Star Trek: Picard season 3 borrows J.J. Abrams' unusual Captain's trick from his 2009 Star Trek movie, and it worked. Star Trek: Picard season 3 is designed to be the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie that never came to be after Star Trek: Nemesis, albeit 10 hours long. Along with its sweeping cinematic scope and its action-packed, yet character-driven story, Picard season 3 contains numerous odes to past Star Trek movies, and the unusual way William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) became Captain of the USS Titan-A in episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds," is pure J.J. Abrams.
In Star Trek 2009's alternate Kelvin reality, the Starship Enterprise ended up with three Captains during its two-hour runtime. The Enterprise launched with Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) in command, but he made his First Officer, Spock (Zachary Quinto), the acting Captain when Pike was forced into Nero's (Eric Bana) Romulan starship. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) eventually took over the Captain's chair and led the Enterprise to victory over the time-displaced Romulans. Kirk's reward for saving the Earth was to become the permanent Captain of the Enterprise. Star Trek: Discovery played its own game of musical Captain's chair in seasons 1 and 2 until Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) became the USS Discovery's Captain at the end of season 3.
Picard Season 3 Borrows J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Captain's Trick (& It Works)
In Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds," the USS Titan-A's Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) was seriously injured from an attack by Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike, her fearsomely armed starship, the Shrike. Before he left for Sickbay, Shaw transferred the Titan's command codes to Riker, who was the Captain of the previous incarnation of the starship. It was a sudden and startling change very reminiscent of the chaos on J.J. Abrams' Starship Enterprise bridge. But removing Shaw from command also neatly solved Star Trek: Picard season 3's "too many Captains" dilemma between Shaw, Riker, and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
Picard and Riker were thick as thieves when they came aboard the Titan to shanghai it in order to rescue Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). But Will and Jean-Luc quickly found themselves at loggerheads about how to best handle Vadic and the Shrike. While Picard and Riker didn't come to blows like the young Kirk and Spock in Abrams' movie, by the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, Will removed Picard from the bridge after the Admiral's insistence on firing torpedoes on the Shrike backfired and crippled the Titan, thanks to Vadic's portal weapon. Like Abrams' Star Trek 2009, the relentless pace of the action heightened the tension of Picard and Riker's dire dilemma.
What Happens To Captain Shaw In Star Trek: Picard Season 3?
Star Trek: Picard viewers have been debating Captain Liam Shaw's fate since his controversial debut in the season 3 premiere, with many believing Shaw won't make it through season 3 alive. Shaw's detractors may get their wish, as Liam was bleeding internally from his injuries and was in rough shape in Sickbay. But the fact that Shaw survived a near-death experience hints that he may be in Picard season 3 to stay, after all. Regardless, Shaw ceded the Titan back to Riker, who appears to be staying in the Captain's chair, especially after he threw Admiral Picard off his bridge.
Yet Captain Shaw may indeed be sticking around for the rest of Star Trek: Picard season 3. After all, his backstory and reasons why he was so hostile to Picard and Riker, as well as Shaw's odd animosity towards Commander Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), his own First Officer, have yet to be revealed. Meanwhile, despite their defeat at Vadic's hands in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, Captain Riker in command of the Titan feels right... for now. But there's no telling if the J.J. Abrams-inspired game of musical Captain's chair will be played again to restore Shaw as Captain of the Titan.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.