With the Next Generation cast returning for the final season of Star Trek: Picard, it’s a great time to catch up on where the crew has been, and where they could be going.
Last month, Paramount confirmed the return of the entire core Star Trek: The Next Generation cast in Star Trek: Picard’s third and final season. The potential reunion of the classic crew of the Enterprise-D has been something fans were hoping for since the announcement of the series. Now that it’s finally happening it begs the question, where are these characters now?
I’ll be recapping where we last saw the characters on screen, and delving into some slight speculation on what they might have done leading up to the time of Picard.
A brief disclaimer: Star Trek, like any other big franchise, is packed full of tie-in material but the continuity is a mess as new properties come out and establish new lore. So I’ll only be addressing what has been depicted on screen, as that is what is most consistently considered canon.
SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK PICARD
William Riker and Deanna Troi
Picard’s “Number One” and ship counselor made their most recent appearance in the first season of Star Trek: Picard, residing on the planet Nepenthe with their daughter. In the years between Nemesis and Picard, the two had retired from Starfleet and raised two children: their son Thad and daughter Kestra. Sadly, Thad passed away in the years prior to their appearance in Picard. Riker remained in reserve, however, prepared to step up to duty if needed. This resulted in his brief return to Starfleet in command of the USS Zheng Ze when aiding Picard against Romulan forces in Picard’s Season One finale.
Riker being on reserve obviously leaves him open to return for a multitude of reasons. While Troi may not be on reserve it seems fair to say the empathic counsellor will be eager to help an old friend in desperate times…especially if a new threat endangers her family.
Worf
Commander Worf was last seen in Nemesis, however, any major personal or positional development wasn’t particularly apparent in the film beyond a less negative outlook on the “honorless” Romulans. His last appearance in Deep Space Nine, however, showed a major world development that has yet to be explored further onscreen.
Gradually becoming disillusioned with the state of Klingon society, Worf secured power as Chancellor of the Klingon High Council and gave it to his close friend, General Martok. Shortly after he was appointed as Federation Ambassador on Qo’Nos (the Klingon Homeworld) and aimed to fix the corruption of the Klingon Empire and restore its honor.
Picard has given us little to no information about the current state of the Klingon Empire, and it will be interesting to see how much change Worf enacted on his homeworld. The Klingons have long been one of the most iconic villains in Trek, seeing how Worf may have affected the planet would be a long-overdue payoff.
Geordi LaForge
The Chief Engineer of the Enterprise was last seen still filling that role in Star Trek: Nemesis with little to say about where he would go next. However, frequent references have been made regarding his potential future in multiple shows.
In the finale of Next Generation, we see a potential future in which Geordi has a family and had retired from Starfleet to become a novelist. In Voyager, however, another potential future depicts him in command of his own ship as a diplomatic Captain. He is briefly referenced in the first season of Star Trek: Picard as a loyal colleague who wouldn’t hesitate to join Picard if he ever asked, no doubt this is what will to fruition in the next season.
Beverly Crusher
Doctor Crusher was also last seen in Star Trek: Nemesis but little was said about her current function in Starfleet, or where she might be headed next. Deleted scenes established her as the current head of Starfleet medical but all evidence of this plot detail was deleted in the final cut. It would be a great development for the character, and seeing it revisited in Picard would be an amazing way to highlight what is likely Beverly’s final appearance.
There was one alternate future depicted in Next Generation’s finale showing Beverly as a Captain of her own ship. Trek is rife, however, with alternate and potential futures that don’t often mean much to the actual future of the franchise.
One major development for Beverly that I think many fans would be eager to see is what her relationship with her son, Wesley, is at this point. Wesley Crusher started his journey to becoming a Traveler at the end of Next Generation, a being who can travel through time and space and watches over the timeline. He most recently appeared in the finale of Picard’s second season as a Traveler who recruited Kore. Seeing a reunion with his mother after he has become fully realized as a Traveler seems like an inevitability after his reappearance.
Data/Soong
Brent Spiner’s last appearance as the android officer of the Enterprise was in the finale of Picard‘s first season. After his sacrifice to save the Enterprise E and its crew in Nemesis, a copy of his consciousness remained in his “brother” B-4, a less advanced Soong type android they had discovered earlier in that film.
Picard reunited with Data in the virtual world he has been living in since the events of Nemesis. Before Picard left, Data requested the Admiral terminate the program Data resides in, explaining that human life is defined by being finite; giving it meaning. Picard complies and Data lays down with a simulated Picard sitting beside him as he rapidly ages with his old Captain/friend by his side.
While Data is highly unlikely to return, there are a few other ways in which he might. Lore and B-4, Data’s android siblings who were disassembled but not destroyed could easily return. But given Spiner’s reluctance to return, being decades older than when he started, it seems highly unlikely.
Spiner has also played four members of the Soong family including Noonien (Data’s creator), Arik, Adam and Altan. Altan is Nooniens son and appeared in Picard’s first season on a refuge for synthetic lifeforms. He was still alive by the end of that season so seems the most likely to appear in the third.
The cast’s return to Trek in this third and final season was something that many fans hoped for or even expected. With official confirmation, we can only wait and see what form the final season will take and how our classic crew will be drawn into Picard.
