The most glaring omission from Star Trek: Picard is LeVar Burton's Geordi La Forge, a major character from Star Trek: Next Generation. Geordi's connection to Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) made him relevant to the latest episode, yet he wasn't mentioned, nor has he been seen all season, despite a brief reference in episode 2 when Picard said he didn't want to involve Geordi, Worf (Michael Dorn), and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in his plan to save Soji (Isa Briones).
Levar Burton was part of the main cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation across all seven seasons and is one of only a handful of characters to be a series regular for the entirety of the series. Burton's Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge also guest starred in one episode of Star Trek: Voyager and played key roles in three Star Trek movies: First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. During TNG, Geordi served on board the U.S.S. Enterprise as its helmsman in season 1 and as its chief engineer for the remaining seasons.
Star Trek: Picard features the return of several familiar faces, but the show isn't bringing back everyone, chief among those missing is Geordi La Forge. His absence is strongly felt in episode 6, "The Impossible Box," when Picard (Patrick Stewart) has to visit the Borg Cube to find Soji. While there, Picard enlists the aid of Hugh, a returning character from Next Generation with an updated appearance.
Hugh discovered his humanity during his short time with the Enterprise crew. First appearing in season 5 of TNG's episode "I, Borg," Hugh was an abandoned Borg drone whom Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gate McFadden) nursed back to health. It was Geordi La Forge, however, with whom Hugh had become quite friendly. In fact, Geordi gave Hugh his name. His friendship with Geordi helped him break away from the Borg Collective and embrace his individuality. Hugh returned in "Descent," a two-part story arc that saw the character help save his friends from Data's evil brother, Lore (Brent Spiner).
But despite their friendship, Hugh never asks Picard about Geordi's whereabouts. Scenes between Picard and Hugh are reminiscent of their relationship on The Next Generation, but unfortunately his character has thus far ignored his strongest connection to the series, Geordi La Forge.
It's worth pointing out that Picard has a good reason for not including Geordi, even though Burton has expressed interest in reprising the role. Star Trek: Picard isn't bringing back Geordi or Worf in season 1 due to concerns that too many Next Generation characters would lead to too much emphasis on nostalgia [via TVLine]. That being said, Geordi feels too important to be ignored outright, and at least with Hugh around, at least one quick reference to the iconic Star Trek character certainly feels deserved.