Plot: Picard must enlist friends both old and new to confront the perils of 21st century Earth in a desperate race against time to save the galaxy’s future – and face the ultimate trial from one of his greatest foes.
Review: The first season of Star Trek: Picard was a welcome return to the Next Generation era of Gene Roddenberry’s iconic franchise. With more mature guardrails available thanks to being on Paramount+, Picard told a season-long story that evolved the tale of Jean-Luc Picard after his adventures on the Enterprise. With the return of familiar faces and a new crew of characters, the series was a shoo-in for a second season. I am happy to say that not only is the second season of Star Trek: Picard excellent, it is also better than the first season. With the return of more characters from The Next Generation and Picard’s most iconic foe, The Borg Queen, front and center, the second season of Picard is already headed towards being the single best season of any Star Trek television series and a close rival to the franchise’s best big-screen outings.
The ten-episode second season of Star Trek: Picard picks up months after the end of the first season with Picard serving as head of Starfleet Academy. When the newest vessel bearing the name USS Stargazer intercepts a signal asking to join the Federation and to speak with Picard, the Admiral begrudgingly accepts and discovers something shocking. Without revealing any plot details, it is this event that triggers the involvement of Q (John De Lancie) and forces Picard and his crew to travel through time to the 21st Century to prevent the end of the universe. While the first season of Picard focused on synthetic lifeforms and a Romulan uprising, this new season sets the table for a galactic confrontation equal to the biggest threats in Star Trek history.
Of the three episodes made available for this review, Star Trek: Picard ventures down multiple familiar tropes used by the franchise in the past besides time travel. One significant one is the use of alternate timelines which factors heavily in the early chapters of this season. Thankfully, rather than the tried and true alternate universes, we have seen as recently as Star Trek: Discovery‘s first season, Picard introduces us to an all-new one that is far more frightening than anything seen before. With Picard‘s main cast all retaining their memories in this new timeline, the first mystery they need to solve is how they ended up where they are. The next involves the Borg threat which ties directly into the time travel component of the story. All of these elements together make for a non-stop and propulsive narrative season.
Since the series spent time introducing all of the main characters last season, we are able to jump right back in with Picard, Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill), Soji (Isa Briones), Elnor (Evan Evagora), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), Chris Rios (Santiago Cabrera), and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). We also get the chance to see Brent Spiner once again as well as Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and Q, both of whom do not appear to have missed a step with their characters. De Lancie, for one, is still just as smarmy and wonderful to watch as the face-offs between Picard and Q never cease to entertain. Annie Wersching, stepping into Alice Krige’s shoes, is a terrifying Borg Queen. Everyone here does outstanding work in the shifting settings of the series which carries on the production quality of season one while feeling like a completely distinct story.
This season of Picard is helmed by Douglas Aarniokoski, Michael Weaver, Joe Menendez, Jonathan Frakes, and Lea Thompson (yes, that Lea Thompson) from scripts by showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Terry Matalas along with returning scribe Michael Chabon. Since this season was filmed back to back with next year’s third season, it remains to be seen how the two batches will connect, if at all. But, based on what we are seeing this season so far, we are in for one hell of a run. There are so many easter eggs and references in the first three episodes alone, I had to go back and try to sort them all out. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot multiple callouts to Trek lore including connections to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager to name a few. There is also an awesome cameo by Patton Oswalt that many fans will appreciate.
While a vocal fanbase has not been happy with the Paramount+ era of Star Trek series, I have enjoyed all of the productions thus far. Discovery has had its ups and downs and Lower Decks is a fun trifle, but Picard continues to be an absolutely wonderful continuation of the most explored era of the franchise’s mythology. This season of Star Trek: Picard owes a thematic debt to both Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as well as Star Trek: First Contact, two of the best big-screen outings, while also revisiting familiar plot devices from series past and delivering them in a wholly original manner. Star Trek: Picard is rich with mythology and features some of Patrick Stewart’s best work as the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. This is great storytelling and the benchmark against which all future Star Trek series should be measured.
Star Trek: Picard premieres on March 3rd on Paramount+.