(fingers snapping) (dramatic sting)
(ethereal music)
- When I first felt it, I thought to myself,
"This is good, this is new."
Infinite life, after all, has its drawbacks.
(heartbeat thumping) (ethereal music)
- [Narrator] After a lot of speculation,
the confirmation that Q is dying
during the most recent episode of "Star Trek: Picard"
has led us to ask the most obvious question, why?
Of course, everything we've learned about Q up until now
is that they are essentially immortal,
unless they really, really want to die.
Or if they were being turned mortal
as a punishment by the Q Continuum.
- Red Alert.
- [Narrator] Of course, our favorite Q
has been down that road before,
but what's happening in Picard season two
seems to be different.
Q is different.
Guinan said she felt emptiness and fear
when Q finally answered her summons at the FBI office.
- Emptiness and fear.
- [Narrator] No, this doesn't simply seem to be something
the Continuum can wave away.
And it has some people speculating
that perhaps the entire Continuum is dying.
- Q you are not well.
- [Narrator] As usual,
there seems to be more questions answers,
but after taking a deeper look into our favorite Q
this season of Picard and the Q Continuum as a whole,
we believe we have not only uncovered why Q is dying
but also why Picard and his crew were sent
on this crazy journey in the first place.
And it's a shocker. So you don't wanna miss this episode.
- Crackpot talk. I'll be leaving now.
- [Narrator] Also make sure you stay tuned
until later in the show where we are excited to show you
why Liquid I.V. is going to change the way
you hydrate your body.
- Here's the deal.
- [Narrator] And if you haven't already subscribed
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And give us a thumbs up if you want more news
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Also click the notification built and never miss an episode.
And make sure you stay tuned to the end
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Q inspired graphic design
from the amazing artists at mixedteases.com.
- I will not play the fool for Q's amusement!
- [Narrator] It's been a while
since we've really learned anything about the Q Continuum.
After initially being featured in multiple episodes
of "Star Trek: The Next Generation",
we started to get our deepest look into the Continuum
during "Star Trek: Voyager."
It would seem our favorite Q
took almost as much a liking to Janeway as he did Picard.
- What are you doing with that dog?
I'm not talking about the puppy.
- [Narrator] After "Voyager,"
we got one episode of Q in "Deep Space Nine."
And after Sisko punched him,
well, no wonder he didn't come back.
- Aren't you just a little bit curious?
- [Narrator] Of course, we never saw him
or any of the Continuum in "Enterprise."
And we got the one episode of Q in "Lower Decks."
- The mind. - Get outta here, Q!
No, we are done with random stuff today.
- [Narrator] But after so many years of very little,
"Star Trek: Discovery," season four episode five
dropped an interesting little morsel of news
about the Q Continuum.
Admiral Charles Vance reveals
that the United Federation of Planets
has had no contact with them for 600 years.
- The Q Continuum were considered as well
but as there's been no contact for 600 years...
- [Narrator] For those of you that don't do "Discovery..."
- We don't do that here.
- [Narrator] That would put last contact right around 2589,
or 188 years after the events
of "Star Trek: Picard" season two.
Is the revelation that Q is dying
have something to do the Federation losing contact
over the next two centuries?
Perhaps it just takes a little while
for God-like entities to die out,
or perhaps it's something different.
We believe the greater Continuum
is likely still there and kicking,
even in "Star Trek: Discovery's" future,
but let's get to that in a moment.
- What happened?
- I don't understand.
- [Narrator] Yes, every thing is Picard, Picard, Picard.
- Picard!
- [Narrator] But we need to take a deeper look at Janeway
in "Star Trek: Voyager" to get a better understanding
of what is happening here.
Q was a primetime trickster on "The Next Generation,"
but it was Voyager that gave us our first real look
inside the workings of the Continuum.
Voyager gave us a Q suicide, a Q civil war,
and even a Q offspring.
And while all those things are important
it's likely a non-canonical "Star Trek: Voyager" novel
that will make Q's death possible.
"The Eternal Tide" is a "Star Trek: Voyager" novel
by Kirsten Beyer,
which was published by Pocket Books in 2012.
It centers are around the search for Afsarah Eden's origin
and a mysterious space anomaly.
But more importantly, that book reveals at least six rules
that the Q must obey,
with number six being don't bring the dead back to life.
Apparently the reason for this rule
is because the consequences of such an action
can be problematic,
as not even the Q who know fully what happens after death.
- Oh my God, you guys are so going to hell.
- [Narrator] Of course, this book is not cannon,
but remember that "Star Trek: Picard" showrunner,
Terry Matalas, did work on "Voyager"
and is very familiar with the material of the show
and likely any book surrounding it.
So what does this have to do with Q dying
in the events of Picard?
We believe Q did something impetuous, out of character,
and against the rules.
And now the events of Picard seasons two and three
are playing out, and Q is paying for his actions
with his life.
- I am death. Destroyer of worlds.
- [Narrator] But before we show you
exactly why we believe Q is dying,
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(gentle music)
(water whooshing)
- What have you done?
- Show them a world of their own making
and they ask you what you've done.
- [Narrator] We believe the key to why Q is dying
was given to us in the first two episodes of the season.
It happens when Picard is on the bridge of the Stargazer
and the board queen is trying to generate more power
by assimilating the Federation fleet.
When she reaches 90%, Picard confirms the order
to self-destruct the ship.
Based on everything we know about the Borg,
Picard choosing not to give her Armada
is in general, a good thing.
But everything that happened on that bridge
tells us he made the wrong decision.
The board queen says she wants peace.
Instead of killing Starfleet personnel shooting at her,
she only stuns them.
This was not your typical Borg assimilation maneuver
and as impossible as it might have been for Picard
to let the queen get to 100%,
that is exactly what he should have done.
- Computer! Activate auto destruct sequence!
- [Narrator] And instead of dying in the explosion
as he and the crew absolutely should have,
Q recognizing what was about to happen swept in,
saved Picard and his crew,
and place them in the corrupted timeline.
We believe this is the reason Q is dying.
He broke rule number six of the Continuum.
Don't bring the dead back to life.
As tough as this is to hear,
Picard and everyone on the Stargazer was supposed to die
right there in 2401, but Q couldn't let it happen.
The reality is,
despite all of Q's tricks and trials of Picard,
the truth of the matter is that he loves him.
- [Q] Mon Capitaine, how I've missed you.
- [Narrator] Co-showrunner, Akiva Goldsman said,
"Season two of "Picard" would be about love stories."
And there is no stronger love story
than someone making the ultimate sacrifice
for someone they care about.
But even more than the actions,
it's the words of Q that really spell this out for us.
When Q sees Picard for the first time
this is a Q we've never seen before.
This is an angry, serious Q,
not the amiable trickster we know and love.
Picard immediately blames him for what is happening
and Q turns on him.
- The hell are you doing here?
- Show them a world of their own making
and they ask you what you've done.
- [Narrator] Picard choosing to self-destruct the ship
was his choice, and now he's blaming Q
when it was Q who saved him.
Q finally loses his temper when Picard says he is tired
of a stupid... - Stupid patronizing...
- [Narrator] And he slaps Picard.
We believe Q is fully aware of the sacrifice he just made.
And it angers him that Picard is too stupidly human
to understand that what just happened was his own fault.
Q tells him...
- And I've had enough of your obstinence,
your stubbornness, your insistence on changing in all ways
but the one that matters.
This is not a lesson. It's a penance.
- [Narrator] Picard's penance
is for not being evolved enough
to see what the board queen was really trying to do.
And Q's penance for saving Picard will be his life.
At the end of Q's time with Picard in the corrupt timeline,
Q once again makes a point of what's happened.
He tells Picard...
- Shall we see what else has been lost
in the wake of your fear?
- [Narrator] And of course,
that fear of letting the board queen take control
is what made Picard self-destruct the ship
and land both he and Q in a place
neither of them want to be.
Q then says something very important.
he tells Jean-Luc...
- Now you are welcome to remain here
in the body of a madman, in the world of a madman.
- Or?
- Atonement. Maybe even forgiveness.
- [Narrator] This is interesting because Q tells Guinan
it was Picard that traveled into the past,
but that is exactly what Q wanted him to you here.
He wants Picard to complete the journey
and ultimately get back to the Stargazer.
But this time, let the board queen finish what she is doing.
Q can then forgive him for his mistakes and perhaps not die.
Q is putting an incredible amount of effort
helping Picard in 2024.
We have a whole theory in a recent video
breaking down all three of the Picard timelines.
So check that out right after this video to learn more.
If you look closely at Q's words during this season,
he's given some really great hints.
When Guinan tells Q Picard is trapped in the past,
Q says the trap... - Trap is immaterial.
It's he escape that counts!
- [Narrator] Q understands that they are all trapped
and Picard will have to show his superior ability
to work through the problem
and make the correct choices to fix the timeline
and perhaps even keep Q from dying.
And if it comes to pass that Q chose to save Picard
and break an important rule in the Continuum,
then it's likely only Q
who is the one in dire circumstances
and the rest of the Continuum is fine.
Perhaps the reason the Q stopped communicating
with the Federation is because of this incident.
And without the Q we know and love,
the rest of the immortal beings of the Continuum
just isn't interested in humanity any longer.
Whatever the reason, we hope Q doesn't actually die
during Picard season three.
But if he does, let his last act be
to bring Picard's TNG crew
back to help him. - But don't worry.
I won't let you do this alone.
- [Narrator] What do you think?
Is Q dying because he helped Picard?
Do you think if Picard fixes things, Q will live on?
Do you think the whole Continuum is dying
or is it just John de Lancie's Q?
Did Picard make a mistake self-destructing the Stargazer?
Let's talk about it in the comments below.
- You think I'm dying.
I prefer to believe
that I am on the threshold of the unknowable.
- [Narrator] Also check out this incredible Star Trek
Q inspired graphic design.
Get 20% off your purchase by using coupon code, thepopcast.
The link is in the description below.
- Who the hell are you?
- I am the evolution of star dust.
(uplifting dramatic music)