star trek picard does picard die

Star Trek: Picard Series Finale Ending Explained And What The Post Credits Scene Means

What an ending and possible beginning.

Star Trek: Picard has kept fans with a Paramount+ subscription entertained for years, but all good things must come to an end. The series decided to go out with a bang with a massive reunion of the cast of The Next Generation and brought back all of Patrick Stewart 's co-stars for a story that introduced Jean-Luc to his previously unrevealed son and a dastardly plot tied to Changelings and the Dominion War. In the end it set the stage for a final showdown between Picard and the Borg, but who came out on top?

For those that want to know or just need a breakdown of all that occurred, we have you covered. Here's what went down in the Star Trek: Picard ending and that post-credit scene that absolutely threw into question one major event we saw in a prior season.

Borg Queen on Star Trek: Voyager on Paramount+

The Borg Queen Was Defeated

The Borg Queen returned in the final episodes of Season 3 of Picard , though viewers soon realized she was behind the scheme all along. Through the use of Jack and a pact with the Changelings, she assimilated all Starfleet officers under the age of 25 and managed to take control of a bulk of the fleet on Frontier Day. It seemed she had finally found a way to punish humanity and restore the Borg empire until Jean-Luc and friends got involved.

He, Riker, and Worf managed to sabotage the Borg Queen's cube and rescued Jack from being held by the Collective. Her plot was foiled, and she was blown to pieces along with the cube. I would like to think that this means the Borg threat is effectively gone from Starfleet, but can the Borg ever truly be defeated? Somehow, somewhere, they always seem to find a way back into the story.

Jean-Luc And Crew Played A Game Of Poker

With the Borg threat behind them and Starfleet saved, Jean-Luc and the crew hit the bar to celebrate a job well done. After some words exchanged back and forth, Jean-Luc pulled out the cards, much to the delight of the rest of the Enterprise D crew. They all gathered around the poker table, and had a blast talking through each hand.

Star Trek: The Next Generation fans should know why this is more or less the perfect way to end Picard , given how many times we've seen the crew gathered around a poker table. In fact, this scene seems like a direct homage to the series finale of TNG , which features a very similar overhead poker table scene. It might be one of the best nods to the series this season had, so it's fitting it came toward the very end.

Jeri Ryan in Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+

Seven Of Nine Became Captain Of The Enterprise G

Seven of Nine helped buy the Enterprise D time by navigating the Titan through the Borg-controlled fleet and distracting them, and played a key role in helping save the day. As her old crewmate, Tuvok, reminded her, however, she was complicit in a number of Starfleet violations throughout Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Seven accepted that perhaps her viewpoints weren't in line with that of Starfleet and handed in her resignation.

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Of course, Tuvok wasn't there to deliver news of her termination but to inform her of her official promotion to Captain. Later, we saw Seven assume command of the Titan, which was renamed the Enterprise G in honor of The Next Generation crew. With Raffi as her Number One, Seven sent out the opening orders of her run as captain. Unfortunately, the camera cut before we got her official catchphrase, but if there's a spinoff, I'm sure we'll hear it there.

Ed Speelers as Jack Crusher in Star Trek: Picard

Jack Joined Starfleet As An Ensign

One year after being saved from Borg assimilation by his father, Jack Crusher decided that he, too, wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and join Starfleet. Thanks to an expedited Starfleet Academy program and possibly some nepotism, the character was officially an ensign in the flash-forward scene.

Jack is serving on the Enterprise G as "special council to the captain" and will sit next to Captain Seven of Nine on the bridge. That's quite a job for an ensign, though with Jack's level of experience traveling with his mother, not undeserved.

Gates McFadden in Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+

Beverly And Jean-Luc Are Together?

A lot can happen in a year, including Jean-Luc going from being happily in love with Laris to possibly being back with Beverly Crusher. A picture Jack placed on his nightstand showed Picard and Beverly smiling and walking together, and they appeared to be in formal attire. Apparently, it's open for interpretation, but I'm leaning toward them reconciling.

If that's the case I can't help but feel a little sad for Laris, who helped push Jean-Luc out into space in order to find Beverly! I guess she could've figured something was up when he wasn't making calls home after being gone for so long, but imagine worrying about him during the Borg invasion only for him to come home with that news. If Picard and Bev are together it's rough stuff for those who were excited that Orla Brady returned to play Laris , but a tremendous payoff for Star Trek fans who wanted to see Picard and Bev together all these years .

Q Returned In The Post-Credit Scene, Despite His Death In Season 2

The post-credits scene cut to Jack in his quarters on the Enterprise G , unpacking his belongings for his long mission. He was interrupted by a familiar face and one that viewers were likely not expecting. Actor John De Lancie was back as Q, but like, how? He died in Season 2 of Picard , right?

The only clue that Q gave was that he was dead in a linear sense, suggesting that the version talking to Jack in the future was a younger version of the Q that died. It didn't make a ton of sense, but all things when it comes to the Q Continuum are confusing, so that bit isn't too surprising. It seems like we'll eventually get more answers on Q's return in some form or another, whether that's through a spinoff series, comic, or novel.

Star Trek: Picard is over, but viewers will be able to binge it to their heart's desire over on Paramount+ . The future is bright for Trek on the whole, so I would encourage anyone who enjoyed this season to stick around for all the upcoming shows on the horizon.

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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

Star trek: picard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Captain’s Log

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Star Trek: Picard season 3’s ending, explained

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

What is Star Trek: Picard season 3 about?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Warning: This article contains spoilers for Leave the World Behind (2023).

Sam Esmail’s new thriller, Leave the World Behind, ends with two major stand-offs and a short epilogue that is more satisfying than it really has any right to be. The film spends its final minutes cutting back and forth between a tense confrontation between G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali), Clay Sandford (Ethan Hawke), and G.H.’s doomsday prepper former contractor, Danny (Kevin Bacon), and a terrifying encounter that Clay’s wife, Amanda (Julia Roberts), and G.H.’s daughter, Ruth (Myha'la), share in the woods with a strangely aggressive herd of deer. The latter scene is preceded by an argument between Amanda and Ruth about the former’s coldness toward seemingly everyone outside of her family.

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Patrick stewart breaks down ‘star trek: picard’ finale shocker.

'Star Trek: Picard' star Patrick Stewart weighs in on the finale's big twist in an interview.

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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Patrick Stewart Breaks Down Shocking 'Star Trek: Picard' Finale

[This story contains spoilers for Star Trek : Picard ‘s season one finale, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2.”]

Star Trek: Picard just added another Starfleet officer to its deep bench of heroes in need of a photon torpedo casket.

The epic finale to Picard ‘s freshman season, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2,” written by showrunner Michael Chabon, concludes with the shocking death — and resurrection — of Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ). After Picard and Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) use Rios’ (Santiago Cabrera) ship to defend the homeworld of an advanced race of androids (Synths) from the Romulan armada hellbent on wiping them out , Picard succumbs to his neurological ailment and dies. Then, his consciousness finds its way into a quantum afterlife simulation of sorts and has a tear-inducing chat with Picard’s long-lost friend, Data (Brent Spiner). Then, the retired Starfleet officer awakens in a brand new “golem” body that Dr. Altan Soong (Spiner again) was working on.

The only thing more surprising than the character’s fate, however, was that Stewart didn’t know about it until late in the season’s production.

“I only learned of [Picard’s death] way into [shooting] the first season,” the Star Trek: Picard star tells The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive post-mortem interview about “Arcadia Ego” and the show’s freshman season overall. “Because that final episode wasn’t written yet, and I didn’t know it was part of the storyline.”

Stewart half-joked that, while the shoot was leading up to the finale, “there was a moment where I thought: ‘Oh, lord, am I being killed off? What did I do wrong?'”

Shooting Picard and Data’s final six-page scene, in a redress of the study set from the Chateau Picard vineyard, was “the highlight of the season” for the series’ star and producer. But the execution was more sprint than marathon — especially considering that Stewart received the script relatively late in the process.

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Star Trek: Picard ending explained —what's next for the series?

The Star Trek: Picard series finale was a goodbye... for now.

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, Brent Spiner as Data, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Michael Dorn as Worf, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Patrick Stewart as Picard in Star Trek: Picard season 3

NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 10, "The Last Generation"

Though Star Trek: Picard came to an end with the April 20 series finale, it actually looks like this is just the beginning for the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-G (formerly the U.S.S. Titan).

There's a lot to unpack from the series finale, so let's jump into it.

How does the Enterprise-D crew save the galaxy?

At the end of episode 9, the Borg Queen's ultimate plan of revenge was revealed. The Changelings and the Borg had been working together to add a hidden pattern in transporters that could connect all young people to the Collective.

Using a signal to all of the ships in the fleet, the Queen could use Starfleet's new ship-link technology to put the entire fleet at her disposal. No more Borg assimilation, this was about evolution. Her goal was to destroy the space station that protected earth and then launch an attack. Once that was done, the Borg could control the galaxy. Jack (Ed Speleers) was the "voice" of the signal, so the only way to disconnect the signal was to disconnect Jack and destroy the ship.

Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the original Star Trek: The Next Generation crew — Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Worf (Michael Dorn), Data (Brent Spiner) and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) — are on the Enterprise-D, the only ship not connected with the rest of the fleet because of its antiquated technology.

Picard, Riker and Worf beam aboard the Borg cube to find Jack and the source of the signal, but soon it looks like once the signal is disconnected, the ship will explode and they'll all die. Picard plugs into the Borg hive to get a message to Jack. Meanwhile, the young crew members aboard the rest of the ships in the fleet are killing anyone who hasn't been assimilated, and the space station eventually falls.

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Just when it looks like the end is nigh, the Enterprise-D team manages to blow up the source of the signal thanks to Data's fancy flying. Troi locates the away team and off they fly, escaping the Borg ship just in time. As soon as the signal stops, the young crew members return to normal and the fleet stands down.

How does the Star Trek: Picard finale tease a spinoff?

After Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Enterprise-D save the galaxy once again, all is well in the universe. The crew meet at Ten Forward and play a game of poker, the way they did back in the good old days.

Raffi (Michelle Hurd) has been promoted to First Officer on board the Enterprise-G, with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) as the new captain and Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) as an ensign and the captain's special counselor. Sidney LaForge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) is still at the helm, too.

It would have been possible to bring the show to an end after revealing that everyone has a happy ending, but that would have been too easy. Instead, the show leaves the door open — and by "open" we mean the finale blew the door off the hinges so there’s no closing it now — for more.

Every Star Trek captain has a catchphrase. From "engage" and "make it so" to "punch it," it has become a tradition among captains, especially new captains. Toward the end of the episode, Raffi reminds Seven that there's a very long history of every captain's first official act of command. "Writing the opening line to your legacy," Jack adds, adding pressure. The bridge eagerly awaits Seven's catchphrase, but the scene cuts away before she can say it.

But that's not all. In a mid-credits scene, Q (John de Lancie) shows up. Evidently Q didn't die in Picard season 2; the powerful being decries the inability of humans to think beyond the confines of linear time. Q informs Jack that while his father’s trial has ended, Jack’s trial has just begun.

All this signals a grand new adventure. After all, Star Trek: The Next Generation began and ended with Q, so it's only fitting that he is there at the end of Picard to kick off something wholly new that features the "new" ship and the "new" crew.

It's even more promising knowing that the Enterprise-D is intact and waiting for an adventure, and so too are the members of the crew. After reuniting in Picard season 3, the TNG cast seems all too willing to return to the fold and a potential new show featuring the Enterprise-G crew battling Q is the perfect way to integrate them into the story.

With his many powers, it's entirely possible for Q to snap his immortal fingers and manifest any member of the TNG crew anywhere he pleases, which is a fantastically brilliant tool when it comes to telling stories. Q can send anyone backwards or forwards in time, and he can also summon anyone from anywhere — alive or dead.

Furthermore, we'll go out on a limb here and mention the one key absence from season 3: Jack's half brother, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), who made a brief cameo in season 2. Wesley became a mystical Traveler and hasn't been seen or heard from since he left three decades prior, so it would be very fitting to have Wesley arrive to help his brother combat Q’s merry mayhem.

We don't know what the future holds for the crew of the Enterprise-G, but it's safe to say that Paramount Plus and showrunner Terry Matalas have something planned. Matalas told Entertainment Weekly after the finale aired that "Jack’s got a lot to do, let me tell you." So it looks like the continuing mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise will continue.

You can watch the entire Star Trek: Picard series right now on Paramount Plus .

Sarabeth joined the What to Watch team in May 2022. An avid TV and movie fan, her perennial favorites are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story , true crime documentaries on Netflix and anything from Passionflix. You’ve Got Mail , Ocean's Eleven and Signs are movies that she can watch all day long. She's also a huge baseball fan, and hockey is a new favorite.

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Star Trek: Picard's season finale was far more shocking than you realised

Why aren't we talking about that *other* major death?

Star Trek: Picard spoilers follow.

It's safe to say there was lots to *engage* with here, but among all of those surprising developments, one in particular changed Star Trek forever in a way that most fans seem to have overlooked.

No-one could have missed the moment when Picard finally succumbed to his illness and died, but that's not what we're talking about exactly.

Following his demise, Jean-Luc ended up in a quantum afterlife of sorts where he met Data for one last heart-to-heart before the android found peace in death. Picard then woke up, resurrected in a new "golem" body created by Dr Altan Soong.

With Soji's help, Agnes and the good doctor mapped out all of Picard's memories and downloaded them into this new artificial body. It's basically the same as his old one, except that pesky brain abnormality was left out this time round.

Right now, it's unclear what happened to Picard's corpse, but that doesn't seem to matter, because all eyes are now on the future. Through technological innovation, the status quo has been restored, and Picard is ready to fight the good fight again with his brand-new body in a brand new season .

Except, is that really what happened?

The new Picard we meet at the end of the episode is definitely alive, that much is true. As this series in particular has reminded us time and time again, synthetic life is truly sentient, and therefore synths like Soji deserve the same rights as any biological organism.

However, that doesn't mean this "golem" Picard is the same one we just saw die a few minutes earlier. During that strange afterlife simulation, Data realised that he's actually a copy of the real Data, and it's entirely possible that our new Picard is also a copy too.

Sure, the scientists did manage to upload Picard's memories into this artificial body, but memories alone aren't enough. For this to be the same Picard, they would have also needed to digitise his consciousness, his very soul, and then transfer that as well. Without this core aspect of his persona, the Picard we're left with at the end is merely a sentient copy who happens to share the same memories as our beloved hero.

Obviously that's a subject for philosophers to wrestle over. Unfortunately, the mechanics behind Picard's return remain unclear. Either way, this wouldn't be the first time that Star Trek has questioned whether a soul can live on in someone's duplicate.

Back in The Next Generation episode 'Second Chances', Riker encountered a copy of himself that was created following a strange transporter mishap, and his sentience was questioned here too.

While it's possible that season two may address the veracity of this new Picard more directly, it seems likely that things will probably just carry on as normal in season two. And that's a shame, because we can't think of anything more dramatic than the death of a true legend happening right under our very noses.

Star Trek: Picard airs on CBS All Access in the US and Amazon Prime internationally, including the UK.

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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 2, Episode 10 Recap: Q’s Last Gift

The “Picard” crew tries to find its way home.

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By Sopan Deb

Season 2, Episode 10: ‘Farewell’

So after all that, all the Jurati-Borg Queen combination had to do was show up earlier and none of the this season’s craziness would’ve happened?

A very funny moment comes when an Excelsior crew member, during the “Picard” finale’s climax, wonders what happened to Rios, who was left behind in the 21st century. Picard snaps, “Stay on task, helm. That’s an order.” That’s essentially how the show’s writers have treated the audience for most of its two-season run. Don’t worry about the things that don’t make sense. Just focus on where the story is going.

In this case, what the story reveals to us is that Q, in his dying moments, wanted to let Picard know that his mother’s death wasn’t his fault. (Why is Q dying? Of what? It’s never explained.) And that the first step to Picard finding love was for him to love himself. It’s a wonderful lesson, except, as Picard points out, there were innocent people who died along the way for a life lesson.

Not that Q cares. And neither does Picard, it turns out, because Picard gives his soon-to-be-deceased tormentor a hug. It’s a touching moment. The thing is, everything we’ve seen in “Picard” has taught us that what is dead will never die. There is no reason to believe that Q is actually dying, in the traditional sense, because no major character dies in this show. This includes even the ones who do, because they’re just brought back later — sometimes with a literal snap of a finger, like our old friend Elnor. (If I was Picard, I might have asked Q for some other people to be brought back to life. “Hey, while you’re at it, instead of bringing back Elnor, whom I’m not that close to, would you mind bringing back Data? Or Tasha Yar?)

John de Lancie did a wonderful job as Q, as he normally does. But the way the character was written this season felt off. If all this was to teach Picard forgiveness, why did Q seem so angry and vindictive earlier in the season? Recall his previous conversations with Soong, where he seemed to imply he wanted to get revenge on Picard.

Odds and Ends

So after all the talk about shifting the timeline with the slightest use of futuristic technology, Rios ends up staying behind in the 21st century with Teresa with centuries worth of knowledge in his head. We find out from Guinan that he didn’t use much of that knowledge. Rios is a better man than me. If I went back in time 400 years and stayed there, I would be known as the inventor of cars, the iPhone, electricity and Twitter.

That was a really lovely return from Wil Wheaton as the Traveler formerly known as Wesley Crusher. I have no idea if this is a one off, or if he’ll factor into next season, when the “Next Generation” cast returns. But Wesley was a character who generally got the short end of the stick in the original “Next Generation.” (The last we saw of him — when he was spotted at Riker and Troi’s wedding in “Nemesis” — he seemed to have returned to Starfleet.)

Soong pulling out the folder labeled “Project Khan” gives us a hint of what next season will be about. We know Soong is an expert in genetics and that the greatest villain in all of “Trek,” Khan Noonien Singh, was a result of genetic experimentation. This looks like a precursor to the Eugenics Wars. Should be fun!

Alison Pill has already said she’s not coming back for Season 3 of “Picard,” and with Rios now dead in the past, I’m wondering how much of the “Picard” crew comes back, if at all. Maybe next season will really be a “Next Generation” season.

What’s up with the transwarp conduit that Jurati-Borg Queen want to find out about? That could also be a hint for Season 3. There are just so many questions about what the Borg have been up to in the past 400 years. Were they hiding from the Evil Borg? Did the previous assimilation attempts not happen? Stay on task, helm! That’s an order!

A farewell to the Watcher, Tallinn, who stays away and watches until she doesn’t. Who had special powers, except for when she didn’t.

Finally, what happened to the F.B.I. agent, Martin Wells? Imagine working your whole life to find out if aliens exist, having your theory confirmed and then … what?

Sopan Deb is a basketball writer and a contributor to the Culture section. Before joining The Times, he covered Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign for CBS News. He is also a New York-based comedian. More about Sopan Deb

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How is Data in 'Star Trek: Picard' if he died in 'Star Trek: Nemesis?'

In Picard season 3 episode 6, "The Bounty," Riker, Worf and Raffi Musiker's away mission reunites them with an old friend, but how?

Data returns in Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 6, The Bounty.

How Data died in Star Trek: Nemesis
Data lived on in B-4
Another Data head?
Why is Data old now?

What can Data do now?

Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven't watched "Star Trek: Picard" episode 6, The Bounty .

Even though Spock died saving the Enterprise in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," Star Trek used the restorative powers of the Genesis planet to bring him back. So when Data made a noble sacrifice of his own in "Star Trek: Nemesis," it wasn't really a surprise when the door was left open – albeit slightly – for the android's future return.

"Star Trek: Picard" season one on Paramount Plus focused heavily on Data's legacy, introducing a family of synthetic offspring and revealing that his consciousness had been preserved in a virtual simulation. Jean-Luc Picard subsequently watched his friend die for a second time, but the show’s third season has just dropped the bombshell that – in true "Jurassic Park" style – something has survived.

In Picard season 3 episode 6 , "The Bounty," Riker, Worf and Raffi Musiker's away mission to the top-secret Daystrom Station reunites them with an old friend, an android with a familiar face who's been given responsibility for the facility's security. But how did Data (still portrayed by actor Brent Spiner) survive certain death in "Star Trek: Nemesis?" Why does he look so much older now? And is he still the same android we knew on the Enterprise-D? These questions and more are answered below. If you're behind, you can catch up on Star Trek: Picard Season 3" with our Star Trek streaming guide .

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Didn't Data die in Star Trek: Nemesis?

Data holds the head of B-4 in Star Trek: Nemesis.

Yes. "Star Trek: Nemesis" is the 10th film in the Star Trek movie franchise and the last to feature the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." It features a clone of Jean-Luc Picard called Shinzon who's out to get Picard (and the Federation), with Data discovering an earlier prototype of himself called B-4 along the way.

In the film's climax, the Picard clone Shinzon had rigged his Romulan/Reman (don't ask) warbird, the Scimitar, to unleash its lethal thalaron radiation weapon on a severely damaged USS Enterprise-E. With Picard on board the enemy vessel, transporters inoperative, and the crew trapped in the quintessential no-win scenario, Data came up with his own solution to the Kobayashi Maru test.

Effectively blowing himself out of an airlock, Data leapt across the void of space to the Scimitar and placed an emergency transport beacon on Picard, who was instantly beamed back to the Enterprise. With the weapon nearly charged, Data fired his phaser at the thalaron generator, destroying himself and the ship in the process. He had sacrificed himself to save his captain and the crew, a fact Picard subsequently struggled to live with. RIP, Data.

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Data lived on in B-4, or DID he?

Data wasn't the only android built by his creator: genius cyberneticist Dr. Noonian Soong (also portrayed by Brent Spiner).

"Evil twin" Lore (Brent Spiner again) tormented the Enterprise crew on several occasions throughout "The Next Generation," and "Nemesis" introduced the earlier prototype model called B-4 (say the name out loud). Before his death, Data used B-4 as a kind of hard drive to back up his memories and personality, but – aside from sharing Data's ability to recite Irving Berlin standards – B-4's neural pathways lacked the sophistication to replicate his late brother.

But this is where it gets complicated ... The first season of "Picard" revealed that Data's consciousness had survived after all. Along with Soong's human son, Altan (also Brent Spiner), cyberneticist Bruce Maddox – who'd previously tried to prove Data was Starfleet property in classic "TNG" episode "The Measure of a Man" – used a process called "fractal neuronic cloning" to replicate a virtual Data from one of B-4's neurons. This version of the android lived in a "massively complex quantum simulation" until Picard agreed to his old friend's request to help him die for a second time.

There's another Data head in Star Trek: Picard, but whose is it?

Data and the body of B-4 or Lore in Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 6, The Bounty.

Data, Lore and B-4 were all crafted in Noonian Soong's image, so it's almost impossible to tell them apart. It seems most likely, though, that the disembodied head we see in the top secret Daystrom research facility belongs to B-4.

First, we know from Picard's meetings with Dr. Agnes Jurati in season one that B-4 is in Starfleet’s possession. Second, when Will Riker reminds us that "Data copied everything he was onto B-4," the camera very deliberately cuts to the android head.

There's still a chance, however, that this is a misdirection, and that the head belongs to Lore. We have no idea what happened to Soong's more problematic son after his Borg misadventures in "TNG" two-parter "Descent" – we know he was dismantled but everything beyond that is a mystery. So while it's conceivable Starfleet have brought Lore back somehow, the show would have to fill in some gaps in the canon to explain his presence here.

The head probably isn’t Data's. The explosion at the end of Nemesis was pretty cataclysmic, and besides, if part of Data had survived, surely Maddox, Soong and Starfleet wouldn’t have resorted to using neurons from the inferior B-4 to bring him back.

Why is Data "old" now?

Data can grow old now in Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 6, The Bounty.

Picard season one used some clever digital tricks to de-age actor Brent Spiner to look like he did in "The Next Generation" era, but the Data we see in "The Bounty" looks much older. His complexion is also much more human.

While the change undoubtedly saved some money on the show’s VFX budget, there's also an in-universe explanation. This is an entirely different type of synthetic body to Data's, much more similar to the "golem" the late Altan Soong gifted to Picard, allowing to survive his incurable irumodic syndrome.

Soong Jr. had originally planned to transfer his own consciousness into the golem before he died, but ended up going down a very different route. He instead decided to combine the consciousnesses of Lore, B-4, Data and Lal (the "daughter" Data built in "TNG" episode "The Offspring") in one body, aka Daystrom Android M-5-10. Soong built this older-looking version "with the wisdom and true human aesthetic of age. With the hope that in totality, something, someone will rise to be the best of us."

That's the million-dollar question, though it's clear there's much more to this new-look Data than simply managing the security systems at Daystrom Station. It’s also clear this isn't quite the Data we knew and loved.

Altan Soong never got the chance to finish the project before he died, leaving the various personalities vying for supremacy within the vessel. Data still recognizes Geordi La Forge, Picard and the rest of the crew, but with Lore also lurking in that shared mind, this resurrected body could be a danger to everyone.

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Richard's love affair with outer space started when he saw the original "Star Wars" on TV aged four, and he spent much of the ’90s watching "Star Trek”, "Babylon 5” and “The X-Files" with his mum. After studying physics at university, he became a journalist, swapped science fact for science fiction, and hit the jackpot when he joined the team at SFX, the UK's biggest sci-fi and fantasy magazine. He liked it so much he stayed there for 12 years, four of them as editor.

He's since gone freelance and passes his time writing about "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and superheroes for the likes of SFX, Total Film, TechRadar and GamesRadar+. He has met five Doctors, two Starfleet captains and one Luke Skywalker, and once sat in the cockpit of "Red Dwarf"'s Starbug.

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Admin said: How is Data in 'Star Trek: Picard' if he died in 'Star Trek: Nemesis?' : Read more

OneOfTwelve Data already had a built-in aging program according to the TNG episode with his "mother" Juliana. Reply
Newhouse75 That head is in Mark Twains time. Don't forget. The one in the future was used to restore Data in The future. Reply
Backcountry164 It's called plot armor. Tripping over yourself making excuses for lazy writers seems pointless... Reply
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The final act of Worf, the Star Trek legend who deserved one most of all

Michael Dorn’s Klingon officer is Star Trek’s MVP

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In television — as in sports — some records are simply unbreakable. No one will ever pitch more complete games than Cy Young, no one will ever hold pro wrestling’s highest title longer than Bruno Sammartino, and no one will ever make more appearances on Star Trek than Michael Dorn.

Between 1987 and 2002, Dorn portrayed Starfleet’s mighty and stoic Klingon expatriate Worf in 174 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , 98 episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and four feature films. Add in his cameo as Worf’s grandfather in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , and that adds up to 277. Even after the revival of the franchise in 2017, this still accounts for nearly a third of the entire Star Trek canon . Now, Dorn has swapped his mek’leth for a kur’leth and glued on his bumpy prosthetic forehead once more to reprise the role of Worf in the final season of Star Trek: Picard , which reunites the Next Gen cast for one last adventure. It’s the chance to give one of sci-fi’s most beloved supporting characters something that’s usually reserved only for Captains and Admirals: a glorious third act.

Though he’s now one of the franchise’s most recognizable figures, Lt. Worf was a last-minute addition to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Series creator Gene Roddenberry hoped to avoid relying on familiar alien antagonists from the classic 1960s series , leading producer Robert Justman to suggest the addition of a Klingon to the crew of the Enterprise, symbolizing that their long Cold War with the Federation had come to an end. (It was 1987, after all.) Thus, security officer Worf was created, added into the final draft of the series pilot, and cast after the initial publicity photos for the series were shot. Thus, the early development of the character was left almost entirely in the hands of Dorn, then best known for a supporting role on the lighthearted police drama CHiPs .

“They really didn’t have a bible for Worf at all,” says Dorn of those early episodes. “In fact, one of the first things I did was, I asked the producers, ‘What do you want from this guy? You’ve just handed me a piece of paper that says Worf on it.’” With Roddenberry’s blessing, Dorn set out making the character his own, giving Worf the kind of personal investment and attachment that only an actor can provide. “I decided to make the guy the opposite of everybody else on the show. You know, everyone else, their attitudes were great, and they’re out there in space, relationships are forming. And after every mission they were like, Wasn’t that fantastic? I didn’t say anything to anybody, I just made him this gruff and surly character on the bridge. No smiles, no joking around.”

It didn’t take the show’s producers long to realize that Dorn’s gruff, joyless performance could effectively turn any bit of throwaway dialogue into a laugh line. Dorn recalls an incident while shooting the early episode “Justice,” in which Worf is welcomed to an idyllic alien world by an embrace from a beautiful, scantily clad woman, and retorts, simply, “Nice planet.” He hadn’t thought much of it, until he learned that the producers had been watching the take on repeat during dailies, laughing their asses off. From here on out, writers would attempt to insert deadpan “Worfisms” into scripts, producing some of the character’s most memorable moments, but also forcing Dorn to occasionally lay down the law about his character.

“That’s been one of the big issues about Worf’s character that I’ve tried to keep consistent,” says Dorn regarding writers’ tendency to play him for laughs. “Worf does not think he’s funny. He doesn’t say funny things. It’s the people’s reaction around him that’s funny.”

Alongside his role as the show’s unlikely comic relief, however, Worf developed into one of Star Trek’s most complicated protagonists. Roddenberry mandated that the show’s human characters had evolved beyond the sorts of interpersonal conflicts that typically drive television dramas, but Worf, an alien, was permitted to be contrarian, hot-tempered, and even malicious. Dorn recalls being taken aback after reading the script to the season 3 episode “The Enemy,” in which Worf refuses to offer a lifesaving blood transfusion to a gravely wounded Romulan soldier. The Romulan tells him that he’d rather die than “pollute his blood with Klingon filth,” and Worf obliges him, without remorse. Worf believes that saving the life of a Romulan would dishonor the memory of his parents, who were killed in a Romulan sneak attack when he was a child. This runs contrary to the ideals of Starfleet and puts him at odds with the entire crew, but it sets him apart as a character. He strictly adheres to a code of honor that does not totally overlap with that of his peers.

That is, if he can be said to have peers at all. From the beginning, Worf stands apart as the only Klingon in Starfleet, rescued by a human officer after his family is massacred. Raised on Earth by a pair of adoring, demonstrative Russian Jews, young Worf is encouraged to explore and embrace his Klingon heritage despite being isolated from his culture. His image of what it is to be Klingon is based mostly on their mythology, on tales of honorable battle and the noble wisdom of the Klingon Christ figure, Kahless. But it’s also a self-portrait, processing that which makes him different from his human family and classmates into a cultural identity. “Klingons do not laugh,” Worf tells Whoopi Goldberg’s worldly bartender Guinan in the episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” a claim that Guinan has the experience to debunk. Worf believes that Klingons don’t laugh because he himself doesn’t. In actuality, no one parties harder than a band of Klingons after a glorious battle; Worf has simply never been invited.

Worf and Picard stand on a Bird of Prey for a Klingon ceremony in Sins of the Father in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Worf’s reverence for other Klingons is challenged nearly every time he encounters another of his kind. Time and again, he sees Klingon warriors and political figures like the opportunistic Chancellor Gowron lie and cheat in the pursuit of power and glory. He is formally excommunicated from the Klingon Empire twice, and though both times he is eventually able to win back his citizenship, it takes a heavy toll on him. Yet, however many times “real” Klingon conduct clashes with his values, Worf never allows this to pollute his own sense of honor. He remains unfailingly truthful, loyal, and brave. And, over the years, other Klingons take notice of this and grow to admire and emulate him. His identity and self-image are based in fantasy, but his presence in the universe helps to make that fantasy seem more attainable to everyone else.

Worf’s journey runs parallel to the experience of growing up a Star Trek fan. The crew of the Enterprise (or Voyager, Discovery, etc.) represents a humanity that is more compassionate, curious, honorable, and self-sacrificing than anyone you’re likely to meet. This is a wonderful example for a young viewer to follow, but if you go out into the world expecting to find these idols, especially in positions of power and authority, you’re in for a very rude awakening. By and large, people are not like this. If they were, we’d be living in the Star Trek future right now. However, if in spite of all this, if you can hold fast to that vision of a kinder, wiser humanity and embody it as best as you can, you can make it that much more real for the people around you.

Dorn fully endorses this interpretation of the character, and also sees him as an example of someone who learns to grow beyond his initial need to define himself through the lens of “Klingon” or “Starfleet.”

“He’s always thought that humans were this way and Klingons were that way,” says Dorn, “until he realized that Klingons and humans and everybody were very flawed individuals. And in order to grow, he’s taken the best out of each culture and made it its own. He’s on his own path. He has an ego, so I think he thinks he’s better than a lot of people, but he’s also learning that you can’t judge those things. That once you start judging you’re in trouble. You have to accept them for what they are, not only accept them but admire them, and all the negative stuff you leave behind.”

After The Next Generation closed out its seven-season run and made the leap to the big screen, Worf’s path led him to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , where producers hoped that his presence would boost fan interest in the beleaguered spinoff. His arrival turned out to be beneficial for both the show and the character, as DS9 ’s darker tone and more serialized format afforded Worf more growth and development in four seasons than TNG had offered in seven. The series also dove deeper into the lore and culture of the Klingon Empire, which Dorn says offered writers (particularly Ronald D. Moore, who would go on to run Battlestar Galactica , Outlander , and For All Mankind ) the opportunity to step away from the prim and proper world of Starfleet and do some swashbuckling.

Deep Space Nine ’s finale offered Worf’s story a worthy ending when he is appointed the new ambassador between the Klingons and the Federation. It’s arguably the perfect place for his character’s journey to end, but the franchise marched on, dragging Worf along with it into the underwhelming feature film Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002, which one again reduced him to a comic foil. Despite his efforts to get a “Captain Worf” spinoff off the ground in the subsequent decade, it appeared that Michael Dorn’s service to Star Trek had finally concluded.

Twenty years later, Dorn — along with the rest of the Next Gen ensemble — has once again been called upon to revitalize a Star Trek spinoff. The third season of Star Trek: Picard reintroduces us to Worf as a wise old master, so confident in his ability to defeat his foes in combat that he rarely needs to unsheathe this weapon. Dorn has imagined the past 20 years of his character’s life in detail, taking inspiration from a source not entirely disconnected from Star Trek: the films of Quentin Tarantino. Appropriately, Dorn has patterned this version of Worf after a character from a film that opens with an old Klingon proverb: Kill Bill .

An older Worf (Michael Dorn) standing and talking to Picard (Patrick Stewart)

“One of the characters was Pai Mei, this martial arts killer,” says Dorn. “He’s gone so far in the martial arts, the next step is — he can defend himself and kill with a sword, but he can also do it with his bare hands. And with that comes calm, and the ability to know that sometimes you don’t have to kill. That’s how he’s grown in the past 20 years. Now he can dodge ray guns.”

Though his castmates won’t rule out further adventures for their characters, Dorn says that Picard season 3 absolutely works as a satisfying conclusion to Worf’s 35-year voyage.

“The storytellers know his journey, and everyone can see what his journey is; there’s no ambiguity about that.”

One way or another, the actor looks back at his untouchable tenure as Starfleet’s greatest warrior with warmth and appreciation.

“It’s one of those things that validates the idea that you chose the right profession,” Dorn says. “My mother would be proud of me that I had a profession that I’ve been at for the majority of my life. That’s an accomplishment, I think.”

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Star Trek: Picard: how Data died, and his appearance in Picard explained

The death of Data explained, and what his appearances in Picard mean

If you've been watching Star Trek : Picard, you may have a few questions about Data, the android who appears in Picard's dreams – and who may very well be the 'father' of new characters Dahj and Soji. Data was an important character in The Next Generation, which this new series is a direct continuation of, and he led an interesting life. So here's everything you need to know about Lieutenant Commander Data, including how he ultimately died in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis.

How to watch Star Trek: Picard
When is Star Trek: Picard episode 2 released?
Our Star Trek: Picard episode 1 recap

Who is Data?

Data was an android designed by Dr. Noonian Soong, a brilliant cyberneticist. Other androids exist in the greater Star Trek universe, but Data's positronic brain gave him a greater depth and nuance of personality – to the point where the Federation considered him sentient, with the same rights as any biological being.

Data was unable to feel emotion, however, and struggled to understand the many idiosyncrasies of the human race. But he was still capable of loyalty, wisdom, friendship and sensitivity, which earned him many friends when he served aboard the Federation starship Enterprise.

How did Data join Starfleet?

A mysterious alien life-form known as the Crystalline Entity destroyed a colony on the planet Omicron Theta, and Data's deactivated body was discovered among the debris by the USS Tripoli. He was revived by the Federation, and was accepted into Starfleet Academy when it became apparent that he had achieved a level of sentience never before seen in a synthetic being.

Data graduated, despite the social challenges of being the only android in the academy, and served as an ensign aboard the USS Trieste, before being assigned to the Enterprise-D in 2364 – which is where we meet him in The Next Generation.

How did Data die in Star Trek: Nemesis?

Nemesis was the last of the Next Generation movies. Released in 2002, it starred Tom Hardy as Shinzon, a clone of Picard who stages a violent coup and becomes leader of the Romulan Empire. At the end of the movie, Data sacrifices his own life to save Picard's, destroying Shinzon's ship in the process. Before he died, Data downloaded his memories into a prototype Soong-type android, B-4. But this model's positronic brain was not as advanced as Data's, meaning he had none of his brother's individuality or personality: just raw memories.

How can Data be in Star Trek: Picard?

Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data in Star Trek: Picard, only in dreams so far. Picard is still haunted by the loss of his friend, and the heroic sacrifice he made to save his life. So whenever you see Data in the new series, it's Picard experiencing a vision; an echo of the past. But who knows what the rest of the series has in store? Perhaps we'll see a return of the old Data at some point in this story – although that might cheapen his sacrifice in Star Trek: Nemesis somewhat.

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Is Data still alive in Star Trek: Picard?

Alas, the Data we knew from The Next Generation is gone forever. But a major plot point in season one of Picard is his memories – the ones he downloaded to B-4 – being used to create two 'daughters', Dahj and Soji. These android twins were designed by Dr. Bruce Maddox, a cyberneticist, using a process called fractal neuronic cloning. So while Lieutenant Commander Data of the USS Enterprise, lover of cats and Sherlock Holmes, is no more, his spirit lives on in them.

Star Trek: Picard is released every Thursday on CBS All Access in the US, and every Friday on Amazon Prime internationally.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Character Death Meant For Beloved DS9 Actor

Posted: May 2, 2024 | Last updated: May 3, 2024

Perhaps the most surprising character in Star Trek: Picard was Michael Dorn’s Klingon Worf. In the third season, he was a constant source of Zen-like calm (very different from what we had seen before in The Next Generation), but we could tell he still knew how to kick butt from a shocking scene where he decapitated a conniving Ferengi. If Dorn had it his way, the actor playing that Ferengi would have been none other than Armin Shimerman, who made his Deep Space Nine bartender Quark the most famous Ferengi in all of Star Trek.

<p>As you may or may not remember, the Ferengi that Worf decapitates is a brutal crime lord named Sneed who helps arrange the catastrophic destruction of a Starfleet recruiting center. Familiar Picard character Raffi Musiker went under deep cover to try to get information from Sneed, but he saw through her ruse and tried to find out who she was working for. When that didn’t work, he tried to have her killed only to belatedly get his answer: she was working for Worf, who showed up to save her life by cutting the Ferengi’s head off.</p>

Sneed’s Death Could Have Went To Quark

As you may or may not remember, the Ferengi that Worf decapitates is a brutal crime lord named Sneed who helps arrange the catastrophic destruction of a Starfleet recruiting center. Familiar Picard character Raffi Musiker went under deep cover to try to get information from Sneed, but he saw through her ruse and tried to find out who she was working for. When that didn’t work, he tried to have her killed only to belatedly get his answer: she was working for Worf, who showed up to save her life by cutting the Ferengi’s head off.

<p>The final reason I believe a Star Trek: Worf series needs to happen is that back in 2021, Michael Dorn revealed that he wrote a movie for his character because he was inspired by the Star Wars film Rogue One. Now that Rogue One has led to the insanely successful Andor show, I think Dorn could translate his film idea into an episodic Worf series with the same grim and gritty tone. In this way, fans could finally have a more serious Star Trek show that doesn’t make us cringe.</p><p>Previously, Star Trek tried to deliver more serious “adult” entertainment by adding awkward swear words and oodles of gore to shows like Discovery and Picard. However, Andor doesn’t work because of vulgarity or violence; rather, it became the best modern Star Wars show simply by treating its characters, universe, and story with dignity instead of as just another chance to sell toys. </p><p>If we could have a Star Trek: Worf show with that level of quality, we’d have more than a great franchise spinoff–we’d finally have a Star Trek show where the writers don’t just add a few F-bombs to a juvenile script and pretend they’ve created something mature.</p>

Michael Dorn Wanted It To Be Armin Shimerman

Michael Dorn has always been heavily invested in his character’s stories, and he had a crazy idea for this episode. According to Quark actor Armin Shimerman, Dorn came up to him with all the bluntness of Worf and said “I’m doing an episode of Picard where I kill off a Ferengi…wouldn’t it be great if it were you?” Shimerman reacted with his own character’s typical bluntness, telling Dorn “No, it would not be great” and “to just forget about that idea, altogether.”

Obviously, Dorn did just that, and it wasn’t Armin Shimerman under that heavy Ferengi makeup. Instead, it was actor Aaron Stanford, and his performance seriously impressed the former Quark actor. Shimerman later said he was “in awe” over Stanford’s portrayal of Sneed, calling it “just outstanding.”

But He Didn’t Want To Kill Quark

At this point, it’s worth emphasizing that Michael Dorn didn’t want Worf to kill the beloved Quark character…instead, he just thought it would be a cool idea if Armin Shimerman played Sneed, an entirely different Ferengi. That’s important to note because some of the Star Trek shows since the end of Deep Space Nine have confirmed that Quark finally succeeded as a businessman.

Both Lower Decks and Picard verify that the Ferengi has created a successful chain of “Quark’s Bar” establishments throughout the galaxy, and it would have been a shame to kill the character at the height of the entrepreneurial success he always wanted.

Shimerman Recently Reprised His Role

Speaking of Lower Decks, it’s worth noting that Armin Shimerman reprised his Quark character for the episode “Hear All, Trust Nothing,” showing how the Ferengi continued his conniving adventures on Deep Space Nine long after we last saw him onscreen in “What You Leave Behind.”

Why would Shimerman come back for one Trek show and not the other? While he didn’t say it outright, it seems likely Shimerman was happy to lend his voice to the animated show but didn’t want to go through the process of putting on the extensive Ferengi makeup for the live-action show.

<p>Another reason that we love Quark so much is that he embodies one of the most powerful character archetypes in all of Western culture: the scoundrel with a heart of gold. Time and time again, we see that Quark doesn’t hesitate to break the law, violate his friends’ trust, or abuse his employees. He does all this in the name of profit, just like a good Ferengi is supposed to.At the same time, however, Quark is also the guy who steps up and helps the resistance take Deep Space Nine back from Dominion control. He’s the one who will drop everything and try to become an action hero in order to save his beloved mother. Deep down, Quark’s heart is almost as big as his greed, and that makes him someone that we just can’t look away from.</p>

Leaving Shimerman Out Of Picard Was The Right Call

In retrospect, I’m happy that Sneed was played by someone else…Armin Shimerman is just too recognizable, and whenever I rewatch his Ferengi debut in The Next Generation episode “The Last Outpost,” all I can see is Quark. Simply hearing about his familiar Ferengi a couple of times in Picard was fine, but a direct cameo by Shimerman would have been overkill. If fans really want to see him in Ferengi makeup that bad, they always buy some more merchandise with his likeness on it.

It’s what Quark would want you to do. Heck, you don’t think the Great Material Continuum moves itself, do you?

Source: TrekMovie

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Every Episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Ranked

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 was a varied and emotionally heavy season, and here's how critics and fans ranked each episode in the time-travel saga.

This article contains a brief mention of suicide.

The return of Jean-Luc Picard to the Star Trek universe was always meant to be a three-season affair. The second season was filmed during the height of the pandemic, and went through many iterations under the direction of three executive producers. In more ways than one, it was a tonal shift from the seasons on either side of it. How critics and fans ranked every episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 shows how challenging and contentious the middle chapter of this saga was. The story explored time travel, introduced an alternate timeline, and was bookended by a massively important moment in Starfleet's present.

Picard Season 2 was an emotionally heavy season with a clear political point of view and a sense of fun that comes with setting sci-fi characters in the contemporaneous present. In both the special features of The Complete Star Trek: Picard home release and the making-of book Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series , the challenges in making this season are laid bare. With Rotten Tomatoes representing the critics and IMDB's user ratings representing the audience, each episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is ranked based on the story it told and the impact it had on both the characters and audience.

10 The Picard Season 2 Premiere Was Full of Promise

Star trek: picard season 2, episode 1 "the star gazer", star trek theory: picard retconned the divisive enterprise series finale.

Of all Star Trek: Picard 's ten sophomore episodes, "The Star Gazer" ranks the highest among its peers in Season 2 . It's a fantastic beginning to the story, which both ties up loose ends from Season 1 and sets the characters on a new adventure. Most importantly, however, it brings Starfleet back into the fold in a big way. Picard delivers a Starfleet Academy commencement address, and he is then summoned to the USS Stargazer to answer a plea for help.

The episode sends off Soji, an ambassador for her synthetic siblings on the galactic stage. Dr. Agnes Jurati is with her, but quickly beams aboard the Stargazer, commanded by (her ex) Captain Cristobal Rios. Raffi, Elnor and Laris return, the first two also in Starfleet and the latter still with Jean-Luc but yearning for something more. It ends with the return of Q who, at the last moment, whisks Picard away from certain death.

9 Picard Season 2 Almost Took Place in an Alternate Timeline

Star trek: picard season 2, episode 2, "penance".

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 debuted the same day, so it makes sense they are ranked close together. The strange new world this episode introduces may be why some viewers became disillusioned with the rest of the season's 21st Century setting. Executive Producer Terry Matalas said on Inglorious Treksperts that this episode mostly came from the Season 1 showrunner Michael Chabon before he left to adapt one of his novels for Paramount.

The characters were meant to spend more time in this alternate timeline , which reveres Adam Soong, one of many Brent Spiner lookalikes related to the creation of Data. The Earth is ravaged by climate change and seems very similar to the xenophobic Mirror Universe. Picard, Raffi, Seven of Nine, Elnor, Jurati and Rios have to bust a Borg Queen out of prison so that they can time travel and fix the past. Still, it might have been fun to spend more time in this evil, alternate future.

8 Season 2 Teamed Picard Up With a Character Tying TOS to TNG

Star trek: picard season 2, episode 5, "fly me to the moon".

Actor Orla Brady played Laris, who is absent from the season save for the first and final episodes. However, she returned to the cast as Talinn, the Romulan successor to Gary Seven from The Original Series . The character known as a "Watcher" was introduced as a potential spinoff from Gene Roddenberry for NBC. While it didn't take off, it did create an interesting bit of Star Trek lore. While Gary Seven was a human with access to advanced alien technology, Talinn is a Romulan tasked with protecting the timeline on Earth.

Laris is primarily responsible for the safety of Renée Picard, ancestor of Jean-Luc and the woman who discovers "a sentient microbe" on Europa that helps fix climate change. It's also the episode where the other political storyline (Rios and the present-day "Butterflies" being persecuted by ICE for helping undocumented migrants) are broken out of custody in a fun action sequence. It's also the episode where Agnes is injected with Borg nanoprobes by the queen, setting up the next episode in the Star Trek: Picard Season 2 ranked list.

7 A Gala, a Sassy Borg Queen and a Musical Number Shook Up Picard Season 2

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This version of the Borg Queen was played by Annie Wersching , who passed away in January 2023 from cancer. Great throughout the series, this episode features the Borg Queen and Jurati sharing a mind. As the Borg Queen tries to take over her body (reliant on emotional responses for control), the two make a great inside woman as they help Team Picard sneak into a gala. Allison Pill also does a rendition of the great Pat Benatar song, "Shadows of the Night."

"Two of One" doesn't just refer to the Borg-ified Jurati, either. This episode features Jean-Luc have a touching heart-to-heart conversation with his ancestor Renée. They are also two of a kind. Picard also faces off with Adam Soong, though he runs the Admiral down with his car. Because of his synthetic body, Rios, Raffi and his friends take him to Dr. Teresa Ramirez, leader of the Butterflies and physician who doesn't ask a lot of questions.

6 Picard Season 2 Does 'Star Trek: The Voyage Home'

Star trek: picard season 2 episode 3, "assimilation".

The third episode of Picard Season 2 is ranked high because it continued the breakneck pace established by the first two episodes. Team Picard time travels to the past with the help of the Borg queen, presenting the third new locale for the series: the 21st Century . However, this is where the bulk of the season takes place, much like Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was mostly set in the then-contemporaneous present.

A lot happened in this episode. Seven of Nine and Raffi try to blend in to the 21st Century and scan for a person using technology too advanced for the time. Rios is meant to help, but he's injured and ends up in a clinic with Dr. Teresa Ramirez and her son Ricardo, who are eventually arrested by ICE. Agnes and Picard try to outwit the Borg Queen. However, the most important moment in the episode was the death of Elnor. Fatally wounded by Seven of Nine's alternate timeline husband, his death devastates Raffi.

5 Guinan Brought the Return of an Old Friend With a New Face

Star trek: picard season 2 episode 4, "watcher".

Whoopi Goldberg's affable bartender Guinan returned in the Picard Season 2 premiere , but the character returned in a big way played by Ito Aghayere. The first episode established that Guinan, an ageless El Aurian, can alter her appearance to older or younger as she sees fit. Picard has to convince her to help him save humanity, even though she doesn't think Earthlings are worth the effort.

This is the episode which focuses most heavily on the immigration story in Season 2, with Rios in ICE custody trying to explain why he has no identification. As Seven of Nine and Raffi try to find him, they discover how migrants can fall through the cracks of the system. This plays out while juxtaposed with Guinan's condemnation of humanity. However, Picard is able to make a plea based on what he knows of where humanity can go in the future, in a very Roddenberry-esque Star Trek moment.

4 Picard and Guinan Find Mercy and Vulcans from Agent Wells

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Introduced at the end of the previous episode, Jay Karnes makes his return to Star Trek . Having previously played a time agent in Star Trek: Voyager , in Picard Season 2, he plays FBI Agent Wells, who is a firm believer in alien activity and arrests both Guinan and Picard based on video footage he has of the latter transporting onto the street. He questions them both, threatening the mission and the timeline. It's revealed that he had a pre- First Contact Vulcan encounter as a child . He ultimately lets Picard and Guinan go, seemingly fired for bringing them in at all.

Meanwhile, the Borg Queen has control of Agnes, and Seven of Nine and Raffi have to try to find and capture her. They find her consuming metals from car batteries, which is toxic to Agnes, but is what the Borg Queen needs to assimilate more people. She doesn't kill Seven or Raffi, proving Agnes still has some measure of control. Borg Jurati then goes to Adam Soong, convincing him to help her steal La Sirena and strand Team Picard in the 21st Century.

3 Season 2 Brought Picard Face-to-Face With His Greatest Fear and Regret

Star trek: picard season 2 episode 7, "monsters".

This episode is ranked one of the lowest by Picard viewers, and it's understandable. Not a lot happens in the episode, despite the introduction of James Callis as a hallucination of a therapist and Picard's father . This episode dives deeply into the memories of guilt and the mystery of what happened to Jean-Luc's mother. It's emotionally heavy and does somewhat lag on the breathless urgency of trying to find Agnes and stop Adam Soong.

Still, this is an emotionally powerful episode that recontextualizes what viewers have been seeing about Picard's past. His father is revealed to not be the abusive villain fans thought. Picard's mother is not a victimized woman trying to be free, but rather someone suffering from mental illness or injury. It's a traumatic, frightening event and (with help of Watcher Talinn and some sci-fi telepathic technology), Picard works through it.

2 The New Borg Were the Best Thing Picard Season 2 Brought to Star Trek

Star trek: picard season 2 episode 10, "farewell".

While the finale of Picard Season 2, "Farewell" is mostly about denouement, outside of the last mission to ensure that Adam Soong doesn't kill Renée Picard. Talinn sacrifices herself. Rios decides to stay behind in the 21st Century. Wesley Crusher returns as a Watcher , and Q and Picard have a final heart-to-heart chat, just before he sends them all back to the proper future. He's even able to resurrect Elnor since he had a little power left over because Rios stayed behind.

The best part of the finale was the reveal that Agnes Jurati was the Borg Queen from the first episode of Picard Season 2. With the alternate timeline Borg Queen, she created a new kind of collective. People choose to join the Borg, and even retain some measure of individuality . These new Borg agree to stand guard against a rupture in spacetime through which an unknown threat has yet to emerge. They become provisional members of the Federation, continuing the Star Trek tradition of old enemies, eventually becoming allies.

1 Star Trek's Most Emotionally Heavy Episode Is About Picard's Guilt

Star trek: picard season 2 episode, "hide and seek".

The penultimate episode of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is a massive episode, both for its action and its emotional weight. There is a big battle at Chateau Picard where the new Jurati Borg assimilate mercenaries hired by Adam Soong. They try to kill Picard and his friends, but Agnes eventually convinces the Queen to try a different way than she had in the past, since in every timeline assimilation and violence leads to the Borg's destruction.

Most importantly, this episode reveals how Picard's mother died and why Jean-Luc felt so much guilt for it. His father locked her in a room to stop her from hurting herself. Jean-Luc unlocked the door and went to lie with his mother and comfort her. After he fell asleep, she took her own life. As much as Picard Season 2 was about fixing the past, outsmarting the Borg and other Star Trek things, Picard's revelation was the true mission . He had to forgive himself by letting go of the guilt that kept him at arm's length from people and preparing him to be a father.

The complete Star Trek: Picard is available to own on Blu-ray, DVD, digital and streams on Paramount+ .

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 pits the iconic Admiral against his greatest nemesis Q for a time-travel adventure that exposes Jean-Luc's deepest secret.

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Star Trek: Picard — How Did Data Die?

The backstory of Star Trek: Picard assumes you remember the events of the last TNG movies. What happened to Data again?

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Warning: This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers through Episode 10.

Data is dead. Long live Data!

One of the most important characters in Star Trek: Picard Season 1 ended up being a character who has been dead for 18 years. Yes, we’re talking about Lieutenant Commander Data, that brave and curious soul who served under Jean-Luc Picard’s command on the U.S.S. Enterprise and later sacrificed his life for his friend and boss.

Data’s presence was intensely felt in the first season of Star Trek: Picard —not only in the exploration of Soji’s character, but in glimpses of Data himself. From the very first episode—nay, the very first scene of this show—we saw Data as Picard remembered him: in dreams, mostly. Finally, in the Season 1 finale , we see a vestige of Data’s consciousness. When Picard dies, he finds himself in a “massively complex quantum simulation,” with Data. This is possible because Data downloaded his memories into B-4, his android brother.

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So what happened to Data again to get him dead? In Star Trek: Nemesis , Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E had to stop Picard’s younger evil clone, Shinzon (Tom Hardy) from destroying the Federation with a deadly weapon composed of something called Thalaron radiation. Like many of the TNG -era feature films, Nemesis played out like a buddy-cop movie starring Picard and Data (Brent Spiner). They’re in nearly ever scene together in the movie, from driving a crazy space car across a desert planet, to a daring escape from a Romulan battleship where they have to fly a fighter craft through the hallways. So yes, Nemesis was like a Picard/Data roadtrip, and in many ways, Picard is a direct sequel to Nemesis .

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Unlike Spock’s death-by-radiation exposure in The Wrath of Khan , Data’s death was more abrupt. When he and Picard were both hanging out near the Thalaron radiation generator on Shinzon’s ship, at the last second, Data uses a remote transporter thingamabob to beam Picard back to the Enterprise, before turning his phaser on the generator and blowing it, the ship, and himself into atoms. So, Nemesis made it clear: Data got exploded! However, the film left us with a glimmer that Data’s memories might have been downloaded into his slightly slower, and less- advanced android brother, B-4 (also played by Brent Spiner.) Data was singing the song “Blue Skies” at the beginning of Nemesis , and at the end of the film, B-4 was singing it, too. The message at the time was clear: Data’s personality could be reborn in B-4.

In 2009, in the 4-part comic book IDW event Star Trek: Countdown , Data was straight-up alive again, reborn in B-4’s body, and now was Captain of the Enterprise. Several novels supported this continuity, too, and as recently as the anthology comic book series Star Trek: Waypoint , Data was still alive and Captain of the Enterprise, only this time he was not only the Captain, but every single other crewmember, too! In the first issue of Waypoint in 2016, Data was running the Enterprise through a series of holograms of himself, with his basic positronic brain integrated into the ship’s main computer.

But now, that’s all been beamed out into the vacuum of space. In Picard , Data is still very much dead, and is certainly not running around as the captain of a new Enterprise. Now, even that last remnant of Data that existed in B-4’s brain is gone, put to peace by Jean-Luc in the Picard finale. Rest in peace, dear Data.

Star Trek: Picard is streaming now on CBS All-Access.

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Picard’s major character death fixes a season 1 failure.

Star Trek: Picard season 2 shockingly killed off one of its main characters and it symbolizes Picard moving away from one of season 1's missteps.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 3 - "Assimilation"

Elnor (Evan Evagora) died in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 3, but his exit (which may only be temporary) helps fix an issue with his character from Star Trek: Picard season 1. At the start of "Assimilation," the Magistrate (Jon Jon Briones) shoots Elnor with a phaser when he and his Confederation soldiers boarded La Sirena. The young Romulan dies from his injuries and is mourned by his surrogate parents, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd). Elnor's sudden death also means that the Romulan warrior nuns are currently no longer a factor in Star Trek: Picard season 2.

The Qowat Milat, along with the villainous Zhat Vash, are inventions of Star Trek: Picard season 1's showrunner, Michael Chabon. The Qowat Milat were, essentially, the opposite number to the Zhat Vash, which was an extremist faction of the Tal Shiar secret police. The sword-wielding Qowat Milat are different from traditional Romulans in that they practice "absolute candor" and freely express what they think. The Qowat Milat also only bind their swords to lost causes. Although the Qowat Milat are women, Elnor was adopted into their fold and trained as a warrior after he was orphaned during the Romulans' evacuation when their sun went supernova. Elnor and the Qowat Milat also befriended Jean-Luc Picard, who has known the young male Romulan ninja since he was a child. Overall, the Qowat Milat are part of changes Star Trek: Picard made to Romulan lore.

Related: Picard Season 2's Alternate Reality Completely Rewrites Star Trek History

Before his death, Elnor already moved away from the Qowat Milat in Star Trek: Picard season 2. Indeed, when Star Trek: Picard season 2 began, Elnor was recognized as the first fully Romulan cadet at Starfleet Academy. Cadet Elnor was even stationed aboard the USS Excelsior with his guardian, Commander Raffi Musiker, when the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) attacked the USS Stargazer and nearly assimilated an entire Starfleet armada. Elnor ended up joining his friends among Picard's motley crew when they were transplanted into the radically different Confederation reality by Q (John de Lancie). With all of the time-travel madness Picard is now facing in season 2, there is no onus to further explore Elnor as a member of the Qowat Milat. As intriguing a concept as the Qowat Milat is, they don't fit in Star Trek: Picard season 2's time travel story to prevent the dark future of the Confederation from ever happening.

Meanwhile, the Qowat Milat is actually being depicted better on Star Trek: Discovery . The sect of Romulan warrior nuns survive into the 32nd century and are part of the combined societies of Vulcans and Romulans who now share Ni'Var, the new name of the Vulcans' homeworld. Further, Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn), the mother of the USS Discovery's Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), is a member of the Qowat Milat. Though the Burnhams, more effective exploration of the rules and challenges of being a Qowat Milat has been shown on Star Trek: Discovery than their limited role in Star Trek: Picard has allowed, even though the concept originated on Picard .

It's hard to believe Elnor is permanently dead and it's worth hoping that the young Romulan will be resurrected when Picard and his friends set the timeline back to the proper Prime Universe of Star Trek. With Soji (Isa Briones) also missing from the Confederation's dark reality, losing Elnor as well seems very questionable because it eliminates Star Trek: Picard 's youngest new characters. As for the Qowat Milat, the Romulan warrior nuns are an intriguing addition to Star Trek but they simply weren't handled in the best way in Star Trek: Picard compared to the Romulans' depiction in Star Trek: Discovery . If and when Elnor returns in Star Trek: Picard season 2, his best future will be as a Starfleet Officer, not as a member of the Qowat Milat.

Next: Picard's Time Travel Creates A Borg Queen & Android Plot Hole

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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After several days of subjecting the vial found in “Mirrors” to every scientific test imaginable, the Discovery crew is no closer to figuring out what it could possibly indicate; all tests show that it contains nothing but pure, distilled water. Just when they’ve exhausted all options, Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) gets a “call” from Kovich (David Cronenberg), who’s able to provide her with a bit more information: the names and planets of origin of all five of the clue-giving scientists.

(She finds one of his infinity room keys in her pocket; I guess he just beams those onto people?)

Adding to the pile of eccentricity and mystery, Kovich gives this information to Burnham handwritten, on a yellow legal pad. Genuine, of course; none of this replicated nonsense. Why? Because he loves the feel of paper. I like that Kovich is a mystery — and I don’t think I want to know so much about him that he ceases to be one — but I do hope we get a little something more before the series is up. Without that, as time goes on I’m afraid he’ll be reduced to “That time David Cronenberg was on Star Trek for some reason” instead of remembered as a full character.

With Kovich’s intel, Burnham and the team are able to pinpoint planet Halem’no as the location of the next clue. It’s an arid, storm-tossed place where, 800 years ago, the Denobulan scientist on Kovich’s list surreptitiously built five huge rain generators. Disguised as naturally occurring towering rock formations, only one of them remains in operation, and the planet’s entire population lives in its vicinity.

Before Burnham and Tilly (Mary Wiseman) beam down to find the clue, Burnham spends some time listening in on the Halem’nites. They have a typical phonetic language used for everyday communication, but they also have something called whistlespeak — which sounds much more like multi-tonal birdsong than human whistling — and is used for communication across great distances.

Burnham gets very excited about this, not just from a linguistic and anthropological perspective, but also from a metaphorical one; the idea of people coming together from across the vastness of space or across cultural divides is understandably thrilling to her.

Unfortunately, beyond Burnham and Tilly hearing a bit of it once they beam down to the surface, no one actually uses whistlespeak to communicate in the episode! Even when the emotional power of song becomes integral to the episode’s climax, the tune is merely hummed. Communicating across distances — whether across interpersonal divides, divides of time and space, or across the cypher of clue and solution — has been a primary theme of this season of Discovery . I don’t know that I see how the introduction of the linguistic phenomenon of whistlespeak really helps that though, given that it goes virtually unused and, other than Burnham’s explanation of it to Tilly, unmentioned.

Burnham and Tilly join up with a band of pilgrims known as ‘compeers’ — an ancient word meaning ‘companions’ — who are on their way to the rain generator, known to them as the High Summit… and the home of a temple to their gods. One of the pilgrims is sick from dust inhalation, and is cured by the local leader, Ohvahz (Alfredo Narciso), through some sort of sonic healing ritual using musical bowls.

Talk about a missed opportunity for some of that whistlespeak, right?

Burnham learns afterwards that access to the temple inside the tower is restricted to those people who have completed the Journey of the Mother Compeer, a ritual that proves worthiness to the gods and entices them to bring rain. Burnham asks to perform this ritual, and the next morning she, Tilly, and a host of other pilgrims including Ohvahz’s child Ravah (June Laporte) are lined up and ready to prove themselves.

Multiple people, including the dust-sick woman, urge Burnham to reconsider her enthusiasm for running the Journey and entering the temple. Ohvahz also tries to convince Ravah not to run, but they insist, seeing it as an opportunity to prove themselves. It’s a little ominous, but Burnham’s got to get that clue so, off she goes.

Maybe I’ve just seen Altered States too many times but when I saw that running the Journey started by ingesting a tab of mystery substance I thought the trip was going to turn out to be a psychedelic one. I’m a little disappointed to have to report that nope, it’s just a footrace. More of a leisurely jog really, but one that’s done while very, very thirsty.

Participants drop out along the route, tempted by the bowls of water placed here and there, and Burnham eventually drops out too — deliberately, tempted by something else. Noticing that some moss in a particular area is yellow instead of green, she surmises that the color change is being caused by hypothetical radiation leakage from a hypothetical broken console.

As far as hunches go it’s paper thin, but it does turn out to be correct.

While Tilly continues to run the race to access the tower the traditional way, Burnham contacts Discovery to get a walk-through on how to repair the console. Adira (Blu del Barrio) stumbles their way through for a while before telling Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) that they think someone else ought to take over. “Yes,” I said to myself while watching, “Good thinking Adira, you’re right, they probably should get an expert on 800-year-old Denobulan technology.”

But actually the problem is just that Adira is feeling too flustered and awkward to want to continue, so Rayner declines their request. And why is Adira feeling flustered and awkward? Because Tilly isn’t the awkward one anymore, and Discovery apparently requires that one of them always be fumbling and bumbling their way through a mission at any given time.

Adira and Burnham are successful, and rewiring just that one console is all it takes to repair the rain generator. Tilly, for her part, has made it almost to the finish line alongside Ravah. They’ve each been given a bowl of water to carry across the line as one last temptation, but also one last challenge… as it’s kind of hard to run and not spill water. Ravah trips, their water spilling, and they’re out.

Instead of finishing the race on her own, Tilly returns to Ravah and pours some of her water into Ravah’s bowl. They cross together in a moment that surely was not intended to invoke the ending of perennial elementary school reading list title and book-that-traumatized-me-in-front-of-my-entire-4 th -grade-class Stone Fox , but did.

It’s a nice moment seeing them persevere together (and one with fewer sudden dog deaths than Stone Fox , so I appreciate that), but one’s that’s immediately tempered by the fact that their reward for winning is ritual sacrifice. Oops.

Burnham can’t beam into the “temple”, Tilly and Ravah can’t beam out (or leave any other way), and the rain generator is well on its way to causing the “sacrifice” conditions — which turns out to be a vacuum forming inside the chamber where Tilly and Ravah are trapped during rain generation.

Prime Directive be damned, Burnham beams into the nearby chamber where Ohvahz remains, not wanting his child to die alone. He is understandably freaked when she materializes beside him, and it takes a while to convince him that she’s real and that her explanation, which sounds like something straight out of Ancient Aliens on The History Channel, is legitimate.

Even with that done, there’s still the issue of Ohvahz’s fervent belief that the gods and the very rain itself require the sacrifice. Burnham finally gets through to him by humming a tune she hears Ravah humming to Tilly over an open comm line, and he opens the chamber. Everyone is saved and it rains, hooray.

Star Trek does love its “ritual sacrifices that power ancient machinery” storylines, and over the decades they’ve changed just how “set straight” the alien of the week is in the end, but I’m not sure they’ve ever had one that’s quite as gentle as this one. Burnham explains the rain generators and their origin to Ohvahz, which leads to him asking some understandable questions about the nature and reality of his gods, which Burnham deftly deflects.

He then — and this is where my bewilderment sets in — casually and almost sadly wonders aloud if they really have to stop the sacrifices, because doing so would be a lot of work. I understand Ohvahz’s concern about the social upheaval of this change (not to mention that they never really needed to have happened in the first place, can you imagine when that gets out?) — but yes, guy, you definitely have to stop sacrificing people.

Oh, and this whole time? The next clue was actually in one of the other rain generators. Welp!

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

Saru (Doug Jones) is once again absent from this week’s episode — and will be out of sight for at least two more weeks (we’ve seen up through episode 508). On social media this week, Doug Jones shared that his temporary exit from the season was a result of his commitments to the Disney sequel Hocus Pocus 2 .
The clue registered a lifesign in “Mirrors” despite being nothing but inert water, artificially generated by one of the planet’s rain generators. Pretty lucky that Zora (Annabelle Wallis) knew about this charity project, huh?
Tricorder contact lenses? One please!

he console Burnham repairs is only the second instance of Denobulan computer interfaces seen in the franchise; the circle-based interface is in line with the control room of the Denobulan ship seen in “Cold Station 12.”
Burnham showing Ohvahz his planet from orbit after breaking the Prime Directive and being mistaken for a god is reminiscent of a very similar moment between Picard and Nuria in The Next Generation ’s “Who Watches the Watchers”.
The five scientists who worked to hide the Progenitor technology are Dr. Vellek of Romulas, Jinaal Bix (a Trill), Carmen Cho (a Terran), Marina Derex from Betazed, and Hitoroshi Kreel (this week’s charitable Denobulan).

While Burnham and Tilly are down on the surface, Culber (Wilson Cruz) has been continuing to interrogate his new feelings and experiences. We see him consulting his abuela — or at least an experimental holographic AI of her created from his brain waves, as a “grief alleviation therapeutic” — seeking advice on her spirituality in life… and also a recipe.

She declines to give him spiritual advice, suggesting that he’s jumped the gun a little by not ruling out physical causes for his symptoms, and also the recipe because it turns out she wasn’t actually that great a cook and was secretly replicating his favorite meal behind his back.

(How a program made from Culber’s own memories could know a secret she’d kept from him, I don’t know. Either AI in the 32 nd century is psychic or it still has the pesky 21 st century habit of making up whatever it thinks will satisfy a prompt, accurate or not.)

Also, come on now — I thought Star Trek had already clearly stated its position on how creepy and invasive holographic representations of real people are almost certain to be. Just this morning I saw an ad for an AI that claims to let you speak with exes or deceased loved ones, accompanied by the comment “Absolutely the fuck not.” I do not disagree, and neither, I suspect, does Leah Brahms. Or Kira Nerys, or Deanna Troi, or Chakotay, or…

Reluctant for the help — but also energized by the possibility that this might all just be physiological — Culber opens up to Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and asks for his help and support with a full neurological workup. When no anomalies are found, Culber seems almost disappointed, which Stamets picks up on. Even though it’s a small scene, this moment with Stamets is the one thing in the episode’s exploration of religion and spirituality that I connected with and really appreciated.

Stamets is not a religious or spiritual person, something that Culber is concerned will color his reaction to Culber’s “awakening.” But instead, he’s fine with it, even if he’s not invested on a personal level. His is a “You’re healthy and you’re happy, so I’m happy” philosophy, which seems to me to be the most respectful possible way to approach this type of issue, one that allows both parties to hold and live by their own respective beliefs.

It’s interesting, then, that Culber closes the episode quietly disappointed with this. And Book (David Ajala), who’s had a hard time keeping his own perspective this season, is right on when he gently calls Culber out: “It’s an odd quirk, really, this human tendency to consider something less meaningful if it’s just for yourself.” Stamets doesn’t need to share in this with Culber, he just needs to be there for him, and he is.

Next week: the Breen are back!

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 continues on Paramount+ May 9 with “Erigah,” followed the next day on SkyShowtime in other regions.

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