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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Review – Surrender

An uneven episode of Star Trek: Picard works best when it's focused on the series' legacy characters.

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This Star Trek: Picard review contains spoilers.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8

Star Trek: Picard giveth and Star Trek: Picard taketh away. Sometimes even within the same episode. Such is the case with “Surrender,” a wildly uneven hour that shines brightest when it focuses on the legacy crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation , but stumbles badly whenever it attempts to pivot back to the larger mystery of Jack Crusher’s true identity. The show’s repeated contortions to not answer this seemingly central question of its final season are rapidly becoming exhausting, and worse, are narrative momentum killers that take away from the much more interesting emotional character work happening elsewhere. 

Despite plenty of heavy-handed hints and Vadic’s ominous declaration at the end of last week’s episode that it was time for Jack to learn who he truly is, the explosive revelations we’re promised ultimately fizzle. In fact, Picard once again spends more time muddying the waters of the story than offering any real answers to the questions it keeps posing. Sure, Jack can apparently astral project into other people’s bodies now—a fact that one might expect his parents to be a little more concerned about?—but we still have no idea why he can do anything he’s doing, and the show doesn’t seem to view telling us as a particularly urgent priority. 

Though it does, at least, explain why Marina Sirtis has been essentially sidelined from the season up until this point, since it appears as though Deanna Troi may (at long last) hold the key to unlocking the truth of the strange visions he’s been experiencing and the recurring motif of the red door. (Since, you know, she can basically read his mind.)

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Thankfully, unlike “Dominion” last week, “Surrender” has enough other stuff going on that it’s a whole lot easier to overlook the clunky bits. A welcome reunion between Riker and Troi while imprisoned aboard Vadic’s Shrikeˆ brings the pair full circle emotionally, allowing them both a chance to finally work through some of the issues surrounding their son’s death. From Riker’s decision to lose himself in grief and push his wife away in the process to Deanna’s definitely less-than-ethical use of her Betazoid gifts to try and help him carry his sorrow, these are the sort of rich emotional moments that Picard has proven its best at. (Though it took far too long for the show to realize that fact.)

But, as someone who has been a Troi/Riker shipper since before I even understood the concept of shipping, the fact that Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes are still so note-perfect together is just wonderful to see. Troi’s exasperated enjoyment of Riker’s corny flirting is absolutely everything I love about their relationship and my only complaint is that just a handful of scenes are dedicated to the pair. (Though if they had to be interrupted and rescued by anyone, the newly self-actualized Worf is the correct choice.)

Particularly since the Rikers’ imprisonment by the Changelings is ultimately sort of pointless and does very little to advance the larger plot beyond telling us (in hindsight!) that Riker gave Vadic the information she wanted rather than allow his wife to be tortured–which, duh? But at least it leads to us getting the scene we’ve all been waiting for eight episodes to see, which is the entire The Next Generation crew finally sitting around a table together and trying to figure out how to save the day. I’ve talked before about how this vibe is really all most of us wanted from this show in the first place, a warm, big-hearted exploration of who these characters have become in the decades since we saw them last and how their individual connections have shifted and evolved over time. (Jean-Luc providing he’s not an imposter by telling Geordi his taste in wine is “pedestrian at best” is an all-time burn.)

Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Easter Eggs Bring Star Trek: TNG Full Circle

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Owes a Debt to One of the Best Original Series Movies

The episode’s showdown between Data and Lore is somewhat predictable—we all knew Data would triumph and most of us likely guessed it would be through the power of the love and genuine connection he’s experienced with his crewmates—it’s still incredibly fun to watch him name check the things that have given his existence a meaning that Lore cannot understand. ( Tasha Yar! Spot the cat! My heart! ). It’s another great example of what this season has done so well, using what is obvious nostalgia bait to also tell us something new about the characters we love.

Yet, despite Jack’s connection to two legacy characters, “Surrender” really struggles to make the mystery of his identity feel all that meaningful to the larger world of the show. Part of the problem is he’s still a character that none of us really know that well, a situation that’s exacerbated by the fact that it often feels as though Picard itself isn’t entirely sure what it’s meant to be doing with him. His core character traits seem to shift randomly depending on whatever a specific episode requires, and because the show refuses to tell us anything real about who he is, what he wants, or where he comes from,, we don’t necessarily know the truth of him any better than we do the Changelings that are hunting him. And that’s something that, at this late date in the season, is fairly concerning. Also, did poor Beverly get to do anything in this episode besides literally beg her son not to die? If Picard thought the fact that we cared about his parents’ relationship would be enough to make us, as viewers, care about Jack, the show might want to spend some more time on the two of them together, just saying. 

Weirdly, “Surrender” also marks the apparent end of Vadic as a villain, after a disappointing last hurrah in which she kills several barely there C-list Titan crew members, makes a lot of vague threats at the series’ core cast, and blusters dramatically about dark threats without actually telling anyone anything useful. That she’s ultimately sucked out of an airlock is a much cooler death than her character probably deserves, all things considered. This is no shade on Amanda Plummer, who is clearly having a blast being as over the top as possible at every given moment, but it’s difficult to feel anything but disappointed at the way this character has simply fizzled out over the back half of the season. 

With two episodes to go and a truly ridiculous amount of questions still to be answered, your guess is as good as ours about how the larger narrative threads of Jack’s secrets, Picard’s dead body, and the impending Changeling attack on Frontier Day will all come together. But we can only hope that Picard remembers the lessons that have already made this season so much stronger than the two that have preceded It: These characters, the legacy they share, and the future they’re forging together.

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3.5 out of 5

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 8 review: surrender.

Despite not resolving anything about the Changelings' Frontier Day plot, arguably the entire point of the season, Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 manages to feel like a victorious conclusion.

Like the Titan's escape from the nebula (punctuated beautifully by Riker's asteroid toss at the Shrike) on Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4 , Vadic's defeat and the Shrike's destruction is an apex moment, both incredibly satisfying and questionable in strategic acumen.

With only two outings before the curtain falls on the series, there is a sense of luxury in how much time we spend on the Enterprise-D's crew reunion.

That's not to disparage the high tension and apprehension built around the Titan's hostage situation.

Vadic is an A-list villain to the very end: cutting off the ship's systems; toying with the crew, cowering about the ship; following through on her threats to the lives on the bridge.

The only regret is that there is no one among our hero posse that ever rises to share a scene with Vadic.

She is a Baddie with Big presence who shows no interest in engaging with her prey. She's no Q.

She has no curiosity about solids or the Federation, no temptation to empathize, no respect for them except perhaps for their tenacity and temerity in eluding her grasp.

Vadic: Tell me about someone who loves you. Mura: My son. Vadic: A son. Picard has a son. Why don’t you tell him to come up here? Mura: I can’t. Because I’m Starfleet. Vadic: Now you see what control looks like? Permalink: Now you see what control looks like?

All that being said, Vadic has never been more than a lieutenant in this war effort. She followed orders -- with fanatical fervor -- that came down from someone higher up. Someone we have only seen as a manifested goo face.

Her commander's fixation on capturing Jack Crusher is all-consuming. With Vadic eliminated, I have no doubt they'll be coming at him from all directions.

Of course, they've lost a lot of their element of surprise now.

The Titan team is prepared and on alert for imposters now. Furthermore, so few are left; if they employ a good buddy system and implement a comprehensive detection system for the giveaway radiation, they should see new changelings coming from a light-year away.

Greetings, USS Titan. This is your friendly, positronic, pissed off security system, back on line. Unwanted guests and monologuing protoplasms, I am initiating an immediate shift change. Data Permalink: Greetings, USS Titan. This is your friendly, positronic, pissed off security system, back on...

And they have Data, the newest yet oldest version of their friend ever.

Watching Data turn Lore into a positronic analogy of The Ship of Theseus is perhaps the most elegant solution for the Data-Lore conflict that could have been executed.

Lore: What is happening? Data: I merely discovered the error in your deception. That my memories are not without value to you. I knew that because they belong to me, you would see them as trophies and be unable to resist them. You took the things that were me and, in doing so, you have become me. We are one now. We are me. Goodbye, brother. Lore: Goodbye, brother. Permalink: Goodbye, brother.

Part of what held Data back from the authentic human experience was his lack of an id. His programming never allowed for selfish or petty urges.

With Lore folded into his personality mix, Data can be as vindictive as the situation deems appropriate. And now, he'll even feel the satisfaction of the bad guys getting their comeuppance. Yay, Data! Trivial but enjoyable emotions, FTW!

Who else cheered at the sight of Tasha Yar's holo-portrait? Data's trinkets may be our last trove of Next Generation Easter Eggs as we climb towards the final climax of the series.

Lore: Reminiscing, are we? Scanning through your meaningless memorabilia? In my mind, you would find mightier things. Symbols of power, conquest, the only sensible measure of the success of a life. While you collect trinkets. Data: These trinkets are my memories. The only sensible measure of the worth of a life. Permalink: These trinkets are my memories. The only sensible measure of the worth of a life.

Data gives Lore lots of hints (along with his life's souvenirs) as to what his plan is, but Lore's never been good at seeing Data's transparency as anything more than a weakness.

My memories define me. I am who I am because they exist. Even though I do not share your desire to dominate, I recognize, given my current state, I am powerless to stop you. Data Permalink: My memories define me. I am who I am because they exist. Even though I do not share your...

Like Hologram Janeway on Star Trek: Prodigy , the memories he's collected have grown his programming into a unique and faceted individual.

His friendships are irreplaceable. His worth to the world is more than his abilities.

In short, Data is loved, and that makes him mighty. Mighty enough to triumph in the most holistic way over his brother.

Where Lore sought to push Data out, Data won by holding him closer than he could've ever imagined.

Lore: Tell me. Why are you giving me these things? Data: Because you have had nothing while I have had everything. Permalink: Because you have had nothing while I have had everything.

With Data restored, I'll own there's a wonderfully gratifying feeling to finally see all Picard's peeps gathered at the table.

Even Worf gets a little warm and fuzzy.

I have slaughtered countless enemies over the years and considered sending their heads to all of you, but I was advised that that was… passive-aggressive. Worf Permalink: I have slaughtered countless enemies over the years and considered sending their heads to all...

But are they really all there? My spidey senses are tingling.

This brings me back to my suspicions about Troi, as much as it breaks my heart.

I still can't wrap my head around how Vadic knew with such certainty that she'd capture Riker on Daystrom Station that she prepared by having Troi there as leverage.

As I postulated on Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 6 , what if Geordi or Picard had been captured instead? Did Vadic have Leah Brahms (you know you're thinking it, too) and Laris locked away on the Shrike as well?

We know that the changelings have been able to wring personal insights out of their captives. They did it to Tuvok. Why wouldn't they do it to Troi? Especially if they also captured Kestra to use to force Troi to talk.

So they capture Troi and Kestra, use Kestra to force Troi to divulge enough information to convince Riker it's her, mimic the half-Betazoid's abilities to "sense" the darkness Jack carries with him, and get Beverly's blessing to help guide him through his Red Door.

Let’s be clear then, shall we? I am not a changeling. I have never changed into or from anything. I am who I am. A talker. Not sleight of hand, but sleight of word. All just to distract from this, this, this feeling that I have … I’ve always been different. Jack Permalink: Let’s be clear then, shall we? I am not a changeling. I have never changed into or from...

Since when have Troi's powers been such that she can mind-meld with others?

Jack's Red Door seems to be common knowledge among the changelings. Vadic certainly knew a lot more about his abilities than he did a week ago.

Oh, Jack Crusher, what’s it like? Roaming from planet to planet, species to species, but never able to outrun that awful, constant shadow of isolation, loneliness. A life in service to others, a calling. Or was it guilt? Did you always know deep deep down what you are? Vadic Permalink: Oh, Jack Crusher, what’s it like? Roaming from planet to planet, species to species, but...

What will the Red Door open onto?

All indications -- flames, visual and auditory hallucinations, red eyes -- seem to point to Pah-wraiths as improbable as that seems, considering they were an exclusively Deep Space Nine species.

To be fair, the changelings also originated in Deep Space Nine. Could their quest for vengeance on the Federation have dovetailed with the Pah-wraith's desire to burn the universe? Will opening the Red Door release them from the Fire Caves? Is Jack their Emissary?

But how did that happen? And what could be in Picard's biological brain that could connect those non-corporeal beings to Jack?

Jack: I’ll say this, you don’t spend a lifetime practicing the art of charismatic deflection because you want to invite people in. Troi: Well, as a counselor, I would normally wait for you to seek me out but I think we can both agree that the quickest path to the truth is what everyone needs right now. Permalink: Well, as a counselor, I would normally wait for you to seek me out but I think we can both...

Yeah, as much as I want Troi and Riker to be reconciled and set to play happy families with Kestra the moment the Frontier Day festivities are in their rearview, I cannot shake the feeling the real Troi and Tuvok are sharing a cell somewhere dark and unfriendly.

With Vadic and the Shrike dispatched, Frontier Day hours away, and Jack poised to open a door in his mind to who-knows-where, it's anyone's guess what the final two scripts hold for us.

One thing I'll put money on. If Shaw survives (and I'm not saying he does by any means), he's going to take a LONG leave to somewhere he can vent for hours about irresponsible legacy commanders who take his ship and fly the crap out of it.

What are your theories, Fanatics? Who's coming at them next?

What do YOU think is in Hangar Bay 12? Because you KNOW that's going to come back on us soon. Hit our comments with your best guesses!

Surrender Review

Diana Keng was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. Follow her on X .

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Quotes

Troi: You’ve changed. I can feel it. Riker: In the nebula, I came face to face with bleakness. Permalink: In the nebula, I came face to face with bleakness. Added: April 06, 2023

Troi: Though your beard has gone from brown to gray to blood red. The face of an old man who can still take a punch. Almost. Riker: I’ve missed you, imzadi. Troi: Imza…I should’ve taught you another word. Yintoru? Riker: Yintoru. What does that mean? Troi: Baby of immense size. Permalink: Baby of immense size. Added: April 06, 2023

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Photos

4/6/23 Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Surrender

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Review: The Old Crew Is Together Again

Spoilers follow.

How admirable that the showrunners of "Star Trek: Picard" waited until the eighth episode of the series to finally unite Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn , and Brent Spiner together in the same room. The episode, called " Surrender ," ends with Picard, Riker, Troi, Dr. Crusher, Geordi La Forge, Worf, and a new-and-improved version of Data all gathered around a conference table — just like on " Star Trek: The Next Generation " — to reconnoiter and figure out what to do next. 

The sight of these characters back on the job was accompanied by some treacly, nostalgic music, natch, which is mildly irritating. Also, I could have gone without a few weepy lines of dialogue about how great it is to be together again; did none of these characters come to resent their old coworkers? But overall the moment felt more natural than one might expect. It was a "nostalgia moment" that felt earned and organic. Thank goodness "Picard" took the time to put everyone in place out in the galaxy before slowly bringing them together. When Picard begins asking his "crew" for suggestions, it makes sense that everyone falls back into place with their dialogue and their dynamic. 

This moment comes at the end of what might be considered the "action climax" of this season. "Surrender" will feature a hostage situation, several notable deaths, a dramatic noncorporeal face-off, and a cliché line of action move dialogue spoken right before a villain is dispatched. The plot takes a breather while tensions run high.

Data vs. Lore

The noncorporeal confrontation mentioned above was between Data and Lore, both played by Spiner. As previously explained, Altan Soong constructed an android body made to look like a 74-year-old man, hoping that an otherwise-immortal android could experience old age. Into said body, Soong shunted in the consciousnesses of Data, Lore, B-4, Noonien Soong, Lal, and presumably others. For the purposes of this episode, only Data and Lore are important. Geordi La Forge (Burton) knows that Data's powerful android brain could wrest control of the U.S.S. Titan's computers away from the villainous Vadic ( Amanda Plummer ), but to activate him would be to invite the evil Lore to delete Data and take over his body; he already tried in the previous episodes. At Picard's urging, Geordi activates him anyway, hoping Data will dominate. 

What follows is an abstract conversation between Data and Lore. The latter, having no ethics or compunctions about killing off Data begins stealing his memories and throwing them into the ether. Tasha Yar ( Denise Crosby ) makes a brief cameo during this sequence, appearing in a memorial projector that Data kept on "Next Generation." Eventually, Lore sucks up every last one of Data's memories, eager to take control of his own android body once again. Data argues, in a brief moment of philosophical introspection, that a human character is constructed of their memories. In stealing Data's, Lore essentially became Data. It's rushed and a little thin, but it seemed at least a modicum of thought went into it. 

This was Data's second resurrection, incidentally. In the first, a particle of his body was somehow salvaged from the explosion at the end of "Star Trek: Nemesis," and cloned (?) into a brand new android brain that somehow contained all of Data's memories.

Riker and Troi

Even in Trek's world of multisyllabic technobabble, this was farfetched. This time around, enough time was taken explaining this new golem body that it was easier to accept beyond a mere plot contrivance.

Data emerges from the conflict a new man, happy to be a 74-year-old with weak knees and a crick in his neck. Also, he seems to be able to fully feel now. 

An additional emotional climax is provided by Riker and Troi (Frakes and Sirtis), now a married couple still smarting after the death of their son years earlier. While being held prisoner on board the Shrike, they talk about how they never found a way to properly grieve. They talk out their problems, apologize, and both admit that they hate living in a cabin in the country. Troi admits she wants to move back to the city. This odd moment of domestic strife is weirdly welcome. It provides a strong character moment for Troi who, up until now, hasn't appeared much in this season. Troi also has the pleasure of reuniting with Worf (Dorn) whom she briefly dated, and she will play a part in unlocking the mind of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). Troi, it seems, was granted the dignity of not being a mere bit player.

She, Riker, Worf, and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) will also salvage the organic body of Picard that the evil Changelings want for reasons that have still not yet been explained. 

While the above dramas were taking place, "Picard" engaged in its proper "action movie" climax. In the previous episode, Vadic took control of the bridge of the Titan. In this one, Vadic lines up all the bridge officers as hostages and offers to murder them off one by one until Jack Crusher surrenders himself.

Vadic no more

Sadly, one of the ever-present background characters, Lieutenant T'Veen (Stephanie Czajkowski) , won't make it out alive. (Luckily, Vadic does not target the show's nonbinary character, Ensign Kova Rin Esmar (Jin Maley).) It's a shocking death. During the hostage crisis, the stern Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) remains snippy toward Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), pointing out that her tendency to break rules had led to ruin. Shaw's continued status as the sole pessimist on "Picard" remains unblanched and wholly appealing. 

Vadic, thanks to a complex coordinated effort, will eventually be blown out into space through an on-bridge airlock that wasn't mentioned before. It seems to this nitpicking Trekkie that having an airlock on the bridge of a starship is a massive design flaw, but whatever. Vadic is sucked out into the vacuum of space where she freezes, drifts into the hull of her own ship, and shatters into thousands of pieces. Nitpicking Trekkies may point out that a Changeling like Vadic may be able to survive such an ordeal, but in terms of an action movie death, it will do. Importantly, Vadic will be gone from the story. Prior to Vadic's death, Seven got to bark out "Get off my bridge," a line she cribbed from Captain Janeway on "Star Trek: Voyager." 

With two episodes to go, it's a relief to see Vadic gone. It means that the season's climax will not be hand-to-hand combat, another starship battle, or any act of dull, revenge-based action movie violence. Trek is not an action franchise, and "Picard" looks poised to conclude more intelligently. 

The stupid "Space Jesus" notions introduced last week , however, still linger. But there may be time to turn things around.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 8 Sets the Stage for a Grand Finale

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 moves into its final act with a desperate fight for the Titan. Here's CBR's review of the season's eighth episode.

Star Trek: Picard has officially entered the home stretch, with the core Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunited and ready to take on the Changeling conspiracy together . After scrambling to get the season's opening antagonist Vadic on board the USS Titan for a face-to-face showdown with Jean-Luc Picard and his allies, the season's eighth episode delivers the inevitable payoff. Titled "Surrender," the episode is a top-to-bottom crowd-pleaser that knows when to lean into the fan service while advancing the overarching story ahead of the series finale.

After seizing control of the Titan, Vadic tightens her authority by systematically wiping out any Starfleet opposition scattered around the starship. With the bridge crew at the Changelings' mercy, Jack Crusher devises a plan to retake the ship while Geordi La Forge makes a risky decision to rescue Data from his evil twin, Lore. Meanwhile, Will Riker and Deanna Troi have problems of their own, held captive on board the Changeling warship and forced to confront changes in their relationship .

While the preceding episode felt occasionally forced and contrived to bring Vadic face to face with the protagonists, "Surrender" follows this up to provide a more tense and earned confrontation. Amanda Plummer takes full advantage of the increased prominence, leaning into Vadic's strengths as an antagonist who truly revels in the sadism and cruelty that she inflicts. This episode is Picard at its tensest and most merciless and makes the most of its pacing and unpredictability of its villains.

If the preceding episode gave Levar Burton a fitting and emotional showcase, "Surrender" offers a similar spotlight for co-star Brent Spiner . The positronic android that houses both Data and Lore's consciousnesses is at war with itself, and Spiner has a field day playing the two androids against each other before taking a different turn by the episode's conclusion. Seeing Picard and his crew's reaction to seeing their old friend fight for his life makes for one of the most emotionally resonant moments of the entire series.

RELATED: Star Trek Introduces Its Newest Ship: Jack Crusher and Sidney LaForge

More to the point, "Surrender" fulfills the promise of Picard Season 3 by reuniting the main TNG cast. This season's measured, deliberate pacing to maneuver its characters into position makes sense for a more organic story, but it is bittersweet knowing that there are only two episodes remaining in the entire series. Eight episodes deep, it still feels like Picard Season 3 is only gaining momentum, with so much story left to explore and a decreasing amount of real estate to deliver its grand finale.

Picard Season 3 has been a veritable cornucopia of satisfying character moments and Easter eggs to the breadth of the Star Trek franchise. "Surrender" resets the board for the epic showdown with the Changeling conspiracy, with the fate of the United Federation hanging in the balance. Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid is a desire for more episodes to sit and enjoy the moment as the crew stands together again, but Picard Season 3 never really had any intention of slowing down as it moves forward, engines at full power.

Created by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman, and Terry Matalas, Star Trek: Picard releases new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Focusing on some key storylines to tie off loose ends before the finale elevates well-intentioned but shakier material.

Star Trek: Picard , and frankly, most modern Trek, works best when its episodes have focus. Especially in the era of serialization, writers seem to feel the need to include an avalanche of characters and subplots each week, which can leave episodes feeling bloated and aimless. Season 3 of  Picard  has its heap of characters to service, and several narrative irons in the fire, to where it threatens to tip over at any minute. 

But “Surrender” gains strength from zeroing in on a few key storylines that command the hour. Vadic ( Amanda Plummer ) has taken over the  USS Titan . Jean-Luc ( Patrick Stewart ), Beverly ( Gates McFadden ), and others must decide whether to turn over Jack (Ep Speleers) to her band of baddies or try to regain control through other means. Meanwhile, Data ( Brent Spiner ) wages an internal war with his brother Lore, while Geordi ( LeVar Burton ) tries to help him from outside. And Will ( Jonathan Frakes ) and Deanna ( Marina Sirtis ) use their imprisonment aboard the  Shrike  as a chance to resolve their issues while they hope for a rescue. 

None of these story threads is amazing. But each has the time to breathe, develop, and eventually feed into one another in a way that’s satisfying, even compared to episodes with better individual elements that nonetheless end up overstretched or underbaked. 

The strongest of the three is the Riker family summit. In a postscript to  “No Win Scenario,”  Will and Deanna break down the emotional walls between them that emerged in the aftermath of their son’s death. Will admits to feeling numb from the loss, not to mention violated, when his wife encroached on his mind to try to relieve his hardship. Likewise, Deanna admits to some regrets but also confesses the weight of grief she carried from everyone around her at the time. 

The emotional exposition at play is blunt and a bit clumsy. But as with many of season 3’s shortcomings, even when the scenes aren’t perfect,  Star Trek: Picard’s  heart is in the right place with all of this. Fortunately, even twenty years later, Frakes and Sirtis have such incredible charm and chemistry that it helps paper over any ham-handed writing. 

[A]s with many of season 3’s shortcomings, even when the scenes aren’t perfect,  Star Trek: Picard’s  heart is in the right place with all of this.

And the rescue and reunion from Worf ( Michael Dorn ), with amusing nods to his bond with Deanna, adds to the triumphant feeling of the emotional breakthroughs at play. The bright spots shine brighter when the creative team devotes time to sketching out these key interpersonal moments amid the larger stakes of the episode. 

The Data story rises and falls in much the same terms. The internal struggle between Data and Lore for control of Hybrid Data’s mind is a foregone conclusion. No matter the convenient graphical battle between the good blue dots and the evil red dots on the display, any concern about Lore taking over as the dominant personality plays like false jeopardy. Likewise, the theme of Lore accepting Data’s memories but inadvertently accepting Data’s identity in the process is trite but well-intentioned. And the dialogue laying bare all of these points varies between the tin-eared and the downright cheesy. 

And yet, it’s hard to deny the charms of seeing Spiner act opposite himself once more. “Surrender” doesn’t play fair, as Data summons all manner of symbols of long ago: from his Sherlock hat and pipe, to his memorial for Tasha Yar, to none other than Spot(!!!), replete with a testimonial about how his little furry friend taught him how to love. The embrace and resolution between the good twin and the evil one are pretty thin but gain force from its callback to their last encounter in  The Next Generation . And providing room for Geordi and Data to have their own mini-reunion as they recount what each means to the other helps some clunky emotional material land with more force than it otherwise could. 

The weakest of the three stories is the broader effort to retake the ship from Vadic. We already did the moral dilemma of whether to turn over Jack to the bad guys in order to save the rest of the crew in  “Disengaged,”  so there’s not much juice left in that orange. In lieu of added substance, “Surrender”’s content to throw in more cryptic hints about Jack’s budding psychic powers, which now allow him to fully possess people. Eight episodes in, and it’s time to put the cards on the table for Crusher Jr. rather than continuing to hint and hint and hint into oblivion. 

This is also a disappointing swan song for Vadic. One might naively assume that, with her backstory and motivations  finally explained , she might get to be more of a character now. Nope! She’s back to nothing but preening and taunting, with a mannered performance that feels less and less suited to the moment the longer her scenes linger.  The Wrath of Khan  remains one of Star Trek’s cinematic high points. Still, it’s also ruined scads of otherwise interesting villains as the franchise has continued to chase that scenery-chewing, bravado-filled dragon ever since. Sadly, Vadic is no exception. 

Thankfully, all three of these subplots, when given the time to bloom, come together nicely and provide a satisfying conclusion. Unfortunately, the episode tips its hands a bit too much when Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) declares that to overcome Vadic’s lockout of the ship’s systems, they’d need someone who can compute at an incredible level. Nevertheless, here comes Data, gifted with a new sense of sass and the ability to overcome Vadic’s digital locks on the  Titan ! 

[T]he structure of an outing like “Surrender,” the willingness to stop and focus on a few key plots and allow them to build toward one another, helps even mixed material sing when it’s done right.

If that weren’t enough, here comes Worf, Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ), and the Riker family to distract their captors and take down mooks in the hallways with suitable flair. Finally, here comes a high point for Seven ( Jeri Ryan ), standing firm against these invaders on her ship. And here comes Jack Crusher, conspiring with his parents to blast Vadic and her interlopers into the vacuum of space while protecting Seven and himself via a personal force field. “Surrender” weaves these disparate parts of the episode together, producing a more satisfying whole. 

Frankly, that climatic triumph is the natural endpoint for the episode. Vadic cracking into a thousand pieces after crashing into the bow of her own ship is a visually cathartic defeat of the main antagonist to date. The immediate danger has been conquered. The threat to Jack that started this whole kerfuffle is neutralized. Taking a moment to bask in that, to let the characters exalt in their triumph, would help the importance of this victory land. 

Instead, “Surrender” lurches on, a bit aimlessly, for another ten minutes or so. The show needs to set up that there’s still a grand threat to Frontier Day that our heroes must figure out. The show needs to continue teasing some answers about Jack’s condition (which increasingly seems like a Charlie X/Gary Mitchell-type situation) with the help of Deanna. And most of all, the show needs to put all the  Next Generation  vets in a room together before the fireworks begin. 

I’m not made of stone. It is undeniably rousing to watch the crew of the  Enterprise-D  gather around a long table once more. But here again, the dialogue is so unnatural and exposition-laden that even the chemistry of seven people who worked together for years seems to falter. More to the point, their big scene comes in a narrative no man’s land. It’s not quite a postscript to the major events of  this  episode, and not quite a prelude to the undoubtedly bombastic endgame still to come, which makes the reunion ultimately feel pleasant but a bit hollow. 

Still,  Star Trek: Picard  continues to set a commendable course. Not every storyline clicks. Not every personality clash works. But the structure of an outing like “Surrender,” the willingness to stop and focus on a few key plots and allow them to build toward one another, helps even mixed material sing when it’s done right. 

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'Star Trek: Picard' season 3 episode 8 reunites the TNG crew for upcoming finale

We've had eight episodes setting up the series finale and quite where this story is going no one is really sure.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3, episode 8

After this one, there are just two more episodes of "Picard" left. How exactly will it all end for this particular collection of "Trek" characters? Oh, and for the record, it should absolutely positively end here. An additional legacy spin-off show, the idea of which has been bounded around on social media of late, is truly a terrible idea. For the love of Lazarus, move on and create new characters that we can all watch and enjoy.

Of course, the big "Star Trek" news of late is that the new spin-off show will be set at Starfleet Academy, so it looks like we are going to get new characters after all. As long as it doesn't turn out to be a younger, edgier version of Trek, akin to the parody of the same idea and shown in the magnificent "Stargate SG1" episode "200" (S10, E06), then everyone should be happy. So, fingers crossed.

So far in this third and final season, the primary plot isn't anything groundbreakingly new and it's still quite formulaic. Jason Bourne Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) is basically Dahj (Isa Briones), Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is still Jean-Luc Picard, Brent Spiner is still Brent Spiner, the crew gets a bit of help from a few old friends, all of Starfleet is threatened, et cetera . So, if the foundational framework remains mostly the same, then the exterior decor, so to speak, becomes all the more important. And that is basically what's carrying this show. Thankfully, it's not terrible.

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The fun elements of the cast reunion continue with the focus on Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) — sci-fi's best husband and wife team since Maureen and John Robinson or even Ellen and Saul Tigh from "Battlestar Gallactica." Although, given what we saw and heard during the events of " Nepenthe " (S01, E07), it feels like many of their issues have been shoved into their lives by way of lazy writing. That said, the single best thing about this episode is that Marina Sirtis has finally begun to revert back to her native Tottenham accent. She's originally from N17 dontchaknow and in Norf London it's pronounced Bay - uh -zoid.

Lore wasn't kept around much either, and now with Vadic (Amanda Plummer) having met a demise worthy of inclusion in the "Final Destination" franchise, the old "Next Generation" crew is gathered altogether for the final two hours of this series. In essence, that makes the finale much like a two-part season conclusion now that we've spent eight weeks establishing some sort of background. It might have been nice if Lore had been given an Evil Twin Mustache™ or at the very least a Band-Aid to slap on his forehead, thus distinguishing the good from the bad ... but you can't have everything. 

Rumors abound as to what exactly what's wrong with Jack, ranging from the fact that Beverley was made pregnant after Jean-Luc had joined the Collective so there could be an as-yet unknown Borg tech connection, to potential involvement by the Remans, and even to the fact that Jack doesn't know he's a changeling and that the real Jack is dead or a prisoner somewhere. 

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Either way, the third season story arc hasn't really progressed very far, all things considered, and we continue to be bombarded with throwbacks, fan service and Easter Eggs, although its certainly the right time of year for that. 

At the time of writing, the press had not been given advance screeners of the final two episodes, but "Picard" writer Cindy Appel tweeted that "Eps 9&10 of #StarTrekPicard are so thrilling, emotional, EPIC, that the writers kindly request you clear the area around your couch so as not to accidentally punch your toddler or emotional support pet."

In that tweet, she also revealed that writer and showrunner Terry Matalas would be taking the helm of the penultimate episode entitled "Vox" and the series finale entitled "The Last Generation" is only the second show for which he's sat in the center seat. That said, he's been around "Star Trek" his entire professional career, so it's certainly going to be intriguing. 

It also sets up Deanna nicely towards the end since she's probably Starfleet's most valuable single asset. There are changelings everywhere hellbent on causing chaos who can only be distinguished from humanoid lifeforms by an empath. Those, combined with Jack 'I've-got-an-alien-evil-consciousness-inside-me' Crusher, makes for a tailor-made crisis for Counselor Troi if ever there was one. 

If there was a category at the MTV Awards for Most Easter Eggs in a Televised Drama, this show would win hands down. But there have been some nice touches, much like the holograms onboard La Sirena, which were genius. The running gag that no one likes Château Picard wine is also very nice, but we're a little surprised that Lore didn't make reference to torturing Georgi in "Descent, Part II" (S07, E01). The cloaking device was utilized again and since that's been sparingly used, it remains effective. 

Vadic has been something of a deliberate misdirection, a little like the Renée Picard thing was last season and the threat to Frontier Day feels like the whole Seb-Cheneb thing from the first season , we certainly haven't seen as much of Raffi as we'd like, but hopefully the lose threads will get tied up in an effective manner. We've said it before and we'll probably say it again in the next two weeks, but it's just a damn shame that this wasn't the first season of the Jean-Luc Picard spin-off. That way, it might not feel quite so formulaic. 

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"Star Trek: Picard" and every episode of every "Star Trek" show currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the US. Internationally, the shows are available on  Paramount Plus  in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream exclusively on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.

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

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Star Trek: Picard: Season 3 Reviews

The second season completely tied up most of its characters and storylines and cleared the stage for current showrunner, Terry Matalas, to finally make the Next Generation sequel that fans had wanted all along.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 25, 2023

While the season provides excellent reunions and nostalgic moments, it also serves as a reminder of the missteps of 90s-era Star Trek that other modern Trek series have moved past. It's a bittersweet goodbye; but a necessary one for Trek to move forward.

Full Review | May 2, 2023

This is reportedly the last season of Picard, and it’s fitting that it goes out on an emotional high and leaves the door open for new adventures.

Full Review | Apr 26, 2023

Not a mere encounter: this is a proper adventure. And a very good one at that: it's exciting and complex, with interesting twists, and while it isn't as daring as we might demand in today's times, it's quite ambitious. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 24, 2023

Picard took us on a hell of a ride, but it too definitively asserted that Jean-Luc Picard and his friends were the be-all, end-all of this era of Trek.

Full Review | Apr 24, 2023

After a disastrous second season, ‘Picard’ set a new heading and brought back its legacy characters—and just may have authored the greatest course correction in the history of the small screen.

Full Review | Apr 21, 2023

Star Trek: Picard season 3 just wrote the blueprint on how to do nostalgic fanservice while telling a fantastic story at the same time.

Season three is one of Star Trek’s crowning achievements, the gold standard for how franchises can blend in legacy characters while maintaining vitally present plotlines that don't completely rely on nostalgia.

Full Review | Apr 18, 2023

Nostalgic and satisfying, this is the third and farewell voyage under the auspices of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), reuniting him with various beloved crew members.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 5, 2023

It is not like Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the sense that it mimics a conspiracy thriller as opposed to a philosophically driven space odyssey. But it is "Star Trek," and a fitting closer

Full Review | Mar 2, 2023

Whether it’s the clever deployment of fan-favourite characters such as Ro Laren and Tuvok or the OMG moments when he’ll [Terry Matalas] casually throw in the Enterprise-A or Voyager, this season’s been a gift to fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 1, 2023

Trekkies will be pleased to have the old crew again. There’s an easiness and history felt between these actors and their characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 25, 2023

I'm pleased to log that it follows the prime directive for a Star Trek show: It's really good.

Full Review | Feb 24, 2023

After two seasons spent avoiding The Next Generation, Picard wholeheartedly embraces it, with appearances coming from Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner. It's exhilarating to be reunited with them all.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 23, 2023

Weaving together a fantastic culmination of years of storytelling, with a brilliant mix of beloved legacy cast & fantastic new additions, Star Trek: Picard will certainly unite both old and new Trek fans with a gripping final frontier

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 23, 2023

It leans heavily into TNG nostalgia, and that’s okay. Picard will always be my captain.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 22, 2023

All-around kudos to showrunner Matalas... for shepherding this heartfelt finale in a way that’s authentic to the characters, the franchise and the established stories. This season of “Picard” doesn’t feel like fan fiction; it feels legit.

Full Review | Feb 22, 2023

In a final season which feels more like the start of something new, than anything approaching retirement, Star Trek: Picard builds on a rich heritage harking back to Next Generation.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5 | Feb 19, 2023

It’s wonderful. It’s also officially the end. Trekkies will be overjoyed – and then devastated the fun is over almost as soon as it has begun.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 18, 2023

Try not to smile when Picard insists, “I can’t ask you to put yourself in danger,” and Riker retorts, “Since when?”

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 17, 2023

Star Trek: Picard episode 8 recap: The truth behind the attack on Mars is revealed

Our spoiler-filled Star Trek: Picard episode 8 review

- Episode 8 (of 10), ' Broken Pieces' - Written by Michael Chabon - Directed by Maja Vrvilo ★★★★

Spoilers follow . 

On Aia, a planet with eight suns, a group of hooded Zhat Vash – including Oh, Rizzo, and Ramdha – take part in a ritual. They touch an artifact, the Admonition, which gives them apocalyptic visions. They say it's a warning from a long extinct race about the perils of developing synthetic life. The visions drive some of the group to suicide. On the Borg Cube, Rizzo talks to a comatose Ramdha, who was apparently driven mad by the ritual. We also learn that she took Rizzo and her brother Narek in when their parents died. Elsewhere on the Cube, Elnor is overwhelmed by Romulans, but Seven of Nine appears and kills them before they can finish the job.

The crew of the La Sirena learns that Jurati had been implanted with a tracker, and had injected a hydrogen compound to neutralize it. The ship's EMH also informs them that she killed Maddox by disabling his life support. Picard asks Admiral Clancy for help, and she agrees to send a squadron to a nearby starbase, Deep Space 12. While on the Cube, Raffi noticed a symbol being drawn by the Romulans. The ship's Emergency Navigation Hologram thinks it could be an octonary star system; a planetary system with eight component stars. Raffi wonders if this is the Conclave of Eight, a term she heard while trying to find out who attacked Mars. On the Borg Cube, Seven of Nine activates its regeneration systems, and we see swarms of mechanical insects repairing the broken sections of the destroyed ship.

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Star Trek: Picard episode 1 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 2 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 3 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 4 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 5 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 6 recap Star Trek: Picard episode 7 recap

Soji and Picard talk about Data over dinner. Picard says he was brave, curious, gentle, and unclouded by bias or habit, with a child's wisdom. He made the crew of the Enterprise laugh, except when he was trying to get them to laugh. Soji seems reassured by this, realizing that being synthetic doesn't mean she's worthless. Raffi learns from the La Sirena's engineering hologram that the chances of an octonary system forming naturally are basically zero, implying that if this place exists, it would have been created to draw attention to itself. In his quarters, Rios looks through a box of memories including his old Starfleet uniform, a photo of an older man, and a drawing of himself and someone who looks a lot like Soji.

On the Cube, Seven of Nine tells Elnor that she might be able to take control of the drones in stasis and create a micro-collective, turning them against the Romulans. On the La Sirena, Raffi gathers the holograms and asks them why Rios has sealed himself away in his quarters. They reveal that something happened on his old Federation ship, the USS Ibn Majid, but that it's been marked as classified. In sickbay, Jurati wakes up and confesses to killing Maddox and working for Oh. She tries to tell Picard about the visions Oh showed her, but says a psychic block has been placed on her. She tells Picard about Seb-Cheneb, the Destroyer, and says Hell is coming.

Rios opens up to Raffi about what's been troubling him. When he was serving on the Ibn Majid, his ship encountered two beings in a ship: one called Beautiful Flower, and one called Jana, who looked exactly like Soji. But as first contact was being initiated, the captain – the older man in Rios's photo – was ordered by Starfleet to kill them. They were synths, and the person who gave the order was Oh. On the Cube, Seven of Nine wakes the sleeping Borg drones up, but Rizzo responds by opening an airlock and blowing them out into space. On the La Sirena, Raffi, having figured out what the Zhat Vash are and believe, and how Oh infiltrated Starfleet, tells the crew. She confirms the Romulans were behind the attack on Mars, which was staged to justify a galaxy-wide ban on synthetic life.

A Romulan fleet gathers near the Cube, beaming Rizzo away and warping to Soji's homeworld, the location of which they learned through her dream. Picard reassures Rios that his captain was a good man, and was betrayed by Starfleet. Soji, whose memories are flooding back, uses the Borg's transwarp conduit network to go to the same planet the Romulans are racing towards. She wonders if the Zhat Vash are right, and she is the Destroyer. Picard says that happened 200,000 centuries ago. The past is written. But they have the tools to change things: positivity and curiosity. The La Sirena enters the warp conduit, with Narek's ship following close behind.

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Verdict: This is perhaps the most revelation-heavy episode of Picard yet, laying out the motivations and history of the Zhat Vash, and what their next move is, in detail. It's also one that doesn't give Picard much to do, focusing largely on Raffi, Rios, and his crew of holograms. But Patrick Stewart steals the episode when he fondly remembers his relationship with Data, which is a hugely satisfying moment for Next Generation fans.

• Picard learns that Soji was implanted with a viridium tracker. A version of this device first appeared in the 1991 movie Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country. One of them was used by Spock to rescue Kirk and McCoy from a penal colony on the planetoid Rura Penthe.

• Rios has a book in his quarters called Surak and Existentialism. Surak was a legendary Vulcan philosopher, who is mentioned in too many Star Trek episodes to count. In the Enterprise episode Awakening (S4E8), Surak appears to Jonathan Archer in a vision, played by Bruce Gray.

• Picard and Rios briefly talk about a Federation captain, Marta Batanides, who Picard says he went to Starfleet Academy with. This character plays a major role in the TNG episode Tapestry (S6E15), in which the mischievous Q gives Picard a chance to relive his youth and alter his past.

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

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Star Trek: Picard: Staffel 3 – Starker Auftakt (Serienkritik)

von Peter Osteried | 18.02.2023

Die dritte Staffel der Science-Fiction -Serie „ Star Trek: Picard “ ist am 17. Februar bei Amazon Prime Video gestartet. Hier ist unsere Kritik zur Serie mit Patrick Stewart.

Von vornherein war klar, dass die dritte auch die letzte Staffel von „Star Trek: Picard“ werden sollte. Sie sollte zugleich aber auch mehr als das sein. Das Ziel: Der nächsten Generation einen würdigen Abschied zu bescheren, denn den hatte sie vor mehr als 20 Jahren mit „ Star Trek: Nemesis “ nicht.

Darum sind in der neuen Staffel auch alle Stars der Serie wieder dabei. Zum Auftakt muss man sich jedoch gedulden. Denn in der ersten Folge trifft man nur auf Picard, Riker und Crusher .

Star Trek: Picard: Staffel 3 – Zur Handlung

Beverly Crusher , die vor 20 Jahren den Kontakt zu ihren Freunden abbrach, ruft per Subraumbotschaft Admiral Picard um Hilfe , warnt ihn aber auch, dass er niemandem vertrauen darf, nicht einmal der Sternenflotte.

Picard bittet Riker um Hilfe, der einen Plan entwickelt, wie sie zu den Koordinaten kommen können, zu denen Crusher sie lotst. Doch dafür muss der Captain der U.S.S. Titan , Rikers altem Schiff, ausgetrickst werden. Hilfe erhalten Picard und Riker hier von Seven of Nine .

Star Trek: Picard: Staffel 3 – Eine Kritik

Die zweite Staffel begann im letzten Jahr ausgesprochen stark, nach zwei hervorragenden Folgen verflachte sie aber zusehends. Die dritte Staffel beginnt noch besser , und man kann nur hoffen, das es diesmal anders laufen wird. Aber wie auch immer sich die Geschichte entwickeln wird, es wird etwas Besonderes sein, die Crew von „Star Trek: The Next Generation “ wieder vereint zu sehen. Der Vorgeschmack darauf in dieser Folge ist schon einmal wunderbar. Die Szenen mit Picard und Riker sind von Nostalgie getrieben. Aber sie fühlen sich auch authentisch an. Weil das Alter der Figuren auch immer wieder in den Fokus gerückt wird.

Eine Nebenhandlung mit Raffi Musiker deutet auf die größere Geschichte hin. Sie ist beim Sternenflottengeheimdienst und zu spät, einen gigantischen Terrorakt zu verhindern. Das wirft Fragen auf. Ebenso wie Crusher. Wer verfolgt sie? Wieso brach sie vor zwei Jahrzehnten den Kontakt ab? Und wieso lässt man Crusher Picard in ihrer Botschaft im Deutschen siezen? Weil es früher so war? Schon, aber hier erfährt man, dass die beiden später eine Liebesbeziehung hatten, wenn auch eine, die nicht von Erfolg gekrönt war. Und doch: Auch dann muss man nicht zum „Sie“ zurückkehren.

Die erste Folge endet mit einem Kracher . Die Identität der von Ed Speleers gespielten Figur wird klar, was weitere Fragen aufwirft.

Spannender Auftakt der Staffel mit starker Figurenzeichnung . Hier ist viel Nostalgie dabei, auch bei der Musik. Das nicht nur in Hinblick auf „Star Trek: The Next Generation“, sondern auch mit der musikalischen Verbeugung vor den ersten beiden Filmen und dem TNG-Film „ Erster Kontakt “.

Bewertung: 5/5*****

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Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

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• Trivia The Chateau Picard vineyard first appeared in Family (1990) . It was run by Jean-Luc Picard's brother Robert and his wife Marie, and their son René. Jean-Luc would learn in Star Trek: Generations (1994) that Robert and René had both burned to death in a fire, leaving Jean-Luc as the last in the Picard line.
• Goofs Commodore Oh often wears sunglasses. Star Trek lore establishes that Vulcans have an inner eyelid to protect against harsh sunlight on their desert planet. Oh's shades are a fashion statement, not a protective measure.
• The first season features a Borg cube and the planet Romulus.
• The second season features a Borg ship, a wormhole and hourglass, and the Borg Queen's silhouette.
• The third season does not have an opening titles sequence.
• Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: Comic Con 2019, The Picard Trailer, Streaming Services, and Midsommar (2019)

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• January 23, 2020 (United States)
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• You are not prepared for the final season of Star Trek: Picard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until Star Trek: Picard .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 1 - 'The Next Generation' Review

The boys are back in town..

Note: While we touch upon certain basic plot points for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 1, we are avoiding discussing major spoilers here. The new season premieres on Paramount Plus on Thursday, February 16.

The return of Jean-Luc Picard to the small screen was a cause for great celebration when the series debuted three years ago, but it’s been a rocky road since then, with an inconsistent first season and a very rough second. But now, as Star Trek: Picard enters its third and final season, the Starfleet legend is off to a promising start to what could finally be the send-off that he deserves.

The Star Trek Next Gen crew’s best “ending” came with the first TV series’ finale, “All Good Things…”, which aired all the way back in 1994. It was an exciting, charming, and emotional climax to the seven years of episodes that preceded it. Eight years later, the crew signed off again in the movie Star Trek: Nemesis, which while disappointing and disjointed, did offer some emotional closure at least. And now with Picard Season 3, Jean-Luc, Riker, Beverly, Worf and the rest are all getting one more chance to tie their adventures up in a bow of, one hopes, galactic nostalgia as well as forward-facing new adventures and character complexity.

This first episode of Season 3, appropriately dubbed “The Next Generation,” proves that the nostalgia stuff is easy… perhaps too easy, as the show throws in a lot of familiar Trek sound effects, music cues, visual gags, and story turns – so many as to almost be jarring to anyone who is well acquainted with Star Trek of yore (we’re talking about the Trekkie , of course). For the more casual observer, however, these moments may pass by unnoticed or even feel inspired.

But the real game is in the season’s potential for new adventures and the continuation of these characters’ stories. After all, this is the first time we’ve seen this entire group reunited since Nemesis, and could very well be the actual last time. Certainly, Star Trek: Picard offers a chance to really dig into the lives of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Worf (Michael Dorn) as they rejoin returning co-stars William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and of course Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc himself – potentially in a way that’s never been done before. Remember, when TNG ran in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, each character would periodically get their own stories and episodes, but the bulk of the good stuff went to Picard, Brent Spiner’s Data, and often Worf. And when the movies came around, the supporting cast were essentially relegated to the age-old “hailing frequencies open” capacity.

So when the Picard series debuted, it seemed like a good chance to give the old Admiral’s friends some more time to shine. And indeed, Riker and Troi got a standout episode in Season 1, and of course the late Data and his Soong android ilk were central to the story – even John de Lancie’s Q and Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher had their brief turns in Season 2. But other than that, the crew of the Enterprise-D has mostly been ignored by the show as part of the mandate to keep Jean-Luc out of uniform, off of starships, and generally not going where he has gone before. Until now, that is.

But “The Next Generation” fires all torpedoes right out of the gate with the return of one of the OG TNGers, McFadden’s Dr. Crusher, as she finds herself in deep space, single-handedly taking on some nasty alien types in a gunfight in deep space. What she’s doing out there, why she’s being hunted, and who exactly the mysterious figure is that she’s keeping behind a locked door is a mystery that’s largely resolved within the first episode, but man, is it great to see her back in action. She mercilessly disintegrates said bad guys in a distinctly non-Bev manner before popping off a distress signal to her old kinda-sorta-but-not-really beau, Jean-Luc Picard: “Trust no one.”

And just like that, Star Trek: Picard has taken us where we always wanted it to go: Back to the original Next Gen crew and what they’ve been doing since we last saw them. Beverly basically cut off her friends 20 years ago? Geordi isn’t an engineer anymore? There’s trouble in Nepenthe paradise for Riker and Troi!? MAKE IT SO!

That’s not to say that the previous two seasons of Picard didn’t have their moments. One of the best things to come out of those convoluted stories was Orla Brady’s Laris, Jean-Luc’s Romulan housekeeper turned love interest. Alas, she appears to have been written out of the proceedings (again) in this episode, although she sticks around long enough to remind Picard that it’s okay to look to the past as well as the future… which certainly seems like it will be one of the themes of this season.

Also returning from the previous seasons are two of the stronger characters from that run, Michelle Hurd’s Raffi Musiker and, of course, Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, although they are both in very different places from where we last left them. It remains to be seen how Raffi will figure into the bigger story, though credit to the show for acknowledging her Season 1 substance-abuse storyline again here. As for Seven, she’s finally joined Starfleet – and is now questioning that very decision. Maybe she needs to look to her past a bit as well to figure out her future.

Tonally, the show has certainly escaped the more sober and restrained first season, and is now willing to have some fun with things. Stewart and Frakes bounce off each other to great effect, while a subplot involving a Starfleet captain (Todd Stashwick from 12 Monkeys) who is, well, a jerk, is tantalizing in where it might go from here. And for those expecting to see the whole TNG gang back all at once, lower your shields as well as your expectations – this will likely be a slow roll before we get to full bridge crew status later in the season…

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Character Portraits Tease the Return of The Next Generation Crew

Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• The fan service starts right off the bat with the onscreen “In the 25th century…” text, which of course is a callback to the opening of The Wrath of Khan. I’m not going to list every Easter egg that follows here, but suffice to say there are many.
• The Picard opening titles and Jeff Russo’s theme music from the first two seasons are mostly gone, replaced by a brief title card.
• Riker: “Who wants to hear some old fart drone on about going boldly for the last 250 years?” Picard: “I’m giving a speech too.” Riker: “And that’s going to be great!”
• The Neo-Constitution class USS Titan is a cool ship, but I’m still trying to get my head around where the line is between a refit and a completely new ship being built. Ship of Theseus, anyone?
• Farewell, Picard Squad of Seasons 1 and 2. As Captain Kirk once said, it was… fun. (Sometimes.)

After a rough Season 2, Star Trek: Picard is righting the ship while also fully embracing the title character’s Next Gen history with the return of, for starters, old favorites Riker and Beverly Crusher. This premiere episode veers a little too far into fan service at times, but the potential for where this season can go and how it can serve to further the Next Gen crew’s saga is undeniably exciting and off to a strong start.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Premiere Review

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BEHIND THE SCENES BASICS

The days of behind-the-scenes material for official DVD and Blu-ray releases being something uniquely special are, in many ways, long gone. Back in the early 2000s and even in the 2010s, churning through every corner of the extra material on a Star Trek home video release was something many fans looked forward to — remember the hours and hours of content on the Next Gen, Enterprise , and Kelvin Timeline Blu-ray sets?

At the time, it was really the only place you could get into the nitty-gritty of what the production team and actors were thinking in bringing each particular season of the franchise to life. Now, however, with the proliferation of social media, iPhone videos and after-shows like The Ready Room with Wil Wheaton , the behind-the-scenes photos, graphics and stories permeating the internet have honestly made it difficult for the on-disc “extras” to provide any knowledge you haven’t already heard before — especially if you are one of the people that truly loves this type of behind-the-scenes content.

In the Picard Season 3 set, there are five behind-the-scenes vignettes and all of them are completely competent — if not a little tired — plus a somewhat-amusing gag reel, and the 42-minute FYC panel that took place ahead of the IMAX screening in April. 

The produced pieces are all good, and there are hints of fresh visuals and interviews and secrets being revealed — but only in bits and pieces. To be fair, if you take away all of the 800 quadrillion bits of behind-the-scenes material that has been released previously about Season 3 — since the earliest Terry Matalas tweets back in 2021 — these vignettes do stand alone as solid production capsules for the work that was put into breaking this season.

All that said, it’s disappointing that all of the other great behind-the-scenes segments from The Ready Room have been left out — a trend which has been ongoing since the earliest Discovery disc releases. Every one of those pieces is as informative as the vignettes included here.

• The Making of the Last Generation (42:48) — The longest piece on the set is essentially a full documentary on the amazing production, writing and performances that went into the entire iconic final season (and not just the final episode). It includes some unique sound from people like writer-producers Jane Maggs, as well as associate visual effects supervisor Brian Tatosky, as well as some fun effects renders and an audition tape from Ed Speleers.
• Villainous Vadic (20:43) – A fantastic, detailed interview with Amada Plummer, and various producers and creatives, about bringing Vadic to life — and revealing that she had never seen her father’s (Christopher Plummer) performance as General Chang in Star Trek VI. This is the standout vignette in this collection, following Plummer’s few previous contributions to the Picard publicity efforts.
• The Gang’s All Here (19:06) – As you’d expect, this glossy interview piece gives each member of the returning  Next Gen cast a few moments in the spotlight.

• Rebuilding the Enterprise-D (16:53) – Talked about ad infinitum since its big reveal at the end of the season and it continues here, with production designer Dave Blass and art director Liz Kloczkowski. While there has been a lot of previous material shared on  The Ready Room and through many social media posts from various  Picard crewmembers since “Võx” aired, new content includes the  Next Gen cast getting their emotional first look at the bridge set and how the various digital display panels work from a behind-the-camera point of view.
• Gag Reel (6:10) – A solid six-minute gag reel reveals that Todd Stashwick is like a puppy, Worf “shits phasers” and — despite his love for baseball –Jonathan Frakes can’t catch worth a damn.
• The Final Season Q & A Panel (42:35) – An interesting inclusion of a talk held before the April finale IMAX screenings, with participation from Alex Kurtzman, Terry Matalas, Jeri Ryan, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Jonathan Frakes. (You may have seen this on YouTube back in the spring.)

DELETED SCENES

Unlike in previous seasons, quite a few of the deleted scenes included on this release are extremely relevant and would have added to an already strong season — forcing you to wonder in some cases why they weren’t included in the final episode edits.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the extra scenes, which all come from the latter half of the season.

“The Bounty” (2:52 – 2 Scenes)   The big news here is the new Data synth revealing himself as a hybrid of Data, Lore and B-4 while still on the Daystrom Station, instead of in the Titan engineering bay. The deleted scenes also included a little more backstory about the “new” Worf, who apparently spent “years” hunting down (and executing!) Changelings in his post-DS9 years… before accidentally killing a human, driving him to change his ways.

“Dominion” (3:01 – 3 Scenes)   There are two short and impactful scenes, first with Geordi, pleading with Data and telling the android about his daughters, then one with Seven and Shaw watching from a monitor as Picard and Vadic square off, with Shaw adding some additional context to the Federation’s role in unleashing the changeling virus during the Dominion War.   Both would have been helpful additions, as would the extra dialog showcased between Picard and Crusher as they decide that yes, they have changed enough to execute Vadic. All three brief scenes were illuminating moments that would have added more to the final product with their inclusion than they did being cut out.

“Surrender” (0:46 – 1 Scene)   This is a small trim from Data’s mental showdown with Lore, in which he kicks off his gambit of gifting his “evil” brother important elements from his past to overpower him. In this case, the gift is a painting of a crow from the episode “Birthright,” which was referenced overtly in “The Bounty.”

“Võx” (3:28 – 1 Scene)   This is an extended version of Data “consoling” Picard after Jack’s escape in the early moments of the episode. This is the best of the deleted scenes, and adds plenty of heart and smarts to the new Data’s emergence — it’s very hard to imagine the reasons behind this scene being trimmed down.

“The Last Generation” (1:45 – 2 Scenes)   A mixed bag here, including a wisely-omitted scene La Forge reminding Troi that she crashed the Enterprise the only two previous times she sat at the helm. Beyond that cringey trope, there is some extra material included in the season-ending moments for our heroes celebrating their friendship at Guinan’s bar… including Worf completing Data’s “young lady from Venus” limerick.

AUDIO COMMENTARIES

The strength of the release is definitely in the five full-length audio commentaries accompanying half the season. It is an absolute welcome surprise to suddenly see audio commentaries back in vogue — something that really hasn’t been a part of recent live-action  Trek home video releases. ( Lower Decks , though, has been doing a great job!)

Across Discovery Season 3 and 4, Picard Seasons 1 and 2, and Strange New Worlds Season 1, there have been a combined total of just four commentary tracks — so having five new ones all in one release is an incredible breath of fresh air, and hopefully something that will continue in the future.

Here’s a quick run through the five commentary tracks, all of which include showrunner Terry Matalas.

“The Next Generation”   A spirited and often raucous conversation between Terry Matalas and Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Todd Stashwick (Liam Shaw), Ed Speleers (Jack Crusher), and composer Stephen Barton. One of the big highlights is discussion between almost all the major players about Captain Shaw’s introductory dinner scene.

“Seventeen Seconds”   A more introspective conversation between Matalas, Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) and Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), with the highlights including McFadden discussing a line that was cut from her “20 years later” conversation with Picard that she believes helped to frame and support her difficult decision. (There is also a pretty funny reference to Star Trek executive John Van Citters that we won’t spoil here!)

“No Win Scenario”   A powerhouse commentary with Matalas, Frakes, and Stashwick, as the trio breaks down one of the franchise’s true high points. The commentary builds alongside the momentum of a masterpiece episode, culminating with Frakes’ heartfelt admission that he “[loves] being Riker again. Thank you, Terry.”

“The Bounty”   Basically a convention panel with Matalas, Frakes, LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) and Brent Spiner (Data), cracking wise for 52 minutes — Burton joins fashionably late, about 20 minutes into the commentary. Stick around to the end to learn the true story of some “minor larceny” involving Burton and his uniform.

“The Last Generation”   A Borg-heavy commentary featuring Ryan, Speleers, Frakes and Matalas, with Ryan “calling bullshit” on Speleers’ assimilation makeup — pointing out how he got off easy compared to her original make-up design as Seven of Nine. Appropriately, the final commentary features Frakes taking a phone call mid-recording.

EASTER EGG HUNT

There’s one more bit of fun behind-the-scenes footage buried in the Season 3 collection, and that’s “One More Hand” (6:02) — an extended recording of the Ten Forward poker game that closed out “The Last Generation.”

Hidden in the menus of Disc 3 — press LEFT on your remote when highlighting “Rebuilding the Enterprise-D” on the features menu and a playing card will appear — showrunner and finale director Terry Matalas presents six minutes of improv and laughter as the Next Gen cast take an afternoon to play cards one last time as a united crew.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It’s not surprising that the most successful Picard season also has the greatest home media release of the series, and for anyone who has even a passing interest in what went into bringing this miracle of a year to life, Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 is a must-have… especially in these days where content can just vanish off of subscription streaming services.

Speaking of which — watch for our review of the second chapter of Star Trek: Prodigy when it beams down on Blu-ray at the end of September.

A previous version of this article incorrectly described the content in the “Rebuilding the Enterprise-D” feature. We regret the error.

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

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TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion

New photos from Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 “Face the Strange”

Star Trek: Discovery “Under the Twin Moons” Review: Clues among the moons

New photos from the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5

First Photo from Star Trek: Section 31 revealed, legacy character confirmed

New Star Trek: Discovery posters revealed ahead of final season premiere

Star Trek: Discovery “Jinaal” Review: One step forward, two steps back

Star Trek: Picard — Firewall Review: The Renaissance of Seven of Nine

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere “Red Directive” Review: In Pursuit of Legacies

Revisiting “The Lost Era: Serpent Among the Ruins” Retro Review

Strange New Worlds director Jordan Canning talks “Charades,” the versatility of the series & Star Trek fandom

‘Star Trek Online’ lead designer talks the game’s longevity, honoring the franchise, and seeing his work come to life in ‘Picard’

Gates McFadden talks Star Trek: Picard, reuniting with her TNG castmates, InvestiGates, and the Human Condition

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating talk ‘Enterprise’, their relationship with Star Trek in 2023 and their first live ‘Shuttlepod Show’

John Billingsley discusses what he’d want in a fifth season of Enterprise, playing Phlox and this weekend’s Trek Talks 2 event

57-Year Mission set to beam 160+ Star Trek guests down to Las Vegas

Veteran Star Trek director David Livingston looks back on his legendary career ahead of Trek Talks 2 event

ReedPop’s Star Trek: Mission Seattle convention has been cancelled

56-Year Mission Preview: More than 130 Star Trek guests set to beam down to Las Vegas convention

7 new photos from Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 3 “Jinaal”

2023: A banner year for Star Trek — here’s why [Op-Ed]

‘Making It So’ Review: Patrick Stewart’s journey from stage to starship

54-Disc Picard Legacy Collection, Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Complete Series Blu-ray box sets announced

Star Trek: Picard series finale “The Last Generation” Review: A perfect sendoff to an unforgettable crew

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arrives on Blu-ray, 4K UHD and DVD this December

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Hegemony” Review: An underwhelming end to the series’ sophomore season

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 finale “Hegemony” preview + new photos

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 209 “Subspace Rhapsody” Review: All systems stable… but why are we singing?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” preview + new photos

Star Trek Day 2021 to Celebrate 55th Anniversary of the Franchise on September 8 with Live Panels and Reveals

Paramount+ Launches with 1-Month Free Trial, Streaming Every Star Trek Episode

Paramount+ to Officially Launch March 4, Taking Place of CBS All Access

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Season 2 Now Streaming For Free (in the U.S.)

[REVIEW] STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS “Children of Mars”: All Hands… Battle Stations

‘U.S.S. Cerritos Crew Handbook’ Review: A must-read Star Trek: Lower Decks fans

New photos from this week’s Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 finale

Star Trek: Lower Decks “The Inner Fight” Review: Lost stars and hidden battles

New photos from this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Prodigy begins streaming December 25th on Netflix

Star Trek: Prodigy lands at Netflix, season 2 coming in 2024

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Star Trek: Enterprise Star John Billingsley Talks Charity Work, Upcoming TREK*Talks Event

Review: Star Trek: Picard – Firewall

Seven of Nine, a heroine who has resurged in popularity thanks to Jeri Ryan’s return to the franchise in Star Trek: Picard , is now the subject of a much-deserved character spotlight from veteran Star Trek author David Mack . Mack’s bibliography includes the end of the Star Trek literary universe as we know it, the landmark Star Trek: Destiny trilogy , and dozens of other Star Trek publications. Considering Firewall ’s author and its complex protagonist, fans should be happy to know Mack delivers a worthy tie-in to Picard , capably filling in Seven’s story between the end of Star Trek: Voyager and the beginning of Picard .

Firewall begins two years after Voyager returns from its harrowing journey on the other side of the galaxy, and Seven is at an inflection point in her life. She’s a stranger in a strange land, and the people of Earth, who are terrified of the Borg, don’t let her forget it. Members of Voyager’s crew – indeed, Seven’s adopted family – have gone their separate ways. Seven is alone, save for a precious but tenuous mother-daughter relationship with now-Admiral Kathryn Janeway. But even this relationship doesn’t stop Seven from wanting to forge her path in the stars since her track doesn’t lie within Starfleet thanks to the organization’s xenophobic resistance to bringing an ex-Borg into their ranks.

Seven’s journey brings her first to a supposed member of the Federation Security Agency, who tasks her with infiltrating the extrajudicial Fenris Rangers. But this ragtag group of law keepers ends up being a place of supreme significance to Seven’s personal and professional life – so much so that she ends up eschewing a place in Starfleet to stay in their ranks.

Yes, Firewall is Seven’s origin story as it relates to Picard . While we received a few details in the show about her journey to the law-keeping but legally dubious security agency, it wasn’t a stretch to assume her story would one day be expanded. Mack has crafted a tale that shows Seven finally allowing people into her inner shell, much, in the same way, a computer firewall allows programs it deems safe. These people include love interests, mentors, and new friends; indeed, two of the standout characters in this book are Ellory Kayd, a fellow Ranger with whom Seven strikes up a passionate romance, and Keon Harper, an older Ranger who becomes the Obi-Wan to Seven’s Luke. While we obviously won’t spoil the state of these relationships by the end of the book, suffice to say we were fascinated at how Seven explored the torrent of emotions she experiences traversing the Qiris Sector, and how they helped transform her from the ex-Borg we knew on Voyager to the hardened do-gooder in Picard .

Mack knows the Star Trek universe, so it’s no surprise he’s able to rope in plenty of familiar elements to help the book’s worldbuilding – including, most excitingly, a familiar ship and crew from Star Trek: Prodigy . But we were surprised at how much Mack’s tapestry of Seven’s journey matched Picard ’s tone, which is of course completely appropriate for such a tie-in book . Many of the places Seven visits, such as the burnt-to-a-crisp Soroya IV, the metropolis Star Wars- esque Otroya II, and the lawless Qiris sector, are all places perfectly at home in Picard ’s culture. Likewise, villains in this book, such as the warlord Kohgish and the sneaky Arastoo Mardani, are some of the most memorable antagonists we’ve read in recent Star Trek books; they both cast a peculiar shade of darkness across the proceedings, and its no wonder Seven is so hardened by the time we see her in Picard .

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Star Trek book without a heart of light, and readers can look forward to a sentimental message at the core of Mack’s novel: found family can be everything. Indeed, it might be fair to say Seven’s new friends and loved ones help her more in Firewall than any single member of Voyager ’s crew during the ex-Borg’s time on that ship. Seven’s journey in Firewall directly sets her on the path to important character development we see in her in Picard , such as emotional intelligence, vigilante altruism, and, ultimately, major leadership responsibility. Rest assured, fans of Jeri Ryan’s character will find a lot to like in this book.

We appreciate Firewall because it offers valuable context for Star Trek: Picard fans. How and why Seven came to be the reborn hero we know and love is a vital part of the character’s happy ending on the bridge of the Enterprise-G , and Firewall fills in the context Picard didn’t care, or have time, to show. Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Firewall ends on a chilling note regarding a particularly tragic aspect of Seven’s story in season one of Picard — so you can look forward to that.

You can buy Star Trek: Picard: Firewall on Amazon now.

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

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

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