The Borg are back with a wi-fi gambit. Did their master plan pay off? Or did
our old heroes send them back to the drawing board? Here's how it all shook
out on the finale of Star Trek: Picard. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Hope has been a central, enduring message throughout "Star Trek: Picard," and it
rings just as true as the series ends. When we first reconnect with him as a retired,
world-weary winemaker in Season 1, Jean-Luc Picard seems to have lost his hope in the
future, mankind, and himself. Thanks to visits from a young android in Season 1,
an immortal trickster in Season 2, and a desperate call for help from an old
friend in Season 3, Picard has finally realized that hope is never truly lost.
In the final episode "The Last Generation," the Borg have returned and assimilated a
vast majority of Starfleet. Earth is about to fall. But Picard has reassembled his old crew,
pulled the U.S.S. Enterprise-D out of mothballs,
and set a course to stop them. However, the Borg Queen has an unexpected ally: Jack Crusher,
son of Picard and Beverly Crusher. He's inherited his father's Borg-assimilated DNA and is acting
as the voice of the Borg collective. Now the Earth is on the verge of destruction,
and all the younger Starfleet officers have been assimilated through that same Borg DNA.
Things look as hopeless as they've ever been. But Federation President
Anton Chekov has one last message for the people of the Federation.
"Hope is never lost. There are always possibilities."
One of the major themes of Season 3 has been evolution. First, we meet Vadic, a Changeling
whose rogue faction of shapeshifters have abilities born from the torture they endured at
the hands of Federation scientists. We also meet a reborn Data. He's a new android infused with
the personalities of Data and all of his family. Once Data integrates all of his personalities into
one new identity, it represents an evolution of his former self. As his creator puts it,
"Evolution is not an act of preservation, it's addition."
In "The Last Generation," Picard finally comes face to face with the Borg Queen. He learns that
the collective has been weak and vulnerable since Picard's last encounter with them. Thanks to their
alliance with the Changelings, though, their new collective no longer requires assimilation at all,
or even the combination of machine and biology. They can propagate genetically,
with the Federation's young becoming a new generation of Borg. However,
the Borg only evolve to survive rather than grow, and that turns out to be their weakness.
Season 3 of "Picard" hasn't just been about the reunion of the "Next Generation" crew.
The story of Seven of Nine also takes center stage, and comes to its conclusion in "The Last
Generation." It fulfills an arc that began all the way back in "Star Trek: Voyager."
Since she left the Borg collective in Season 4 of that series, Seven has struggled to find her
place. In Season 1 of "Picard," we discover that Seven has joined a group of rogue marshals called
the Fenris Rangers, before finally agreeing to join Starfleet at the end of Season 2. But her
time aboard the U.S.S. Titan as first officer isn't always pleasant. Frequent clashes with
Captain Shaw, whose personal resentment of her Borg nature makes him icy towards her,
leaves her feeling isolated and alone. Ultimately, she's unsure if Starfleet is where she belongs.
But by the end of the Borg invasion, Shaw is killed, leaving Seven in command. In
"The Last Generation," she rises to the occasion. With the help of Raffi,
she retakes the bridge from Borg control. After discovering that Picard is attempting to shut
down the enemy beacon, she develops a plan to buy Earth time by disrupting
the Borg-controlled fleet. Embracing her inner Captain Janeway, Seven even gives an
inspiring pep talk to her ragtag crew, demonstrating just how far she's come.
Though the fanfare around Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" mostly regards the return of the
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" crew, the season also adds a major new character: Jack Crusher. The
son of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher, he's lived most of his life fighting by his
mother's side on the fringes of the Federation. But as he got older, Jack knew he was different.
He suffered from sleepless nights and disturbing dreams and struggled to find meaning in his life.
Eventually, Jack experiences waking hallucinations. In "Vox," he comes
face-to-face with the Borg Queen and finally realizes why he suffers these spells. He's
inherited some of his father's Borg-altered DNA, and his physiology is being used by the
Queen as a kind of transmitter to control the newly assimilated Borg drones. Once
he's connected to the Borg hive mind, Jack finds the one thing he's always sought:
belonging. Like the Queen, who spent years as a solitary collective, Jack has suffered
endless loneliness in his life. Now, he finds a sense of meaning and purpose with the Borg.
The role of family is central to Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard," and the revelation
that Jean-Luc Picard has a son with Dr. Crusher isn't the only way it's expressed.
"You are going to get us all killed. Why are you doing this?"
"Because he's my son."
When the crew reconnects with Geordi La Forge, now a Commodore and director of the fleet museum,
he's also having some serious family problems. His daughter Sidney is a helmsman aboard the U.S.S.
Titan, and she doesn't have the best relationship with him. When she puts her career and her life on
the line to help Picard against the Changelings, she makes it clear that her crew is her family.
Then, during the climax of the season, aboard the Borg cube, Picard is joined
by Riker and Worf on a mission to disable the Borg beacon. But when they discover
that destroying the beacon will result in the destruction of the cube, Picard realizes he
can't leave his son behind. It's then that he relinquishes his role as a Starfleet officer,
a role he's repeatedly said is all he needs, to be a father and save his son. When confronted
with Jack's decision to stay with the Borg collective, Picard decides to stay and die
with him. It's this act of paternal sacrifice that convinces Jack to disconnect from the hivemind.
In the end, Picard, a man who never wanted or needed a family of his own, not only has one,
but understands how important family is. Whether it's a blood family or a found family,
everyone from Seven to Raffi to Picard accepts that it truly means more than anything.
More than 30 years ago, in "The Best of Both Worlds," Jean-Luc Picard is assimilated by
the Borg to become their leader, Locutus. As a Borg, Picard helps the collective wipe out an
entire Starfleet armada at the infamous Battle of Wolf 359 and is responsible for thousands
of deaths. Since then, the physical scars of his assimilation have healed,
but Picard remains haunted by the incident. "Star Trek: First Contact" allows him a measure of
revenge on the Borg, but Season 3 of "Picard" sees him finally come to terms with his past.
In the finale, Picard destroys the Borg Queen, which signals the end of the Borg forever,
and he accepts that his time as Locutus does not define him. He no longer needs to carry the burden
of that trauma, because it's who he is now and what he does today that really matters. Picard
isn't the only one who learns this valuable life lesson. By the end of the finale, Raffi,
who has long struggled with addiction and past mistakes, does the same thing. In rising up to
help save the Federation, she accepts that who she can be is more important than who she was. That
Worf is able to help her get recognition for her heroics makes her growth that much more impactful.
"Be happy with your family, Raffaella, warrior of the house of Musiker."
You can't talk about Season 3 of "Picard" without mentioning the
return of the Enterprise-D, restored after its destruction in "Star Trek:
Generations." "The Last Generation" sees the Enterprise-D back in action fighting the Borg.
Despite being decades old, the Enterprise manages to hold its own against the Borg when the
collective trains the cube's weapon on the famous starship. With the help of Dr. Crusher, who's had
a lot of practice fighting off foes over the last 20 years, they're able to take out their weapons.
"A lot's happened in the last twenty years."
When Riker and Worf send them the location of the Borg beacon, however,
it's up to the revived Data and his "gut feelings" to pilot them inside the Borg
cube and take it out. But with Picard locked in an existential struggle for control of his
son Jack, getting them out before Earth is destroyed by the Borg might be impossible.
In a heartbreaking choice, the remaining crew of the Enterprise agrees that they
have to sacrifice Worf, Riker, Picard, and Jack to save the Federation. However,
Deanna Troi senses her husband's location and they are able to beam their stranded
crew up just before the Borg vessel is destroyed. In the episode's conclusion,
we learn that the Enterprise-D has taken its rightful place as an exhibit at the fleet museum.
The cast of "Star Trek: TNG" is tied together by close friendships,
both on the show and in real life. In the world of "Star Trek," though,
most of the Enterprise's crew haven't seen each other in years. But Season 3 of "Picard" sees them
all come back together when Picard receives a cry for help from Dr. Beverly Crusher.
By the end of "The Last Generation," it's clear that these renewed friendships aren't
going to be dissolving any time soon. The new and improved Data gets counseling from Deanna Troi,
which helps him realize that being human is as difficult and complex as aspiring to be human.
Meanwhile, Picard and Dr. Crusher appear to be happy co-parents, if not more. The
finale solidifies the fact that this crew is a family now and forever, and will remain close.
But the series finale is about more than a renewal of bonds, it's about new ones,
too. Worf makes his friendship with Raffi clear,
calling her a fellow warrior. Meanwhile, as Seven takes command of her own starship, we
see the newfound friendships she's made with her new crewmates, Sidney La Forge and Jack Crusher.
When showrunner Terry Matalas set out to craft Season 3 of "Star Trek:
Picard," part of his motivation was to give the TNG crew the proper send-off. While fans
will debate the finer points of the effort, it's clear that Matalas achieved his goals.
Following the time jump a year past Frontier Day, the crew gathers at Guinan's Ten Forward bar in
Los Angeles for a celebratory drink. While Riker and Troi plan a vacation and toasts are given,
Data gets in half a joke, a throwback to Episode 2 of TNG, and Dr. Crusher
urges Worf to sing a little Klingon opera.
"There was a young lady from Venus-"
"Data!"
"I always wanted to finish this."
To cap off the night, Picard proposes a friendly game of poker. This calls back
to the card games they played for years as a close-knit crew. The episode's final scene also
mirrors the closing shot of the series finale "All Good Things." As they settle their hands
and Picard collects his pot, the overhead camera pulls out, and the iconic "Star Trek"
fanfare begins. It signals the true end for the stories of the crew of the Enterprise-D.
When Season 3 of "Star Trek: Picard" was first announced as the conclusion of the series,
fans expected it to tie up all loose ends and bring an end to the character
of Jean-Luc Picard. With the return of the TNG crew, it wasn't unreasonable to think
this was going to be the final appearance of that cast. Some thought that the finale
might even feature the shocking death of one or more of the crew members.
But in "The Last Generation," not only does the entire crew make it out alive,
but there are also clear set-ups for future adventures. Captain Tuvok,
having survived the Changeling conspiracy, gives Seven the good news that she's been
promoted to captain of the newly commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise-G. At her side is first
officer Raffi, helmsman Sidney, and her special counsel, Ensign Jack Crusher.
It's a clear set-up for a new spin-off, one that showrunner Terry Matalas has already
teased. Audiences are even given a sneak peek at what could be its first adventure.
In a final mid-credits scene, the immortal trickster Q returns to warn Jack Crusher
that a new trial is about to begin, and this time, Picard's son is at the center of it.