Of all the recent Star Trek series, Star Trek: Picard is one of the most character-driven. Along with Star Trek: Discovery, it ditched the episodic format in favor of a serialized adventure, ensuring that the actions each character takes have lasting repercussions. Season 1 has charted a course between action and solemnity as Jean-Luc Picard came out of retirement to help synthetic life forms determine their fate in the universe.
Though it's named after its lead, the ensemble focus of the series means that there are many more characters given attention than just Picard. His misfit crew, comprised of fellow ex-Starfleet officers, a cyberneticist, a synthetic, and a Romulan warrior each have their own triumphs and tragedies to follow, along with the other Romulans, ex-Borg, and other fascinating individuals. Let's look at the five best and five worst characters in season 1, available to stream now on CBS All Access.
BEST: JEAN-LUC PICARD
It goes without saying that Patrick Stewart's performance is as engaging now as it was over twenty years ago. But an actor is often only as good as the material they're working with, and the writing for the character has been complex and nuanced enough to give Stewart something challenging.
When the series began, Picard was uncharacteristically cautious, petulant, and even petty after decades in self-imposed isolation. This was not one of Starfleet's greatest leaders, but a pale imitation. Slowly with each new episode bringing greater risks, Picard returned to his true self; optimistic, courageous, and intrepid. Watching from the first episode to the finale is true a study in character development.
WORST: AGNES JURATI
When viewers first encounter Agnes Jurati, she's a mild-mannered researcher at the Daystrom Institute. Her focus lies in cybernetics, which made her a perfect collaborator for Dr. Bruce Maddox and Dr. Altan Soong, the former with whom she shared a romantic relationship. After being cajoled into Commodore Oh's Romulan conspiracy, she kills Maddox to prevent a synthetic apocalypse.
Dr. Jurati is a difficult character to sell, because she's just enough of a pushover not to question Commodore Oh's mind-melding revelation, and sociopathic enough to kill her lover in cold blood. When she isn't being duplicitous, she's doing her best impression of the neurotic Lieutenant Tilly from Star Trek: Discovery. Her story arc took valuable screen time away from less developed characters, while never really developing itself.
BEST: SEVEN OF NINE
Star Trek fans didn't know what to expect from some of the franchise alum returning to their former roles, especially after so many decades. Jeri Ryan's ex-Borg Seven of Nine was one of the first to appear, and the role fit her like her old silver catsuit on Voyager.
World-weary and full of colloquialisms, Ryan played Seven like the cocksure leader fans could expect of a resistance force just outside of the law. Every now and again, Seven's characteristically steely decorum would peak through, reminding fans that you can take the Borg out of the Collective, but you can't take the Collective out of the Borg.
WORST: NARISSA
Even in Star Trek: The Original Series, Romulans haven't been the most well developed characters. Often reduced to petty, scheming villains whose defining trait is sneakiness, they are simply another flavor of Vulcan when written poorly. Narissa is an example of a character who could have been better developed had she not been reduced to a typical Romulan stereotype.
In the Star Trek films that focused on Romulans, such as Star Trek in 2009 and Star Trek: Nemesis in 2001, Romulan antagonists were given motivation a little more solid than "artificial intelligence bad." Narissa has been coded as Cersei in space, complete with an eyebrow raising relationship to her brother, intended for nothing else than to manifest hatred.
BEST: RAFFI MUSIKER
While some fans may have found Raffi's character jarring at first, especially with her use of arguably one of the worst nicknames in Star Trek history (Jean-Luc Picard = "JL"), she demonstrated a great deal of growth throughout the series. It's been refreshing to see "women of a certain age" playing compelling, dynamic roles.
As a character whose confidence had been fractured by tragedy, she's also been given some of the biggest emotional hurtles, and she suffers from substance abuse and PTSD as a result. Viewers receive a transparent look at her journey to redemption, and as Jean-Luc Picard finds himself in helping others, Raffi finds her own sense of worth restored.
WORST: NAREK
On paper, Narek seems like a complicated villain who, when the narrative calls for it, becomes an anti-hero. He masquerades as a love interest for Dr. Soji Asha (knowing full well she's an android), hoping to gain information about where she was built to help Romulans wipe out synthetic life.
From his appearance to his petulance, he comes off like Spock-lite from season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, and never really feels like an entirely fleshed-out character. Like his sister Narissa, Narek seems to be fueled by very little other than malice, until a few interactions in the season finale make him uncharacteristically defect to his ex-lover's side.
BEST: HUGH
Star Trek fans were understandably overjoyed when Hugh, an important character from Captain Picard's past, appeared as the Director of the Borg Reclamation Project, where he helped xB's (ex-Borg) unplug from the Collective. He reminded Picard, who had become cynical in the years since their last encounter, that Borgs were victims, not monsters.
Hugh represented all that is best about Star Trek: its altruism, optimism, and integrity. When he was unceremoniously killed in the seventh episode of season 1, it was a shocking blow to the heart of the franchise. Hugh died "a happy fool," making the ultimate sacrifice so that his friends could escape, and Picard could realize how high the stakes really were.
WORST: SOJI
As his daughter and the resident android in the series, Soji had the opportunity to be the next Commander Data. She didn't have to be limited just because she was a synthetic being; Data was able to, despite being highly "robotic" and lacking in charisma, become one of the most fascinating and beloved characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Granted, Soji is a "flesh and blood" android, created by one neuron from his positronic brain and a process called fractal neuronic cloning. However, despite being even more human-like than Data ever could, Soji managed to be one of the most bland and vacant characters in the series.
BEST: Cristóbal RIOS (AND HIS 5 HOLOS)
While he may not have the discipline or bearing of a typical Starfleet officer, Captain Cristóbal Rios is no stranger to serving the Federation's mission. After having served faithfully in Starfleet as the first officer on the USS ibn Majid, a tragedy involving his commanding officer made him lose his way.
Seeing a disgruntled and edgier starship captain in the Star Trek Universe has been a welcome surprise, along with his incredible assortment of holos, thanks to the Basic EMH Installation Program which he heavily modified. Each of them represents a different side of his personality, allowing viewers to get to know the man behind the holograms slowly over time.
WORST: ELNOR
Elnor leapt off the screen like something out of a Tolkien novel, an Elven swordsman who brought a little high fantasy to a cerebral space adventure. The quest of those on the La Sirena took a different turn with Elnor a part of it, serving as both Picard's faithful bodyguard and protector. Or at least, it should have.
All of the great possibilities that came with Elnor's appearance were quickly left unmet and squandered as he was left behind on the Borg Cube for no logical reason. Left out of the action for large stretches of the series, Elnor was the character with the most promise who became nothing more than a background player.