Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 2 - "Penance"
Something is very wrong with Q (John de Lancie) in Star Trek: Picard season 2 and it may be directly connected to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) himself. Q's meddling in time resulted in a new Star Trek reality where, instead of the United Federation of Planets, the human race founded the Confederation of Earth, which conquered the stars and eradicated alien races like the Klingons, the Cardassians, and even the Borg. Q calls this new reality Picard's "penance" but there's more than meets the eye and there could be a direct link between Picard's dark new world and the ailing omnipotent being.
Q made an unwelcome reappearance in Jean-Luc's life at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2's premiere, "The Star Gazer." Before Q popped back into Picard's life, the Starfleet Admiral was tricked by the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) to return to the USS Stargazer, which is now under the command of Captain Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera). With most of Picard's season 1 motley crew now assigned to the Stargazer and the Starfleet armada that assembled to meet the Borg, the Queen beamed onto the Stargazer and assimilated the starship. This was due to the Stargazer being built with Borg technology the Federation harvested from the Borg Cube Artifact left derelict on Soji's (Isa Briones) home planet of Coppelius. The only way to stop the Borg Queen from taking control of Starfleet was for Picard to activate the auto-destruct. But instead of dying, Picard awoke back home at his chateau in La Barre, France, only in a different reality thanks to Q.
Q was darker and on edge when delivered quite a bit of exposition at the start of Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 2, "Penance," but much of what he told Jean-Luc was obfuscated by riddles. When Picard reunited with his crew at Confederation Headquarters in San Francisco, they determined that Q meddled with time in the past - specifically, Los Angeles in 2024 - which is what birthed this dark, Confederation reality. But while Q's omnipotent powers appear to be intact, he himself seems to be silently suffering some sort of illness, and it could all be tied to Jean-Luc Picard.
What's Wrong With Q And How It May Tie To Picard
It didn't take Picard long to notice that Q is "not well" and the omnipotent being went silent instead of denying "mon capitan's" diagnosis. Q is more mentally unbalanced than he ever was in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But Q could also be suffering from a physical ailment or deterioration of some kind, even if his godlike powers remain somehow unaffected. When Q reappeared in Picard's chateau, he resembled his normal, youthful self, and then he instantly aged as "a courtesy" to the older Jean-Luc, to make them "even." But what if the young Q was really a temporary illusion and Q's older form is how he actually is now? And, if that's the case, Q's aging (and potential death) could be because of Picard, which would explain his anger and desperation at the Starfleet Admiral.
Q's taunts aren't particularly veiled; he accuses Jean-Luc of not changing in the only way that matters and he blamed the Confederation reality on Picard. Q claims "the chase is dying in your arms and I am but a suture in the wound." Q did say he had to intervene to rescue Picard from death when he destroyed the Borg with the Stargazer's self-destruct, but it's possible that by leaping into Earth's past to perform the rescue, Q's literal being and his physical health was bonded with the changes to Star Trek history caused by his interference. Q may have also realized the only way to save himself is to coerce Picard into making different choices that will prevent the Confederation's reality from ever happening.
The Confederation Reality Is Tied To Picard Choosing To Be Alone
Star Trek: Picard season 2 will ultimately be a look inward at Jean-Luc's heart that will answer the pivotal questions about the choices he made in his life. The most pertinent question is why Picard chose to spend his life alone and never committed to a long-term relationship that could have given him a family of his own? Picard couldn't even bring himself to act upon his feelings for Laris (Orla Brady), despite the former Tal Shiar agent being blunt that she was romantically interested in Jean-Luc now that her husband, Zhaban (Jamie McShane) is dead.
If Q's hints pan out, then the dark reality of the Confederation is somehow tied to Picard's life decisions. Q showed Jean-Luc a sadistic and twisted version of himself who is the worst result of Picard choosing to be alone and eschewing love and happiness. In the Confederation's world, Jean-Luc is General Picard, the most bloodthirsty "hero" of the xenophobic Earth who wiped out countless alien species, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Cardassian Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and General Martok (J.G. Hertzler), and the Ferengi. Because the Confederation is at war with the Vulcans, Sarek (Mark Lenard) was even decapitated by Picard in front of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). For decades, General Picard struck terror throughout the galaxy with his flagship, the CSS Worldrazer. Somehow, preventing General Picard from ever coming to be is the key to reverting the timeline back to the optimistic reality of the United Federation of Planets.
The Confederation Reality Is Picard's Penance... And Q's?
If Q is right, then the Confederation reality may be Picard's "penance" for choosing a life without a lasting relationship, but it could also be Q's penance as well. What if by deciding to alter time to save Jean-Luc's life, Q inadvertently bound himself to Picard so that he's now suffering a deterioration as a result of the Confederation reality's existence. For Q, the only way to save himself is to manipulate Picard into finally answering the question he's avoided his whole life: What made Jean-Luc choose to be alone instead of settling down with one of his love interests like Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden)?
As a result, Picard is the only one who can restore the timeline back to its original state. And, if Picard succeeds, he would also save Q from the illness that's afflicting the omnipotent being. Q mused about how "unfair" time is to Picard, but he may not have just been talking about Jean-Luc getting older. Time may have also been corrupted for Q, rendering him vulnerable to aging and inevitable death. Q could even be rapidly aging so that Picard and his motley crew don't have a lot of time left to reverse the Confederation reality and also save Q. But to do so, Jean-Luc has to honestly face the riddle of his own heart in Star Trek: Picard season 2 and that's the only way to heal both Q and the timeline in order to bring back the Federation and Star Trek's history as we know it.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.