- 13/12/2023
Star Trek Picard's 2nd season has seen the cast face demons of old whilst opening new possibilities.
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00:00 Star Trek Picard's second season offers up many changes amidst its classic Star Trek time travel plot
00:06 and focus on Jean-Luc's own personal demons.
00:09 It has been a rollercoaster ride with the crew of the La Sirena.
00:13 The appearances of old favorites such as Q and Guinan and a surprise cameo in the finale
00:19 all serve to tie the show back to its next generation roots whilst exploring new ground which no show has gone before.
00:26 Now ending with the successful launching of the Europa mission and the crew of the La Sirena returning to the 24th century,
00:33 there are a lot of loose plot threads dangling there that haven't really been resolved by the finale.
00:39 And with new relationships and old friendships being rekindled,
00:43 there is definitely a lot for the characters to deal with moving into the third season.
00:48 So with that in mind then and a lot of spoilers ahead, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture,
00:53 here with 10 plot lines that season 3 of Star Trek Picard should address.
00:59 Number 10, the Borg joining Starfleet.
01:02 The Borg have long since been a thorn in the side of Starfleet,
01:07 ever since Q brought the Enterprise-D in contact with the Collective in season 2 of The Next Generation.
01:13 The Federation have continuously faced off against the Borg's attempts at assimilation with dogged resolve.
01:20 The crew of the USS Voyager in particular have had many encounters with the Borg during their long journey through the Delta Quadrant.
01:27 In Star Trek Picard, the Borg Queen was a surprise threat that has been effectively neutralised by the Confederation in the alternate timeline.
01:35 The crew of the La Sirena relied on the Borg Queen's processing power to travel back to 2024.
01:41 Eventually Dr Agnes Jurati assumes the position of the Borg Queen and departs Earth after saving Anika's life to seek out the Borg Collective.
01:49 Back in the 25th century, the Borg has made contact and requested to join the Federation.
01:55 The Collective then requested Picard specifically, before attempting to seize control of the USS Stargazer.
02:01 Now it was eventually revealed that this was done in the hopes of minimising damages from the transwarp hub,
02:07 and as such the Borg were granted provisional membership into the Federation by Admiral Picard.
02:13 And I guess only time will tell whether the Borg were as altruistic as Jurati had initially intended.
02:20 Number 9. The Fate of the Romulans
02:23 The Romulans are one of the Federation's oldest enemies.
02:27 Going back to the era of Archer's struggles with a conspiracy of them reunifying with the Vulcans,
02:32 to Sisko's cooperation with them on the USS Defiant.
02:36 The Romulans have truly remained a threat and notable presence in the Alpha Quadrant in their tense relationships with other powers,
02:44 such as the Federation, the Klingons and the Dominion.
02:47 Upon the conclusion of the Dominion War, the Romulans and Federation were engrossed in a Cold War
02:52 that threatened to bubble over when Shinzon ambushed the USS Enterprise-E.
02:57 When this conflict was resolved, there were hints that peace could be achieved.
03:01 This was put to a test when a supernova had caused the destruction of Romulus,
03:06 which led to the Romulans reaching out to the Federation for help.
03:09 The fallout of this, alongside the Synths' revolt in the Utopia Planitia, ramped up tensions between the powers.
03:16 Season 1 of Picard saw the Romulans infiltrate Starfleet with Commodore Oh,
03:21 whilst the Jat'Farsh were working behind the scenes to thwart a synthetic prophecy.
03:26 This was thwarted by the efforts from the crew of La Sirena and supported by Starfleet by way of Riker.
03:32 The Romulans then retreated and was poised for future conflicts.
03:36 However, there was no mention of the Romulans or the fallout of the events of Season 1,
03:42 and as such we are still waiting in anticipation for the next saga in the Romulans' story.
03:48 Number 8, Fallout from the Dominion War
03:52 In Season 1, it was revealed that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard had resigned from Starfleet in protest
03:57 as a result of the Federation withdrawal of help to the Romulans following the Utopia Planitia incident.
04:04 Following that, Admiral Clancy had also demonstrated a level of pragmatism and more isolationist attitudes
04:10 when pressed about the refusal of help to the Romulans.
04:13 Now, writer Michael Chabon has stated that he wished to include more overt references to the Dominion War
04:20 as the reason for Starfleet's more isolationist stance.
04:24 Now that does make sense because the devastation of the war would cause the Federation
04:30 into far murkier waters than their ideals, and with that in mind,
04:34 you can see why they'd be happy to withdraw help to the Romulans at the earliest opportunity.
04:39 I thought it was quite devastating the lack of reference to this in Season 1,
04:44 but Season 2 completely disregarded this because they were so focused on the time travel plot.
04:49 Now with that in mind, this seems like a good plot for Season 3,
04:54 to address the change in ideology of the Federation following the Dominion War.
05:00 Number 7 - Where have the gang been?
05:03 Now, the response to the news that almost the entire cast of The Next Generation
05:08 will be returning for Season 3 was somewhere between warm and outright nerd hysteria,
05:15 mostly because a lot of those names involved have felt very conspicuous by their absence.
05:21 Season 1 saw us checking in with Riker, happily married in the middle of nowhere,
05:25 but still able to get his hands on 800 identical starships when needs be,
05:29 Troi doing all the actual work in the aforementioned marriage,
05:32 and Data cosplaying as Hugh Hefner's Force ghost.
05:36 But beyond that, the legacy of The Next Generation has been largely non-existent.
05:40 Yes, yes, Guinan and Q were a core part of Season 2,
05:43 but these are two characters who combined have had less screen time than Porthos.
05:47 We've had clues though.
05:49 Worf has regularly been pictured as the current captain of the Enterprise
05:52 in several canon-adjacent publications,
05:55 and Geordi even got a mention in Season 1 of Picard
05:58 as having been overseeing the Utopia Planitia during the Romulan evacuation,
06:03 but nothing substantial.
06:05 And quite what old Beverly thinks of Jean-Luc finally settling down with a space woman
06:09 20 years his junior remains to be seen.
06:12 Number 6 - Status of Benjamin Sisko or Catherine Janeway
06:17 Jean-Luc Picard is the iconic captain of the 24th century,
06:21 but he's hardly the only one that fans have been familiar with over the last few decades.
06:26 Catherine Janeway and Benjamin Sisko both had their time in the limelight
06:30 and faced some tough situations as well as distinguishing themselves as worthy Starfleet captains.
06:36 As for Catherine Janeway, she guided the crew of the USS Voyager
06:40 back from the Delta Quadrant decades ahead of schedule.
06:43 She was eventually promoted to the position of Admiral by the time of Star Trek Nemesis
06:48 and appearing in Star Trek Prodigy.
06:50 Seven of Nine has mentioned her old captain had fought for her,
06:53 as Starfleet had refused to accept the ex-borg into their ranks,
06:57 but this was met with a stern refusal.
06:59 Benjamin Sisko was arguably one of the most notable people of the Dominion War.
07:05 This was seen throughout Deep Space Nine as he safeguarded the Alpha Quadrant from various threats.
07:10 He eventually fell into the chasm fiery abyss of the Bajoran Fire Caves
07:14 and was pulled into the Prophet's plane of existence.
07:17 He gave a final farewell to his pregnant wife Cassidy Yates and promised he will return.
07:23 Now there was a mention of a General Sisko in the alternate timeline this season,
07:29 which did lead to some speculation of a return.
07:32 And with both of these captains playing such a pivotal role in the universe,
07:36 it would be great to welcome them back into the fold
07:40 and find out what adventures they've been up to in the intervening years.
07:44 Number 5 - Raffi and Seven's arc
07:47 Raffi and Seven, or Anika in the alternate timeline,
07:50 had been two of the most troubled characters this season.
07:53 Raffi, because she witnessed Elnor, practically a surrogate son to her,
07:57 die before her very eyes.
07:59 Anika had to deal with a large part of her trauma no longer existing
08:02 before confronting a new version of the Borg in this new timeline.
08:06 Now in the audio drama "Star Trek Picard - No Man's Land"
08:10 it was established that the pair got together in the intervening period
08:13 between season 1 and season 2, after there were some teasers in season 1.
08:18 Because Raffi had wanted Seven to be a little bit more vulnerable,
08:21 which she finds quite difficult being a former Borg.
08:24 Now both of them were thrown together in numerous scenes
08:26 as they set out to locate the diverging point in the timeline
08:30 and then having to rescue and subdue various members of the La Sirena.
08:33 Their bickering was hilarious as they had an air of playfulness
08:37 amidst their unresolved relationship intimacy issues.
08:40 The pair then proceeded to share a tender kiss in the season finale
08:44 before they arrived back in the 25th century.
08:47 Now whilst it was really nice to see this relationship acknowledged on screen,
08:51 there has been some unresolved issues between the pair
08:54 and season 3 would do well to develop this relationship further.
08:59 Number 4 - Captain Seven
09:01 It seems there are two ways to become a captain in "Starfleet".
09:06 Firstly there's the Will Riker way,
09:08 which involves grinding your way through years of challenges at Starfleet Academy
09:12 before graduating with your sights set firmly on a command of your own.
09:17 You then move from posting to posting,
09:19 repeatedly demonstrating qualities well above those of your fellow officers,
09:23 before spending the better part of two decades actually refusing that last promotion.
09:28 Finally, when your movie series is facing the axe,
09:30 you make the jump to the big chair in one of the sexiest ships in the fleet.
09:34 Well that's one way.
09:35 The Seven of Nine way is just to be knocking about the bridge when there's a crisis
09:40 and to be appointed the position there on the spot.
09:42 I mean, good for her.
09:44 While it was a plot convenience that had a number of fans pulling their hair out,
09:48 it does open up some interesting narrative avenues for the show,
09:51 especially given that season 2 would have benefited from more time being spent
09:56 on the Stargazer rather than just bookending the time travel story with visual set pieces around it.
10:02 And with Seven in the big chair, you've got a lot to work with.
10:05 Number 3, new threat from the Transwarp Hub.
10:09 Now the season premiere teased that the Borg had laid a trap for Starfleet
10:14 by requesting membership into the Federation
10:16 and for specifically requesting that Jean-Luc Picard join them on the new USS Stargazer.
10:22 This was cut short by Q snapping the crew of the Lassie Renner back to 2024
10:27 amidst the self-destruct sequence initiated by Picard.
10:31 When we return to the scene in the season finale,
10:33 it was discovered that the Borg were intending to seek Starfleet's help
10:37 in containing the threat of the negative space wedgie.
10:40 Once the explosion of energy had dispersed,
10:42 the Borg Queen had explained that this had caused the creation of a new Transwarp conduit,
10:47 but nobody has any idea on what is on the other side of said conduit.
10:51 The Borg were then granted provisional membership in the Federation
10:54 to guard against any potential threats that emerge from the Transwarp conduit.
10:58 Considering that Jurati was clearly wary of potential threats from the Transwarp conduit,
11:03 the Borg might have had prior disastrous encounters with other conduits in the past.
11:08 And with the fact that the USS Voyager was able to return from the Alpha Quadrant
11:13 with the help of such a conduit,
11:15 could this be a blessing or a curse from which bigger threats emerge?
11:20 Number 2 - Picard and Laris' relationship
11:23 A large part of Star Trek Picard's second season is Jean-Luc's inability to open up to people,
11:29 and this is amplified by his dismissing of Laris' feelings towards him.
11:34 As it turns out, a large part of this was due to unresolved guilt
11:37 relating to his perceived role in his mother's suicide.
11:41 When Picard first encountered Talon in the past,
11:44 he had excitedly referred to her as Laris,
11:46 which clearly shows that he is clearly fond of his Romulan housekeeper.
11:50 In fact, his fondness towards Talon grew when he discovered that she was in fact Romulan,
11:55 as she could be related to Laris due to their striking physical resemblance.
11:59 Q's final goodbye to Picard included a part where the former expressed his wish
12:04 for the former captain of the USS Enterprise-D to not suffer the same fate - to die alone.
12:10 Picard in fact hugged Q goodbye right before returning to the present,
12:14 which showcased progress from the normally stoic individual.
12:17 Once back in his home, Picard found Laris packing for another new adventure.
12:21 He then asked her to give him another chance.
12:24 So could we see this develop into a relationship between the pair?
12:27 Now it would be quite an interesting relationship,
12:30 considering that tensions between the Romulans and the Federation are still very tense
12:35 following the destruction of Romulus and the events of season 1 of Picard.
12:40 Number 1 - Korrae becoming a supervisor
12:43 Now poor Korrae has undergone a rollercoaster of revelations throughout this season.
12:48 Having led a solitary life due to her condition,
12:51 she had discovered that her father Adam Soong had been involved in various
12:56 banned practices in the pursuit of his obsession with genetics experiments.
13:00 This caused her an identity crisis when she discovered that she was a clone
13:04 in a long series of experiments by her father.
13:07 Korrae eventually was helped by Q, supplying her with a cure for her condition.
13:12 And this allowed her to seize the opportunity and flee from her father.
13:15 Once out of her father's clutches, she set out to purge her father's research
13:20 in order to prevent further such experiments.
13:22 And this caught the attention of the Travellers,
13:25 who sent Wesley Crusher to recruit Korrae to join their ranks in dispatching watchers
13:30 and supervisors to maintain the integrity of the timeline.
13:33 Now that she has joined the ranks of the Travellers,
13:36 there is a question as to her role within the Star Trek universe.
13:39 Now if we go by Wesley Crusher's account, she could spend her time ensuring the proper flow
13:43 of time from constant meddling from external influence.
13:47 And with that in mind, we may well see her popping up in other
13:51 instalments in the Star Trek franchise in the future.
13:53 And that concludes our list!
13:55 We would love to hear your thoughts for "Picard" season 3 in the comments below.
14:00 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
14:05 Also head over to Twitter and follow us there @TrekCulture.
14:09 And I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
14:13 I've been Ellie with Trek Culture. I hope you have a wonderful day.
14:17 And remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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