Star Trek Picard’s final episode gave birth to a new generation of Starfleet. Despite being a final goodbye to the Next Generation Crew, season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas had also planned to tell the story of the birth of the Enterprise-G, it’s captain and her crew. But in doing so the series explored some major moments and themes from the wider TNG era, both revisiting and expanding on Star Trek lore.
Since the closing moments of the series, in particular the launch of the Enterprise G led by a pirate, a spy and a thief, the finale gave rise to a massive fan campaign to continue the story with Captain Seven of Nine heading up Matalas’ Star Trek Legacy. Unfortunately due tot he writers strike, nothing can even be pitched regarding the show, but with such a title and already having two of the Next Next Generation on the bridge, we have to wonder what other legacies could be explored following the stellar third season of Picard….
The Founders
Despite being a Next Generation reunion, and the TNG crew only ever making one reference to the Dominion War in Star Trek Insurrection, the inclusion of the Changelings from the long burning Dominion War on Deep Space Nine was a pleasant surprise. Though tortured and altered in a bid to turn them into a weapon after Vadic and her companions were held in a lab at Daystrom Station after becoming prisoners of war, her faction was an offshoot of the Founders we’d seen leading the charge against the Federation.
The last we saw of the non-genetically altered Founders was seeing Odo leave behind his life on DS9 to rejoin his people and deliver the cure to Section 31’s deadly virus, which Vadic was used to help create. In a new era of peace and cooperation, what would the Founders place be in the early 25th century? Would they ignore what Vadic’s faction had done to the Federation? Or return to make amends?
With Salome Jens – the leading Changling – having long retired and Rene Auberjonois passing away in 2019, the Legacy of the Dominion could be passed to Auberjonois’ son Remy who bears a striking resemblance to his father and would make a good of carrying that legacy for his father and for Deep Space Nine.
Naomi Wildman
Although Seven’s primary connection when it came to younger members of Voyagers crew fell to Icheb, particularly when looking back in Picard’s first season, one of the stronger connections was to the first child of Voyager, Naomi Wildman. In an alternate reality, Naomi was a Lieutenant trained and raised on Voyager in the late 23rd century and always saw Seven as a role model for her planned future in Starfleet.
Of course, Seven’s life took a turn when she was initially rejected from Starfleet and the time between Voyagers return to Earth and Seven finally finding her purpose as Captain of the Enterprise leaves an unknown void. Unlike the LaForge’s and Jack, Naomi would have years of experience behind her if she had joined Starfleet and with that time jump would technically have more experience and backing than Seven would have even in the Captains Chair.
If a legacy could be revisited from Voyager, it’d be interesting to see Naomi as a seasoned science officer now grown up and advising her former tutor.
Elnor
In the third season of Picard the bulk of the shows original cast were cast aside to give a generation it’s final journey. Even in the second season the first Romulan in Starfleet was cast aside with the dead and revived at the end plot-line. While Naomi was a prodigy under Seven of Nine, Elnor was hastily written as a prodigy of her first officer Raffi.
That plotline felt very thin on the ground and a bit out of nowhere. Now that Raffi’s found balance through Worf’s new zen-like mentality, it’d be a good time to pass that down to a conflicted assassin turned officer in Elnor….
The Jurati
Over the years the cast of the Next Generation tangled with Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians as well as dozens of other civilisations – but none were more prominent and connected to the show than The Borg, which made it fitting that their final act together seemingly brought an end to the cybernetic overlords. Having defeated a cornered and crippled Queen who was struggling to survive, it’s up in the air whether the Borg have a future in Star Trek beyond Season 3 of Picard. But they’re not the only Borg out there…
Thanks to some timey wimey shenanigans, the Queen of an alternate reality went back in time and merged with Agnes Jurati, using her as host for a new Borg Queen. But in the battle of the minds, Jurati won and while she was assimilated, created a new faction of Borg that assimilated by consent to create a creative and welcoming hive mind, not drones with a totalitarian purpose.
At the end of Season 2 of Picard (technically, at the beginning!) that faction of the Borg – The Jurati – came in peace to help Starfleet and offer themselves as allies. But then what? Sure, the Jurati made no intervention as the Borg assimilated the first fleet. But after the organic assimilation and the Queen’s slow burning plan, the younger officers like Crash LaForge have a new understanding of what those like Hugh, Picard and Seven experienced. How would they react to Queen Jurati and her Borg? Are they more welcome? Are they more feared?
It’s a story worth telling and a huge game changer for the future of Starfleet and the Federation. Especially now we have an ex-Borg as Captain of the Enterprise….
Q. No not that one, the other one.
Some of Picard’s final episodes were obvious and predictable. But it didn’t matter as it was a fitting end. But one final cameo from John De Lancie as he welcomes Jack Crusher to the Enterprise to tell him Picards trial was over and it was his turn next was…. well, wonderful.
Of course, Q’s dead. He gave his last breath for Picard in a heart wrenching bunch of scenes in season 2. The Q we saw reminded Jack not to think in linear terms. When we put it all together, it tells a fascinating story that adds layers to why Q did what he did in Season 2. But as much as Q protected Picards legacy, he also had one of his own. And thats where things get interesting….
In Season 2 we learned the Q were dying. And our lovably antagonist was the face of that. But Q didn’t just appear in The Next Generation. Aside from getting a punch in the face on DS9, he also took a fancy to Kathryn Janeway after she found an exiled Q seeking asylum. His interest in Janeway resulted in meeting Q’s wife, Q, who he’d have a son with, Q, played by John De Lancies own son Keegan.
No one does Q like John De Lancie. And with one click of his fingers, he aged up Q perfectly. We also don’t know what happens to the Q after the Q we know and love gave his final gift to Picard at the cost of his life. But if Terry Metalas’ plans for a Legacy show happen, how fitting would it be for Keegan DeLancie to return to the screen and carry on his fathers legacy?
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