Star Trek Picard's 2nd season has seen the cast face demons of old whilst opening new possibilities.
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00:00Star Trek Picard's second season offers up many changes amidst its classic Star Trek
00:05time travel plot and focus on Jean-Luc's own personal demons.
00:09It has been a rollercoaster ride with the crew of the La Sirena.
00:13The appearances of old favourites such as Q and Guinan, and a surprise cameo in the
00:18finale, all serve to tie the show back to its next generation roots whilst exploring
00:24new ground which no show has gone before.
00:27Now ending with the successful launching of the Europa mission and the crew of the
00:31La Sirena returning to the 24th century, there are a lot of loose plot threads dangling there
00:36that haven't really been resolved by the finale.
00:39And with new relationships and old friendships being rekindled, there is definitely a lot
00:44for the characters to deal with moving into the third season.
00:48So with that in mind then, and a lot of spoilers ahead, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here
00:54with 10 plot lines that season 3 of Star Trek Picard should address.
00:5910.
01:00The Borg Joining Starfleet The Borg have long since been a thorn in the
01:05side of Starfleet, ever since Q brought the Enterprise-D in contact with the Collective
01:11in season 2 of The Next Generation.
01:14The Federation have continuously faced off against the Borg's attempts at assimilation
01:18with dogged resolve.
01:20The crew of the USS Voyager in particular have had many encounters with the Borg during
01:25their long journey through the Delta Quadrant.
01:27In Star Trek Picard, the Borg Queen was a surprise threat that has been effectively
01:32neutralised by the Confederation in the alternate timeline.
01:35The crew of the La Sirena relied on the Borg Queen's processing power to travel back to
01:402024.
01:41Eventually, Dr. Agnes Jurati assumes the position of the Borg Queen and departs Earth after
01:46saving Anika's life to seek out the Borg Collective.
01:50Back in the 25th century, the Borg has made contact and requested to join the Federation.
01:55The Collective then requested Picard specifically, before attempting to seize control of the
02:00USS Stargazer.
02:01Now, it was eventually revealed that this was done in the hopes of minimising damages
02:06from the transwarp hub, and as such the Borg were granted provisional membership into the
02:11Federation by Admiral Picard.
02:13And I guess only time will tell whether the Borg were as altruistic as Jurati had initially
02:20intended.
02:21Number 9.
02:22The Fate of the Romulans
02:24The Romulans are one of the Federation's oldest enemies, going back to the era of Archer's
02:29struggles with a conspiracy of them reunifying with the Vulcans, to Sisko's cooperation
02:34with them on the USS Defiant.
02:36The Romulans have truly remained a threat and notable presence in the Alpha Quadrant
02:41in their tense relationships with other powers such as the Federation, the Klingons and the
02:46Dominion.
02:47Upon the conclusion of the Dominion War, the Romulans and Federation were engrossed in
02:51a cold war that threatened to bubble over when Shinzon ambushed the USS Enterprise-E.
02:57When this conflict was resolved, there were hints that peace could be achieved.
03:01This was put to a test when a supernova had caused the destruction of Romulus, which led
03:06to the Romulans reaching out to the Federation for help.
03:09The fallout of this, alongside the Synths' revolt in the Utopia Planitia, ramped up tensions
03:15between the powers.
03:17Season 1 of Picard saw the Romulans infiltrate Starfleet with Commodore O, whilst the Jat'Fash
03:22were working behind the scenes to thwart a synthetic prophecy.
03:26This was thwarted by the efforts from the crew of La Sirena and supported by Starfleet
03:31by way of Riker.
03:32The Romulans then retreated and was poised for future conflicts.
03:36However, there was no mention of the Romulans or the fallout of the events of Season 1 and
03:43as such we are still waiting in anticipation for the next saga in the Romulans' story.
03:498.
03:50Fallout from the Dominion War
03:52In Season 1, it was revealed that Admiral Jean-Luc Picard had resigned from Starfleet
03:57in protest as a result of the Federation's withdrawal of help to the Romulans following
04:02the Utopia Planitia incident.
04:04Following that, Admiral Clancy had also demonstrated a level of pragmatism and more isolationist
04:10attitudes when pressed about the refusal of help to the Romulans.
04:14Writer Michael Chabon has stated that he wished to include more overt references to the Dominion
04:20War as the reason for Starfleet's more isolationist stance.
04:25That does make sense because the devastation of the war would cause the Federation into
04:30far murkier waters than their ideals and with that in mind, you can see why they'd be
04:35happy to withdraw help to the Romulans at the earliest opportunity.
04:39It was quite devastating the lack of reference to this in Season 1, but Season 2 completely
04:46disregarded this because they were so focused on the time travel plot.
04:50With that in mind, this seems like a good plot for Season 3 to address the change in
04:56ideology of the Federation following the Dominion War.
05:007.
05:01Where have the gang been?
05:04The response to the news that almost the entire cast of The Next Generation will be
05:09returning for Season 3 was somewhere between warm and outright nerd hysteria, mostly because
05:16a lot of those names involved have felt very conspicuous by their absence.
05:22Season 1 saw us checking in with Riker, happily married in the middle of nowhere but still
05:26able to get his hands on 800 identical starships when needs be, Troi doing all the actual work
05:31in the aforementioned marriage and Data cosplaying as Hugh Hefner's Force Ghost.
05:36But beyond that, the legacy of The Next Generation has been largely non-existent.
05:39Yes, yes, Guinan and Q were a core part of Season 2, but these are two characters who
05:45combined have had less screen time than Porthos.
05:47We've had clues though.
05:49Worf has regularly been pictured as the current captain of the Enterprise in several canon-adjacent
05:54publications and Geordi even got a mention in Season 1 of Picard as having been overseeing
06:00the Utopia Planitia during the Romulan evacuation, but nothing substantial.
06:05And quite what old Beverly thinks of Jean-Luc finally settling down with a space woman 20
06:10years his junior remains to be seen.
06:13Number 6, status of Benjamin Sisko or Catherine Janeway
06:17Jean-Luc Picard is the iconic captain of the 24th century, but he's hardly the only one
06:23that fans have been familiar with over the last few decades.
06:27Catherine Janeway and Benjamin Sisko both had their time in the limelight and faced
06:31some tough situations as well as distinguishing themselves as worthy Starfleet captains.
06:36As for Catherine Janeway, she guided the crew of the USS Voyager back from the Delta Quadrant
06:41decades ahead of schedule.
06:44She was eventually promoted to the position of Admiral by the time of Star Trek Nemesis
06:48and appearing in Star Trek Prodigy.
06:50Seven of Nine has mentioned her old captain had fought for her as Starfleet had refused
06:55to accept the ex-Borg into their ranks, but this was met with a stern refusal.
07:00Benjamin Sisko was arguably one of the most notable people of the Dominion War.
07:05This was seen throughout Deep Space Nine as he safeguarded the Alpha Quadrant from various
07:10threats.
07:11He eventually fell into the chasm-fiery abyss of the Bajoran Fire Caves and was pulled into
07:16the Prophet's plane of existence.
07:18He gave a final farewell to his pregnant wife Cassidy Yates and promised he will return.
07:24There was a mention of a General Sisko in the alternate timeline this season, which
07:30did lead to some speculation of a return.
07:32And with both of these captains playing such a pivotal role in the universe, it would be
07:37great to welcome them back into the fold and find out what adventures they've been up
07:42to in the intervening years.
07:44Number 5.
07:45Raffi and Seven's arc.
07:47Raffi and Seven, or Annika in the alternate timeline, had been two of the most troubled
07:52characters this season.
07:54Raffi, because she witnessed Elnor, practically a surrogate son to her, die before her very
07:58eyes.
07:59Annika had to deal with a large part of her trauma no longer existing before confronting
08:04a new version of the Borg in this new timeline.
08:07Now in the audio drama Star Trek Picard No Man's Land, it was established that the pair
08:11got together in the intervening period between Season 1 and Season 2, after there were some
08:17teasers in Season 1.
08:18Because Raffi had wanted Seven to be a little bit more vulnerable, which she finds quite
08:22difficult being a former Borg.
08:24Now both of them were thrown together in numerous scenes as they set out to locate the diverging
08:28point in the timeline and then having to rescue and subdue various members of the La Sirena.
08:34Their bickering was hilarious as they had an air of playfulness amidst their unresolved
08:39relationship intimacy issues.
08:41The pair then proceeded to share a tender kiss in the season finale before they arrived
08:45back in the 25th century.
08:48Whilst it was really nice to see this relationship acknowledged on screen, there has been some
08:53unresolved issues between the pair and Season 3 would do well to develop this relationship
08:58further.
08:59Number 4, Captain Seven It seems there are two ways to become a captain
09:05in Starfleet.
09:06Firstly, there's the Will Riker way, which involves grinding your way through years of
09:11challenges at Starfleet Academy before graduating with your sights set firmly on a command of
09:16your own.
09:18You then move from posting to posting, repeatedly demonstrating qualities well above those of
09:22your fellow officers, before spending the better part of two decades refusing that last
09:27promotion.
09:28Finally, when your movie series is facing the axe, you make the jump to the big chair
09:32in one of the sexiest ships in the fleet.
09:34Well, that's one way.
09:36The Seven of Nine way is just to be knocking about the bridge when there's a crisis and
09:40to be appointed the position there on the spot.
09:42I mean, good for her.
09:44While it was a plot convenience that had a number of fans pulling their hair out, it
09:48does open up some interesting narrative avenues for the show, especially given that Season
09:532 would have benefited from more time being spent on the Stargazer, rather than just bookending
09:59the time travel story with visual set pieces around it.
10:02And with Seven in the big chair, you've got a lot to work with.
10:06Number 3, New Threat from the Transwarp Hub Now, the season premiere teased that the Borg
10:12had laid a trap for Starfleet by requesting membership into the Federation, and for specifically
10:17requesting that Jean-Luc Picard join them on the new USS Stargazer.
10:23This was cut short by Q snapping the crew of the La Sirena back to 2024 amidst the self-destruct
10:29sequence initiated by Picard.
10:31When we return to the scene in the season finale, it was discovered that the Borg were
10:35intending to seek Starfleet's help in containing the threat of the negative space wedgie.
10:40Once the explosion of energy had dispersed, the Borg Queen had explained that this had
10:44caused the creation of a new transwarp conduit, but nobody has any idea on what is on the
10:50other side of said conduit.
10:52The Borg were then granted provisional membership in the Federation to guard against any potential
10:56threats that emerge from the transwarp conduit.
10:59Considering that Jurati was clearly wary of potential threats from the transwarp conduit,
11:04the Borg might have had prior disastrous encounters with other conduits in the past.
11:09And with the fact that the USS Voyager was able to return from the Alpha Quadrant with
11:13the help of such a conduit, could this be a blessing or a curse from which bigger threats
11:19emerge?
11:202.
11:21Picard and Laris' relationship A large part of Star Trek Picard's second
11:26season is Jean-Luc's inability to open up to people, and this is amplified by his dismissing
11:32of Laris' feelings towards him.
11:34As it turns out, a large part of this was due to unresolved guilt relating to his perceived
11:39role in his mother's suicide.
11:41When Picard first encountered Talon in the past, he had excitedly referred to her as
11:46Laris, which clearly shows that he is clearly fond of his Romulan housekeeper.
11:50In fact, his fondness towards Talon grew when he discovered that she was in fact Romulan,
11:55as she could be related to Laris due to their striking physical resemblance.
12:00Q's final goodbye to Picard included a part where the former expressed his wish for
12:04the former captain of the USS Enterprise-D to not suffer the same fate, to die alone.
12:11Picard in fact hugged Q goodbye right before returning to the present, which showcased
12:15progress from the normally stoic individual.
12:18Once back in his home, Picard found Laris packing for another new adventure.
12:22He then asked her to give him another chance.
12:24So could we see this develop into a relationship between the pair?
12:28It would be quite an interesting relationship, considering that tensions between the Romulans
12:33and the Federation are still very tense following the destruction of Romulus and the events
12:39of season 1 of Picard.
12:40Number 1.
12:41Koray becoming a supervisor.
12:44Poor Koray has undergone a rollercoaster of revelations throughout this season.
12:49Having led a solitary life due to her condition, she had discovered that her father Adam Soong
12:54had been involved in various banned practices in the pursuit of his obsession with genetics
13:00experiments.
13:01This caused her an identity crisis when she discovered that she was a clone in a long
13:05series of experiments by her father.
13:07Koray eventually was helped by Q, supplying her with a cure for her condition.
13:12And this allowed her to seize the opportunity and flee from her father.
13:16Once out of her father's clutches, she set out to purge her father's research in order
13:20to prevent further such experiments.
13:23And this caught the attention of the Travelers, who sent Wesley Crusher to recruit Koray to
13:28join their ranks in dispatching watchers and supervisors to maintain the integrity of the
13:33timeline.
13:34Now that she has joined the ranks of the Travelers, there is a question as to her role within
13:38the Star Trek universe.
13:39If we go by Wesley Crusher's account, she could spend her time ensuring the proper flow
13:43of time from constant meddling from external influence.
13:47And with that in mind, we may well see her popping up in other instalments in the Star
13:52Trek franchise in the future.
13:54And that concludes our list.
13:56We would love to hear your thoughts for Picard Season 3 in the comments below.
14:00And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
14:05Also head over to Twitter and follow us there at Trek Culture.
14:09And I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
14:13I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to boldly
14:19go where no one has gone before.