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

Dave nemetz, west coast bureau chief.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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53 comments.

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Bring on #StarTrekLegacy.

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

Very Satisfying! I enjoyed the series!

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

Well done. All we needed was a Sisko appearances

Oh, that woulda been great.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Agreed! Nice touch.

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

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

Wish we could’ve seen Wesley one last time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A+++ to this entire season!!!

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

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

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

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How ‘star trek picard’ showrunner terry matalas captured the series finale’s most important scenes.

The writer-director talks the high stakes of the finale, the emotions that flowed on set, and his dreams of continuing the story with a new series.

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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[This story contains spoilers for Picard season three’s final episode.]

Star Trek Picard ’s third season finale takes the Next Generation crew back to where it all began — though showrunner Terry Matalas was too busy capturing its key scenes to take in the wonder of being on the bridge of the Enterprise-D nearly 30 years after TNG went off the air.

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During the heartstring-tugging climax, the Enterprise literally swoops in above Picard and Jack to save the day, and it was during post-production on the making of this cinematic moment where all the creative intentions and goals Matalas had hoped to achieve for season three coalesced into one frame. 

“I didn’t think we would pull it off,” Matalas tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But when the visual effects came in, and once Stephen Barton’s incredible score was added, seeing the Enterprise appear above the characters like that, that’s when I let myself consider the possibility that, ‘Hey, I think maybe we did it.’”

But getting to see the crew where they began, back on their Next Gen flagship – on a very expensive set for a brief amount of time – involved some logistic pressure. 

“The studio was all for it,” Matalas explains, “but it just came down to time and money. They were like: ‘You have to find a way to pay for it.’ But it was one of the first ideas I had; it was part of my initial pitch to Patrick. The appearance of the ship was part of the pitch to LeVar and to the rest of the cast, in that during the last two hours we would be on the Enterprise-D. So right from the moment that the season started, we were figuring out how to build that in time for the finale.”

Helping production designer Dave Blass and his crew ensure that the set would be completed on time were TNG veterans Michael and Denise Okuda. They and Blass’ team consulted the original TNG bridge’s blueprints to physically re-create the set. Once it was completed, there was very little time for anyone – including lifelong Trek fan Matalas – to bask in the glow of what would become a fan-favorite accomplishment. 

Also on Matalas’ mind was finding the best way to start the episode after episode nine, “Vox,” ended with the Enterprise warping off to once again save Earth. (Picard’s order in that scene – “Set a course for Earth, maximum warp” – is Matalas’ homage to the exact same line Stewart says in the 1996 feature Star Trek: First Contact ). “Last Generation” starts with the first few seconds of The Next Generation ’s famous opening title sequence: A brief flight through space, toward a bruise-colored streak of nebula, before a blinding star fills the frame with white. But the script originally had a different scene.

“What was scripted, actually, was to reprise the first shot of Picard from the TNG series premiere [‘Encounter at Farpoint’],” Matalas remembers. “It was going to be Picard walking up to the D’s observation lounge windows, stepping forward into the shot, and then we were going to transition from that to modern day Picard. But the cost of using that footage and up-resing it proved prohibitive. But I still wanted, by the time we were changing it all, to honor Next Gen . So we thought: ‘Well, what if we use that famous space shot from the titles, only we continue on with it and reveal the Enterprise?’ And it worked.”

“Initially, I wanted to have Walter on camera for that scene. We were going to see President Chekov on the viewscreen deliver that message,” Matalas says. Sadly, the production ran out of time for that. “But, later on, when we were in post, we agreed it would still be amazing and powerful to hear him.” 

Also powerful was seeing the Enterprise get its own “hero moment” on par with those of her crew: In order to rescue Picard and his son, Data pilots the Enterprise on a Death Star-esque trench run through the Borg cube’s vast, jagged interior. 

“That’s all CG. The ship looks like the model in some shots, especially like the smaller, more-detailed model [ TNG ] used after season three, but that’s a testament to our brilliant visual effects team led by Jason Zimmerman and Brian Tatosky.” 

The VFX team could not use ILM’s previous CG version of the Enterprise-D created for brief shots in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations feature film, so the production had to build a new one from scratch. While no models were used, the team did, however, get a chance to reference a physical piece of the Enterprise for their digital recreation: The saucer section model that famously crashes on the planet Veridian III in Generations. (Ironically, Geordi La Forge salvages that crashed saucer section for his friends’ “Last Generation” mission.)

“That was actually the most fun I had [shooting] on the bridge,” Matalas says. “Shooting Beverly at tactical, firing phasers, and seeing Geordi in the Captain’s chair, and Marina and Brent back at their usual stations – all of that was very exciting.”

It was another moment that proved stressful.

“Shooting the initial reunion, when they first walk on to the bridge, that I felt stressed. Because I knew if I had messed that up, it would have risked ruining it for fans,” says Matalas. “But that great emotional moment Marina has as Troi, when she can sense her husband is in danger, or Brent’s great performance asking the crew to trust his ‘gut’ for the first time – those were the moments that were most exciting for me.”

As exciting as the aforementioned action is, Matalas and his writing staff made sure the emotional drama was always fueling such scenes – never superseded by them. Especially a short but compelling beat aboard the soon-to-be-destroyed Borg cube, where Riker has a very “this is it” moment in the form of saying his goodbyes to his wife, Troi. It’s another powerful dramatic turn from Frakes this season, but according to Matalas, it was also a scene that the production raced the clock to get. 

Time and family – what we leave behind and how it shapes what lies ahead – are at the forefront of both “Last Generation” and season threeas a whole, with those thematic auspices culminating in one more final showdown between Picard and his nemesis, the Borg Queen. 

“It was always going to be the Borg Queen,” Matalas explains. “From the initial pitch, to the story break in the writers room, we had to have her because if the show is going to be about what you pass on, this idea of one’s legacy, then a key piece of Picard’s is the role she has had in it. And if we’re going to do a story about Picard as a father in that way, then it had to lead to the Borg Queen in another way, as in: ‘Hey, I’m a parent, a mother, too, aren’t I? I have a maternal stake in this as well.’ Only it’s one with an evil motivation to it. It’s also a generational story in that Jack is the key to the evolution of the Borg. Sort of an unintended consequence of what happened to Picard as Locutus.’”

As for what will happen to Picard, Jack, and the rest of the Enterprise crew in terms of more adventures featuring them on Paramount+ , that remains surprisingly ambiguous – especially given the critical and ratings success of Star Trek Picard season three. (Recently, Picard entered the Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Shows for the first time – a Trek first.)

“I am very, very grateful that the fans want to see more of this very special and talented cast – so do I. At the moment, Star Trek Legacy is just a pie-in-the-sky wish of mine. There is nothing like that in development, currently. But one day, I hope. It would be an amazing thing to do.”

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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 Episode 10 Review – The Last Generation

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

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This Star Trek: Picard review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

Picard Just Changed Star Trek Forever: Terry Matalas on Legacy and a Post-Credit Surprise

Picard Season 3 Finally Reveals the Future of a Beloved Original Series Character

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

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

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

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

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

Lacy Baugher

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

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Star Trek: Picard – Season 3, Episode 10

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

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

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By Sopan Deb

Season 3, Episode 10: ‘The Last Generation’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Odds and ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By: Author Diana Keng

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If we've learned anything from the Star Trek: Picard series, in general, and Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10 , specifically, it's that endings are never final.

And these last few episodes of Star Trek: Picard have taught us that showrunner Terry Matalas does not hesitate to provide us with many, many endings in a one-hour narrative.

There's a sense of checking off an itemized list of the different Trek fan clusters, all of whom have a LOT to say throughout this farewell season about plot, character, nostalgia, and canon.

The first grand conclusion settles the central conflict of this specific adventure and happens at about the forty-minute mark of the sixty-two-minute runtime, which says something about how much business Matalas needed to settle before the credits rolled.

Jean-Luc Picard's road to fatherhood spans a lifetime, including a bitter relationship with his father and traumatic events that ended with his mother's death, as explored throughout Star Trek: Picard Season 2 .

His journey through time and memory primed him to be open to emotional attachments and opened his eyes to how he'd sought connection throughout his career, his retirement, and now his reunion.

His attractiveness to the Borg Queen and his attraction to the Collective are side effects of his need to belong, hindered by his fear of being rejected. But everything he undergoes in his "retirement" adventures clarifies how his vulnerabilities are, in fact, his strengths.

Jack: You said you’d never give up on me. Picard: Starfleet protocols dictate that we act in the interests… Jack: …of what? Picard: Of everyone else. Jack: And what about the protocols of a father? Or were you never issued those? 🔗 permalink: And what about the protocols of a father? Or were you never issued those?

True, learning of his son's existence sets him back on his heels a bit. He retreats into a shell of duty and Starfleet integrity for much of his initial encounters with Jack.

Even learning how he's genetically linked Jack to the Borg doesn't jumpstart the paternal instincts.

Beverly: You’re going down there. Picard: I need you to lead me to him. You brought him this far. Let me bring him home. 🔗 permalink: I need you to lead me to him. You brought him this far. Let me bring him home.

But there's a saying about old dogs and new tricks. Also, one about leading horses to water. Picard overcomes both adages and solves his dilemma with courage and flexibility.

Returning to the Enterprise-D with his son intact and his crew alive is a triumph by any measure.

Successfully defeating the Borg Queen's ultimate gambit through a willingness to sacrifice and choices driven by purely human emotion establishes who stands victorious at the end of this decades-long struggle.

Picard: What began over thirty-five years ago ends tonight. 🔗 permalink: What began over thirty-five years ago ends tonight.

The Borg-Changeling plot arc ends with some happy-ending housekeeping that conveniently glosses over the lifelong trauma counseling the assimilated young crew members are going to need.

And, once again, the Federation's war crimes against the changelings go unanswered and unacknowledged. But we won't dwell on that because that's not what we're here for.

Our second ending scene is Riker, Geordi, and Picard bidding farewell to the Enterprise-D.

Fittingly, Geordi gets the final word here, reminding everyone how the ship always took care of them.

Knowing the Enterprise-D is safely stowed but still ready to fly is quite the wink at the fandom. It never did sit right with many of us that her pieces were scattered and forgotten after the events of Star Trek Generations .

Picard: Will, thank you. It means so much to me. Riker: You know that I know. Always. 🔗 permalink: You know that I know. Always.

The next ending is for the fans who've stuck with the innovation, canon-tweaking, and side-eye plot twists that have been the trademark of Star Trek: Picard.

With rumors of a Seven-Raffi-led spin-off swirling and sparking — seeded by the incredible chemistry of Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd established on Star Trek: Picard Season 1 — Matalas does nothing to slow them down with Jack joining the newly-christened Enterprise-G.

Raffi: I still can’t believe Starfleet saw fit to give a thief, a pirate, and a spy their own ship. Jack: Bunch of ne’er-do-wells and rulebreakers, really. Seven: What could possibly go wrong? 🔗 permalink: Ne’er-do-wells and rulebreakers

Jack even uses the word "Legacy" as he and Raffi goad Seven with the gravitas of the moment, waiting for her to choose her captain's catchphrase. Leaving us hanging is a pregnant promise with the potential explosiveness of a billion tribbles in a cargo hold.

(ICYMI, Ryan and Hurd teamed up between Picard Seasons 1 and 2 for an epic audiobook adventure, "No Man's Land," available from Simon and Schuster Audio. TV Fanatic even spoke with the writers Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson about it when it launched.)

After leaving us panting after the Enterprise-G with its sexy, funny, adorable crew, Matalas hits fans with his nostalgia bazooka.

It's not like he didn't delight us with cameos and Easter Eggs throughout.

Chekov: This is President Anton Chekov of the United Federation of Planets, broadcasting on all emergency channels. Do not approach Earth. A signal of unknown origin has turned our young against us. They have been assimilated by the Borg. Our fleet has been compromised and as we speak, our planetary defenses are falling. Sol Station is defending Earth as best it can, but we’re almost out of time. We have not been able to find a way to stop this Borg signal and unassimilate our young. But I know if my father were here, he’d remind us all that hope is never lost. There are always possibilities. Until then, I implore you. Save yourselves. Farewell. 🔗 permalink: This is President Anton Chekov of the United Federation of Planets, broadcasting on all…

The Federation President opens this final installment with his emergency transmission. President ANTON Chekov, no less, voiced by Walter Koenig, TOS's Pavel Chekov himself, named in memory of Anton Yelchin, the Kelvin Timeline's Pavel Chekov. It was a touching detail, both thoughtful and perfectly pitched.

After the changeling Tuvok's appearance on Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 7 , Tim Russ let it be known he would appear again.

The level of Star Trek: Voyager cred chalked up by watching him promote Seven to permanent captain cannot be measured.

But the real kicker is Shaw's recorded officer review.

Shaw: Hansen is reckless. She’s unrelenting. Doesn’t give a damn about protocol or procedure. However, she’s brave. And loyal and the book that she writes is going to be great and the rules that she breaks, maybe they were broken to begin with. 🔗 permalink: Hansen is reckless. She’s unrelenting. Doesn’t give a damn about protocol or procedure….

Captain Liam Shaw joins the ranks of Rachel Garrett and [Prime Universe] Phillippa Georgiou as Starfleet captains made memorable by their integrity, personality, and sacrifice.

Every season of Star Trek: Picard has given us new characters to love, wonder about, and mourn. Shaw is, without exaggeration, the most curmudgeonly one yet and a real highlight on this outing. I can only imagine (and chortle about) how he and Rios would've gotten on.

And there's some tragedy in that he was never dealt in at the poker table.

Of course, the poker game is emblematic of the Next Generation crew. They sat down for a game around fifteen times in the original Enterprise-D series. The final scene of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a poker game in Riker's quarters, with Picard declaring, "The sky's the limit."

Seeing the old crew close out Ten-Forward with raucous toasts and plans for the future — complete with an incomplete dirty limerick from Data and Shakespeare from Picard — is the final flourish on this love letter of a series.

There are questions left unasked and unanswered, certainly. For instance, what happens to Laris? Is she still holding that seat at the bar on Chaltok IV? Does Chateau Picard have room enough for two admirals and an ex-member of the Tal Shiar?

How about Kestra? Does she want to leave Nepenthe? Does she get a say as to whether they go to Orlando or not? Or did Captain Crandall formally adopt her?

What it boils down to is our Enterprise-D gang only has eyes for each other, and, for the most part, that's true of the fanbase as well.

Troi: I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s like… quiet suffering. 🔗 permalink: I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s like… quiet suffering.

Will anyone ever wonder what would've happened if Troi had delayed helping Jack open his Red Door until after Frontier Day?

Probably not.

Will Data ever visit Coppelius? Presumably, Soji's still doing the synth-ambassador thing. Will she make time for some father-daughter bonding?

I'd watch that.

Good shows leave us with on-ramps for potential narrative and character development.

Great shows make us want to take them at breakneck speed and see where they lead.

As much as this finale spends a lot — A LOT — of time and energy looking back, it lays intricate groundwork for the future.

Yes, today's Trek confronts the shadowy truths of conspiracy and black ops and dishonorable bad acts, but there's still humor and hope and tenderness.

Riker: You’re not going alone. Worf: And I will make it a threesome. Riker: Do you even hear yourself? 🔗 permalink: Do you even hear yourself?

Worf and Raffi are a duo so perfect it hurts my heart to think we won't see more of them together.

Worf: I have been told tears are the body’s weapon against pain. 🔗 permalink: I have been told tears are the body’s weapon against pain.

I want to know what sort of welcome awaited Geordi and his daughters after Frontier Day. Was Mama Leah just relieved they survived, or did she tear the strip off them the width of the Milky Way?

(Before y'all flame me, I'm just going with the assumption. No one's confirmed or denied it yet, so I choose to live in that possibility.)

Four concluding scenes before the credits roll, and still, Matalas isn't done with us.

He throws a stinger on for the first time and sets the gameboard up for a whole new match between House Picard-Crusher and the Q Continuum.

By my estimation and interpretation, the Trek Book of Terry reads thusly:

I. Death will not be an end.

II. Time is only perception.

III. The only constant is change.

IV. Lead with your heart, and those who love as you do will join.

So much more could be said about this finale, this season, this series. It has pushed the limits of intellectual inclusion. It has stretched our imagination. It has tested our capacity for emotional connection. It has gone boldly, unapologetically, and with joy.

What were your highlights and challenges as the curtain fell on our heroes? Who are you riding shotgun on in the epilogue? Would you suit up again if the call of adventure came again?

Engage your thoughts, Fanatics, beam them down to our comments, and make it so!

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 10 Review: The Sky's The Limit In The Series Finale

When the third season of "Star Trek: Picard" began, this old Trekkie  declared it to be the best "Star Trek: The Next Generation" movie we never got. This was a bit of a dubious comparison, as the four extant "Next Generation" movies never quite reached the intellectual highs of the TV series on which they were based. "Star Trek: Generations" was weirdly preoccupied with "passing the torch" moments, bending over backward to get Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and James T. Kirk (William Shatner) on screen together. "First Contact" was an enjoyable enough action picture, but it dumbed down a lot of the show's more interesting notions about the Borg, and, in being a full-scale action picture, only served to highlight how ill-suited the NextGen cast was for such a genre.

"Insurrection" more or less repeated the premise of the episode "Who Watches the Watchers" (October 16, 1989), but tried to stage it as an action/mystery story rather than an ethical dilemma, only with a paltry budget. And finally, "Nemesis" was such an unabashed "Wrath of Khan" retread that few embraced it; "Nemesis" remains the lowest-grossing Trek film of them all. 

While each of the above films possesses its own appealing qualities, they all bear the same central error: they tried to present "Star Trek" as something more action-forward than it typically is on TV. The movies have much simpler plots, a lot more violence, and way too many dumb, action-movie one-liners. Trek is best  when it's less action-heavy and more cerebral . The movies, in attempting to be "events," eschew that. 

This season of "Picard," essentially being the fifth NextGen movie, also fell into the "action trap" to resolve its story, ending events with a daring rescue and a big explosion. 

The epilogue, however, is where its heart lies.

Setting up the big fight

It won't be until the plot is resolved, and the survivors have a chance to sit and talk and merely be themselves outside the purview of the crisis at hand that "Picard" will reveal itself. The actual action climax of the season is quite silly, relying on an action sequence that closely resembles a notable moment from "Return of the Jedi." 

At the end of the last episode, " Võx ," Jack Crusher ( Ed Speleers ) had given his powerful psychic mind over to the evil Borg Queen (voice of Alice Krige), and had used their combined abilities to take over the minds of thousands of Starfleet officers. Meanwhile, Picard, Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Worf (Michael Dorn), Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and the resurrected Data (Brent Spiner) sped off to the rescue in a reconstructed Enterprise-D. Many have seemingly responded very positively to the reappearance of the decades-old ship and the re-use of a well-worn "Star Trek" villain, while some of us rolled our eyes at the showrunner's reliance on blunt nostalgia imagery. 

Some of that nostalgia continues into the show's final episode, "The Last Generation," which begins with a recreation of the "Next Generation" opening titles while a voice cameo from Walter Koenig plays in the background. Koenig — Pavel Chekov himself — plays a character named Anton Chekov, likely as a tribute to the late Anton Yelchin who played Chekov in the J.J. Abrams movies. Or perhaps as a reference to the playwright. He announces that the Federation is under attack. 

The Enterprise-D can't enter the fray, but they can investigate the Borg ship in control of it all. As it so happens, it was hiding within the storms of Jupiter this whole time. 

Return of the Jedi

The Borg ship in question seems to be on its last legs, and the Borg Queen has transformed herself into an H.R. Giger nightmare monster of piled-up mechanical guts. It's a pretty cool image. Jack, meanwhile, has been assimilated, complete with a robot suit and mechanical facial prostheses. In order to free Jack, Picard confronts him face-to-face and plugs a Borg wire into his neck, allowing them to have a psychic conversation. The "psychic conversation" now seems to be the commonest trope on "Picard," as it was previously done with Data, with Picard's late father, and between Data and Lore just a few episodes ago.

While Picard confesses his love for his son, the Enterprise flies through the guts of the Borg ship, firing weapons and seeking an explosive core. The sequence is straight out of "Return of the Jedi," turning the massive Enterprise-D into a quick-moving attack craft. For those who didn't study Enterprise schematics as teenagers, the saucer section of the ship is .29 miles across . The Borg ship was kind enough to construct ducts and passageways that can accommodate a Galaxy-class vessel. 

That I was concerned about such nerdy details in the middle of the show's action climax perhaps speaks to how unengaging it is. The action is certainly competent, and the stakes are certainly high, also all the characters are appropriately panicked as they fight for their lives. But there is a distant, nagging sense of disappointment seeing "Star Trek" once again rely on a space battle and mere explosive spectacle to resolve its plot issues. As the action progresses, one can merely wait for it to end and for the heroes to emerge before they can begin connecting to the characters again. 

Let's have a drink

After the Enterprise crew has rescued Jack and had a teary moment when it looked like all was lost, and after the U.S.S. Titan-A, commanded by Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd), tried to singlehandedly fight off a thousand attacking Starfleet vessels, the day is won. 

The final scene of the series sees the NextGen cast gathered in Guinan's bar, enjoying cocktails and talking about nothing in particular. It's this final scene where "Picard" actually begins to shine. These are characters well-known to Trekkies, now decades older and with new lives, finally being allowed to converse and be themselves outside of a crisis situation. Their social dynamics click immediately back into place, and their friendships emerge. There is no longer any need to force sentimentality or nostalgia into the equation. Riker and Troi talk about taking a vacation. Data is going to therapy. Picard is, finally, finally, just allowed to be himself. Just like at the end of " All Good Things... ," the final episode of NextGen, the characters end the day with a poker game. None of the show's previous stabs at manufactured wistfulness — such as when they ogled old starships in episode six — can match the naturalness of these scenes. It's a wonderful way to shut the book on the characters. We don't hold them up as heroes. They merely get to live.

As all the NextGen movies have proven, action will always be secondary to character, thought, and philosophy. "Picard" may have been low on philosophy, but this season was strikingly strong with character. It ended quite well. Quite well, indeed. 

But, because of the nature of modern entertainment franchises, there had to be a spinoff tease. This was handled ... relatively well. 

The spinoff tease: it's now been a year after Jack was a Borgy-Worgy bugle boy, and he was gleefully fast-tracked through Starfleet Academy, becoming an ensign right away. He acknowledges that he only got the gig because his parents were Dr. Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard. His first assignment will be back on board the U.S.S. Titan-A. For sentimental reasons, however, the Titan-A has been renamed the U.S.S. Enterprise-G. Seven of Nine is now the captain, following the death of Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) who, quite sadly, remained dead; there was no twist that could have brought back the show's standout new character. Quite the pity. Seven's first officer is Raffi, and the Enterprise-G will now go on its own merry adventures. One might say this twist was broadcasted earlier in the series when the Titan-A was reclassified as a Neo-Constitution-class vessel. Trekkies know that Kirk's Enterprise was a Constitution-class ship. 

And, not to be outdone, there is a mid-credits tease wherein a certain, familiar, presumed-dead trickster god reappears to Jack and lets him know that he might be the lead in a new TV series. After the genuinely warm scenes of the NextGen cast talking and relaxing and drinking, the tease might feel a little mercenary on the part of the showrunners, a deliberate plea to make a new series called "Star Trek: Legacy." 

Don't get me wrong. I would watch "Star Trek: Legacy" in a heartbeat, especially if the storytelling and pace and settings and characters were as strong as they have generally been in the third season of "Picard." But teasing a returning character and leaning heavily on nostalgia will not be what draws me to the show. After the last season of "Picard," perhaps Terry Matalas has worked the nostalgia out of his system. Perhaps now, he can go someplace new. Boldly go where no one has gone before. 

Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 10, 'The Last Generation,' Recap & Spoilers

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The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 10, "The Last Generation," now streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Picard has finally reached its end, with cinematic action set pieces and standout character moments for all of its main characters as they set out to save Earth from the Borg Collective and the Changelings. At the helm of the restored USS Enterprise -D , Jean-Luc Picard moves to rescue his son Jack from the Borg as the assimilated Starfleet armada moves forward. And not only does this provide the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew with a thrilling sendoff -- the Picard series finale promises an exciting new beginning.

Pavel Chekhov’s relative Anton sends out a distress signal warning Federation vessels to stay away from Earth because the planet’s orbital defenses have been obliterated; both Spacedock's and Earth’s shielding is being bombarded by the armada. The Enterprise detects a Borg signal emitting from a Borg Cube hidden in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, with Picard and Beverly Crusher identifying the broadcaster commanding the subjugated fleet as an assimilated Jack Crusher . Picard commands the USS Titan to approach the Borg and destroy the beacon, which would effectively sever its broadcast and free the assimilated from its control.

RELATED: Picard's Subtlest Cameo Brings Star Trek's First Lady Back to the Franchise

Beverly pinpoints Jack’s location on the Borg Cube. Picard, Will Riker and Worf board it to destroy the beacon personally and rescue Jack from the Borg Queen’s insidious grasp -- the latter objective carried out by Picard alone. The Queen informs Picard that it was Jack’s presence on the far side of the quadrant that revived them from the virus Kathryn Janeway infected them with , with the Queen forced to cannibalize her own collective to survive. Vengeful over the condition she’s been left in, the Queen is determined to use her new collective to annihilate rather than assimilate. She activates a small number of drones to defend the beacon while the Cube’s weapons attack the Enterprise .

Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker lead a small strike force to retake control of the Titan , isolating the assimilated on the starship to sealed transporter rooms while careful not to give away their actions to the other starships. Using the Titan ’s retrofitted cloaking device, Seven distracts the Borg with a strafing run -- but Spacedock is still destroyed, causing the last of Earth’s shields to deactivate. The confined assimilated break free and disable the cloaking device, leaving the Titan exposed and cornered while the armada begins to target population centers around Earth.

RELATED: Star Trek: Picard Just Paid Off a Weird First Contact Moment

Beverly destroys the Cube’s surface defenses before Data pilots the Enterprise to the location of the beacon at the Borg vessel’s core, provided by Riker and Worf. As the beacon is destroyed and the resulting shockwave begins to overtake the rest of the ship, Picard assimilates himself again to communicate with Jack from within the collective. He liberates Jack, the two reuniting with Riker and Worf in the nick of time to return to the Enterprise . The Queen’s destruction reverses the assimilation of the young Starfleet personnel, prompting them to immediately cease their attack on Earth.

In the aftermath, Beverly rejoins Starfleet and develops technology to purge any lingering Borg influence from those affected as well as detect the evolved Changelings continuing to hide within Starfleet ranks. Tuvok is found safe and sound and pardons the Enterprise crew for the crimes they committed to save the day. He promotes Seven to captain the Titan, which is rechristened as the Enterprise -G, with Raffi and Jack officially joining its crew. But as the old Enterprise -D officers reunite over an impromptu poker game back at Guinan’s bar, Jack is confronted privately by Q... who informs him that his trial for humanity has only just begun.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman and Terry Matalas, all three seasons of Star Trek: Picard are available to stream in their entirety on Paramount+.

• Star Trek: Picard (2020)

PIC Season 3

Season 3 title card

Teaser art for Season 3

This page contains information specifically pertaining to the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard . In North America, season 3 episodes premiered weekly on Thursdays, starting 16 February 2023 , on Paramount+ (USA and Latin America) and on CraveTV (Canada), with the rest of the world following suit through Prime Video with a one-day delay.

In the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, season 3 episodes were also released on newly-launched Paramount+ foreign subsidiaries the day after their US premieres by the mother streaming service , alongside the Prime Video streamings, with all three seasons of Picard slated to be added to Paramount+ in South Korea later in 2023. [1] [2]

• 3.1.1 Special guest star(s)
• 4 Background information
• 7 External links

Episodes [ ]

Summary [ ], credits [ ], starring [ ], special guest star(s) [ ], background information [ ].

Season 3 teaser art 2

• On 21 October 2020 , Production Weekly included a third season in its listing of upcoming productions, although no official announcement has been made. [3] [4] It was officially confirmed on 8 September 2021 during the Star Trek Day 2021 celebration.
• Season 3 was filmed back-to-back with season 2 in order to control costs and accommodate production schedules, [5] and principal photography, aka production, began at the start of September 2021, immediately after production on the second season had wrapped on 29 August. [6]
• On 3 January 2022 , production on this season was temporarily halted due to a COVID-19 outbreak on set. [7] [8] Production resumed four days later on 7 January 2022 . [9]
• On 8 March 2022 , production on this season had finished shooting. [10] It was also confirmed that this season will be the final one. [11]
• On "First Contact Day", 5 April 2022 , it was revealed that the original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation – LeVar Burton , Michael Dorn , Jonathan Frakes , Gates McFadden , Marina Sirtis , and Brent Spiner – had joined the cast for the third season, as a means of finally giving their characters "a proper send-off". [12]
• On 2 May 2022 , Alison Pill confirmed that she would not be returning for Season 3. [13]
• On 5 May 2022 , Evan Evagora and Santiago Cabrera confirmed that they would not be returning for Season 3. [14]
• On 6 May 2022 , Isa Briones confirmed that she would not be returning for Season 3. [15]
• The third season being made available on Paramount+ foreign subsidiaries concurrently with Prime Video, making it no longer the exclusive series streamer outside the Americas, might, in the context of the increasingly vicious streaming wars , be construed as a harbinger that the series will be pulled from Prime Video the moment the season release schedule is completed. [16] It was in light of this that CraveTV did loose all its Star Trek content, Picard included with its very recent third season addition, on 1 August 2023, after the Star Trek franchise had revoked its streaming rights in favor of Paramount+ Canada. [17]

Reception [ ]

In 2023 the rating agency Nielsen started recording ratings for original streaming programming, with resulted in that both Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have made the Top-10 (Original Programs) Streaming Chart since then. After season three debuted, Picard has managed to occupy Nielsens original streaming top-ten listing on three separate weekly occasions, with a ninth spot as it highest ranking. during its inaugural streaming run. [18] [19] [20] It must be understood that the Nielsen streaming ratings are not based on (individual) season three (episode) views alone as is commonly, but mistakenly, believed by a substantial part of the US populace, reviewers included, but on those of the show in question in its entirety, thus in this particular case including episodes from the first two seasons as well – an understandable misconception though, as traditional broadcast Nielsen ratings are based on individual television production viewings.

See also [ ]

• PIC Season 3 performers
• PIC directors
• PIC writers
• PIC Season 3 Blu-ray
• PIC Season 3 DVD

External links [ ]

• Star Trek: Picard season 3 at Wikipedia
• Star Trek: Picard season 3 at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek: Picard season 3  at Ex Astris Scientia
• 2 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Episode list

Star trek: picard.

S3.E1 ∙ The Next Generation

S3.E2 ∙ Disengage

S3.E3 ∙ Seventeen Seconds

S3.E4 ∙ No Win Scenario

S3.E5 ∙ Imposters

S3.E6 ∙ The Bounty

S3.E7 ∙ Dominion

S3.E8 ∙ Surrender

S3.E9 ∙ Võx

S3.E10 ∙ The Last Generation

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Titles & Details

We’re just ONE WEEK away from Star Trek: Picard Season 3 . Therefore, things are getting serious. The world premiere event is taking place in Los Angeles on February 9th. However, we’ve got an idea of what awaits us in the upcoming season 3. Let’s explore the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Titles and the details surrounding them. However, with a review embargo dropping tomorrow, we’re bound to get even more news for the third and final season.

Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard will consist of 10 episodes. Therefore, we’ve got a lot of action coming up for Admiral Picard ( Sir Patrick Stewart ) and his crew. The series premieres via Paramount+ on February 16th 2023. However, International viewers can also watch via Amazon Prime Video. See the end of this article for details. It’s worth noting that the first four episodes are the first arc. Following that, episode 5 starts the next arc.

Let’s explore the episode titles and details for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 !

If you’re not a fan of spoilers, you may not want to read further!

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode One

We dive into the Picard Season 3 Episode Titles with episode one. The debut episode of season 3 is titled “The Next Generation”. It’s written by Showrunner Terry Matalas and directed by Doug Aarnioksoki . Doug has directed three episodes of Star Trek: Picard before this one. Therefore, with his track record of episode quality, we’re looking forward to what he brings to the table.

After receiving a cryptic, urgent distress call from Dr. Beverly Crusher, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard enlists help from generations old and new to embark on one final adventure: a daring mission that will change Starfleet, and his old crew forever. Episode Synopsis – Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode One – “The Next Generation”

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Two

Titled “Disengage”, this episode is also directed by Doug Aarnioksoki. However, returning writer Christopher Monfette collaborates, and Sean Tretta team up for this. Based on the episode synopsis, we’re getting thrown straight into the action. However, there is also a personal revelation or Jean-Luc. Additionally, it’s made out that this episode will see the introduction of Amanda Plummer’s “Captain Vadic”.

Aided by Seven of Nine and the crew of the U.S.S. Titan, Picard makes a shocking discovery that will alter his life forever – and puts him on a collision course with the most cunning enemy he’s ever encountered. Meanwhile, Raffi races to track a catastrophic weapon – and collides with a familiar ally. Episode Synopsis – Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Two – “Disengage”

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Three

The third episode of the Picard Season 3 Episode Titles interests me. Titled “Seventeen Seconds”, it somewhat reminds me of the Battlestar Galactic episode titled “38 Minutes”. Jane Maggs and Cindy Appel write this installment. However, Trek Legend Jonathan Frakes returns to the director’s chair for Star Trek: Picard . Additionally, this episode’s synopsis teases a mystery. Who is the “vengeful” enemy that Starfleet has forgotten?

Picard grapples with an explosive, life-altering revelation, while the Titan and her crew try to outmaneuver a relentless Vadic in a lethal game of nautical cat and mouse. Meanwhile, Raffi and Worf uncover a nefarious plot from a vengeful enemy Starfleet has long since forgotten. Episode Synopsis – Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode three – “Seventeen Seconds”

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Four

Looking at the Picard Season 3 Episode Titles, episode four is familiar. The title “No Win Scenario” will be known if you’ve watched enough Star Trek . However, what does this mean for Picard and his crew? The episode synopsis refers to “sins of their past” when talking about Jean-Luc and Riker. Therefore, might we be expecting a flashback? Or maybe an event from “those old days”. Episode four is directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Terry Matalas and Sean Tretta.

With time running out, Picard, Riker and crew must confront the sins of their past and heal fresh wounds, while the Titan, dead in the water, drifts helplessly toward certain destruction within a mysterious space anomaly. Episode Synopsis – Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode Four – “No Win Scenario”

Full Steam To Season 3

While we wait for more Picard Season 3 Episode titles and details, we know this: Dan Liu directs the upcoming episodes five and six. Episode five, titled “Imposters”, is written by Cindel Appel. However, the sixth episode, titled “Bounty”, is written by Christopher Monfette. Therefore, it looks like we’ve got an exciting Star Trek: Picard Season 3 ahead of ourselves. Additionally, Picard’s world premiere event took place in LA Thursday night. Therefore, we will learn more about the season over the next few days as reviews drop.

Star Trek: Picard  Season 3 will debut on February 16, 2023, on Paramount+ in the United States and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. However, the series will be available on Amazon’s Prime Video service for most international locations in the following days. For coverage of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 , make sure to follow Trek Central!

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The 10 Best Captain Picard Episodes in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' Ranked

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Star Trek: The Next Generation isn’t just one of the best installments in the Star Trek franchise, but one of the greatest drama shows of all time . While the original Star Trek series was sadly canceled after the end of its third season, Star Trek: The Next Generation was given the chance to keep pushing the story forward for over seven years.

Although there are many beloved characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart’s performance as Captain Jean-Luc Picard turned him into the greatest hero in the history of the Star Trek saga . Stewart crafted a complex, vulnerable hero who was defined by his dedication, principles, and willingness to hear both sides of any given dispute; he’s simply a character that everyone should aspire to be like. Here are the ten best Captain Picard episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Not available

10 “The Measure of a Man”

Season 2, episode 9 (1989).

There are few relationships in the Star Trek franchise that are more profound than the dynamic between Picard and Data ( Brett Spiner ), the android who serves as one of the most important officers on the U.S.S. Enterprise. “The Measure of a Man” featured Picard serving as Data’s defender in a legal case in which he must defend his right to exist. The discussion about the merits of artificial intelligence is just as relevant today as they were when the episode first aired in 1989.

“Measure of a Man” showed that Picard was willing to stand up for the rights of those that were mistreated , as Star Trek has always been an incredibly progressive franchise when compared to other science fiction properties. This episode solidified the fact that Picard was willing to risk his own livelihood if the safety of one of his crew members was ever placed in danger.

9 “The Best of Both Worlds”

Season 3, episode 26 & season 4, episode 1 (1990).

“The Best of Both Worlds” is one of the most important episodes of any Star Trek series, as the first installment of the two-parter that ended the third season had a massive cliffhanger that had viewers screaming at their televisions. The episode featured Picard being captured by the Borg, with his replacement Captain William T. Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) put in a position that could end his life.

“The Best of Both Worlds” was the first instance in which Picard felt completely vulnerable , as it was feasible that he could get killed off and replaced by Riker for the rest of the show. Although Picard ended up surviving the incident, his feud with the Borg as a result of his torture left him with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder that he continued to deal with for the rest of the series.

8 “Family”

Season 4, episode 2 (1990).

“Family” was a critical episode that helped to humanize Picard and showed what his family life looked like for the first time. Although Picard rarely discussed his personal motivations and background with members of his crew during the first three seasons of the show, “Family” saw him returning to visit his family farm after his traumatic encounter with the Borg in “The Best of Both Worlds.”

“Family” was an important shift in tone for Star Trek: The Next Generation that helped follow up the action of “The Best of Both Worlds,” and did a great job at showing how Picard was dealing with his personal mental health in the series after such a frightening incident. Stewart is arguably at his most profound and emotional in “Family,” as the episode strips away all the duties of command from Picard and examines what it is like for him to live a normal life outside of Starfleet.

7 “The Drumhead”

Season 4, episode 21 (1991).

Star Trek has always been a very political franchise that touches on hot-button issues, and “The Drumhead” explores a scary situation about the denial of truth that has proven to be just as relevant today in an era of political divisiveness and fake news. After a member of his crew is accused of being a traitor, Picard is forced to prevent a representative of Starfleet from badgering everyone under his command and impeding their civil liberties.

“The Drumhead” plays out like a legal thriller, and feels just as exciting as the courtroom dramas that dominated the 1990s . While it is relatively light on action compared to some of the more intense episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Drumhead” proved that the series was capable of developing nuanced ideas about what the future would look like under Gene Roddenberry ’s vision.

6 “Darmok”

Season 5, episode 2 (1991).

“Darmok” is perhaps the most intimate episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation , as it sees Picard being trapped in a primitive world where he can only communicate with the native species using rudimentary language. The episode shows just how effective of a hero Picard can be, even if he seems to enjoy being in the company of a crew that supports him.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is well known for making interesting genre deviations, and “Darmok” feels like the closest that the series ever got to a Western adventure story . Although some viewers may have felt the same exact confusion and frustration that Picard did when the premise was first established, “Darmok” ends with one of the most powerful emotional revelations about the ability that Picard has to inspire others in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

5 “Conundrum”

Season 5, episode 14 (1992).

“Conundrum” is one of the most imaginative episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation , as it takes place after a mysterious alien virus forces the entire crew to forget their memories, leaving them helpless in the middle of space. This was an episode that essentially showed how the Enterprise crew could be built again from the ground up, as Picard is the first one to assess the parameters of the mystery and start developing a solution to keep everyone safe.

“Conundrum” was one of the best episodes that showed Stewart’s generosity as an actor , as even though it is Picard’s moment to shine as a leader, every single member of the cast is given a standout moment. The success of “Conundrum” in combining the emotional with the practical is a major reason why the fifth season is often cited as the best that Star Trek: The Next Generation ever aired.

4 “Cause and Effect”

Season 5, episode 18 (1992).

Time travel is notoriously a concept that is very difficult to capture on screen in a compelling way, as it is very easy to get so confusing that viewers struggle to understand what the stakes are supposed to be. However, “Cause and Effect” presented a brilliant time travel storyline in which Picard and the crew of the Enterprise are trapped in a recurring loop that could doom them for eternity.

“Cause and Effect” was a great example of Star Trek: The Next Generation showing Picard’s abilities as a strategist . While many of the captains established in other shows and films in the Star Trek franchise earned their rank through military conquest, it's Picard’s intelligence and ability to make rational decisions while under pressure that make him such an all-time great character. “Cause and Effect” succeeds because Stewart understands this fundamental truth about the character.

3 “The Inner Light”

Season 5, episode 25 (1992).

“The Inner Light” is perhaps the most emotional episode of the entire Star Trek franchise, and would have earned Stewart a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series had the Television Academy not been so notoriously biased against science fiction and other genre shows. The episode takes place entirely in Picard’s mind, as he begins to live out different fantasies about what an alternate life could look like when he is unconscious.

“The Inner Light” revealed truths about Picard as a character , showing how his unflinching willingness to perform his duty against mitigating circumstances put a severe detriment on his ability to start a family. There isn’t another episode more tear-jerking as “The Inner Light,” as Stewart reveals how Picard is dealing with the burdens of his sacrifices, and how it has been taken for granted by those who serve under him.

2 “Tapestry”

Season 6, episode 15 (1993).

“Tapestry” was an integral episode that revealed that Picard himself was flawed , as his encounter with Q ( John de Lancie ) allows him to travel back to moments from his past and reflect on the mistakes that he made as a young man. Essentially serving as a coming-of-age story about Picard’s youth, “Tapestry” showed that even someone that noble had elements of their past that they had buried deep within their minds.

The dynamic between Q and Picard is one of the show’s most interesting, as the two have completely different outlooks on humanity and its potential. While Q uses the mistakes that humanity has made as evidence that they are beyond reason, Picard argues that humans are capable of being empathetic, compassionate, and willing to redeem themselves. It’s Picard’s faith in others and general optimism about the future that makes him such an inspiring character.

1 “All Good Things…”

Season 7, episode 25 (1994).

There aren’t many shows that end on a perfect note, as many acclaimed programs like Game of Thrones , House of Cards , Killing Eve , and Battlestar Galactica had such underwhelming series finales that fans questioned why they were ever loyal to the shows in the first place. However, Star Trek: The Next Generation ended on a perfect note with “All Good Things…,” an episode that featured a profound moment where Picard was able to thank every member of the crew for their dedication to the Enterprise .

“All Good Things…” showed that Star Trek: The Next Generation was more interested in developing great characters than overwhelming the viewers with action, as it takes a far more philosophical approach to a series finale than some may have expected. A final shot of Picard playing cards with various crew members was the perfect way to wrap up the show.

NEXT: Every 'Star Trek' TV Show (So Far), Ranked

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Picard season 3 fixed jean-luc’s biggest star trek generations regret.

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Every Picard Family Member In Star Trek

No one noticed star trek: picard season 3 subtly set up uss enterprise-d’s return, riker & troi forgot star trek: insurrection’s cure for their dying son.

• Jean-Luc Picard's regret about not starting a family in Star Trek Generations was resolved in Picard season 3.
• Picard discovered he had a son, Jack Crusher, who joins Starfleet and carries on the Picard legacy.
• Jack Crusher serves on the USS Enterprise-G, alongside Captain Seven of Nine, potentially facing adventures with Q.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) expressed a particular regret in Star Trek Generations, but Star Trek: Picard season 3 fixed it for him. Throughout his time on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Picard prioritized his Starfleet career, devoting his life to serving the United Federation of Planets. Picard's crew on the USS Enterprise-D became his family, but he still kept them at arm's length most of the time. Even when enduring traumatic experiences and facing off against frightening foes, Picard rarely let his fear or anxiety show.

Star Trek: Picard season 2 revealed that Jean-Luc's childhood trauma kept him from opening up and gave him reservations about being a father. Jean-Luc chose to focus on his career and he rarely regretted that decision, although Picard did express some regret about not starting a family. In Star Trek Generations , Jean-Luc learned that his brother Robert (Jeremy Kemp), sister-in-law, and nephew René (David Tristan Birkin, Christopher James Miller) died in a tragic accidental fire, meaning no one was left to carry on the Picard legacy. But S tar Trek: Picard season 3 changed that.

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), too, prioritized exploring the stars over starting a family, but several Star Trek captains have successfully managed to do both.

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard is part of a proud family of explorers and wine-makers. The Picard family spans generations of Star Trek.

Jean-Luc’s Biggest Star Trek Generations Regret Was Fixed By Picard Season 3

Jean-luc expressed regret about never starting a family in star trek generations..

Upon learning of the death of his brother and nephew in Star Trek Generations, Captain Picard opened up to Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Picard had considered his nephew the closest thing he would ever get to having a son and he felt comforted that René would continue the family line. Without the "responsibility to carry on the family line," as Troi put it, Jean-Luc had few regrets about devoting his life to Starfleet. René left Jean-Luc lamenting that after him, there would "be no more Picards."

Jean-Luc, Beverly, and Jack were together as a family,

Star Trek: Picard season 3 reunited the original crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation , revealing that Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Jean-Luc Picard had a son. The existence of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) came as a surprise to Jean-Luc, as Beverly had kept him a secret. After Picard got over the shock of discovering he had a son, he sat down with Jack and the two began to get to know each other. By the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3 , Jean-Luc, Beverly, and Jack were together as a family, and Jack had joined Starfleet, following in the footsteps of his impressive parents.

Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher are both Starfleet Admirals at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3.

Will Jack Crusher Take His Father Jean-Luc Picard’s Last Name?

Now that jack has a relationship with his father, will he add picard to his name.

Dr. Beverly Crusher raised Jack on her own, and he took the name Jack Crusher to protect Jean-Luc's son from his many enemies. It remains to be seen whether Jack will change his surname to Picard. Star Trek: Picard established that Kestra (Lulu Wilson), the daughter of Deanna Troi and Captain William Rike r (Jonathan Frakes) uses Troi-Riker as her last name, so Jack could take on the name Crusher-Picard or Picard-Crusher. Regardless of what name he chooses to go by, Jack still carries on the Picard line with his very existence.

Jack Crusher breezed through Starfleet Academy in one year, which he attributed to "nepotism."

Not only did Jack Crusher join Starfleet at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, but he also landed a position on the newly rechristened USS Enterprise-G. While it remains unknown exactly what Jack Crusher's position as Special Counselor to the Captain entails, he will serve on the bridge alongside Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Hopefully, Seven and Jack's adventures will someday make it to the screen, especially considering Q (John de Lancie) appears to have an interest in Jack. Whatever happens, Jean-Luc Picard should feel comfort in the fact that he now has a son to carry on his Star Trek legacy.

Star Trek: Picard

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Star Trek: Generations