Star Trek Picard: Season 3 is an Emotional Story about the Nature of Family

 

Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) on the Bridge of the USS Titan. In the background are Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers) and his mother Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). (Paramount +)

Star Trek Picard's Final Season is Atmospherically Lit, with Superb Storytelling

"You're only ever really as good as those around you. Your crew become a part of you, complete you. They lift you up to accomplish the things you could never do alone." - Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Season 3, Episode 4: No Win Scenario

"I have slaughtered countless enemies over the years, and considered sending their heads to all of you. But I was advised that was... passive aggressive." - Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) addressing his Enterprise crew mates, Episode 8: Surrender

The final season of Star Trek Picard, a show named after one of the franchise's most famous characters, succeeds in wrapping up The Next Generation crew's story with an emotional bang. Gone are the previous seasons' hesitation to use Starfleet ships with crews in full uniform. 

Those ships, namely the moodily lit USS Titan, serve as the backdrop for a season that is unmatched when it comes to Special Effects, Lighting, bringing beloved TNG characters back into the mix, and, most importantly, plot.

Season 3 does a deep dive into the nature of family. We learn that Admiral Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher have a son who was born more than 20 years ago. As the story begins, a hunted Beverly sends Picard a desperate call for help on an encoded transmission that he accesses through his old Communicator Badge. Telling him to, "trust no one" she implores Picard to come to her aid.

Which, of course, he does.

We soon learn that Beverly and Jack are being pursued by a group of Changelings - beings who can imitate a person's appearance on sight. Their Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) has a special interest in capturing Jack. As we get to know his character, we learn that Jack is haunted by a Red Door in his mind that has vines creeping away from it, crawling underneath hallway floors and along the walls of his thoughts.

In one brief scene we see him shirtless, splashing water on his face, haunted by these visions. With a chest like that it's no wonder why everyone is pursuing him across the galaxy. The man is simply too attractive for his own good. 

: - )...

But I digress.

Admiral Picard and Jack Crusher have a drink together in a Holodeck version of Ten Forward - a bar that was part of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. (Paramount +)

 

Episode 4: No Win Scenario is a crucial episode for both the plot twists and its' contribution to the theme of family. It opens with Picard and the crew of the USS Titan trapped in a gravity well that is pulling the ship ever deeper, slowly crushing it. It appears to be a hopeless situation.

Indeed, the episode must draw as an inspiration the famous Kobayashi Maru training simulation used at Starfleet Academy. Those who undertake the simulation are faced with an unbeatable enemy force and certain death. It has become shorthand for a 'no win scenario.'

Of course, through Picard, Dr. Crusher and Jack banding together and convincing other crew members, they get themselves out of the gravity well and manage to outmaneuver their Changeling enemies. Near the episode's end we see a flashback of a speech given by Admiral Picard to Starfleet Cadets. This flashback ends in the quote above - about how a real family lifts you up and encourages you to do your best work among them.

The family of Starfleet is based on shared ideas and values. In Scott Colura's excellent video for IGN he discusses why the Starfleet Uniform matters: "It's not just that Starfleet Uniforms should look cool when done right. They also mean something to these characters... The uniforms are indicators for the type of characters being portrayed. If you're wearing Starfleet red, gold, or blue you've basically outgrown the petty, selfish concerns of humanity (in the) 21st century. You stand for something more than yourself - you stand for principals like duty, honour, sacrifice & truth."

Contrasting with the Starfleet family in this Season's final episodes are the Borg. They are revealed as the main Antagonists - the mysterious entity that has been hunting Jack Crusher. For Jack has the Borg encoded into his very DNA. He is able to transmit Borg signals and temporarily control the bodies of non-Borg crew members.

In the series finale it is revealed that the Borg Queen (voiced by Alice Krige) has stayed alive after the Star Trek: Voyager 'Endgame' episode by cannibalizing the drones on her Cube. She survives by draining the life forces of others to buy herself time. The Queen delivers a terrifying and dark monologue to Picard as he works to rescue Jack from the Collective's clutches. 

Where in Starfleet the ideal crew lifts up individual members by encouraging and developing their gifts, with the Borg the life forces of the many are taken to serve the needs of an elite few. As Picard aptly points out after connecting himself to the Borg hive mind in order to free his son, the Borg represent not perfection, as they claim, but death.

Jack's rescue by Picard is easily one of the series' most potent emotional moments. It caps off a number of such moments in a well paced and written 10 episode run. 

A final note - Commander Worf easily steals every scene he is part of. The character's evolution into a kind of Zen Master who prefers pacifism over violence makes sense. And Worf's dry humour with a trademark deadpan delivery hits the mark almost every time.

For those who enjoyed the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series (1987 - 1994) or any of the feature films that followed (Star Trek: Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, etc.), you will find Season 3 of Picard a worthy sendoff to a beloved cast of characters.