All good things must come to an end. Mysterious villains hell-bent on revenge
and the re-appearance of multiple mortal enemies await viewers in the final season of Picard.
What's the third and final season of Picard all about? Trailers and
interviews have given us a hint about what we'll be seeing on February 16th, 2023.
So far, we know that Jean-Luc Picard springs into action after receiving a distress call from Dr.
Beverly Crusher, who is no longer with Starfleet and on a humanitarian mission. To save her,
he'll need to get his old Enterprise crew together. This cast of characters includes
former First Officer William Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi, who both already made an appearance
in Season One. Also making appearances are Next Generation mainstays Geordi La Forge and Worf.
"You should know that I now prefer pacifism to combat."
"We're all gonna die."
Along with Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker, Picard sets out on a new adventure,
but encounters a deadly foe — the revenge-obsessed Vadic,
who's dedicated herself to bringing down the Federation and killing Jean-Luc.
Needless to say, this encounter with Beverly is going to stir up plenty of emotions,
as the two haven't seen each other in about 20 years and once entertained the idea of a
romantic relationship. Jean-Luc Picard himself will be in an interesting place in his life,
with showrunner Terry Matalas telling the All Access Star Trek podcast that
the themes from the Next Generation finale, "All Good Things…" and previous "Picard"
seasons will continue. He described the captain in his final season by saying,
"... he's looking back and trying to understand how to look forward
and look for those things that are legacy, that are family,
and the most important aspects of your life that aren't related to your job, essentially."
Of course, it won't all be emotional reminiscing. We'll get to see a lot
of fun chemistry between Picard and Riker. Matalas continued,
"The season kicks off with Picard and Riker in a big way, in a kind of Butch and Sundance way.
And that was something I felt was missing [in the first two seasons of 'Picard']."
"Ready?"
"As ever."
We also know that elements of Deep Space Nine will factor into the series,
such as the events surrounding the Dominion War.
Perhaps most importantly, Picard will see a passing of the torch, with the
old generation of Trek heroes stepping back and the next generation of heroes stepping up. But
that doesn't mean it's the last of Picard and company. As Matalas explained to TrekMovie.com,
"By the end of this [...] you're going to say,
'Gosh, I really want to watch this legacy character.' I like an ending that promises
more. [...] It definitely could be a passing of the torch for more."
In addition to the return of Jonathan Frakes…
"Hello beautiful."
…Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, and Gates McFadden are all also returning to
the fold. Brent Spiner, who has played multiple characters on the previous seasons of Picard,
is back as well – only this time, he won't be playing the late, great android Data. Instead,
Spiner will be playing his evil twin, Lore. Daniel Davis will also be coming back as
Professor James Moriarty, the self-aware hologram accidentally created by Geordi who
became a big problem for the Enterprise crew twice in the show's original run.
And making this whole thing a family affair, LeVar Burton's daughter, Mica Burton,
will be playing Geordi's daughter, with Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut playing another one of Geordi's
kids. And of course, this third season will also see the return of Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd.
As for Season 3's new big bad, Amanda Plummer will be playing the part of Vadic,
the vengeful captain of the Shrike. Plummer is probably most famous for her role as the
pistol-toting Honey Bunny in Pulp Fiction, or her appearance in projects like The Hunger Games:
Catching Fire, and Hannibal. Speaking at San Diego Comic Con in 2022, show co-creator Alex Kurtzman
explained that Vadic's character will be drawing from one of "Trek's" most notable villains.
"One of the things we love most about Wrath of Khan is the mind
games between Kirk and Khan and the one-upmanship. And that has been,
I think, a real North Star for us this season in the villain that we created.
"Star Trek: Picard" has seen showrunners come and go over the course of its three seasons,
with varying results. Season 1 was helmed by show co-creator Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer
Prize-winning novelist whose past projects include Spider-Man 2 and Netflix's Unbelievable. Chabon
stepped down after Season 1, with show co-creator Akiva Goldsman and Terry Matalas stepping in
to fill the void. After Season 2 wrapped up, the showrunning job fell squarely on Matalas'
shoulders, with the solo Picard showrunner boldly leading the series towards its grand conclusion.
As you might expect, Matalas has quite a bit of Trek experience. In addition
to his work on Picard, he also served as a production assistant on Star Trek:
Voyager and Enterprise, with two "story by" credits on the latter. He also has
showrunning experience outside the "Trek" universe, having overseen SyFy's 12 Monkeys.
Speaking to Den of Geek, Gates McFadden had nothing
but good things to say about Matalas, explaining,
"He grew up watching ['TNG'], and he had a certain kind of respect for the
characters who weren't captains. He really listened to all of our ideas,
and we absolutely felt encouraged to talk about everything."
The same can be said about the people behind the camera,
as the final season boasts an impressive line-up of talent.
Two episodes directed by Doug Aarniokoski, who's helmed previous episodes of Picard,
along with Star Trek: Discovery, and The Flash, among other shows.
Two more episodes will be directed by Jonathan Frakes himself, who'd directed episodes of
almost every modern Star Trek show, as well as Star Trek: First Contact and Insurrection.
"Bridge to Commander Riker."
"Can I get back to you, Mr. Worf?"
After Frakes, you can expect episodes by Dan Liu, who's worked on The Walking Dead, and Deborah
Kampmeir, who's directed an episode of Discovery, as well as the controversial movie Hounddog.
Even though most of the main cast of The Next Generation will be appearing
for Picard, Patrick Stewart told Den of Geek,
"It is not a reunion sequel, and this is one thing that I wanted to make clear. I didn't
want the show to be just sentimental. [...] What the writers and producers
have done with Picard is to create this different individual living in a different
world than the one that we had been so familiar with in The Next Generation."
But that doesn't mean there won't be callbacks. Talking with TrekCore,
showrunner Matalas said that fans should keep an eye out for other Trek favorites, saying,
" ...there is a nod to Tasha Yar in the season. You will see Tasha."
"I'm… I'm supposed to be dead."
Unfortunately, fans shouldn't expect to see the Enterprise-E, the ship that appeared in
the final three Next Generation movies, after the destruction of the Enterprise-D in Generations.
However, Matalas did promise we will see a Sovereign-class ship, telling TrekMovie,
"We spend the most time on one ship this season that is not the Enterprise.
That does not mean you won't get your Enterprise fixes that you're looking for."
That ship seems to be the U.S.S. Titan. And according to Matalas,
while Seven of Nine is indeed a commander aboard the Titan, she isn't the captain.
The third season will be the show's last,
but it'll be going out with a bang. As Matalas said in an official statement,
"It's most fitting that the story Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning,
with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be
an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor."
In May 2022, Patrick Stewart gave his stamp of approval to the show coming to an end,
explaining to Entertainment Weekly,
"My idea always was that three seasons were what we really needed to tell
what was left of Jean-Luc Picard's life and what had become of him."
However, a few months earlier, Stewart was painting a slightly different picture about
the show's final episode. Speaking with Collider in March, Stewart said,
"Followers of Picard will find that we get to the very end of Season 3,
and the resolution is unexpected and questionable. And I'm thrilled about
that because it leaves a question mark hanging over [Picard's] head. [...] Some
of our people [...] look on this as a closure that is coming, and I don't."
Jonathan Frakes said something similar in a Den of Geek profile, explaining,
"As you'll see by the end of the season, it's ripe for a continuation of some version of what we've
established in the show. Not more Picard, but certainly Next Gen is alive and well."