By now, Star Trek fans have scoured the trailers of Star Trek: Picard, CBS’s latest Star Trek series, looking for clues about the next chapter of Jean-Luc Picard’s life. The venerated Starfleet Captain, retired from the position of Admiral and living on his family’s estate in France, hasn’t been involved in Starfleet missions since the events of Star Trek: Nemesis almost two decades ago.
The trailers have revealed tantalizing plot points, like a Borg Cube being converted into a laboratory for Romulan experiments, the return of Commander Data, and Picard’s association with a mysterious young girl who needs his help. But what does it all mean, and could it be the writers throwing out red herrings to instigate fans’ wildest ideas? Below are five great fan theories about Star Trek: Picard that make too much sense (& five that are just impossible). It debuts on CBS All Access on January 23rd, 2020.
MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE: IT WILL BE PICARD’S LAST ADVENTURE
As much as it pains Star Trek fans to admit it, the series could be Jean-Luc Picard’s last adventure boldly going where no one has gone before. Sir Patrick Stewart is 78 years of age, and with a 3 season projected arc for the series, he could finish filming into his 80th year. Fans have therefore theorized his character will be given a proper sendoff worthy of its distinction.
Knowing Picard, he’ll mostly sacrifice his life in the service of others, retaining the courage of his convictions until the very end. Who knows, he may even get a Starship named after him. As one of Starfleet’s most distinguished officers and one of the Federation’s finest humanitarians and diplomats, it seems only right.
IMPOSSIBLE: DATA IS ALIVE
While Brent Spiner is listed in the cast, and we’ve seen Commander Data appear in the trailers (both disassembled and a close up of his face), it’s highly unlikely it’s the same Data who nobly sacrificed himself to save Picard’s life. That Data was destroyed along with Shinzon’s ship in Star Trek: Nemesis, implying this Data must be another Soong android.
Data uploaded many of his memories and programming into B-4, a unit similar to his own (if not a little elementary) just before he gave his life. But if it’s not B-4, then there’s a chance it could simply be a hologram, a means for Picard to process the death of his friend and colleague.
MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE: THE FEDERATION IS CORRUPT
The United Federation of Planets, or simply The Federation, has always represented a utopian society and Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a better future. With a post scarcity economy and an emphasis on humanitarian laws, it was a society that had moved beyond famine, war, and disease (at least on Earth).
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picard often challenged the Federation whenever its objectives usurped the rights of the individual. “Measure of a Man” involved him fighting for Data’s agency as an individual not a Starfleet asset, and in “Drumhead”, he clashed with a prominent Admiral who accused a young officer of being a spy simply because he was half Romulan. No doubt Picard will be taking on corruption in the Federation again - it may even be why he retired from Starfleet.
IMPOSSIBLE: PICARD WILL REJOIN STARFLEET
By the timeline of Star Trek: Picard, Jean-Luc has retired to his family’s winery estate, leaving Starfleet and the admiralty behind. By the trailers, we know that he is called back into the Federation fold, most likely due to his connection with Dahj, the Borg, or a combination of the two.
But don’t expect Picard to get back into his old uniform right away and sit in the big chair. The trailers reveal that he’s going to join a crew of misfits decidedly non-Starfleet, most likely because the Federation expects him to make choices that go against his conscience.
MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE: DAHJ SHARES PICARD’S GENETICS
During the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, a Romulan military faction cloned Picard and opted to insert him into the Starfleet chain of command after they’d eliminated the real Picard. Things didn’t go according to their plan, and Captain Picard ended up meeting his clone, Shinzon. The Romulans could still have some of his DNA.
So too would the Borg, from when Picard was captured and forcibly assimilated into The Collective. With the genetic material they gathered from Locutus, even if the Romulans lost the sample they had, their enslavement of the Borg for their own experiments implies they are trying to retrieve it again, possibly to make an enhanced humanoid like Dahj.
IMPOSSIBLE: ROMULANS COULD EXPERIMENT WITHOUT SECTION 31/THE FEDERATION KNOWING
Fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have pointed out that any experimentation the Romulans could be doing on the Borg or other species couldn’t be carried out without the knowledge of Section 31, the mysterious intelligence organization that exists as a counterpart to the Federation.
Initially, the agency was created to act as a sort of intergalactic CIA, doing the “dirty work” of the Federation so that its image as a utopian society could be maintained. The secretive cohort gets its name from the Starfleet Charter (Article 14, Section 31), which allows extraordinary measures to be taken in times of extreme threat.
MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE: HUGH AND SEVEN OF NINE WILL FIGHT FOR BORG RIGHTS
The two most famous Borg, other than the Borg Queen, are Hugh and Seven of Nine. Both are reformed drones who once served The Collective, and both were saved by Starfleet with the purpose of giving them agency and autonomy from a life of indentured servitude. Picard himself saved Hugh, though he will be meeting Seven for the first time, as her rehabilitation came at the hands of Captain Janeway.
It appears the Borg have been taken for experimentation by the Romulans, converting Borg Cubes into floating prisons and laboratories. Seven of Nine has been leading the Fenris Rangers, a group of freedom fighters, so perhaps she will recruit Hugh, if he’s not fighting for Borg rights already. This could explain her very serious meeting with Picard.
IMPOSSIBLE: IT WILL DISREGARD THE FUTURES PRESENTED IN OTHER STAR TREK SERIES
While the showrunners for Star Trek: Picard have maintained that the series can both serve as an invitation to new fans and an homage to old ones, it can’t disregard Star Trek canon and lore. Other Star Trek series in the franchise have built up a great deal of history that needs to be showcased.
For instance, how did the aftermath of the Dominion War from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine affect the Alpha Quadrant? And what became of all the possible futures Q presented to the crew of the Enterprise in the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale?
MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE: DAHJ IS A Q/BORG QUEEN HYBRID
Aside from theories involving Dahj having Picard’s genetic material inside her, other theories have emerged surrounding her origins. In the trailer, shes depicted as incredibly fast and strong, abilities she would have gained by being part Borg.
Others have argued she could be a Q. This would make her immortal, capable of time travel, and the reorganization of matter itself. If she was some a Q/Borg Queen, the product of Locutus and the Borg Queen who assimilated him, it might explain why she wanted to conceal herself from the Federation and find Picard.
IMPOSSIBLE: IT WILL FOCUS ON TNG CHARACTERS
Star Trek fans can expect to see a lot of familiar faces from the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Brent Spiner (Data), Jonathan Frakes (William Riker), Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), and Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh). But if they expect the series to be all about TNG characters in a straight sequel to the popular show, they’re in for a big surprise.
The new series will focus on several new characters (which remain to be revealed), from the mysterious runaway Dahj that tracks down Picard, to his new crew of ex-Starfleet misfits. There will also be a slew of new Romulan, Borg, and Klingon characters to further enrich and broaden the Star Trek Universe.
