 3 we saw Q. Jack said “I thought you were dead”. Then Q said “For him yes. For you no”. It begs to be made.

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The 'Star Trek: Picard' finale is both amazing and awful, yet ultimately disappointing

You'll be shell-shocked for sure.

Here's your chance to beam out to avoid spoilers for episode 10 of "Star Trek: Picard."

To quote a former " Star Trek " alumni in a pre-"Star Trek" role, "Oh boy." 

There was a lot riding on this, the concluding episode of the two-part season finale of " Star Trek: Picard ," entitled "Et in Arcadia Ego — part II," especially given that the build up last week was not too shabby. The week before however, episode 8 , had been a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows — now, imagine that times a thousand. 

You'll be shell-shocked for sure, and after that, probably left feeling more than a little disappointed, maybe even angry, but definitely wondering how much the writers on this show get paid.

Sadly, this season finale is going to polarize "Star Trek" fans for a long time to come. In essence, the first two acts, with the exception of a few small to mid-sized shortcomings, were mostly of high quality, with some good ideas and even a couple of glimpses of genius. But then, just when you thought that Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman and everyone else who has a hand in writing this show were about to pull off the boldest most unexpected and courageous move ever …the plot reaches its apex, forward momentum gently slows to a stop and then it pitches, nose down and heads vertically straight for the ground at maximum warp. 

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We start at the crashed Borg cube — that somehow didn't cause an extinction level event when it plummeted through the atmosphere of Coppelius last week — with Seven ( Jeri Ryan ) having a conversation about being an xB with Elnor (Evan Evagora). Narek (Harry Treadaway) tiptoes past them, undetected into the cube. 

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We get some idea of the enormity of the Borg interior (a typical Borg cube has a volume of 28 km³ or 10,000 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza ), which is worth remembering given the ease with which all the characters seem to be able to find each other. Narek is looking for his sister, Narissa (Peyton List) who still takes an unhealthy interest in her brother's carnal activities. 

We quickly cut to Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Soji (Isa Briones) skimming like a stone, off the surface of a conversation about whether or not the synthetics have a choice to live and roll the opening credits: it's a short pre-credit sequence this week.

Back on the Borg cube, Narek is equipping himself with wide-dispersal, molecular solvent grenades in an attempt to destroy the Space Orchid Defense System, before the Romulan fleet arrives. He convinces her to stay on the Borg cube and work to get its defenses operational, the reasoning behind this will become clear later.

Meanwhile on La Sirena, Rios (Santiago Cabrera) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) are struggling to use the mysterious MacGuffin that Arcana gave them last week to help repair their ship. It's another example of 24th century "Trek" starship maintenance that luckily doesn't require anyone to ever get their overalls dirty, but the scene offers the opportunity for the two to engage in a little banter and Raffi figures out how the spectacular space spanner works pretty quickly. 

Back at Coppelius Station, Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner) is showing Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) machinery in Dr. Maddox's laboratory that's required to download a human consciousness into a synthetic body. Dr Soong compliments Dr. Agnes on her decision to support the synthetics in the upcoming confrontation and she tries to psych herself up for what she does next.

The critical repair work of Raffi and Rios is interrupted by the sound of Narek throwing rocks at the bridge viewport of La Sirena. It seems he wants them to work together to stop what's coming to kill them all. They take the Romulan spy into the ship where he explains what's going on at Coppelius Station. He tells them about the beacon that will unleash what the Romulans call Ganmadan, which will destroy all organic life. They try contacting Picard with no luck and then suddenly Elnor shows up and holds his sword at Narek's throat! The crafty Qowat Milat, he's been tracking that pointy-eared pragmatist all the way from the cube.  

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Jurati approaches Soong and asks for the encryption codes to some of the neural engrams that she needs for the golem. "Bruce always said your crypto kung-fu was the best," she says, flattering him. 

Sufficiently flattered, Soong goes off to decrypt the files and leaves Jurati with the body of Saga (Nikita Ramsey), the android that was stabbed through the eye last week . It's odd that such a wound would be fatal to an android. Moreover, Jurati just mentioned that Maddox spoke to her about him, so she knew Soong existed, even all the way back to episode one . Maybe it's a plot oversight, or maybe she was just playing him. Or maybe it was the former and will get passed off as the latter.  

We find out what Jurati was psyching herself up to do, but we don't get to see what's involved. What we get instead is a head and shoulders close up of the good doctor and some delightful squelchy noises as she plucks out the other eye from Saga non-functioning body. 

Back at La Sirena, Narek is telling the ancient Romulan story of the Seb-Cheneb, as everyone sits around a campfire. Some say that the story dates back to even before his Romulan ancestors arrived on Vulcan. Turns out that the event is called Ganmadan and it refers to the end of all things, like Judgment Day or Ragnarök. 

Twin sisters or khalagu (demons) will come and they're prophesied to release the ch'khalagu (really bad demons). One sister is called Sepnatahn (the foreteller) and she plays a drum made from the skin of children. She strikes it with a chain of skulls so hard and for so long that her heart bursts from the effort. 

The other sister is called Seb-Cheneb (the destroyer) who carries a horn from the great pale hell beast called Ganmadan. When she blows a blast on that horn, it will unleash all the ch'khalagu who have been waiting since the beginning of time. It's well delivered by Treadaway and, with the exception of the Zhal Makh scene in episode six , this is probably his best performance in the show so far.

Staying with Rios, Raffi, Elnor and Narek, it's morning now and Narek is explaining how the wide-dispersal, molecular solvent grenades can now be used against the transmitter instead of the Space Orchid Defense System. The plan is to go through the front door, naturally. The thing is, La Sirena is repaired and operational now, so quite why they don't just fly in and blow it up isn't really explained. It would've been quite easy to solve this dilemma, since even Will Riker's (Jonathan Frakes) house had a shield , so briefly mentioning something similar that Coppelius Station could have had would've worked, but no. 

The gang arrives at the house and present Narek as a prisoner that they found to gain entry. The explosive will need a delivery system, however, it has to be non-metal. There's a transporter block over the compound (no shield though) so they can't beam it in. Rios, the genius that he is, puts it inside one of his futsal balls.

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Actually inside the compound, Jurati uses her "third eye" (sorry, Saga)  to get past the retina scan and into the quarters Picard has been locked inside, busting him out of his cell-of-sorts and dragging him back to La Sirena. 

Soong meanwhile is marveling over the fact that his Golem is now ready to receive neural engrams. In the background, he's been downloading Saga's memories and stops his work as he sees her very last memories, which of course, were of being stabbed through the eye. He can see Narek, obviously, but also Sutra (also played by Isa Briones). In fact, it's Sutra who fatally stabs her android associate. 

Picard and Jurati reach La Sirena and learn that the Romulan fleet is just seven minutes away. Picard gives one of his bite-sized speeches; this one on how the synthetics have life yes, but no one is teaching them what it's for. The "Star Trek" fanfare plays softly in the background to add further grandeur to the moment. It's all good fun and is a nice reminder of what "Star Trek" is really all about without overdoing it, this time at least. Picard powers up La Sirena and Jurati turns from her helm control chair, smiles and says, "Make it so," which on the whole, probably wasn't really necessary, but it's hardly a major complaint. That comes later. 

Back at the compound, Sutra is giving her evil monologue to all the other synthetics. Soong marches through the crowd to confront his artificial offspring and finally deactivates her. The others get ready to deliver the explosives, but they have to get past Soji, who's still brainwashed to follow Sutra's cause and hell-bent on completing the beacon. Rios launches the drone containing the charge but Soji catches it and throws it some distance away before it detonates harmlessly, without even scratching the beacon. 

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And then, we unexpectedly cut to the Borg cube, where Narissa has finally managed to get the weapons systems online. She tries to target lock La Sirena, but out of the shadows comes Seven, blaster in hand. 

Narissa vs. Seven is something we hadn't even considered – what a match-up! Sadly, the fight is a major disappointment, it's brief and poorly choreographed: from Seven's obvious over-extension while holding her blaster (surely a Fenris Ranger would've heard of center axis relock ) giving Narissa ample opportunity to disarm her, all the way to Narissa's eventual demise. It's a monumental missed opportunity. We all wanted it, especially after the death of Hugh. Out of all the disturbing ways to die as seen in "Star Trek" — incinerated by a Horta, having all the salt sucked out of your body, blown out into space or being ripped apart at a sub-atomic level while half formed in a transporter — Narissa plunges down a shaft. Yawn . 

The Romulan fleet drops out of warp and Soji launches the Space Orchid Defense System. They form a net of sorts and while they're destroying quite a few Romulan Warbirds, it just isn't enough. 

And just in case there was any question that it was the Picard Maneuver that was being referenced last week , it's definitely referenced this week. If only they had some kind of whacky fundamental field replicator with a neural atomic interface. Thankfully, the mysterious MacGuffin is lying there on the control console and quicker than you can say "redundant melacortz ramistat kiloquad interface modules," they've created the illusion of hundreds of ships, all identical to La Sirena, dropping out of warp and facing off against the Romulan fleet. 

If only General Oh (Tamlyn Tomita) could say "fire" quicker, this would've all been over ages ago.  

Picard makes one last plea to Soji to power down the beacon; she refuses, so he tells her that he's going to offer her people (the synthetics) one last thing in an attempt to convince them to change their minds, his life. 

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The fight above the planet continues, but if the fundamental field replicator with neural atomic interface has created hundreds of projections of La Sirena, wouldn't they all be twisting and turning and generally flying in an identical manner to the original ship? 

Soji activates the beacon and a giant, red bolt streaks into the sky, opening some kind of Eye of Sauron-looking, trans-dimensional portal, or something. And Oh is just about to give the command, again , to engage planetary sterilization pattern number five, when the "Star Trek" fanfare plays once again and a few hundred starships arrive. 

The Federation flagship hails the treacherous Tal Shiar and waddaya know, it's Acting Captain Will Riker, commander of the USS Zheng He. Apparently the United Federation of Planets has designated the planet Ghulion IV in the Vayt sector as under the protection of Starfleet according to the terms of the Treaty of Algeron . 

"Right now, I'm on the bridge of the toughest, fastest, most powerful starship Starfleet has ever put into service and I've got a fleet of them at my back," Riker says. 

And he's right, they all look identical: very much like the Pathfinder Class from Star Trek Online, which raises a few questions. Is Starfleet really only building one class of starship now? Well, according to TrekCore , the visual effects work for the season only got completed last week and VFX supervisor Ante Dekovic said that a wider range of ship variation simply wasn't possible due to a lack of available production time. And that just sounds a bit odd. 

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Riker explains that he'd heard Picard had tried to send an SOS, presumably that was the message he'd tried to transmit from Coppelius Station. That was when the Romulan fleet was two days away, La Sirena had only got there earlier because they utilized a Borg transwarp conduit. How the blazes did Will Riker assemble a fleet quickly enough to arrive 20 minutes or so after the Romulans?

Oh still isn't giving up and gives the order to prepare to fire, again . The two fleets stand ready to annihilate each other. But back on La Sirena, Picard's terminal condition flares up, for the very first time, ever. Jurati gives him a hyposhot to get by and Picard opens a channel to Soji that everyone can hear and see. Quite why the two massive fleets of ships aren't slogging it out in orbit yet is anyone's guess. 

Picard pleads with Soji to show everyone that she's not the enemy that the Romulans think she is and power down the beacon. He makes a compelling argument, naturally, as Oh looks stares at her viewscreen and Riker breaks into a wry smile as he watches his dearest friend and mentor save the galaxy once more. 

And just as whatever horror was coming reaches the portal, Soji smashes the beacon, which has the effect of closing it. So, in a brilliant move by the writers, the whole "what's coming" plot is dismissed in very well executed misdirection. Bravo. 

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You might have thought it was Control. You might have thought it had something to do with the Tkon Empire. You might have thought it had something to do with Lore. You might even have thought Sutra was Lore in a dress and he'd pull a "Scooby-Doo" ending and peel off a rubber mask and reveal himself as the mischievous son of Soong that he is.

Riker says cheerio and then Picard really starts suffering and in all honesty, this just feels like lazy writing. It's now, in the finale, that his condition starts to show itself. Could the writers not have perhaps introduced this in a more believable manner over a period of time? Take for example Marshall Pentecost (Idris Elba) in "Pacific Rim" when his nose starts bleeding at inopportune moments. This could've been something that Picard had had to try and hide from everyone, perhaps with varying degrees of success. That way it certainly wouldn't feel like rushed or unimaginative writing, which this does.

But that aside … for a moment, for a fleeting second it does feel like the writers and show runners are about to go for the most daring "Star Trek" season finale since "The Best of Both Worlds" and actually kill off Picard. Why not? Capt. Kirk was killed off in "Generations" when they could've just left him alone and continued the saga without him. Why couldn't they have Jean Luc Picard make the ultimate sacrifice, he was prepared to do it. Yes, "Picard" has been renewed for a second season — but Patrick Stewart could be utilized in all sorts of ways — Brent Spiner was for this season. 

If he wasn't ever going to be permanently killed off, he should've never have died in the episode.

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That said, the actual death and the subsequent mourning by everyone is genuinely emotional, from Raffi in particular. There's a tender moment between Rios and Seven and between Raffi and Elnor. A cursory glance however, at the time remaining shows there's more than a quarter of the show still left to watch and you'd be forgiven for thinking "how is this going to be filled?"

It was obvious someone was going into the golem that Soong had been preparing. We had feared it would be used to recreate Data, but thankfully that didn't happen. There was an outside chance it might have been Soong himself, but in hindsight perhaps it was obvious it was going to be Picard.

In a subconscious dream-like scene, Picard once again meets Data and the two, in essence, seek closure in the afterlife for the events that took place in "Nemesis" when Data died to save Picard. It needlessly drags on a bit and this is what basically fills most of the remaining time in the episode. However, Data asks for a favor, before Picard steps into the light.

Picard wakes up in Soong's laboratory and yes, he's in the golem. But, rather than allow him all the benefits an artificial body made of the most robust elements known to mankind might offer, no, they've incorporated all his frailties to make the body feel more natural. And now we enter The Ridiculous Zone; granted, the parietal lobe abnormality has been removed, but who chooses arthritis or cataracts over the fitness of a 20-year-old? Poor Picard back is still stuck with huffing and puffing when he climbs stairs like we saw in episode one .

"I knew you wouldn't want to adjust to something new, not after 94 years in the same body," Soong says, explaining away that particular issue. 

The favor that Data asks is that he be switched off, terminated effectively and allowed to die. This might seem a little strange, but we see some data sticks that were obviously the engrams of Data's mind that Maddox managed to save. It seems he was alive in a complex simulation and it's possible that the butterfly that was always nearby, in Soong's office, represented his consciousness. Or at the very least, it was intended as a metaphor. 

We end on La Sirena and see that Seven and Raffi have hooked up, not entirely unsurprising as there was clearly more to Seven's relationship with Bajazzle than we saw. One assumes the thing with Chakotay didn't work out. And that's it; the crew takes their position and set course for Season two. Let's hope that an extended pre-production period will give the writers time to come with something less formulaic and more fearless. We still like to see Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould given a chance to run a live-action series of "Star Trek."

For a season finale, this was ultimately disappointing. There were some moments of absolute ingenuity and then some moments of appalling absurdity. Sadly, the latter outnumbered the former. But it's still better than "Discovery."

Was the entire first season about seeking closure with Data? What's happening with Mars, it's still burning after all. Where did Narek end up?

The question also arises as to how much of this story was changed when the second series was confirmed. Clues like the drawn out third act, the lack of practical effects when Jurati pulls out Saga's eye (remember when we saw poor Icheb in episode 5 ?), the Maddox-Soong-Jurati plot slip up, the lack of VFX for the Federation fleet, perhaps Jean-Luc was going to be killed off when it was just one season? Will we ever find for sure, doubtful. 

It's frustrating because "Star Trek" has a habit of killing off characters and not having the courage to keep them dead. They have to be reincarnated by the power of spores, or neural engram transfer. At least Tasha Yar wasn't reanimated through an orifice of Armus. And yet Hugh was casually dismissed without even batting an eyelid. It's like a pendulum swing from one extreme to the other. 

Every series of "Star Trek" has to follow certain, basic criteria, otherwise it’s not "Star Trek," but they really are very basic. "Picard" offered a new, updated incarnation, complete with unnecessary expletives, but it really didn't stray from the formula, at all. And we end up with something that's trying to be new, modern and edgy, but it's still held back by the restraints of nostalgia. Remember when the producers of "Stargate" tried something totally new with "Universe?" Sadly, it was short-lived, but that was because of the lack of foresight of the Syfy channel, again. It might be nice to see "Star Trek" try something new, really new, because this wasn't it and "Discovery" isn't either.

  Rating: 6 ½ /10

 Weekend on Rigel II ✓ 

•  Planetary Sterilization Pattern Number 5 LOL Good name for a band.
•  The misdirection of Ganmadan and not revealing what it is was brilliant.
•  Harry Treadaway's performance in this episode was one of his best as Narek. 
•  Jonathan Frakes looked pretty good in that 2399 Command Red. 
•  The "we were here to save each other" speech was well written and effective. 

 Imprisoned on Rura Penthe ✗ 

•  Narek seems to have switched sides without any major ethical struggle. 
•  Narissa's death, after everything she's done, was a monumental let down. 
•  Why didn't Rios et al fly into Coppelius Station and destroy the beacon? 
•  A fleet of identical starships? Was this to cut down the VFX budget? 
•  Was Dr. Jurati aware of Dr. Soong the whole time, but didn't mention it? 

The 10-episode "Star Trek: Picard" is on the paid subscription streaming service CBS All Access in the U.S., and in Canada on Bell Media's Space and OTT service Crave. It streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries worldwide within 24 hours of its premiere on CBS All Access and Space in the US and Canada, respectively.

CBS All Access subscription is the home of "Star Trek: Picard," "Star Trek: Discovery" and a host of other original and archival CBS television shows. Subscriptions start at $5.99 a month. You can try CBS All Access for a week free here .

•   'Lost In Space' will return for season 3 on Netflix  
•   HBO renews quirky sci-fi cruise comedy 'Avenue 5' for second season  
•   New 'Star Trek' series 'Section 31' to start filming when 'Discovery' season 3 wraps  

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When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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• Woodstock It's Dr Octopus, isn't it..?? That's who they were summoning with the beacon... Reply
• okrapickles Seriously? It was amazing! People are being too hard on this series I'm a longtime fan and I thought it was great. Reply

okrapickles said: Seriously? It was amazing! People are being too hard on this series I'm a longtime fan and I thought it was great.

Admin said: The concluding part of the "Star Trek: Picard" season finale is going to polarize 'Star Trek' fans for a long time to come. But as a piece of writing for television, it falls short. 'Star Trek: Picard' finale: It's both amazing and awful, yet ultimately disappointing : Read more

• nightbird Long term Star Trek fan, loved this series and this episode. Critiques are valid but I'd still give it 9/10. The other spin-off series trying to be hip and cool are far more cringe inducing, the underlining philosophy that makes Star Trek Star Trek is faith in humanity. Getting out of the prisoner's dilemma though trust. Reply
• Credible_Bulk I generally agree with the above commenters about the show having a lot more of the appropriate Star Trek DNA than Discovery. I also think the finale was obviously rushed as it didn't even really deal with a number of hanging plot threads like Narek or the Borg who both seem to be forgotten before the end of the episode. Hopefully thats because the series renewal changed their plans while the show was still in production and not because of poor writing. Overall the first season had some good and some bad and hopefully they can explore these lose ends in the next year. That being said, this probably makes it better than TNG's first season. Reply
• Prema Laboni Are you kidding me?? It was AMAZING!! This episode reminded me of what an astounding and powerful person Picard really is! It actually made me cry. Maybe there are a few technical faults, like the point about the Borg cube, but that is really not the point that defines this episode. Picard aside, there are many other aspects that were really touching, deep, and beautiful, including the scenes about Data's request. Reply
• horrido Frankly, your review is too harsh. Too many Star Trek fans are OCD. I've been a Star Trek fan since the 1970s. I've watched all the spin-off series. You know what? They all have their shortcomings, including the original series. But I forgive them because I love the Star Trek universe they inhabit. The shows are entertaining. The best episodes are moving. The science can be nuts. There are plot holes. Some episodes are badly scripted. And, sure, they don't always follow Star Trek canon. However, I don't care. I'm not OCD. I love Star Trek: Picard. I love Star Trek: Discovery. I'll probably love the Section 31 series. That said, there were some spin-off series that I didn't particularly like. Voyager. Enterprise. I even have problems with the original series! I give Star Trek: Picard 8/10. Reply
• Velenn I thought the episode was fine. I was slightly irritated at Picard ending up with an artificial body to go with his artificial heart, a little too pat IMO. I'm glad to hear there will be a second season. Reply

Velenn said: I thought the episode was fine. I was slightly irritated at Picard ending up with an artificial body to go with his artificial heart, a little too pat IMO. I'm glad to hear there will be a second season.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Series Finale Recap: Saying Farewell

In the end, the final season of “Picard” was a worthy send-off for the “Next Generation” crew.

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By Sopan Deb

Season 3, Episode 10: ‘The Last Generation’

“What began over 35 years ago ends tonight,” Jean-Luc Picard says, standing on his favorite bridge and glaring at his most distasteful enemy. It recalled his “The line must be drawn here!” from “First Contact.”

This was ostensibly a reference to the Federation’s longstanding battle with the Borg, but it also applies to “The Next Generation” franchise. (The show began airing in 1987 and 35 years ago would be 1988.) And if this is the last time we see these characters, that’s OK. Not because this season of “Picard” wasn’t a strong one. Quite the opposite, in fact: It was quite good and recaptured everything that made “Next Generation” what it was.

The characters all used special skills to work together and save humankind. Some of the dialogue was campy. There were plot holes. And there were classic “Star Trek” tropes, like Jean-Luc nonsensically going to the Borg cube, when he was likely the least physically capable of the old crew in fighting off the Borg.

But overall, this season was a worthy send-off for the crew. It wasn’t perfect, but neither were the show or any of the movies. But it was worth doing. The story justified its existence, advancing each of the main characters and filling in some gaps.

And it confirmed one last time that “The Next Generation” was greater than the sum of its parts. That might have been why the first two seasons of “Picard” didn’t work as well. Jean-Luc wasn’t the best character he could be without his old friends. The chemistry wasn’t as fluid, and the story wasn’t as deep.

In the finale, we learn a bit about what the Borg have been up to, though I remain baffled that no one brings up Jurati or the whole Good Borg thing from last season . (Maybe it was for the best.) There was no collective left — only the Borg Queen remained, she claimed, though we know from last season’s events that this isn’t exactly true.

It was Jack who found the Borg Queen, at least in her telling. She speaks in a way that is contrary to what we’ve known about the Borg: She says she was lonely and that the Borg were left to starve. (This kind of undercuts the Borg’s whole message of being the perfect beings.) But now, the Borg want to evolve rather than assimilate, and Jack is the perfect partner to do that. (In order to survive, the Borg Queen, I think, resorted to Borg cannibalism. Yikes! Hope those drones won Employee of the Month or something.)

The Borg and the changelings came to an agreement in which the changelings would be the Borg’s vehicle to carry out some villainous plan to help them procreate. Aside from an ill-fated revenge that they didn’t really need the Borg for, I don’t know what the changelings really got out of this alliance.

Elsewhere, classic Star Trekking happens. Worf and Riker fight off some baddies on the cube. Beverly uses her now finely honed combat skills to fire weapons. (It’s somewhat amusing that Geordi refurbished the Enterprise D for display at the fleet museum and also included a loaded torpedo system. Thank goodness he went above and beyond!) Data shows off his lightning fast piloting skills, assisted by his newly acquired gut instinct.

Beverly is faced with an impossible decision: Blow up her son and save the galaxy, or, uh, don’t. I loved that Geordi is the one who asks her permission, because he now understands a parent’s love for a child. And when it comes time to fire on the beacon, Geordi really, really doesn’t want to do it.

Jean-Luc finds another solution. He assimilates himself so he can get in contact with Jack in the Borg collective. Jean-Luc isn’t human, of course. He is an android — apparently, he can just plug himself in to the network like a flash drive. Jean-Luc tells Jack that he is the missing part of Jean-Luc’s life. (Patrick Stewart plays this perfectly.)

Jean-Luc is finally able to admit to himself how lonely he was outside of Starfleet, and that Starfleet merely covered up that loneliness rather than filling it entirely. Jean-Luc gives his son something he’s craved his whole life: approval and unconditional love. And Jean-Luc also won’t let his son go. He offers to stay in the hole with him so they can climb out together, and Jean-Luc gets to be the father he never knew he wanted to be.

Eventually, Jean-Luc pushes Jack to unassimilate himself and turn against the Queen. And that’s that: The universe is saved again. Our thanks to the crew of the Enterprise for the umpteenth time.

The episode ends in the only appropriate way for the “Next Generation” crew: They sit around and toast one another. Jean-Luc quotes Shakespeare, and then they whoop and play cards just like at the end of “All Good Things…,” the series finale of the original “Next Generation.”

The end wasn’t perfect, but it was proper. And that’s about all you can ask from a season like this. I don’t need any more — I want the Enterprise D crew to Costanza it and leave on a high note. They’ve earned it.

Odds and ends

Somewhat amusingly, Jean-Luc does not express any concern for or otherwise mention Laris throughout this season , another example of the team behind “Picard” trying to erase the first two seasons of the show from existence. But Laris, for her part, actually appeared in the season premiere and, one could argue, help put the events of the reunion in motion.

I keep thinking about that scene early this season with Riker and Jean-Luc at the bar, when Riker has to defend the honor of the Enterprise D. We didn't know it then, but that foreshadowed the whole season.

I would have liked to hear more about what Worf has been up to since the events of “Nemesis.” At the end of “Deep Space Nine,” Worf was named an ambassador to Qo’noS. In “Nemesis,” Worf somehow just becomes a member of the Enterprise crew again with little explanation. In this season, it is implied that Worf helped destroy the Enterprise E — more detail would have been nice.

The “Worf as comic relief” thing, as when he fell asleep on the bridge immediately after he helps to save civilization, also wore thin. But there is a fun callback in the last scene of the episode: Beverly saying Worf should have another glass of prune juice. A warrior’s drink!

Pavel Chekov’s son, Anton, being president of the Federation was a nice touch. Anton is likely a reference to Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the rebooted feature films beginning in 2009. He died in 2016 as a result of a car accident .

When Seven and Raffi figure out a way to transport assimilated crew members off the bridge using phaser rifles, it’s quite the deus ex machina. That technology would’ve been helpful all season!

That was a funny moment when the cook is ordered to pilot the Titan. He didn’t even finish flight training, why is Seven making him take the wheel? Have Raffi do it! (Within minutes, the cook executes complicated evasive maneuvers, so that must have been some training.)

At first, I found New Data to be jarring but after a couple episodes, this version grew on me. When he says he hates the Borg, you can see the Lore side of him burst through. It’s a fresh take on Data and Brent Spiner pulls it off.

That was a nice bit of wordless acting from Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis when Riker heads down to the cube for yet another mission with Jean-Luc. The swashbuckling Riker gives the slightest of smiles, as if to say, “You know who you married. You know why I have to do this.” And Troi reluctantly agrees. Later, when Troi tells Riker he will only have a minute or so to save Jean-Luc once the Enterprise fires on the Cube, he responds again with cool confidence in a near death situation.

There will certainly be some disappointment among fans that Kate Mulgrew did not reprise her role as Admiral Janeway this season. The events in “Voyager” presumably are the reason the Borg cube was in such terrible shape when Jean-Luc beams aboard. Given the multiple references to Janeway and what was happening on Earth, it would have been nice to have gotten a glimpse of her. (And man, how gnarly does the Borg Queen look now?)

Ah, there’s Tuvok, offering Seven her own ship. As Vulcan as ever.

In the grand scheme of things, this is still only the second most successful attack by the Borg on Earth. Sure, they get to Earth, bring down the planetary defense systems and attack cities directly, all while using Starfleet ships. But in “First Contact,” they actually went back in time and assimilated all of Earth before the pesky Enterprise crew initiated a do-over. And honestly, if Jean-Luc and his merry band hasn’t been able to rescue Earth from Evil Jack, they could have just done what they did last season or in “First Contact”: Go back in time. It’s easy!

Troi gets to drive the Enterprise D again. It went better than it did last time, when she crashed it.

Beverly is an admiral now? What a promotion, considering the decades she spent out of Starfleet running a rogue operation. I wonder if Riker, Geordi or any of the others were like, “Hey, what about us?”

Ed Speleers did an admirable job as Jack Crusher. It’s not easy to go toe-to-toe with Patrick Stewart, but Speleers fits in seamlessly as Beverly and Jean-Luc’s son. (While we’re here, what’s up with Jack’s brother, Wesley?)

I hope all of you stuck around for the post-credits scene. Q is still alive! Of course he is. We don’t acknowledge last season around these parts.

Sopan Deb is a basketball writer and a contributor to the Culture section. Before joining The Times, he covered Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for CBS News. More about Sopan Deb

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Propped up by a towering, defining performance from its lead star, Picard Season 3 did what it had to do: return Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) to square off once and for all with his haunting past as Locutus. The story also deftly concludes his three-season arc of first accepting the legacy of his choices, then opening himself up to love through understanding trauma, and now finally to becoming the father to a son in a family that he never knew he needed.

In completing this final piece of the puzzle, we get a beautiful merger of “family” and “found family” that has been there from the start in Star Trek , and is now finally, definitively a part of Picard’s life forevermore. A massive milestone for a character that has been portrayed so solitarily for the better part of 40 years. The theme of family and the inability to control what we pass on to our children is satisfyingly showcased in literally every thread of the show — from Data’s  reunion with Lore all the way to Raffi and the House of Musiker, as well as Seven’s surprising story arc in finding her place in Starfleet.

Of course, all of this is seen most prominently in Picard’s poignant rescue of his son Jack (Ed Speleers) from the clutches of the Borg Queen (the voice of Alice Krige), who has hidden her cube inside the gases of Jupiter as it orchestrates a DNA-driven assimilation of Starfleet that kicked off last week in “Võx.”

As the crew arrive at Jupiter to try and stop the Borg, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirits) lets them know she can sense Jack, but that he has been “totally consumed by the collective,” leading to a beautiful scene from the bridge of the Enterprise -D in which Picard assigns one final away team for his beloved colleagues.

With Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Worf (Michael Dorn) joining the “threesome” that will head to the cube, he needs Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) to continue to work on isolating Jack’s location, while Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and a frustrated Data (Brent Spiner) to stay on the ship to help provide solutions. It feels like an “Away Team of a Generation” and the first of many great acknowledgments to the DNA of The Next Generation in the episode. (The scene even includes a classic Worf shutdown moment when he wonders aloud if Jack might be too far gone, and Beverly immediately cuts him off with “No!” Great stuff.)

After a powerful exchange of silent thoughts between Riker and Troi, an emotional Picard steps toward the turbolift and says, “It’s been an honor serving with you all.” It’s a heartfelt moment that leaves the audience legitimately left to wonder if it might just be the final goodbye.

Once on board the cube, Picard immediately feels a connection to Jack, indicating again that despite being in a completely new body after his “death” in Season 1, some small part of him “remains compatible with the Hive.” Knowing he needs to go it alone while Riker and Worf try to shut down the beacon transmitting the Borg’s Starfleet takeover, it is time for a second loving goodbye from Picard, who emotionally tells Riker, “I can no longer be your captain. I now have to be a father.… Will, thank you. I, it means so much to me.” To which Riker responds, “You know that I know. Always.”

Again, the emotion is real in this episode and the goodbyes feel definitive, especially when Mr. Worf salutes his captain by saying, “There are two turns of phrase that a Klingon never admits to knowing. Defeat… and farewell.” The level of emotional perfection here is surpassed just a few seconds later when Picard now turns his goodbyes to Beverly by passionately telling her that in thinking “of Jack from the beginning. Shielding him from danger. You did everything right.”

The move concludes a wonderful gambit by the series showrunner Terry Matalas, who both wrote and directed the episode. It’s the release everyone needed for Beverly, to make that decision at the core of the entire season truly work – to hide her son from her friends for more than 20 years. And it does work, especially as we see Beverly’s emotional release in her response.

Stewart is at the heart of all these emotional goodbyes, hitting all the right notes again after 30 episodes of portraying Picard post-TNG, and somehow now bringing it back to a place where it felt like he never left the bridge of the Enterprise . The achievement is amazing and pairs up exquisitely with Speleers’ performance when he finds himself face-to-face with his son, assimilated in the same style and appearance as Locutus.

The scenes with the “Son of Locutus” are legitimately terrifying as the episode steers directly into the horror genre with a gruesome, emaciated Borg Queen hovering over their reunion in a style and substance straight out of David Cronenberg’s The Fly. The reveal is a jarring, but appropriate change of pace from the emotional moments that have peppered the episode up to this point.

And right on cue with the themes of the series, the Borg Queen announces: “At last, Locutus has returned to his true family, to his collective, to me….” Mired in an “unimaginable loneliness” since the fallout from Voyager’s “Endgame,” the mutilated and disfigured Queen had been isolated and feeding off her collective until hearing the voice of Jack and realizing the future of the Borg lies “not in assimilation, but evolution.”

Turns out that sentiment was highlighted by Beverly earlier in the season in “Imposters” when she was analyzing the Changelings, who at the time we did not know had teamed up with Borg. Together the new faction had worked to weaponize Picard’s biology so that the Borg could propagate with a new goal in mind: “not just to assimilate, but to annihilate all.”

Picard knows it is up to him to try and guide Jack back to himself, but disconnecting him from the Collective will kill him, so with no other option, we get a moment as epic and grand in the scope of Star Trek as anything you could ever expect to see.

Despite running from it for more than half of his life, Picard connects himself to the Hive as Locutus to join Jack and help him break free — and he does so by succinctly defining the journey of his life that we have all been on together for so many years:

“I joined Starfleet to find a family I didn’t have. And I found it. I let them in. But there was always a barrier. I too thought there was something wrong with me. And I waited in that vineyard. Waiting to die. Alone. But now Jack I realize that you are the part of me that I never knew was missing.”

The sentiment is a beautiful one, with roots dating all the way back to “Encounter at Farpoint” and the first time Picard chased Wesley off his bridge; here it helps define both Picard the character and Picard the series.

Back on the Titan , Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) have cleverly reclaimed the ship and protected their assimilated crewmates (portable beam me ups!), allowing us to get our first real dose of Captain Seven, as she was dubbed by Captain Shaw prior to his death. With only a makeshift crew at her disposal (including a cook at the helm), Seven goes into captain mode by telling her team that she is “not asking you to give your lives for nothing. I’m asking you to fight for what’s below.”

A thrilling moment made even better when we see the Titan buying Picard some valuable time by running interference with a cat-and-mouse, fire-and-cloak maneuver to distract the fleet trying to take down Earth’s planetary defenses. The visual effects in the scene are a smorgasbord of starship artistry.

Not to be outdone, the Enterprise -D is also under attack from the Borg cube when Geordi tells Beverly she will need to return fire manually — as he wasn’t able to complete the weapon installation yet. With nary a second to think, Beverly quickly announces, “Torpedoes away, locking phasers and returning fire.” Much to the surprise of a stunned-to-silence Data, Geordi and Troi, she nullifies the Borg attack and proclaims, “A lot’s happened in the last 20 years.”

Elsewhere on the cube, Riker and Worf have successfully communicated the location of the beacon, where the Enterprise, based on a gut-feeling and some “enjoyably” deft piloting from Data, has now positioned itself to destroy it, knowing the explosion will also kill everyone on board the cube.

With everything coming to a head, Jack is able to pull himself out of the Collective, courtesy of a hug from Picard (“If you won’t leave, I will stay with you until the end. You have changed my life forever.”) and then a nice montage of Season 3 clips between the father and son. The beautiful, mystical score from Stephen Barton during the scene is oddly reminiscent of the score in the Nexus ( Star Trek: Generations ) and helps set the tone for Jack’s extraction and his announcement that “the time of the Borg is over.”

In a perfect confluence of stories, Worf and Riker join Picard and Jack as the ship collapses around them, just as the Enterprise -D (fresh off destroying the beacon) swoops in to beam them out. At the helm? Well, it’s none other than Deanna Troi, of course. She jumped into action after connecting with her Imzadi — who fittingly was thinking about the child they lost so many years ago, to quietly close out another season-long story thread — to safely pilot the ship into position. (Hopefully, this will finally put an end to the insufferable “Troi crashed the Enterprise ” jokes for good!)

With the Borg cube destroyed and a predicable reset button taking place above Earth with the assimilated fleet, the episode and series makes time for a therapeutic and satisfying 20-minute epilogue to quietly say goodbye to the series.

The therapy session begins with a reunion of the crew on the bridge and Jack being welcomed onboard the Enterprise by his father and then continues with an actual therapy session for Data with Deanna, who humorously is a little worn out from his excessive need to discuss his very human and ever-shifting emotional state. Knowing that Data will forever be neurotically analyzing his changing moods from joyful to melancholy and everything in between is extremely satisfying. The moment is eloquently encapsulated by Spiner when he responds to Riker’s query on how he is feeling by saying simple, with an air of resigned contentment and a shrug, “I’m… okay.”

In between we get a cathartic moment for Raffi, reconnecting with her family in a healthy way for the first time in probably more than 20 years, courtesy of “an honorable maverick” who made sure they knew what she had accomplished and sacrificed while they were estranged. It’s an intelligent and respectful coda for the show to carve out time for this moment, which could have easily been glossed over.

Of course, the most important resolution in the immediate aftermath of the action belongs to Seven of Nine, who sits down now with the real Tuvok (Tim Russ) to discuss her Starfleet future. Russ is instantaneously Tuvok again — authoritative, direct and, yet, supportive, and it is fitting to have him there for the coronation of this character’s journey from popular Trek icon to the hallowed state of Trek royalty, right alongside Kirk, Spock, Picard and Janeway. It is that big a moment.

With the help of a pre-recorded message from Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) recommending her for promotion to Captain, we get a gratifying one-year time jump to see her taking her rightful place in the center seat as Captain Seven of Nine, alongside Raffi as her Number One, as well as Lieutenant Sidney LaForge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) at the helm and accelerated Starfleet ensign, Jack Crusher.

And in one final masterstroke, a choice so clear and obvious that, of course, you never see it coming, Matalas and his team make a truly grand, genuinely great, generational, and glorious decision to rechristen the Titan as the Enterprise -G. It’s genius. Names do mean something.

In the proper context of this final hour of the TNG cast in one place, to quickly introduce a new ship and a new design as the next iteration of the beloved Enterprise would never have been satisfying enough. It would not have worked. But now, to suddenly realize that this exceptional season of the adventures of the Titan , a ship we have all come to love and embrace for its starship lineage that looks both forward and back simultaneously, is now the Enterprise -G… well, again, it is a genius decision, and beyond satisfying.

The introduction here is truly a surprise, and it is choreographed in the most familiar of ways, as Picard’s shuttle eases above the horizon inside Spacedock to see the name beautifully engraved on the ship’s hull. Captain Seven of Nine of the USS Enterprise -G, about to write the opening line of her legacy. What a way to close out her journey. Perfection.

And as for that post-credit scene? Well, wow. It certainly is yet another gift in this bonanza of an episode and leaves us with a lot to consider. We get the resurrection of Q (John de Lancie), but as the entity himself says, there is no need to think so linearly regarding his “death” at the end of Season 2, as well as the proclamation that while Picard Senior’s trial might be over, Picard Junior’s “has just begun.”

It seems that for this “young mortal,” there is much ahead of him. I sure hope we get to see it someday.

MOMENTS OF STASHWICK

We think Todd Stashwick and his portrayal of USS Titan captain Liam Shaw is destined for Trek icon status — each week this season, we’ll be highlighting one one of the character’s (and actor’s) best moments.

I could not be happier to report we have one last Moment of Stashwick to highlight in this incredible episode, and it is, of course, his performance evaluation of Seven of Nine. The anti-Shaw brigade will likely again fail to see what is right in front of them, but this log entry brilliantly adds to the layers of internal healing this character has been battling.

Before all the action, before her betrayal of the Titan — a betrayal significant enough to require an actionable pardon in this episode, as mentioned by Tuvok — Shaw had come to a place of recognition for Seven, identifying her by name and acknowledging her abilities, thus recommending her for promotion to captain.

Sadly, in his worldview, that recording was followed hours later by him watching Seven ‘betray’ him and his ship, thus putting him back into his own internal spiral that he would eventually battle his way through before his death.

His entire log entry saluting Seven of Nine is the perfect end for the character.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• Has anyone heard from Laris?
• The Star Trek franchise animation opening gets an update for this episode; the USS Titan is replaced by the Enterprise -D, and the Starfleet delta gets corrupted by Borg assimilation.
• The episode’s opening visual is a recreation of the blue nebula which appeared in the beginning of the Star Trek: The Next Generation opening credits for Seasons 3 through 7, right down to the bright star which zooms into camera.

• In a message quite similar to the distress signal sent by the Federation President in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, current-day Federation President Anton Chekov warns travelers to “save yourselves… farewell.”
• President Anton Chekov, son of Enterprise legend Pavel Chekov, is voiced by Star Trek: The Original Series star Walter Koenig — who of course portrayed the original Chekov character.
• President Chekov’s first name is likely an homage to Kelvin Timeline Chekov actor Anton Yelchin, who died in 2016.
• The Enterprise -D digital model still sports scorching from its atmospheric descent and impact onto Veridian III ( Star Trek: Generations ), and interior details of Ten Forward and the behind-bridge Observation Lounge can be seen through the ship’s windows.
• The Borg transwarp conduit at Jupiter is tucked within the planet’s Great Red Spot.
• Data notes that the Borg cube is only “thirty-six percent operational”; back in “The Best of Both Worlds,” where Shelby shared that a Borg ship… could continue to function effectively even if seventy eight percent of it was inoperable.”
• Jonathan Frakes leans with one foot up on the helm console as the Enterprise approaches Jupiter, reprising the pose he often struck when Riker faced a tense situation on the bridge.

• Star Trek: Picard makeup and prosthetics head James MacKinnon plays one of the two gold-shouldered officers who helps Seven and Raffi retake the Titan’s bridge; he first identifies the NCC-1701-D on sensors.
• The ship’s chef who Seven assigns to take over the Titan’s helm wears a neutral grey-colored Starfleet uniform; this may be reserved for enlisted crewmen.
• The disabled Borg cube has several pyramid-shaped distribution nodes on its ceiling, the target of Shelby’s away team assualt in “The Best of Both Worlds.”
• As the Borg Queen commands the captured fleet to destroy Spacedock, she says “Watch your future’s end,” the same threat issued in Star Trek: First Contact when she believes quantum torpedoes are about to destroy Zefram Cochrane’s warp ship Phoenix.
• Worf’s kur’leth sword is much heavier than it looks (as Riker is suprised to learn); it also contains a small phaser hidden inside the hilt.
• Data learned about humans’ “gut instinct” from Geordi in “The Defector,” concluding that “a person fills in missing pieces of the puzzle with his own personality, resulting in a conclusion based as much on instinct and intuition as on fact” — and later desired the ability to consult a gut instinct of his own during the events of “Data’s Day.” (Glad to see he finally gets his wish!)
• Deanna Troi’s Betazoid powers are now able to sense Data’s emotions, thanks to his organic new body.

• Once assimilated by the Borg, Jack Crusher’s cybernetic appearance is a near copy of Locutus’s design, right down to the faceplate and red laser.
• The visual effects of the Enterprise working its way through the cube to destroy the beacon were gloriously reminiscent of the adventure in the now-closed Star Trek: The Experience Klingon Encounter ride, where a group of shuttles must navigate a similar trajectory to destroy a cloaking generator.
• Inside his assimilated mind, Jack Crusher describes the same “intense euphoria” that Jean-Luc Picard described to Jurati in Season 2’s “Assimilation.”
• Troi takes the helm for one final time, piloting the Enterprise to just above the Borg Queen’s chamber to rescue Riker, Worf, Jack, and Picard before the Borg cube is destroyed.
• After being ravaged by Admiral Janeway’s neurolytic pathogen Star Trek: Voyager’s “Endgame,” the Borg Queen — and the Borg Collective as a whole — is finally destroyed once and for all.
• Alice Krige’s voice performance is exquisite in her return to Trek — and a special shout-out to her on-screen body double Jane Edwina Seymour for her work in this episode (as well as the incredible makeup team who brought the Borg Queen back to life).
• Starfleet cures Borg-infected young officers by running them back through the transporter to repair their DNA; this style of treatment was also used to restore Katherine Pulaski to her correct age at the end of “Unnatural Selection.”

• Beverly Crusher returns to Starfleet service; after being promoted to the rank of Admiral, she returns to Starfleet Medical once again for the second — or, if you count the Star Trek: Nemesis deleted scenes — third time.
• Tim Russ returns as Tuvok; this time, he portrays the real Vulcan officer who served with Seven aboard the starship Voyager .
• Troi and Riker explore a number of vacation options, including Omicron Ceti III (from “This Side of Paradise”), Vulcan, Andoria, Bajor, Trill, Zadar IV (mentioned in “When The Bough Breaks”), and both Kauai, Hawaii and Malibu, California on Earth — ultimately narrowing it down to “the beaches of Kaphar Prime… or Orlando.”
• When the Enterprise -D is placed on display in the Fleet Museum, composer Dennis McCarthy’s “To Live Forever” (from the Star Trek: Generations soundtrack) plays — this is the music which accompanies Picard and Riker’s final moments aboard the crashed starship at the end of the film.
• Geordi says the ship has “always taken good care of us,” echoing DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy in “Encounter at Farpoint” when he says, “She’ll always bring you home.”
• Majel Barret’s computer voice returns, with audio segments clipped from two Next Generation episodes: “Electropathic pattern located” is from “Violations,” while “Shutdown sequence initiated” is from “Eye of the Beholder.”

• In honor of Jean-Luc Picard and crew’s efforts during the Borg invasion, the USS Titan has been officially rechristened USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G) — captained by the newly-promoted Seven of Nine, with Commander Raffi Musiker serving as her first officer.
• The Starfleet Engineering Corps is a pretty impressive group, rebuilding the massive Spacedock facility in just one year!
• The Enterprise -G may be the second Enterprise to begin life as another starship; apocryphally, the Enterprise -A originally served as the USS Yorktown before the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
• Tyrellians were previously mentioned in “Starship Mine.”
• Starfleet introduces a new commbadge design in the year after the Borg defeat; the dark grey bars behind the silver Starfleet delta are now a shiny gold, emulating the “All Good Things” combadge which inspired the original Star Trek: Picard combadge design — and yes, FanSets now has them available for purchase.

• It’s fitting that Jean-Luc Picard’s final monologue comes from Shakespeare (his Julius Caesar); Patrick Stewart famously began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before joining the cast of The Next Generation .
• Worf gives lectures on “Mugatu Meditation,” apparently — and “The Last Generation” extends Michael Dorn’s franchise appearance count to 281, which will stand for the foreseeable future.
• Data first attempted his interrupted joke — “There was a young lady from Venus…” — during the events of “The Naked Now.”
• Q wears a fanciful new red-and-black outfit, emulating the coloring of his “Judge Q” outfit seen in both “Encounter at Farpoint” and “All Good Things…”
• In the post-credit scene, Jack Crusher displays a photo of his parents — in reality, that photograph is this 1988 picture of Gates McFadden and Patrick Stewart taken at and event held during Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first season.

As Jean-Luc stated in the episode’s teaser, “What began over 30 years ago, ends tonight!” But not with a phaser battle or a ship christening, but with seven friends playing poker and reminiscing about the fact that the past does matter.

It’s a beautiful moment that obviously harkens back to that first game of cards the group played together at end of “All Good Things.” It is and has been a reunion for the ages. A glorious 10-episode run to gift The Next Generation cast, and their legion of fans, yet another poignant signoff.

That first series ended with Picard saying, “I should have done this a long time ago,” and Star Trek: Picard opened with him uttering the words “I don’t want the game to end” — and the story concludes with his much more optimistic outlook: “I’ve come to believe that the stars have always been in my favor.”

It’s a series and a season that literally gave us everything — including a happy ending.

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast. He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter as @EnterpriseExtra.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ episode 10 recap: ‘Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2’

The season 1 finale is a mixed bag, with a beautiful role for patrick stewart but a very rushed plot..

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Posted on Mar 26, 2020   Updated on Mar 26, 2020, 10:49 am CDT

This post includes spoilers.  Click here  for our episode 9 recap .

Our season ends with a moving role for Jean-Luc Picard—and an extremely patchy conclusion to the android apocalypse storyline, which abruptly stopped making sense last week. After building up a nuanced allegory about the oppression and alienation of synthetics like Soji, episode 9 saw her join forces with her evil twin Sutra, building a beacon to summon a race of ancient robots to wipe out all biological life. In doing so, they prove the Zhat Vash right: synthetics really are an existential threat, and the only solution is war. This more or less works as an X-Men- style political narrative, with Soji and Sutra as the Magneto to Data’s assimilationist Professor X. But the whole thing takes place over the course of like 24 hours, relying on Soji to completely realign her moral compass multiple times.

This is Star Trek , so the eventual solution is peaceful negotiation and an appeal to Soji’s empathy. But the road to that conclusion is a bumpy one. The episode begins with the main cast in several different factions: Picard imprisoned by the synthetics, Raffi and Rios on La Sirena, Elnor and Seven of Nine on the Borg Cube, and Narek fleeing the synthetic prison to sneak into the Cube, where he meets up with his sister Narissa. (Seven later kills Narissa by kicking her off one of the Cube’s non-OSHA-compliant walkways; a fitting end to a fun but one-dimensional villain.) Soon enough, we see some unlikely team-ups. Narek joins La Sirena’s crew to infiltrate the synthetic settlement and blow up Soji’s interdimensional apocalypse portal. Meanwhile, Jurati springs Picard from jail, stealing La Sirena to fly into orbit and confront the entire Romulan fleet—first tricking them by artificially multiplying La Sirena into dozens of fake ships, and then delaying them until Starfleet can arrive, led by another delightful cameo from Will Riker.

Star Trek: Picard | Our Spoiler-Free Review:

Watch Picard for free with a 1-week trial of CBS All Access .

Picard ‘s final two episodes were co-written by showrunner Michael Chabon and director Akiva Goldsman, and Part 2 is no less rushed than Part 1. While earlier episodes drew a thoughtful and plausible picture of the Federation backsliding into selfish isolationism, the finale requires the synthetic characters (including Soji) to rapidly change their minds twice about whether they want to commit galactic genocide. I say “they,” but the decision is really all about Soji, with Sutra conveniently deactivated halfway through thanks to Altan Soong basically… switching her off. Apparently he can just do that! Anyway, the other synthetics literally do not participate in the moral debate about whether to summon their evil overlords. To be honest, Soji barely even does.

The whole premise of the show is that fear drives people to do terrible things, but the finale doesn’t fully acknowledge the impact of Soji’s plan. You can certainly understand her wanting to strike back against the Romulan fleet, but the show frames this as a struggle against “becoming what the Romulans fear.” Neither she nor Picard fully admit the breadth of what she’s planning to do: Kill billions of people including Picard and the harmless child she befriended like three episodes ago . I can believe this choice from the other synthetics (who have never left Coppelius and are, in Picard’s words, like children), but it doesn’t make sense for Soji, who lived for three years as a human. And the other synthetics don’t have personalities or meaningful dialogue, which undercuts the argument that they’re just as “human” as the organics.

Picard gets to deliver several beautiful speeches though, which is obviously the highlight of the episode. “To say you have no choice is a failure of imagination,” he tells Soji. “Fear is an incompetent teacher,” he explains later. His words do eventually break through, with Soji choosing at the last minute to shut down the interdimensional portal, which had just started to spew malevolent robotic tentacles. (Of course it was tentacles, of course .) She realizes she doesn’t want to kill everyone after all, an about-face that the other synthetics accept with silent agreement, because they seemingly have no opinion either way. A massive fleet of Federation ships escort the Romulan fleet away, leaving La Sirena’s crew to pick up the pieces… at which point Picard succumbs to the strain of his neurological illness, and passes out. Soji beams him back to the planet just in time to speak with his crew, dying in Raffi’s arms.

Even if you weren’t aware that he’d be back for season 2, the episode already sowed the seeds for Picard’s resurrection. Jurati managed to download his mind, allowing her and Soong to transfer his consciousness into an identical synthetic body. (Amusingly, Picard looks briefly annoyed when they assure him they didn’t give him any superpowers like Soji.) But before that happens, he speaks to Data one last time. After his “death,” Picard wakes up in a simulation of his house in France, joining Data for a fireside chat. Apparently Data’s memories were also recovered and stored, allowing Picard to finally tell him that he loves him. Then Data asks for his consciousness to be shut down: Closure for both characters, and for the many fans who disliked Data’s original death in Star Trek: Nemesis .

Will season 2 acknowledge the fact that anyone can now be made immortal with a new synthetic body? Maybe, maybe not. But with Picard back in action, we end season 1 on a traditional note, with La Sirena’s crew flying off into the great unknown: Picard, Soji, Raffi, Jurati, Elnor, Rios, and (an unexpected gift!) Seven of Nine.

Jeri Ryan has easily given one of the show’s best performances, a gritty continuation of Seven’s role in Voyager . She’s also just unbelievably cool, swaggering into every scene in a cloud of charisma. And the finale confirms the subtext of episode 5 : she’s definitely queer. It’s a slightly weird reveal though, because after seeing Rios and Jurati share a kiss (a relationship that leaped from “forgettable one night stand” to “actual couple” with virtually no buildup), the camera pans round to show Seven and Raffi holding hands. I mean… sure? It felt like a bit of a last-minute addition because they’ve barely even shared a scene, but maybe Seven and Raffi will be a key relationship next season. All in all, a rather mixed bag of a finale, encapsulated by my final thought as the credits rolled: Where is Narek? I guess they just didn’t bother to show what happened to him.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a staff writer at the Daily Dot, covering geek culture and fandom. Specializing in sci-fi movies and superheroes, she also appears as a film and TV critic on BBC radio. Elsewhere, she co-hosts the pop culture podcast Overinvested. Follow her on Twitter: @Hello_Tailor

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Star Trek: Picard Season Two Recap & Review: An Utter Disappointment

Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the La Sirena travel back in time to 2024 Earth in Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Picard started its second season on uneven footing with a retread time-traveling storyline. The show found its stride mid-season with several twists that added intrigue. Insert sigh here . I am bitterly disappointed to report that the season ends with a thud. Questions are never answered. An important canon character is completely forgotten. We get another inexplicable Star Trek: The Next Generation cameo. The crew of the La Sirena saves the galaxy while predictably splitting up. The show tries to overcome its poor writing with a saccharine, feel-good finale. It doesn't work at all.

The season began with a new Borg collective appearing at a distortion in space-time. A signal is sent specifically requesting Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). He goes to the fissure on the Star Gazer with Rios (Santiago Cabrera) as captain and Dr. Jurati (Allison Pill) on board. Seven (Jeri Ryan), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and Elnor (Evan Evagora) arrive as well. A new Borg Queen boards the Star Gazer and attempts to take control of the entire armada. She doesn't kill anyone just stuns. The Queen utters a phrase to Picard that only his mother would know. Seven cries for Picard to destroy the ship before she assimilates their fleet. He orders the destruct protocol. Just before the ship explodes, the crew of La Sirena is transported back to Earth by Q (John de Lancie).

Picard wakes up in his château to a nightmare. The Federation, now called the Confederation, has conquered the Alpha Quadrant and enslaved alien species. Q tells Picard that humanity's trial never ended. The crew of the La Sirena save that century's Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) from execution. She's their only hope to calculate time travel to correct the past. The Borg Queen tells them they must find a "Watcher" in the year 2024. Elnor is killed during their escape.

The mid-season arc has the crew splitting up on 2024 Earth. Picard contacts a young Guinan (Ito Aghayare) for help. Rios gets hurt and meets Teresa (Sol Rodriguez), a doctor who runs a free clinic for illegal immigrants. On La Sirena, Jurati and the Borg Queen start to dangerously bond. We are introduced to Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) and his genetically engineered "daughter", Kore (Isa Briones). She has an immune disease and cannot step outside their shielded home. Q appears before Soong with an offer to cure Kore if he stops a space launch.

The 'Watcher' Was Sent to Protect Her

The event that secures the future is the Europa Mission. Picard's ancestor, Renée Picard (Penelope Mitchell), will discover a sentient microbe that transforms humanity. The "Watcher" was sent to protect her and ensure she achieves this goal. Picard is stunned when the "Watcher", named Tallinn (Orla Brady), looks exactly like his Romulan housekeeper, Laris. She loves Picard, but he can't bring himself to reciprocate her affections.

Renée suffers from clinical depression. This is a family trait that also tormented Picard's mother, Yvette (Madeline Wise). A thread runs throughout the season of Picard remembering her as a boy. His father (James Callis) locked her in a room after she led a young Jean-Luc into the tunnels below the château. Episode seven, "Monsters", explores Picard's guilt over the fallout from this event. Episode nine, "Hide and Seek", reveals that Picard's mother hung herself when he unlocked her room.

Related: Exclusive: Alison Pill Won't Be in Star Trek: Picard Season 3

The primary arc leading to the finale has Dr. Jurati becoming infected by the Borg Queen's consciousness. She takes control of Jurati. Then makes a deal with Adam Soong to kill the crew and Renée. This will allow Soong to become Earth's savior. Thus creating the Confederation of the future. The Borg Queen wants La Sirena to start a new collective. Soong is furious because Kore discovers her creation. She is the only surviving clone of his genetic experiments. Kore receives an antidote from a mysterious benefactor and leaves her "father."

"Hide and Seek" has the Borg Queen and Soong attacking the crew for control of the ship at the château. Rios has revealed his true identity to Teresa and her young son. Tallinn transports them to safety before the battle. Jurati will not let the Borg Queen kill Seven. They become a new being with a different purpose. Jurati saves Seven. She is given the ship in return. Before Jurati leaves, she tells them their must be two Renées, one who dies and another who flies to Europa.

Star Trek: Picard Season Two Finale

The season finale, "Farewell", has the La Sirena crew and Tallinn trying to stop Soong. Picard and Tallinn transport to the launch site. Soong is there trying to kill Renée. Tallin turns out to be Romulan. She tells Picard that it's not his destiny to save her. He must allow himself to love. Tallinn reveals herself to Renée. She has been her "guardian angel." Tallinn disguises herself as Renée. She tricks Soong into poisoning her. Tallinn dies as the real Renée launches into space. Rios, Raffi, and Seven destroy attack drones that Soong had for a back-up plan. He returns home to find that Kore has erased all of his research. A dejected Soong opens a folder titled "Project Khan".

Wesley Crusher (Will Wheaton) meets with Kore. He explains that he is a "Traveler" that watches and guides the universe. They sent the "Watcher" and her antidote. Kore joins him as a "Traveler".

Related: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Premiere Recap & Review: Set Phasers to Awesome

At the château, the La Sirena crew prepares to live on 2024 Earth. Picard puts back the key that will lead to his mother's suicide. Q congratulates him for not changing the future. A dying Q offers to return the crew to their timeline. Rios chooses to stay with Teresa and her son. Q admits that Picard was his favorite. He would die alone but did not want the same fate for his friend. Picard embraces Q. He uses his remaining power to send them home.

Picard, Raffi, and Seven return to the Star Gazer at the moment they left. Picard turns off the self-destruct. The new Borg Queen is Jurati. The anomaly in space-time is about to explode. It will destroy half of the quadrant. Picard promotes Seven to captain of the Star Gazer. They allow Jurati to take control of the armada. She uses their collective shields to block the massive explosion. Jurati asks Picard for the new Borg to enter the Federation. The explosion has resulted in a trans-warp conduit. She doesn't know what enemy caused the incident. The friendly Borg will be the "guardians of the gate."

Picard, Seven, Raffi, and a living Elnor meet Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) for celebratory drinks. She has a picture of Rios and Teresa. They did a lifetime of good. Teresa's son would eventually use Renée's microbe to cure Earth's pollution. Picard returns to the château. He expresses his feelings for Laris. They hold hands as the season concludes.

As the Credits Rolled

I wanted to vomit as the credits rolled. Q's mortality was never explained. How can an omnipotent and immortal being die? We'll never know. He saved Picard and the timeline because he liked him? Decades of Q messing with Picard led to best buddies? He engineered the whole situation, so Picard could let go of his mother's guilt and find love. Give... me... a... break... ridiculous.

Picard has an older brother, Robert; who was a pivotal character in Star Trek: The Next Generation . Robert and Picard's nephew, Renée, were killed in a fire at the château. This emotional devastation was critical to Picard's character arc in the film Star Trek: Generations . Robert is nowhere to be found in Star Trek: Picard . That's an unforgivable oversight. Having Tallinn be an ancestor of Laris makes zero sense. Bringing in Wesley Crusher as a finale cameo to recruit Kore was beyond ludicrous. Star Trek: Picard has already shot its third and final season . I pray it's not any dumber and self-serving.

Star Trek: Picard is a production of CBS Studios, Secret Hideout, Weed Road Pictures, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Both seasons are available to stream on Paramount+.

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Published Mar 26, 2020

Recap: Star Trek: Picard - Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

Destinies are revealed in the season finale of Picard

StarTrek.com

It’s the final episode of Star Trek: Picard ’s first season, which is hard to believe. It feels like the world has fallen apart over the past few weeks, but one constant has been that this show has never failed to entertain and delight each Thursday. It’s provided a reliable escape for an hour every week, and I’m incredibly sad that it’s time to say goodbye, at least until the next season premieres.

“Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2” opens with an extremely cool shot of the Borg cube, as Narek scrambles toward it, eager to enact whatever his plan is. He finds Narissa, and she helps him grab grenades aimed at blowing up the ship-destroying orchids. He heads out and Elnor follows.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc continues to try and appeal to Soji’s better nature, but he’s not having much luck. It’s hard to blame her here — Soji has experienced quite the trauma at the hands of the Romulans, and now this man she barely knows is asking her to trust him with the lives of all her people. What’s more, Picard can offer no guarantees he’ll be able to save them. While I don’t think she’s necessarily onboard with wiping out all organic life, if she is convinced that it’s a choice between one or the other, she is choosing her own people.

Aboard La Sirena , Raffi and Ríos fix the ship using the contraption the androids handed them, but they’re interrupted by Narek. It turns out our favorite teary-eyed emo Romulan wants to team up in order to stop the synthetics from activating the beacon — and he’s willing to be the bait in order to get them back into the compound.

Dr. Jurati, who’s still a terrible liar, actually manages to play the double agent for a little while, distracting Alton Soong and using Saga’s good eye to break Picard out of his quarters. Once Alton is able to access Saga’s memories and see that it was actually Sutra who murdered his dear daughter, he realizes how they’ve all been manipulated and turns against her. As Agnes and Jean-Luc make their way to La Sirena, the rest of the team (including Alton) works to destroy the transmitter after neutralizing Sutra. Their plan fails, so now it’s up to Jean-Luc and Agnes — one small ship against hundreds of Romulan warbirds.

Seven of Nine finally discovers Narissa aboard the Borg cube, and after a brutal and fantastic hand-to-hand fight, Seven triumphantly pushes Narissa off a ledge. I don’t think any of us were sad to say goodbye to her.

The Romulan fleet arrives with Commodore Oh at their head, and Picard is out of time. After Oh gives us a chuckle by ordering Planetary Sterilization Pattern Number 5 (because of course the Romulans would have multiple planetary sterilization patterns), Agnes uses the famed Picard maneuver to buy some time, and Soji activates the beacon.

And then, in an incredibly rousing moment, Starfleet arrives with none other than Captain Riker — so handsome and resplendent back in a Starfleet uniform — at its head. (Sidenote: Did anyone else cry — I mean gasping sobs — when they saw him and heard The Next Generation theme? No? Just me??)

The discussion during these scenes, where Agnes remarks that there is actually a Picard maneuver (first discussed in The Next Generation episode “The Battle”) and Riker’s incredible banter with the Romulans actually reminded me a bit of the movie Star Trek: Insurrection . I’ve always enjoyed seeing Will in command of a starship, and this was an incredibly unexpected treat to cap the first season.

Jean-Luc makes it clear he’s ready to sacrifice himself for Soji and his people — and he does. After speaking with Jean-Luc, Soji closes the portal just as something that looks a whole lot like Control from Star Trek: Discovery (specifically, the second-season episode “Light and Shadows,” when Control from the future attacks a shuttlecraft) begins to emerge through it. The Romulans, faced with Soji’s choice and Starfleet’s finest, choose to retreat, and Picard says goodbye to his friend, Will Riker.

Then he dies.

When it comes to the emotional core of the episode, Elnor wins. From the simple certainty that “Because I’d miss you” is enough of a reason for Seven to not kill herself (which, it absolutely is, but the innocence with which it’s delivered is so heartwarming) to reminding everyone not to trust Narek because “his sister murdered Hugh,” to his gasping sobs in Raffi’s arms as he mourns the man he thought of as a father, Evan Evagora was in incredible form this episode.

As his crew mourns the loss, Picard’s consciousness has a lovely and simple conversation with Data — or at least, the memories he downloaded into the android B4 before Data’s death in Nemesis. The two discuss their relationship, Data’s death, and the fact that Data knew Jean-Luc loved him, before Data reveals that Jean-Luc’s consciousness was downloaded into a new body. Yes, he’s dead, but Jean-Luc is alive in a new form.

His new android body looks exactly like the old one, and he’s not immortal — Dr. Jurati programmed this new Picard with the same life span that he would have had without the brain abnormality. Before Jean-Luc and his crew set out (with Raffi and Seven coupled up — a sudden development to be sure, but a very welcome one!), Jean-Luc has one more thing to do: terminate Data’s consciousness and allow him, finally, to die. After the ending of Nemesis , we all hoped Data survived in some form through B4. This closure was beautiful and heartbreaking, and it was the send off such an iconic, influential, and meaningful character deserved.

With the first season wrapped up, there are many questions we still have to answer: What will become of everyone’s favorite murder-Romulans, Laris and Zhaban? Will the synthetic life, which is likely much too old to have actually been Control, still seek out Soji and her android brothers and sisters, now that it knows they exist? What will they do with Narek? Will Jean-Luc advocate for the ex-Borg, as Hugh asked? Will they be able to build another body for Alton Soong? WHERE IN THE GALAXY IS DOCTOR CRUSHER ? This was an incredibly exciting first season, and I already can’t wait until we get more of this found family.

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Swapna Krishna (she/her) writes about tech, science, and sci-fi. She’s a contributing editor at SYFY FANGRRLS and has been published at Engadget, Gizmodo, Mental Floss, the Los Angeles Times, and more. You can find her on Twitter @skrishna.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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 .

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2-hour star trek is “on the table”, says jonathan frakes & what this means for picard’s legacy spinoff.

Star Trek: Section 31 will be the first Star Trek movie made for Paramount+, and Jonathan Frakes thinks it could usher in more streaming movies.

• Star Trek is considering a 2-hour movie format for future projects, potentially exploring canceled series like Star Trek: Legacy.
• Jonathan Frakes suggests positive energy around the Section 31 movie opens up possibilities for more 2-hour Star Trek projects.
• Fans hope for a Star Trek: Legacy spinoff, but a potential streaming movie may have limitations in fully exploring its potential.

Jonathan Frakes suggests that the 2-hour format for Star Trek on Paramount+ is now "on the table", but could this mean Star Trek: Picard ' s proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, might become a 2-hour streaming movie? Star Trek: Picard season 3 was a huge success both critically and with audiences for reuniting and wrapping up the stories of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast while setting up an exciting future for the USS Enterprise-G led by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), However, despite passionate fan demand, there is no greenlight for Star Trek: Legacy from Paramount+.

Star Trek is in another transition period following its 2022 apex of five Star Trek shows streaming on Paramount+ . Star Trek: Picard ended with season 3 in 2023, and 2024 will mark the final seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Star Trek: Prodigy moved to Netflix after a groundswell of fan support saved the beloved CGI animated series. The good news is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds received an early season 4 renewal, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is scheduled to start filming in late 2024. In the midst of all of this is an X-factor: Star Trek: Section 31 , the first Star Trek movie made for streaming on Paramount+ that recently finished filming.

Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show

Jonathan frakes says section 31 put 2-hour star trek on the table, there's a lot of positive buzz around star trek: section 31.

Jonathan Frakes appeared on TrekMovie 's All Access Star Trek podcast to promote Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer's fundraiser and walk at PanCAN PurpleStride on April 27th, along with Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, and Juan Carlos Coto. When talk turned to Star Trek: Lower Decks ending with season 5 and whether it could be revived the way Star Trek: Prodigy got a new lease on life on Netflix, Frakes suggested that the potential success of Star Trek: Section 31 could lead to more Star Trek projects with a 2-hour format. Read Frakes quote below:

I do know that there’s a lot of positive energy around the Michelle Yeoh Section 31 movie. So that 2-hour format is now on the table for Star Trek going forward.

Star Trek is no stranger to a 2-hour format after 13 theatrical Star Trek movies since 1979, and many 2-hour episodes of the various Star Trek series. Star Trek: Section 31 , which is headlined by Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, already has talk of a sequel. Hopefully, Section 31 will be the first of a series of Star Trek movies or event mini-series made for streaming on Paramount+. Potentially, this means canceled Star Trek on Paramount+ series and characters can be explored further in 2-hour streaming movies, which can be relatively less expensive to produce than a full-blown 10-episode-per-season Star Trek series.

You can listen to and download the excellent episode of TrekMovie 's All Access Star Trek Podcast here .

Will Picard’s Legacy Spinoff Become A Star Trek Streaming Movie?

Better a star trek: legacy movie than no spinoff at all.

Variety 's recent cover story about the future of the Star Trek franchise indicated that Star Trek: Legacy is being considered as a 2-hour streaming movie rather than a 10-episode series, and Jonathan Frakes agreed this was a possibility during TrekMovie 's All Access Star Trek podcast. Frakes confirmed that "of course" Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas has spoken with him about Star Trek: Legacy , although Jonathan doesn't think he would be asked to direct it if it happens. Frakes predicted Matalas would simply "hire himself," as Terry wrote and directed Star Trek: Picard season 3's acclaimed finale episodes "Vox" and "The Last Generation."

Jonathan Frakes would like to play Admiral Will Riker in Star Trek: Legacy and be the "Charlie" of Charlie's Angels who gives Captain Seven of Nine and the USS Enterprise-G their marching orders.

Fans hope Star Trek: Legacy will still happen, although a 2-hour movie instead of a multi-season TV series would be a disappointment for many . A Star Trek: Legacy s treaming movie would mean there wouldn't be time to fully explore the vast potential of 25th-century Star Trek . However, with multiple factors such as the possible sale of Paramount+ and the reduction of Star Trek content creating uncertainty towards the future, a Star Trek: Legacy streaming movie is better than Star Trek: Picard' s spinoff not happening at all,

Source: TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek podcast

Star Trek TV shows and movies are streaming on Paramount+

Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Netflix.

The first 10 Star Trek movies are streaming on Max.

Star Trek: Section 31

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 Review: The Crew Solves Two of the Series’ Biggest Mysteries

While on the hunt for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's powerful alien technology, Captain Michael Burnham solves two decades-old franchise mysteries.

The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors."

One thing about Star Trek: Discovery fans is they are very observant. The big surprise in Season 5, Episode 5, "Mirrors," was slightly spoiled by the trailers, particularly when these eagle-eyed fans captured and examined screenshots. While the return of the ISS Enterprise after 58 years is a big deal, there is more that happens in the episode than solving an old mystery from Star Trek: The Original Series . However, the answer that Captain Michael Burnham and Cleveland Booker uncover is a great one, and fans finally get a long-awaited first look at a mysterious alien species.

After dealing with the Time-Bug in the previous episode , the crew of the USS Discovery tries to figure out where Moll and L'ak disappeared to. While the space criminals have been very capable villains (almost too capable), they're not doing very well in the race. "Mirrors" marks the first time that Moll and L'ak put their hands onto one of the pieces of the Progenitors' puzzle before the Discovery crew. Of course, they aren't able to hold onto it for long after L'ak suffered a serious injury. Still, for the first time, both Burnham and Booker talk to their rivals, approaching them with the kind of compassion that Starfleet is known for. However, they still have to accomplish their mission, and L'ak's determination to be there for Moll gets in the way of any common ground they could've found. Thanks to flashbacks, viewers finally learn why the two are so eager to find this treasure, and where L'ak is coming from.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Continues To Put the USS Discovery in Classic Star Trek Situations

“mirrors” shows the crew rising to meet the challenge in classic star trek fashion, star trek: discovery's callum keith rennie shows a new side of starfleet.

From the lack of galaxy-ending stakes and major interpersonal drama among the crew, Season 5 is Stark Trek: Discovery at its most fun. This episode, in particular, is full of classic Star Trek moments, from forcing enemies to work together to sci-fi technobabble that provides a dramatic resolution to a major problem. The impetus for this race for the Progenitors' technology stems from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase (Season 6, Episode 20)," but there are major connections to all eras of Gene Roddenberry's universe throughout the season.

While they don't get a lot of screentime, the USS Discovery's crew under Commander Rayner's authority is an equally interesting part of the episode. The recently-demoted captain is hesitant to take full command of the ship in a crisis. In "Jinaal (Season 5, Episode 3)," he took command while Burnham and the away team were down on the surface of Trill. Yet, as far as he knew, their lives and that of the crew weren't in serious danger. His focus was on finding Moll and L'ak, and personally connecting with the crew in 20 words or less. That's not to say that the stoic commander was above some of the series' most emotional beats.

An early scene in the episode, where Captain Burnham tells her new Number One that she believes in him, was subtle but touching . After Rayner showed that he studied Earth customs and sayings, such as "breaking the ice," Burnham returns the favor and cites a historical epic from the Kellerun people. This comes into play when she's able to reference that story later on as a distress call for herself and Book. Instead of badgering the crew, Rayner uses his newfound personal connections (and a friendly offer of Kellerun Citrus Mash) to inspire the crew to solve the problem. This was as classic a Star Trek moment as any, and one longtime franchise fans will surely love.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Reveals the Face of the Breen Imperium Through Moll and L'ak

Star trek fans have wondered what the breen looked like under their armor for decades, star trek: discovery's mary wiseman, wilson cruz and blu del barrio hype finale.

First introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the Breen Imperium was a galactic seat of power outside of Federation space who allied with the Dominion. The armored aliens look like something out of Star Wars , particularly their helmets, which were reminiscent of Princess Leia's Boussh disguise in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi . The Breen's appearance and who they really were was one of the most enduring mysteries in Star Trek canon. Even the Dominion didn't know what their Breen allies looked like under the armor. Star Trek: Discovery finally reveals the armor keeps their bodies in a translucent, almost liquid-like state. L'ak, as viewers have seen them, are what the Breen call their "other face."

Moll originally teamed up with L'ak to cheat the Imperium out of some faulty dilithium, a commodity that became scarce because of the Burn . They soon fell in love and when L'ak's uncle, the Primarch of the Sixth Fleet, found out, he ordered L'ak to kill Moll. He instead killed his uncle's guards, but spared the Primarch because, as L'ak said, "he raised me." This defiance earned him an "Erigah," a Breen bounty that is impossible to lift. He now hopes that bringing the Progenitors' technology to the Primarch will lift this death sentence.

Moll also bonded with her quasi-brother Cleveland Booker, though he's the fourth to use that name. Her father was the third Booker, which made him desperate to "save" Moll. Knowing that all she really wants is to live a quiet life, "Mirrors" could be the start of Moll and L'ak eventually joining forces with the USS Discovery crew. Captain Burnham is, after all, a big fan of second chances and redemption . If Season 5 is to have a big villainous threat, it will clearly be the Breen trying to collect on L'ak's Erigah, not two petty criminals.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Reveals What Happened to the Mirror Universe Enterprise

The iss enterprise was introduced in star trek: the original series “mirror, mirror (season 2, episode 4)”, star trek: discovery actors doug jones & david ajala prepare for their last adventure.

"Mirrors" also reveals another, older Star Trek secret, specifically the ultimate fate of the ISS Enterprise, formerly under the command of Tiberius Kirk . Previously, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Crossover (Season 2, Episode 23)" revealed what happened to the Mirror Spock and the Terran Empire. He started the revolution that Kirk suggested and was successful in conquering the Terran Empire to usher in galactic peace. Unfortunately, an alliance of Klingons and Cardassians attacked their weakened forces and took over the galaxy -- or at least the sector containing the Cardassian and Bajoran territory. The fate of Spock himself and his flagship was left open for other storytellers to explore.

Star Trek: Discovery still leaves Spock's ultimate fate an open question, though it seems unlikely that he would have fled his universe. His ship, however, became a refugee vessel for Terran reformers who fled, either in the face of Klingon-Cardassian attacks or a resurgence of the Terran Empire's xenophobic and warlike ways . Their goal was to cross over to the Prime Universe, where they knew the universe they hoped to build already existed. Along with Doctor Cho, the Federation scientist who hid the clue, the Mirror version of Saru (who also became a revolutionary) came with them. This placed the crossover sometime in the Kelpien lifespan, but close enough for Doctor Cho to still be alive. The use of the ship at all is mostly fan service, but it doesn't take away from the story's importance.

In Star Trek: Disocovery Season 3, a holographic interrogator told Philippa Georgiou, the former Terran Empress, that there was a subatomic "chimeric strain on the Terran stem cell" which explained their "evil" natures. Georgiou doubted this, and the ISS Enterprise's refugees are more evidence that the Empress was right. The ideal of Star Trek is that anyone welcomed into this utopian society would discover the logic and practicality of Federation morality, and thus abandon their more outdated worldviews. It obviously worked on Dr. Cho, who hid the clue to the Progenitors' technology instead of using it like a Terran out to reshape an ordered universe in their vainglorious image .

Moll & L'ak Are Bigger Wildcards Than Starfleet's 'New' Enterprise

Star trek: discovery season 5 suggests the uss discovery is headed for a confrontation with the breen imperium, star trek: discovery's sonequa martin-green embarks on one final voyage.

Thanks to the crew of the USS Discovery, the Federation is now in possession of a 23rd Century Constitution-class Terran warship. That said, its value is likely little more than that of an ancient relic from the Terran dimension. If anything, the dilithium left in the ship's stores is worth more than the rest of the ship's parts put together. However, one piece of it -- a warp-capable Terran life-support and escape vessel called a warpod -- disappeared with Moll and L'ak inside of it. The Breen's fate is an open question, but Moll will certainly return for the final piece of the puzzle. She doesn't have to solve the clues; she just has to follow Booker.

This episode is the middle point of Star Trek: Discovery 's final season , and the crew are just two pieces away from the full clue device. The race against Moll and L'ak will probably end in three episodes at most, leaving two for a different, more difficult mission. Whether or not L'ak survives, the Erigah placed on his head means that the Breen and the USS Discovery are headed for conflict. It's looking more likely that Star Trek: Discovery is going to go out with a big space battle. Star Trek is a sci-fi action-adventure story, too, which makes episodes like these even more special.

Star Trek: Discovery examines the kinds of big questions that Star Trek is supposed to. A happy ending for some of the "good" Terrans is reminiscent of how Picard brought the Borg into the Federation . In this universe, the heroes don't defeat their enemies; they convince them to become their allies. As Commander Hugh Culber and

Sylvia Tilly discussed in the lounge at the end of "Mirrors," the characters of this universe are essentially going to meet God, and not that phony one on Sha'Ka Ree. The fights ahead will be fun, but the biggest challenge facing Star Trek: Discovery from this episode onwards is making the discovery of the Progenitors' "prize" as meaningful as it needs to be.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

• Moll and L'ak get overdue screentime to tell their side of the story.
• Commander Rayner begins to find his place as a true member of the USS Discovery crew.
• The fate of Mirror Saru and the other Terrans is good Star Trek storytelling.
• Moll and L'ak's escape feels convenient, continuing the 'cards-down' approach to their telling story.
• The use of the ISS Enterprise could reasonably be called 'fan service' because the ship itself means nothing to the characters.
• The choice to keep the sequences on the ISS Enterprise so dark might be visually unappealing to some viewers.

• May 1, 2024 | Star Trek Event Coming To ‘World Of Tanks’ Online Game – Watch Mission Preview
• April 30, 2024 | Star Trek Team Was Top Fundraiser For Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 2024 Charity Walk
• April 30, 2024 | See Alexander, Nog, And Jake Deal With Q Jr’s Time Loop Shenanigans In ‘Sons Of Star Trek’ #2 Preview
• April 29, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 506 With New Images. Trailer And Clip From “Whistlespeak”
• April 28, 2024 | Interview: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Writer Carlos Cisco On Unmasking The Breen And Revisiting The ISS Enterprise

Prep Begins For ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Finale; Cast And Directors Share BTS Images

| April 25, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 15 comments so far

Work on the third season of  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds  continues to move swiftly in Toronto and looks to be set to wrap up next month. We have some fun bits from the set shared by the cast and a couple of directors, as well as some details on the production.

2 more episodes to go

First up, a selfie from director Jordan Canning, who previously directed the season 2 episode “Charades.” The image posted earlier this week shows the director with Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn and has the message, “Always happy to be the redshirt between these two.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jordan Canning (@jjhcanning)

TrekMovie has confirmed that Canning directed episode 8, which has wrapped. Filming for episode 9 has already begun, with Andrew Coutts directing. This will be the directorial debut for Coutts, a co-producer and editor on the show. The 10th and final episode of the season will be directed by Maja Vrvilo, a Paramount+ Trek veteran who has directed episodes of Discovery , Picard , and Strange New Worlds . Earlier this week, she posted an image of her office door, indicated prep work for her episode had already begun.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Maja Vrvilo (@majavrvilo)

Anson has a challenge for cosplayers

There have also been a couple of fun recent social media updates from the cast. First up, Anson Mount posted on Twitter/X that season 3 will require cosplayers to bring their “A-game” as he shared some creative fan costumes.

I will say this about season 3 of #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds : Cos-players, you better be ready to bring your A-game. #Cosplay @StarTrek @StarTrekOnPPlus pic.twitter.com/mZ9gMmIhsL — Anson Mount 🖖 (@ansonmount) April 16, 2024

One new look for cosplayers to try is an armed Nurse Chapel, as seen in this short video from Jess Bush showing off her phaser holster.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jess Bush (@onejessa)

Finally, on the day of the big eclipse, some of the Strange New Worlds team took a moment to check it out. Bush shared an Instagram story with herself and co-star Melissa Navia rocking their eclipse glasses. (They had 90% totality in Toronto.)

Last week brought big news for Strange New Worlds: It’s been renewed for a fourth season. Paramount+ recently confirmed season 3 will debut in 2025.

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

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I LOVE holodeck dude in cosplay!

I’m curious how long their entire season shooting period actually is.

Usually 5 to 6 months. This one started just before Christmas.

I know I’ll end up watching it, but I’m just not excited for the next season. Season 2 was all over the place, in my opinion. For every episode like Those Old Scientists or Ad Astra Per Aspera, there was rubbish like The Broken Circle and Under the Cloak of War and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I like the cast, but the quality isn’t there- and for all the talk of “big swings” and pushing the envelope- Season 2 was almost painfully generic.

Same here. I’ll be tuning in, but it’s not up there on my ‘must-see right away’ list. I feel like overall, the storytelling floundered during S2, legacy characters written badly, and a distinct corny popcorn feel to it. Both Spock and Pike were reduced to bumbling sidekicks. Hoping S3 has a bit more gravitas to it. Like you said, not the fault of the cast. All blame goes back to the writer’s room. I’m more than happy to consider this show as existing in its own separate timeline, as has been confirmed.

I still can’t get over how *boring* the finale was. It felt like it went on for hours and yet nothing actually happened besides a super-quick and appallingly shot fight in zero-g. Season Two really dropped the ball.

I agree. I don’t even remember what happened in the finale, except Pike at the end hesitating like a scared junior officer when the situation called for fast decisive action. As for the season in general, it feels empty, like nothing really happens in the episodes. I hate the way they turned Spock into a moron. There are better ways if the writers wanted to put some humor in… I’m sure the 12 year olds found it funny but adults are watching too…

They seem to be testing the water for the Academy show with teen romances also. Spock, Chapel / La’an, Kirk and Pike, Batel were all shallow romances and just really boring that took up way too much time in the season. They seriously need to get back to writing some good sci fi stories or this show will go down as one of the worse Star Trek series for me. It seems more of a comedy starship show than the Orville at times. And season 1 had so much promise as well.

The SNW writers room has a chalk board titled Gimmick Board only they misspelt it Big Swing Board. Hopefully they can’t destroy Spock’s character anymore as they have already scraped the bottom of the barrel with their writing of his character.

So relieved I’m not the only one who felt this way. I hear “game changer” and “big swing” and I think “great, they’re effing with my show again to bring in the non-Trek fans”!

Yes, to them “big swing” means having the characters do things completely out of character and turning Star Trek into a Broadway play. Sure the musical was original and unexpected, but really out of place, and I will never be able to get the K-Pop Klingons out of my head.

I didn’t mind the musical episode (probably because I love musicals!) but on the whole, the season felt soulless and devoid of anything interesting to say (outside of Ad Astra Per Aspera). It’s as though the entire season was written by committee and was deathly afraid of offending the fandom by doing anything even slightly controversial.

I’ve had this feeling since the first season. Anson Mount is a wonderful lead, but they’ve completed destroyed the character that we got to know in Season 2 of Discovery. And they need to do something with Spock besides him being a complete and utter pig to women.

I’m absolutely giddy for this next season. Season two was fantastic and I cannot wait for this next season.

I really wish studios would get it together. They used to be able to turn out twice the number of eps or sometimes more every year without year-long pauses between seasons.

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