"Picard," Year Three

 Minor spoilers ahead.

This season of "Star Trek: Picard" is the one the Trekkies and Trekkers have been waiting for.  It brings back almost the entire main cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" for one big reunion and adventure, twenty years after we saw them all last.  I understand why Patrick Stewart wanted the first two seasons of "Picard" to be something different, and I was mostly satisfied with them, but I have to admit that season three was what I really wanted.  To cap off the series, this season was conceived of as essentially the final "Star Trek: The Next Generation" movie that we never got.  I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll see the crew of the Enterprise NCC 1701-D, but this is undoubtedly their last goodbye in every way that matters.   

Everyone important is back - Riker (William Frakes), Worf (Michael Dorn), Troi (Marina Sirtis), Data (Brent Spiner), Geordi LaForge (Levar Burton), and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden).  Many less important characters are also back, but naming them would be spoiling things.  It takes multiple episodes to get everyone in the same room, but the plot is kicked off by Picard getting a mysterious distress call from Dr. Crusher, who with her heretofore unseen adult son, Jack (Ed Speleers), is being chased down by mysterious enemies.  Picard and Riker bluff their way aboard the Federation ship Titan, where Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) has been posted under the hostile Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), in order to mount a rescue mission.

These ten episodes are awash in shameless nostalgia and fanservice, not just for "The Next Generation," but "Voyager" and the movies, with a few easter eggs for other parts of the Trek franchise too.  However, it all feels earned because "Picard" does the work of creating endings for so many of the character arcs and revisiting recurring themes that have been with these characters since the beginning.  Finally, we get some resolution to the Picard and Crusher romantic tensions.  Data is resurrected for the umpteenth time, but now he gets to be almost fully human, and we see how he deals with that.  Worf has found more productive ways to channel his aggression, and remains a work in progress.  Geordi LaForge is a father.  The changes make sense, and it's so satisfying to discover how everyone has grown since we've seen them last.  And these aren't throwaway background details, but a big part of the narrative.        

The characters from the prior seasons of "Picard" have almost all been sidelined.  Only Seven of Nine and Raffi (Michell Hurd) return, in order to make room for Jean-Luc Picard's old crew.  And the reunion is everything you'd want it to be, revisiting the old relationship dynamics, and even gently correcting a few missteps.  Dr. Crusher was always rather underutilized in the past, but she gets to be in the thick of the action here.  The Riker and Troi romance has matured beautifully into a lifelong partnership, and the sappy moments are deployed exactly when they should be.  Everyone gets their share of quips, but Jonathan Frakes is absolutely the MVP for nailing the comedy beats every time.  His exchanges with Worf are priceless.

 

The underlying story isn't as strong as I'd like - some elements are awfully repetitive, and too many of the one-liners fall flat - but the execution is great.  Jack Crusher is an extremely difficult role, but I thought Ed Speleers knocked it out of the park, and I'd love to see more of him in future Trek endeavors.  Other new characters of note include the changeling villain Vadic (Amanda Plummer), who is way better than this kind of material deserves, and Sidney LaForge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), who shows up as a pilot on the Titan.  All of the Paramount+ era "Star Trek" shows have looked fabulous, but you can tell a lot of care went into the production of this one. 

Interconnected universes have become all the rage in recent times, but "Star Trek" is one of the few that has really managed to keep its sense of continuity and legacy over so many shows and so many decades.  I know very well that the reason I find the third season of "Picard" so moving is because I've been watching these characters for thirty years, and recognize that the creators of the show are rabid fans who have also been watching these characters for thirty years.  My patience has paid off, and I got exactly what I wanted - a happy ending that does justice to the show I loved, while leaving the door open for more to come. 

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