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Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard features Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation and follows this iconic character into the next chapter of his life.

In the epic, thrilling conclusion of Star Trek: Picard , a desperate message from a long-lost friend draws Starfleet legend Admiral Jean-Luc Picard into the most daring mission of his life, forcing him to recruit allies spanning generations old and new. This final adventure sets him on a collision course with the legacy of his past and explosive, new revelations that will alter the fate of the Federation forever.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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Star Trek: Picard auf DVD

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'Star Trek: Picard' season 2 episode 5 teases a potentially magnificent match-up

This remains a quality episode, promising an enticing confrontation, but concurrently threatening an overdose of cameos.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Star Trek: Picard" season 2, episode 5

Despite Paramount pouring many millions into "Star Trek," it seems " Halo " has been the recent draw as the new sci-fi show's premiere broke the streaming channel's records this week on Paramount Plus . And while recent episodes of "Picard" have been some of the best "Star Trek" we've seen since the first season of "Discovery" back in September 2017, there are early indications that Season 2 of Jean-Luc's ongoing adventures is beginning to slip. But more on that later.

The tribute to "Star Trek: The Voyage Home" was evidently limited to just one episode and we've moved on, way past that now, with episode 5, entitled "Fly Me To The Moon." That said, there are still a lot of exciting plot threads to continue with and we pick up more or less straightaway from last week's episode with Picard (Patrick Stewart) talking to Laris Tallinn (Orla Brady). He concludes that she's a sort of "Supervisor," similar in principal to a one-time character called Gary Seven who appeared in an episode of "The Original Series" entitled "Assignment: Earth" (S02, E26), which was actually an attempt to jump-start a potential spin-off series.

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According to Memory Alpha , Gary Seven (played by Robert Lansing) was a human-looking male whose ancestors were abducted from Earth around 4000BC and taken to another planet. He was a Class 1 "Supervisor" sent to Earth in 1968 to discover why his superiors lost contact with Agent 201 and Agent 347. When he discovered they were killed in an car accident, he assumed their mission. Using advanced alien technology, he continued their mission to make sure mankind did not destroy itself with nuclear weapons.

There were subtle indications that this connection was coming and even if you missed those, lest we forget how "Discovery" tapped into "The Original Series" back in the Season 3 two-part episode " Terra Firma " with the Guardian of Forever. And while there's nothing wrong with this, it would be nice to see these throwbacks developed further, rather than appearing to be casually-regarded, short-lived references used when new ideas seem to be thin on the ground. Perhaps we'll learn more about the backstory of Laris Tallinn later, but given the rapid turnaround of guest-star characters in this show so far, it feels unlikely. And we'll come to that too, a little later.

We see the same young girl that Q (John de Lancie) was obsessing over during his lunch break last week only now she's in a kind of spacecraft cockpit simulator and not doing a very good job with an orbital debris evasion practice run. A French flag patch can be seen on her arm before a head and shoulders close reveals her name badge, Renée Picard (played by Penelope Mitchell).

Picard provides some helpful exposition, "The Europa Mission was a pioneering space flight in my history," so you'd think he'd remember that a Picard was on it. In "Star Trek: Generations," he says to Deanna Troi, "From being a small child, I can remember being told about the family line. The Picard who fought at Trafalgar. The Picard who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The Picards who settled the first Martian colonies…" Confirming the family's importance through history, but he'd surely remember this. (Then again, it didn't even occur to him that an "alien living in Los Angeles in the 21st century" might be Guinan.)

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Turns out she's supposed to be on the prime crew for Expedition Europa, which was an early interplanetary mission to the Jovian moon of Europa. We've even seen big billboard posters promoting — for some reason — this mission when Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) were causing havoc in downtown Los Angeles. 

All that's known about Renée is that she "discovered a microorganism on Io that she believed was sentient and convinced the mission commander to bring it back to Earth." Given all the twisty-turny timey-wimey nonsense that's been going on of late, especially with whether or not Guinan would've known Picard, it's probably best to just not think about it too much, a bit like how the writers haven't.

Following the opening credits we're back on the crashed La Sirena and the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) is up to some clever mischief. Tapping into the nearby cellphone towers, she calls the local constabulary and reports, "There are screams coming from the Picard vineyard!" This has the desired effect and a poor policier from little La Barre comes to pay a visit. Raffi and Seven meanwhile have managed to rescue Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera). So, you know, phew .

Upon watching some video footage of a therapy session with young Renée that Laris Tallinn has managed to get hold of, they can see that Q, who's gone full Freud, is the one who is surreptitiously trying to talk the young astronaut out of going on the mission, which suggests a whole new level of intervention from Picard's omnipotent adversary. In the past, Q's been satisfied with purely observing the various outcomes in his experiments in alternative history, but this is active interference. And then we get the biggest surprise of this episode, a Soong (Brent Spiner) and Soji character cameo.

This is a brand new incarnation of Dr. Soong, bookending his appearance in the first season of "Picard" as that was the oldest Soong we've seen, in the 24th century and now this one, in the 21st century marks the earliest. And since it's the modus operandi of this show to incorporate as many of the much-loved former cast members of "The Next Generation," it feels apt. The problem is, as we've mentioned, so far, it's been a rather rapid in the turnaround of potentially interesting reinvented characters. 

And that's a shame, because as we see, Q versus Dr. Soong — with two exceptional, heavyweight classically trained actors playing the roles — could arguably be the greatest single match up in "Star Trek" since…well, Captain Kirk took on Trelane in "The Original Series" episode "The Squire of Gothos" (S01, E18). Who knows, maybe he'll turn up next week.

This episode isn't directed by Lea Thompson — although she makes a brief appearance as the chairman of the board that revokes Dr. Soong's license for breaking the Shenzhen Convention and running genetic experiments on soldiers with a privatized military organization, Spearhead Operations. This episode is once again in the hands of Jonathan Frakes and evidence of that will become obvious later in the episode.

Soong is struggling to find a cure for his daughter Kore's (Isa Briones) rare and unusual condition and Q introduces himself by way a cryptic business card, which incidentally has a number on it that you can actually call to hear a prerecorded message from the irksome entity. He gives Soong a test sample, which works, for a short period. But now Q has his claws well and truly sunk into the dodgy doctor so he'll naturally do anything for the promise of a permanent sure.

Meanwhile, on La Sirena, the poor policeman has totally failed to detect either Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill) fast asleep on the sofa, or the smell of the fire that they lit earlier. He's instead drawn to the voice of the Borg Queen who's imitating the sound of someone in distress. Jurati finally wakes up, grabs an antique shotgun and goes back into the crashed ship herself to see what's going on. She finds the Queen holding the policeman hostage and give her both barrels. Go Agnes.

Not long after, everyone regroups at the ship and Jurati explains what happens. Out intrepid time travelling team hatch a plan to crash a fancy gala where young Renée will be in attendance. This new plot thread has distinct a " Stardust City Rag " vibe from last season along with an element of "Mission: Impossible," as even the accompanying music helps set the tone in a trademark Frakes set piece. Jurati cleverly, deliberately lets herself get caught by security guards so that she's held in the security surveillance room, where through the power of flashback, we see how the Borg Queen was able to get two assimilation tubules into her neck before she "died" from her shotgun wounds.

Roll closing credits on what is an interesting episode that gets better the more you watch it. The worry is where it goes from here. Guinan was undoubtedly underused and let's hope that next week's story isn't just a format to introduce yet more cameo characters for just the space of one episode. The Brent Spiner versus John de Lancie match up is worth half the season alone and it's great to have yet another ancestor of the legendary father of eugenics appear in "Star Trek."

Rating: 7½/10

The first five episodes of "Star Trek: Picard" are now available to watch on Paramount Plus and the premiere season of "Strange New Worlds" begins on May 5. Season 4 of "Star Trek: Discovery" is available to watch now on Paramount+ in the US and CTV Sci-Fi or Crave TV in Canada. Countries outside of North America can watch on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. 

If you want to find more Star Trek shows and movies in both the US and UK, check out our main  Star Trek streaming guide . And if you're looking for something for that Trek fan in your life, our  Star Trek gifts and deals  guide has everything your Trek heart may desire.

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When Scott's application to the NASA astronaut training program was turned down, he was naturally upset...as any 6-year-old boy would be. He chose instead to write as much as he possibly could about science, technology and space exploration. He graduated from The University of Coventry and received his training on Fleet Street in London. He still hopes to be the first journalist in space.

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The Star Trek: Picard TV series: Everything we know

CBS has officially launched Star Trek: Picard , a new series focusing on Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart’s iconic starship captain from the classic TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation and various Star Trek spinoff films — and CBS’s last, best hope in the streaming war.

First episode is free

Picard on a mission, season 2 greenlit, launch date, the trailers, a man and his dog, the supporting cast, behind the camera, the return of jean-luc.

The series premiered January 23 on the CBS All Access streaming service and unfolds 20 years after the events of the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis .

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Here’s everything we learned about Star Trek: Picard in the lead-up to its premiere.

Anyone who missed the series premiere of  Star Trek: Picard will get another chance to see what all the buzz is about — and without the need for a CBS All Access subscription.

ViacomCBS has made the first episode of  Picard available on YouTube for a limited time.

Pluto TV , the free, ad-supported streaming video service, also announced plans to repeatedly stream the first episode of Picard over the course of a 24-hour marathon on Thursday, January 30. The episode will then air again every evening at 8 p.m. ET on Pluto TV’s Sci-Fi channel for a week, through February 5.

You now have even more places to watch the premiere episode of #StarTrekPicard ! Enjoy a 24-hour marathon of Episode 1 on Pluto TV Sci-Fi starting now! (CH 661) https://t.co/NoAhliehhQ #PlutoTV #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/yruNoHZt07 — Pluto TV (@PlutoTV) January 30, 2020

The partnership between CBS All Access and Pluto TV makes sense, given that Pluto TV is owned by ViacomCBS, and could be a sign of things to come as the latter looks to generate more excitement — and subscriptions — for its streaming service.

CBS released a brief preview for the series on Facebook that provided a litany of intriguing new footage. The titular former captain of the Enterprise tells viewers, “I was haunted by my past. But now, I have a mission. I will do what needs to be done.”

While the promotional spot teases some familiar faces and places, the new mission appears to involve a mysterious new character played by Isa Briones, as well as both the Borg Collective and what’s left of the Romulans.

The second season of Star Trek: Picard was given the green light ahead of the series’ debut. Just like the first season, season 2 of  Star Trek: Picard will encompass 10 episodes.

Star Trek: Picard debuted on CBS All Access on January 23. The show’s title and logo were first revealed during a network presentation for advertisers on May 15, 2019.

CBS revealed the first, ever-so-brief trailer for the series in May 2019. The preview featured the former Starfleet hero at his family’s vineyard and hinted at an ominous reason for his exit from Starfleet.

Picard ‘s second trailer dropped during San Diego’s Comic-Con International in 2019, and if you thought that the USS Enterprise-D’s beloved captain was the only Star Trek character returning for the show, think again. Not only does the trailer feature Star Trek: Voyager ‘s Seven of Nine and a Borg cube, but Data, played once again by Brent Spiner, makes a surprise appearance in the trailer’s closing moments.

Data isn’t the only Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus coming to Picard , either. At the Picard Comic-Con panel, showrunner Michael Chabon confirmed that Jonathan Frakes, who played William Riker, Picard’s second-in-command, and Marina Sirtis, better known as ship counselor Deanna Troi, also appear in the series.

The trailer also hints at Picard ‘s overarching storyline, which will be much more serialized than the good captain’s The Next Generation adventures. In Picard , Jean-Luc has retired to his family vineyard, but still longs for the stars. He gets his chance to return to space (alongside what looks like a new crew) when a young, mysterious woman arrives at the Picard homestead looking for his help. We don’t know the woman’s secret, but it must be a big one. Plenty of people are trying to kill her, after all.

The third trailer for Picard was released during 2019’s  New York Comic-Con , and features both plenty of action and also the long-awaited return of Riker and Troi.

Patrick Stewart debuted a promotional image for Star Trek: Picard in July 2019, tweeting out a shot of himself as Jean-Luc Picard alongside a dog, looking out over the family vineyard he retired to after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis .

Picard. #StarTrekPicard #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/1hw4SJDXEk — Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) July 10, 2019

The first season of  Star Trek: Picard will consist of 10 episodes, with Hanelle Culpepper directing the first three episodes, and veteran Star Trek actor and filmmaker Frakes (above) directing a few episodes as well.

Alongside Patrick Stewart in the lead role, the series will also feature Santiago Cabrera as a skilled thief and pilot who assists Picard, as well as Michelle Hurd (below) as a former Starfleet intelligence officer who has a complicated past with Jean-Luc. Allison Pill will also play a member of Picard’s crew named Dr. Jurati, who is gung ho about Picard’s new mission.

Development of the series was tasked to Star Trek: Discovery co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who is joined by many of the other members of the Discovery creative team on the project. In July 2019, renowned author Michael Chabon was announced as the series’ showrunner.

Chabon, a lifelong Star Trek fan who worked with Kurtzman on some of the early concept pitches for the series, is an award-winning author and screenwriter who will also serve as an executive producer on the show.

“Star Trek has been an important part of my way of thinking about the world, the future, human nature, storytelling, and myself since I was 10 years old,” said Chabon of shepherding the series. “I come to work every day in a state of joy and awe at having been entrusted with the character and the world of Jean-Luc Picard, with this vibrant strand of the rich, intricate, and complex tapestry that is Trek.”

Also serving as executive producers on the Picard series are Star Trek: Discovery executive producer James Duff, former Discovery executive producer Akiva Goldsman, and Star Trek: Voyager and Discovery writer Kirsten Beyer, as well as Roddenberry Entertainment President Eugene Roddenberry, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The Picard series is reportedly one of several in-development Star Trek projects for CBS, which is making the sci-fi property one of the foundations of its CBS All Access streaming service.

Star Trek: Picard features Stewart reprising the role he played for seven seasons on the long-running Star Trek: The Next Generation television series and in multiple Star Trek movies. The series will continue his story, exploring Picard’s life after the events of  The Next Generation and the films.

Stewart’s return to the role of Jean-Luc Picard was first announced in August 2018 , and the veteran actor — who is also well-known for portraying telepathic mutant Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies — said he was “excited and invigorated” to revisit the character.

It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Read my full statement in the photo. #StarTrek @cbsallaccess Photo: @shervinfoto pic.twitter.com/8Ynuj3RBNm — Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) August 4, 2018

An accomplished actor on stage and screen, Stewart has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards over the years for his performances, including a critically praised portrayal of King Henry II in 2003’s  The Lion in Winter and his portrayal of Captain Ahab in the 1998 television miniseries Moby Dick .

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Star Trek: Discovery - Season 2 | Official Trailer

CBS All Access already has a pair of hits with Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, and now another live-action Star Trek series is headed to the streaming service: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

For a limited time, CBS has made the pilot episode for Star Trek: Picard available for free on YouTube.

The series’ primary home is CBS All Access, the streaming video service launched by ViacomCBS. The second episode arrived on the app Wednesday, and CBS is making the first episode freely available on YouTube serves as an opportunity for viewers to check the series out before deciding if they want to subscribe to yet another streamer.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap: Back to the Past

“Star Trek” has historically been at its best when dabbling in time travel, and this week’s episode found it doing so again.

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By Sopan Deb

Season 2, Episode 3: ‘Assimilation’

“Star Trek” has historically been at its best when dabbling in time travel.

The best “Next Generation” movie? “First Contact,” when the Enterprise crew has to go back in time to stop Earth from being assimilated by the Borg. The best original series movie? “The Voyage Home,” a story about another Enterprise crew going back to 1980s Earth to save a couple of whales. (Imagine that pitch meeting.) Some of the best television episodes, like the “Next Generation” installment “Time’s Arrow” or the original’s “The City on the Edge of Forever,” are time jump stories, too.

One reason these stories are so satisfying is that they briefly bring “Trek” closer to our world. Of course, there is the easy fish out of water humor. (Whoa! There’s money here?!) But they also offer an opportunity to spotlight baffling inequities in our society. It’s always amusing to see Dr. McCoy be flabbergasted by medical treatment in the 1980s, for example, or Kirk being fascinated by the concept of capitalism. It’s also fun to watch someone from our world, like Mark Twain , be beguiled by the future utopia the “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned.

So it’s not surprising that “Picard” would dust off a — ahem — time-honored tradition this week.

“You’re killing it, 2024,” Raffi says, as the proverbial fish jumps to land. “You know, I’ve never been able to understand how a society could exist with so many contradictions and not collapse sooner than it did.”

But first, some business. Picard and his friends must escape the clutches of Seven of Nine’s evil husband. This poor guy. First, he finds out his wife isn’t bloodthirsty anymore. Then he discovers she doesn’t even know his name. Finally, he gets shot by his wife’s actual lover. It’s the second worst Tinder Swindle in history!

But Elnor is also shot, and then he dies. “Picard” has shown that it is willing to kill off characters randomly, if necessary. And really, it’s a refreshing change from previous iterations of “Trek,” where despite numerous risky away missions, none of the primary crew members ever end up actually dying. But Elnor’s death doesn’t hit as hard as a typical main character’s death might for two reasons: One, because the audience doesn’t get to know him that well in the show and two, because I’m betting it doesn’t stick. Time travel and all.

Raffi is particularly angry about Elnor’s death, and accuses Picard of choosing the Borg Queen over him. I’m not exactly following the logic of this or of Raffi’s berating of Picard for “playing games” with Q, as if Picard has ever found Q to be anything but a menace. (This is something that Picard meekly points out — you’d think Picard would be a bit more forceful, given that he too was grieving Elnor.) Raffi’s impulsiveness has a foreboding tone. She’s an experienced Starfleet officer. You’d think she would want to be deliberate, but she’s ready to do anything to get Elnor back.

The crew goes back in time and lands in modern day Earth — well, modern for the rest of us anyway. It’s too bad that we don’t see Elnor walking the streets of Los Angeles in 2024 — he’d definitely be a TikTok influencer by the time the others catch up to him. Meanwhile, Picard and Jurati try to revive the Borg Queen.

There’s lots of politics going on here, and less subtly than usual. Raffi spotlights big-city gentrification and inequality, standing in a sea of tents against the backdrop of tall buildings. Rios is an undocumented immigrant who is arrested by the Department of Homeland Security. (Recall Chekov being questioned on accusations of being a Russian spy in “The Voyage Home.”) Even the episode title — “Assimilation” — is a nod to the plight of immigrants in the United States.

The “Trek” franchise has a long history of using its world to comment directly on our own. This season, “Picard” has been more explicit than many earlier “Trek” stories in using its characters, and their reactions to remind the audience that many of the modern problems we’ve come to accept shouldn’t actually be acceptable.

Sopan Deb is a basketball writer and a contributor to the Culture section. Before joining The Times, he covered Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign for CBS News. He is also a New York-based comedian.  More about Sopan Deb

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Star Trek: Picard Boss Explains the Surprise Return of a Next Generation Favorite: ‘It Felt Like We Had to Do It’

Dave nemetz, west coast bureau chief.

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Warning: This post contains spoilers for Thursday’s Star Trek: Picard .

We knew this season of Star Trek: Picard would see Jean-Luc cross paths with a lot of his former Enterprise crewmates — but we didn’t see this one coming.

In Thursday’s episode, Starfleet sent a team of investigators to question Jean-Luc and Riker about their insubordination aboard the Titan , and the team was led by… Ro Laren, the Bajoran lieutenant played by Michelle Forbes on Star Trek: The Next Generation . (Jean-Luc was left deeply disappointed by her on TNG when she left the Enterprise to join a band of resistance fighters.) Forbes reprised her role as Ro Laren this week, and it was clear the wounds between her and Jean-Luc hadn’t exactly healed over the years.

Jean-Luc still felt betrayed by Ro Laren’s abrupt departure all those years ago, labeling her a “traitor,” and he also suspected she could be one of the changelings that have infiltrated Starfleet. That led to a riveting scene where Jean-Luc and Ro held phasers on each other while arguing about their old rift on the holodeck — “You broke my heart,” he told her, and she replied: “And you broke mine” — and that intense conversation convinced Jean-Luc that she was the real Ro Laren.

For Matalas and the Picard writers, “the opportunity to tell a story that’s essentially a paranoia thriller, where both of them are looking at each other, not entirely certain if each other are who they say they are, and the only way to verify their identity is to work through this kind of catharsis about how they feel, [felt] like it could be good television.” He admits “it was a tough one to crack, but it was brilliantly written by our writers, and I think it’s satisfying. But it felt like we had to do it.”

By episode’s end, Ro Laren exposed the changelings within Starfleet and nobly sacrificed herself, piloting a shuttle carrying a bomb into another ship to allow Jean-Luc and the Titan time to escape. “She sets them on the path, hopefully, that could save the galaxy,” Matalas notes.

Got thoughts on Ro Laren’s surprise return and this season of Picard so far? Beam down to the comments and make your voice heard.

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Brilliant !!

I enjoyed the first two seasons, but these episodes feel like a real continuation of TNG. Very well done.

This third season of Picard has been some of the best Star Trek ever put out. It’s been incredible.

Loved her character and she was like a surrogate daughter for Picard. I haven’t watched yet….

Crazy effing good ep. right there! Never saw that coming. No way. No how.

Outstanding that Michelle Forbes came back to conclude Ro’s story. A brilliant performer whose presence 30 years ago made TNG better and whose appearance in ST:P continues the high quality of this season. And a well-deserved special guest star notation in the credits, as she was one of the recurring stars in TNG as relevant to the series as the regular cast.

yea bring her in then make her stupid. she was in the maquis for pete’s sake. even i could figure out how to get out of that situation. blow the hatch, then while you’re outside you get beamed over. i’m sure she has many more ideas, but writers chose to write her stupid.

Yeah, sure. Blow up the hatch in the small shuttle without a) blowing up herself, b) jump into space and hope that the Titan is faster than the Intrepid and c) that the transporter block on the shuttle is limited to the dimensions of the shuttle.

She did the best she could with the times she had left and did what she said: she gave them a fighting chance to escape.

The communication link was cut off several seconds before the explosion, so its possible she did some maquis trick in that time to survive. Just a theory but strange it didn’t stay connected until the explosion.

It was a very welcome surprise that Michelle Forbes came back, not only that but a character (Ro) we did not know as this surprise was kept, and not released on all the spoiler sites. Not sure how I feel yet about them killing her off, well not true, I would have preferred her to have survived. This season has been a lot better than i thought it would be.

Fantastic episode. I never expected a conclusion to this TNG storyline, just wonderfukl.

Also another 12 Monkeys alumn joined as a guest star, Kirk Acevedo as a Vulcan crime Lord. Who would have thought?

During DS9 the Cardassians joined the Dominion and together waged war on the Maquee. During Voyager we learned that the entire Maquee resistance was wiped out. Ro Larin should have died sometime around 2373 give or a take a few years. Moreover, had she turned herself in before then, Picard would have absolutely been made aware. This was a retcon. An illogical and frankly pointless one at that. She might have been recruited by a section 31 like organization, but never starfleet security. This show is making a mockery of starfleet and star trek canon. Did these writers even watch the DS9 two parter “Home front/Paradise Lost?”

How is this a retcon when it is realistic? The entire Marquis is wiped out? Well, some of them were in the Delta Quadrant. Obviously it wasn’t the entire Marquis. What makes you think that others didn’t also survive? It’s not like Q snipped his fingers and actually wiped them out. You also don’t know when she turned herself in. She only said after years with the Marquis. That could have been well before that all happened. Also you assume that Picard would have been informed. Maybe, or maybe not. Missing information happens all the time. Non of this is a retcon, just nitpicking.

1. Ro Laren joined the Marquis sometime in 2370. It would have been later in the year based on the events and episodes that take place between her return to the enterprise and her defection. The Marquis were wiped out approximately 3-4 years later.

2: Picard was her mentor and commanding officer. She wouldn’t be thrown in jail without a court martial, and they would definitely inform him and seek his testimony in such a proceeding.

3. Torres makes it pretty clear that every base was destroyed and the vast majority died. If she was a lucky survivor then they should have said so in the episode. This was clearly an error by the writers who were probably not very familiar with the events of DS9 and Voyager.

4. A spy who defects is not a good spy. Using her in intelligence is a huge risk. Section 31 would recruit her in a heartbeat. She should have been section 31. This would be even more significant as 31 is the group that created and disseminated (through Odo,) the original Changeling virus/bio weapon. I assume the new found powers/abilities of the Changelings are tied directly to surviving it.

5. That a random Commander would put the pieces together and be allowed to live, and interact freely with JLP is silly writing. Why not replace her instead of her underlings. Especially if she is making noise trying to get to Janeway and other trusted admirals and raise the alarm about the infiltration.

Not only is it a retcon, it is bad writing.

Yes, definitely nitpicking. Nothing Ro said is contradicting established canon. You are just making a lot of assumptions what people would have done or should have done when there are multiple possible scenarios. Just because she didn’t detail every single second of what happened after she left the Enterprise means it’s bad writing or a retcon.

You are over complicating stuff when what happened can also be a lot simpler and still work. It might just not work for you and that is fine. I just don’t agree with it.

Or, they wanted to use an actress who had history with TNG, a character who would be a fun callback, and a character fans would believe Picard would trust. To accomplish this, the ignored the fact that the Marquis only lasted another few years after Roe joined. The better choice would be someone like Miles O’Brien. That said I am not sure they could get the actor to reprise that role.

It’s nice that you are such a devoted fan, but I also think you are nitpicking. They wouldn’t have known if every single Maquis member died. This is not the stretch you are making it out to be.

Crazy good episode! Fantastic way to tie up that loose end!

The season has been a lot better but its weird they way everyone treats Picard. He’s a dinosaur that doesn’t know what happening around him. Everyone seems to lecture/scold him for every idea he has. The show is very antagonistic toward its main character.

On a scale of 1-10 this episode was a 12!!

This season has been incredible. It makes me feel like this third season should have just been a limited series because the first two seasons were not good overall.

If Michelle Forbes isn’t Performer of the Week, I’m going to riot.

(Okay, one person can’t riot but you get what I mean.)

Better and better! . The first few episodes were a little mixed, for me — wonderful performances, but some of the occasion for them seemed shoehorned in, such as the issue between Ryker and Troi. There was the danger of making this into a series of set pieces rather than a story. The business in the nebula had its function, establishing the new bad guy and giving some time for character interactions, and giving a moment of beauty and wonder, but ultimately it got resolved by pulling a rabbit out of a hat, or, rather, stuffing a couple into the port nacelles. . But now things are cooking. As someone who saw TNG when it first aired and subsequently forgot all about it, I had no idea who Ro Laren was, but I still found the scenes with her moving, particularly at the end. Michelle Forbes was just very good, and Patrick Stewart as well, of course. . One standout that no one seems to mention is Michelle Hurd, who’s really brought it, and apart from her solo performances, her chemistry with Michael Dorn has been amazing. Put on top of that their impressive stunt work. . If there actually was another season of this, it would not be a bad thing.

Wil Wheaton had both Dorn and Hurd on The Ready Room, and they discussed the chemistry that developed and prep for the fight scenes quite a bit.

Big plug here for Ready Room. It’s been stellar this season with lots of insights into the characters from the primary players.

I absolutely loved the DS9 tie in here – it was so appropriate. And it gave Michelle Forbes a final reprise, a meaty, heroic, buzzyworthy one.

I have hated every nuTrek series, including Star Trek Picard. It was all garbage. But I can honestly say that season 3 is good Trek. Not perfect. There is some retconning and some misunderstanding of the changelings (the bucket), but it has some great character work, and a pretty cool arc. And there is a son of Beverly Crushers whom I don’t hate! Now I want to see more Trek like this, and it is the last season!

We now need a standalone tv movie to explore the story of Ro. Like RAZOR did for her Admiral Cain.

I liked the return a lot but it really saddened and surprised me that they killed her off.

It didn’t surprise me that they killed her off. They had an interesting character, so of course they killed her off. Shock value. I seriously doubt she’ll be the last.

The biggest shame of killing off Ro was that, with no chance of Yeoh doing it, Ro would have been amazing leading a Section 31 series. I can’t imagine that Forbes would have any interest in playing Ro for that commitment any more than she did back in the 90’s, but one can dream.

Could she have survived the shuttle explosion? I only got 3 words….advanced tactical training!

What a great idea and ep.

Cried so hard.

The confrontation is one of the best scenes in all of ST. Masterfully written and masterfully played by the actors.

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'Picard’ Season 3 Showrunner Terry Matalas Breaks Down Episode 5, That Worf Scene, and 'The Next Generation' Connection

He also spoke about Jack Crusher's nightmare that became a reality.

The fifth episode of Star Trek: Picard 's third and final season delivers a healthy dose of thrills, both aboard the U.S.S. Titan with the increasing stakes that Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) is encountering with the Changeling plot and with Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ) and Worf ( Michael Dorn ) as they try to unravel the very same plot in District Six.

Ahead of the premiere of Episode 5 , Collider had the opportunity to chat with Picard 's showrunner Terry Matalas about "Imposters," that jarring nightmare Jack Crusher ( Ed Speleers ) faced, the return of Ro Laren ( Michelle Forbes ), Krinn, the gangster Vulcan, Worf's shocking fake-out death, and what Easter eggs Star Trek fans should look for when they rewatch the episode.

COLLIDER: Episode 5 starts with this absolutely killer cold open, with the nightmare that Jack is having. Were there ever any other variations for how this nightmare would play out?

TERRY MATALAS: No, it was always the bridge. I mean, what's a more dramatic place for that to happen and more unexpected kind of Manchurian Candidate feeling of a massacre? Yeah, I'm trying to think, but I think that it was always there.

I was so excited to talk to Ed about getting to wear a Starfleet uniform because, as a Trekkie, that's my own dream. So I was very eager to talk to him about it. Was there a lot of joy in getting to put Picard's son into a Starfleet uniform?

MATALAS: Yeah. I mean, the second you get anybody like that on the show, you're like, "What are they going to look like?" And you're doing it in a really unexpected way here. The first time you see him is ominous, the phaser pointed at people that you've come to love. Then the next time, he's actually given the uniform by Seven of Nine, now there's a sense of dread that, “Is this going to be a prophecy for him?” So it's sort of taking away the audience's wish fulfillment and expectation of it in a weird way.

I love the moment at the top of the episode after they're told Starfleet's coming, and you have this sweet little moment between Picard and Jack and Beverly. And I love that at this point, Picard would even think to be like, "Oh, you should join Starfleet, maybe when all of this dust has settled," because it's so funny because Jack has not shown any hints of caring about Starfleet. But I wondered, is this Picard's subtle way of extending that, "I want you to be part of my family," because we got that moment in the previous episode where Picard basically says, "Starfleet is my family"? Is that what's happening?

MATALAS: I think it's exactly that. I think that's Picard's love language. I think it's also trying to get the kid an honest vocation. It's trying to, "Maybe I can use my leverage within this organization to get this kid out of some of the hot water and off some of the wanted lists that he's on, and get him in the family business."

I was also really surprised and really excited to see Ro Laren brought back into the show. She's such a fun character from The Next Generation . I can't really think of any other characters for Picard that would have this same sort of emotional weight. But I am curious to know, were there other characters that went up on the whiteboard in the writer's room when you were trying to decide who this character would be?

MATALAS: No, this story was always Ro Laren. This story was always– the pitch that I had for it was, "How great would it be to do a paranoia thriller with someone that you have all this baggage with?" The only way to be sure you're sitting across from the person that you hope you're sitting across from is to get through your trauma with them. I thought that if we could pull that off, we'd have a really interesting episode of television. But that required us getting Michelle Forbes and convincing the studio and the network it was the right idea, and educating a lot of people on who Ro Laren is. But no, there was never anyone else other than that. It was Ro Laren or bust.

You also have this really great connection with her history and the spy aspect and what's going on with Worf, and it just fits together so naturally.

MATALAS: Exactly. It had to be her.

There was a moment, speaking of Worf there and that whole thing, there was a moment in this episode when I was watching these screeners that I was getting ready to send you a message on Twitter and be like, "I can't believe you did that." I'm curious, what goes into a fake-out death that lands emotionally, but doesn't drag it out or overplay it? Because this is done so well, and I appreciate that I didn't have to wait for the next episode. We got that culmination within two scenes, I think.

MATALAS: Well, I don't know that it really worked. Do you think it works?

I did. I love Worf. I love Michael Dorn. I was so excited that he was coming back to this series, and so when that moment happened—

MATALAS: You didn't really think we were offing him in that moment, did you?

You never know. I fully was convinced.

MATALAS: Oh, that would've been terrible.

I know. I honestly was like, "Well, there goes a whole letter grade."

MATALAS: I didn't really think we would be fooling the audience with it. Part of me felt like the audience is very likely in on the shenanigans of Raffi and Worf. If they're not, then you can only make them feel so bad for so long because they would probably be really hating you for such an anti-climactic death of such an amazing legacy actor. That's why I can't imagine that anybody really bought it, but we'll see.

I was fully convinced.

MATALAS: Wow.

It played out very well because you have them have this first ploy that doesn't work, and then they're captured.

MATALAS: Yeah, but that would mean that you had a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion without Worf ever seeing anybody. Well, look Star Wars did it.

I was afraid.

MATALAS: I'm glad that worked. I just never thought in a million years anyone would play.

I'm here to tell you I did. I thought maybe this was one of those things where the show was the stakes are really high this time. This is how high they are. And I was like, "Wow." I mean, respect.

MATALAS: It could be, right? So, it was like, "We've got to get to it real quick," and establishing his meditation and his heart slowed. He had done it twice. So hopefully we had nodded to it a few times enough for him to come back. For me, it feels like you're just waiting for him to show up and do his thing.

I also loved that you had a Vulcan playing this gangster character. It's very fun. It's very Star Trek to me, especially the way the whole scene plays out with him being like, "Yes, that would be the correct thing to do. That is the logical path for me to take." Were there ever any species that you thought for him to be? Because you could even see a quarrelsome Romulan because they're always getting into trouble somewhere in the galaxy.

MATALAS: No, Romulan felt obvious. Vulcan to me, felt really interesting to me that there was a logic to crime, which he says, that there can be no paradise without crime. So once we had found that, that character came together. And once we thought about it as Kirk Acevedo, who I had worked with before, once we wrote it for Kirk, there was a danger to him that he could let some anger through. There was something really interesting about a Vulcan crime syndicate. Once we said that out loud in the room, I was like, "I haven't seen that before."

As soon as I saw that, I was like, I can picture a lot of people updating their characters for the Star Trek RPG games and being like, "I am now a Vulcan gangster.”

MATALAS: They’re saying “I want to be part of The Velashi crime syndicate.” It was a cool idea. So it seemed like a fun idea. And it's the last time we're going to be in District Six, so we wanted to go out with a really interesting criminal.

It's a fun world to be part of. I think the revelation that Starfleet is compromised all the way up the top of the chain. It's kind of, not jaw-dropping because it's been building to it, but it is a shock. We've seen Starfleet face these kinds of issues and situations before. Where do you think this ranks in the scheme of things, throughout the history of Star Trek and Starfleet?

MATALAS: I would definitely put it up there with one of their biggest problems that they've ever faced, if not their biggest, where this ends up going. They have a real problem right now that they don't even know that they’re looking at, and it's up to our heroes to deal with it.

Riker has always been very understanding of the situation of Ro and Picard. I went back and re-watched the episodes for The Next Generation . He's always seemed very perceptive of that situation. So it was nice to have that tie-in with that final conversation with Riker and Picard at the end of the episode. What is really going through his head as he is watching all of this play out? Because you also have the Beverly of it all that's happening, the Ro of it all. He's watching his oldest friend go through so many things all at once, way out on the edges of Federation space.

MATALAS: Oh, it was interesting. Frakes and I always had this conversation early on in the season, that this was the story of Riker becoming, transitioning from little brother to older brother, really, this season. He really does. He really is there as the shoulder for Jean Luc for so much of this heartbreak this season, particularly in that last scene when he comes in, he is like, "I know what she meant to you." He sees Picard go through so much, and not to mention the son. As you'll see as the season continues, I mean, Picard will recognize the importance of this relationship by the end.

Are there any Easter eggs that people should keep their eyes out for when they go back and re-watch this episode?

MATALAS: When Ro's two Starfleet officers walk into the observation room looking for Ro and Picard, there's a little changeling guttural thing they do. If you're listening carefully, they do a little thing.

Do you have any favorite moments from this episode?

MATALAS: I think the scene with Ro and Picard with phasers on each other in the bar is one of the great moments of the season. When they don't know– when they really have to force themselves into this catharsis, it is fantastic. I think both Michelle and Patrick are just on fire. I think it's a spectacular scene. I'm really, really proud of how that came out. I think Cindy Appel, who wrote that, did just phenomenal writing in that, and that's difficult to write. So I'm very, very, very proud of how that story came out. I'm also proud of Ed's performance at the end. I love the tenderness between him and Gates at the end when she is being a mother, and then she finally asks, she's like, "How did you know they were changelings?" And he turns, he says, "I didn't." Their performances, both of them, are phenomenal.

The tear down the cheek helps as well. He's so good.

MATALAS: He's so good. I love Shaw, and then the boys in the Turbo lift, when he starts rattling off all the things they've done that might piss off Starfleet is the Shaw moment of the week for me. There are so many things. I love the earring moment when that blows up and turns into the wall of crazy.

What can you tease for Episode 6?

MATALAS: Well, they're on their own now, and they're going to need help, and it's time to get the rest of the band together.

Star Trek: Picard 's third and final season is streaming now on Paramount+.

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Series Finale Gets Special Imax Live Screening (EXCLUSIVE)

By McKinley Franklin

McKinley Franklin

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Paramount+ and CBS Studios have announced an Imax live screening opportunity for the final two episodes of their original series “ Star Trek: Picard ,” Variety can exclusively reveal.

On Wednesday, April 19, ten participating Imax theaters in the U.S. will provide an early screening of the last two episodes of the third and final season, including the series finale, ahead of its Paramount+ debut on Thursday, April 20. 

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“Star Trek: Picard” highlights Stewart in his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons during “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The series follows Picard as he enters the next stage of his life. LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd star alongside Stewart.

The culmination of “Star Trek: Picard” sees Picard receiving a message from a long lost friend that sends him into a new mission. Recruiting allies from the past and present, Picard embarks on an adventure that will permanently alter the fate of the Federation.

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. For Season 3, Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Terry Matalas, Patrick Stewart, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Doug Aarniokoski and Dylan Massin serve as executive producers. Terry Matalas serves as showrunner for the third season.

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A surprising coda to an episode of The Next Generation resolves lingering issues while advancing the current story.

I expected many things from  Star Trek: Picard’s  third season. I did not, however, expect the return of none other than Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), much less what amounts to a sequel to “Preemptive Strike,” the character’s swan song in  Star Trek: The Next Generation . The original rebellious Bajoran returns to the franchise for the first time in nearly thirty years, with an episode that plays much like the character—well-intentioned but often frustrating. 

Thankfully, though, Ro isn’t here for mere nostalgia. Instead, she serves three equally important purposes in the episode, which each dovetail nicely. 

The first is to explore the aftermath of a major choice that’s been twisting in the narrative wind since  TNG’s  final season. In Ro’s last episode, Captain Picard sends her on a covert mission to infiltrate and undermine the Maquis. Instead, she ultimately chose to aid them and defect. Despite the broken bond between her and Jean-Luc, the only fallout viewers witnessed was Ro asking Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) to tell Picard she was sorry and Jean-Luc himself giving one of those wistful, haunted gazes out the ready room window that  Patrick Stewart  made famous. 

“Imposters,” then, gives the characters a chance to hash out their feelings about Ro’s choice face to face for the first time, albeit three decades later. The impulse is admirable, even if the realization is a mixed bag. Picard laments that Ro violated his trust. Ro criticizes Picard for not understanding why she did what she did. But by the end of the episode, she understands his broken heart, and he sees the conviction behind her choices, and by extension, Ro herself, in a way that gives both of them peace despite a rough end. 

The dialogue to get there is clunky and labored. And once again, Star Trek forgets that Will had the better-developed relationship with Laren. But the performances are strong, and the long-delayed catharsis is firmly present. 

The pair’s reckoning isn’t just about righting old wrongs, though. It ties into the larger theme of the episode, given away by the title. It’s imposter time! There are Changelings among us. Nobody’s sure who anyone really is or if they can be trusted. Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ) fakes her presence via a mobile emitter. (Hello,  Voyager  fans!) Jack (Ed Speleers) dons a Starfleet uniform so Seven ( Jeri Ryan ) can hide him in plain sight. All the major players flirt with some kind of false identity, lending to the paranoid atmosphere of the hour and feeding the key motifs at the core of this story. 

“Imposters,” then, gives the characters a chance to hash out their feelings about Ro’s choice face to face for the first time, albeit three decades later.

That idea dovetails perfectly with the confrontation between Picard and Ro, where each has reason to believe the other might be an infiltrator. Therein lies the second big reason behind Ro’s return. “Imposters” sets up the justifiable paranoia of seemingly out-of-character moments that could signify a supposed friend is secretly the enemy. For example, Ro rejoining Starfleet, the absence of her earring, or her testiness with two one-time friends. And it blends perfectly with the mundane alternative that people can simply change over the course of thirty years apart. 

To that end, as painful as it is for both Laren and Jean-Luc to open up their old wounds, their reckoning serves to confirm, in emotionally vulnerable terms, that they both are who they say they are. It’s a canny choice to blend the psychological and practical. The execution might not be perfect, but the harmony between hashing out past resentments and serving the present crisis is a sharp bit of writing. 

Alas, the same can’t be said for the non-Ro parts of the episode. Worf ( Michael Dorn ) and Raffi chase down yet another lead with the crime syndicate responsible for the Starfleet Recruitment Center attack, and it’s starting to feel like wheel-spinning. The elliptical feeling isn’t helped by the way the show keeps reusing the same sets and locations like Ten Forward and District 6. Plus, the pair’s confrontation with the near-oxymoronic Vulcan crime boss feels like the sort of absurd mismatch that should be the provenance of  Lower Decks  rather than played straight. But maybe the attempt only fails because Krinn the Logical Criminal sounds like Tyrion Lannister doing a bad impression of Scar from  The Lion King . 

The material with Jack’s haunting visions isn’t much better. “Imposters” does cleverly play with expectations a bit, suggesting that Jack’s nightmares might lead him to go on a killing spree against the crew of the  Titan , a fate he’s desperate to avoid. Instead, it’s revealed that he’s actually going after shapeshifters, with hints that he has a sixth sense for taking out Changelings. Likewise, Beverly ( Gates McFadden ) cuts through his stoic exterior, much like she used to do with Jean-Luc, and convinces her son to admit he needs help, which is a nice moment for a key relationship that’s been underdeveloped so far. 

[The] contrived, plot-mandated ending only dampens the still abiding excitement for the return of one of  TNG’s  shortest-lived yet most memorable recurring characters .

But after two seasons of  Star Trek: Picard  and, frankly, a raft of modern storytelling, the cryptic teases of some nebulous, whispered threat is a tired cliché. The hints that Jack may be connected to the new, fleshier Changelings, with sinewy red branches that seem to align him with Vidac’s bizarre head-hand, play like fodder for the speculation game rather than a show gradually putting its cards on the table. With a wind-up this tedious and overstretched, the payoff had better be good. 

At least it ties into the episode’s big reveal and the third major purpose that the now Lieutenant Ro serves—to help explain that the Founders have evolved and also compromised Starfleet. The former reveal comes courtesy of Dr. Crusher, who dissects the Changeling saboteur and discovers that it has fully-formed internal organs and blood-like plasma sufficient to fool the ship’s scanners. In truth, this detail seems like a bit of a cheat, a way for  Picard  to get around the shapeshifter tests and precautions established in  Deep Space Nine . But giving an old enemy a new wrinkle so that old defense mechanisms no longer work, is a time-honored tradition in the franchise, so it gets a pass. 

The latter comes from Ro herself, who, it turns out, is the one managing Worf and Raffi’s intelligence mission and using her talents to craft a defense within a small circle of trust to fight this hidden enemy. The move provides a nice bit of redemption for Ro, having paid for her transgressions and been plucked from prison by Starfleet due to her experience with insurgents a la Tom Paris. And it also allows the  Next Generation  crew to run back to the rhythms of  TNG’s  “Conspiracy,” the episode where parasitic beings had taken over Starfleet from the inside and a Starfleet officer onto the deception put Picard through his paces to ensure he and his crew could be trusted. 

Ro’s presence allows someone in the know to pass on the mission to Picard, connecting him with Worf and Raffi and bringing us ever closer to both the main threat of the season and the inevitable  TNG  reunion. Unfortunately, Laren’s “knows too much” status gives us yet another classic character brought back just to be killed in this series (justice for Hugh and Icheb!), as her security escorts turn out to be Changelings ready to bring her down. 

Still, that contrived, plot-mandated ending only dampens the still abiding excitement for the return of one of  TNG’s  shortest-lived yet most memorable recurring characters.  Star Trek: Picard’s  third season seems like the one the most devoted to  The Next Generation , making more references to past adventures, reviving the rhythms that the prior show thrived on, and returning more classic characters. Thankfully though, Ro Laren’s reappearance is more than just catnip for longtime fans. Instead, it’s a means to explore lingering scars from long ago with conviction and purpose, and use the return to fuel the latest adventure, rather than simply relive the good old days. The results vary, but the mission, and the characters, are as surprising and noble as ever. 

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9 ‘star trek: picard’ easter eggs from episode 5.

Fans of 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager' will not be disappointed with this week's callbacks on 'Star Trek: Picard'

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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[This story contains spoilers for  Star Trek : Picard , season one, episode five.]

This week’s new episode of  Star Trek: Picard  made some  Deep Space Nine  fans very happy. And some  Voyager  fans, too, by bringing to life what is essentially Picard and  Seven of Nine  fan fiction. 

“Stardust City Rag” is both a shot in the arm narratively for the series so far and a dramatic gut punch, thanks to the conflict between Picard and Seven and their shared pasts as former Borg. As the two iconic  Trek  characters plot to pull off an elaborate caper on the lawless, drunk-on-neon-holograms, vice-a-palooza Stardust City, the episode gives the characters their first  real  scenes together in  Star Trek  history. In doing so, we see how not quite fully recovered either is following their time as Borg. Moreover, we get several shout-outs to  Deep Space Nine  — one fan-favorite character in particular — and a tragic cameo from a friend of Seven’s from her  Voyager  days. 

It is a generous Easter egg hunt this week; here are the highlights: 

— Icheb (RIP) is all grown up, and in a Starfleet uniform, in the opening moments of the episode before Seven has to mercy kill the person she affectionately, tearfully, calls her son. It’s the first time we have seen Icheb onscreen since the  Voyager  2001 series finale, “Endgame.” (“Stardust City” writer Kirsten Beyer is a fan of the character, having written him into her excellent 2009  Star Trek  novel,  Unworthy , where Icheb was a cadet at Starfleet Academy.)

— Bruce Maddox finally returns to  Star Trek , though not played by the same actor originally cast in the part back in 1988’s  Star Trek: The Next Generation  season two episode “The Measure of a Man.” This is the first time we have seen Maddox onscreen in  Trek  since that episode. (Though Data addressed him in his log in the season four  TNG  episode “Data’s Day.”)

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— On Freecloud, Bajazel offers Maddox a drink of Tranya. Fans will remember this is the drink featured in the final moments of  The Original Series  episode “The Corbomite Maneuver.” 

— In addition to learning that Seven has spent the last 13 years as a member of a group of rangers in this lawless area of space, helping those who have no one left to help them, we also discover that the Romulan Neutral Zone has dissolved following the massacre on Mars.

— Raffi tells Rios that Seven “used to be a Borg” just like Picard. She is referencing, obviously, the season three  Next Generation  cliffhanger “ The Best of Both Worlds ” and  Star Trek: First Contact , the latter of which was directed by this week’s helmer, Jonathan Frakes. 

— Like Rouge City from  A.I.: Artificial Intelligence  and  Blade Runner  before it, Freecloud’s Stardust City is home to some building-sized holographic ads. But unlike those movies, this episode’s fancy ads are full of  DS9  and  TNG  references, such as: “Mr. Mott’s Hair Emporium” (Picard’s blue-skinned, alien barber on the Enterprise-D) and “Quark’s Bar.” Also be on the lookout for a Dabo wheel and a dancing Orion slave girl.  And the pop-up ads Rios, Raffi and Agnes encounter on their ship feel similar to those playing in the background of the bar in  Star Trek V ‘s Paradise City. 

— Speaking of Quark —  Picard  confirms that Quark is not only still around, but he knows Rios! Our favorite Ferengi served as a reference for Rios prior to his caper on Stardust City, thanks to whatever Rios did for Quark involving the Breen. (We’d give several bars of gold-pressed latinum to see Quark reprise his role on this show.)

— That ol’  Trek  tech standby of transporter pattern enhancers are employed once again here, albeit in a significantly more compact form than when we first saw them deployed in  Next Generation ‘s season five episode “Power Play.” Pattern enhancers would also be used on  Star Trek s  Voyager  and  Discovery . 

— In what is arguably the best dramatic scene of the season so far, Picard and Seven share a very vulnerable moment discussing their Borg pasts — and subsequent struggles with (still) reclaiming their humanity after being freed from the Collective. This is the first time we have seen Picard address his Borg past on this level since his famous “the line must be drawn here !” scene with Lily (Alfre Woodard) in  First Contact .

New episodes of  Star Trek: Picard  stream every Thursday on CBS All Access.

Why 'Star Trek' Star Jeri Ryan Had a Tough Time Returning for 'Picard'

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When will Star Trek: Picard episode 5 be released?

Here's when Star Trek: Picard episode 5 is released on CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video

Looking for the Star Trek : Picard episode 5 release date? The latest show in the long-running and ever-popular Star Trek series releases every Thursday on CBS All Access in the US, and every Friday on Amazon Prime Video in international territories, which includes the UK and Australia.

By now you've seen episodes 1-4 of Picard, and JL is finally having Star Trek-shaped adventures on other planets. After a slow burn start to season 1, Picard looks like he's just acquired two new crew members, including Seven of Nine from Voyager and the Romulan Elnor . There are 10 total episodes in Star Trek: Picard season one that will release weekly, and a season 2 has already been confirmed. 

Below, we'll explain when you can watch Star Trek: Picard episode 5, and when we expect the reason of season one to arrive on CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video. 

• Star Trek: Picard episode 3 recap
• Star Trek: Discovery season 3
• How to watch Star Trek in order

When is the next episode of Star Trek: Picard?

Star Trek: Picard releases every Thursday on CBS All Access in the US, and every Friday on Amazon Prime Video internationally. CBS All Access released Star Trek: Picard episodes 1, 2 and 3 at midnight PT, so we expect Star Trek: Picard episode 5 to be released on February 20 at midnight PT / 3AM ET . 

In international territories where Star Trek: Picard broadcast rights are owned by Amazon Prime Video, Star Trek: Picard is released the day after. So expect to see episode 5 on February 21 . That said, Twitter users reported seeing the first episode drop at 11PM UK time on the Thursday, so it's possible you'll see each episode a little earlier. 

Star Trek: Picard release schedule

The show will release every Thursday throughout the next month or so. We've listed US dates followed by international dates below, and while they're subject to change, there's no reason to believe the schedule will be altered. 

• Star Trek: Picard episode 1: 'Remembrance' – 23 January (CBS AA), 24 January (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 2: 'Maps and Legends' – 30 January (CBS AA), 31 January (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 3: 'The End is the Beginning' – 6 February (CBS AA), 7 February (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 4: 'Absolute Candor' – 13 February (CBS AA), 14 February (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 5: 'Stardust City Rag' – 20 February (CBS AA), 21 February (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 6: 27 February (CBS AA), 28 February (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 7: 5 March (CBS AA), 6 March (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 8: 12 March (CBS AA), 13 March (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 9: 19 March (CBS AA), 20 March (Amazon)
• Star Trek: Picard episode 10: 26 March (CBS AA), 27 March (Amazon)

Star Trek: Picard season 2 is coming, too

Star Trek: Picard was renewed for a second season before the show even aired. Whoopi Goldberg will return as Guinan from The Next Generation for season 2, but otherwise we won't know what the producers have planned until season one is over. 

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Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar's Senior Entertainment Editor, he's an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.

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