Star Trek: Picard came out during a peak time of nostalgia. Though it's not exactly a direct sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation, it stars the intrepid Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The show is set twenty years after his last on-screen appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis. That was the film in which android Commander Data gave his life to save Picard and the Enterprise crew.
That fact is crucial because Picard centers on the search for another android in a future where all artificial life has been banned. It has a mere ten episodes but covers a lot of ground. Is this the sequel- or even the show- fans deserved? Or did it fall short?
Deserved: Cameos
Many old friends returned in Picard. Jean-Luc, of course. But the captain also plays poker with Data's memory. He goes to visit Deanna Troi and Will Riker at their lovely country home. Well, he crashes there to hide. Seven of Nine from Voyager appears more than once to aid Picard's cause.
These friendly faces help connect Picard to his past. Sometimes cameos from the past can feel forced, like old friends trying too hard to relive their glory days. But Picard's cameos feel natural. Seeing these familiar faces feels like coming home.
Deserved Better: Long Narrative Arc
Part of what made Star Trek: The Next Generation so much fun was that the crew usually faced a new challenge in every episode. Longer narrative arcs were rare and considered very special. Picard has a single narrative arc. Each episode returns to the same story to continue it.
While the narrative in Picard is engaging and even related to what last happened to the Enterprise crew, the single arc deprives viewers of the TNG feel. It makes Picard more of a sequel to Nemesis than The Next Generation.
Deserved: An Evolved Picard
Jean-Luc Picard has changed. Twenty years have gone by, sure, but it's really Starfleet's betrayal that has aged the man. When Romulus was preparing for destruction by the supernova mentioned in the Kelvin Timeline movies, the androids working on Mars, preparing the relief ships executed a mutiny.
Starfleet made a reactionary choice not to help the Romulans evacuate. This broke Picard's heart. That wasn't the Starfleet he knew. He's more jaded now, yet still retains his faith in life. He's a much more complicated man now, which makes the show even better.
Deserved Better: The Ex-Borgs
The Borg have been a huge part of Star Trek since The Next Generation. Jean-Luc Picard was a noted convert. Their importance continued in Voyager with the introduction of Seven of Nine, the first of the true ex-Borgs. Seven demonstrated that even those captured as children could be rehabilitated as individuals.
Hugh, the star of the TNG episode "I, Borg" became the leader of the reclamation project. But soon he, and many of his fellow ex-Borgs are sacrificed in a mission not their own. They deserved better and so did the viewers who followed the storyline from its beginning.
Deserved: Wonderful New Characters
One of the greatest things Picard does is introduce fans to a new crew of complicated, but lovable characters. There's Raffi, Picard's former friend who struggles with substance abuse. There's Agnes, a genius-level scientist easily led astray. Ríos, the pilot with various emergency holographs of himself. Elnor, the Romulan warrior who binds himself to Picard. And then, of course, there's Soji, the android at the heart of all of this.
Each of these characters has both adorable and troubling traits. They contain more depth than those on TNG and given enough seasons could become classic characters as well.
Deserved Better: The Vision
The Romulans' hatred of artificial life is predicated on a vision shown to the women of the Zhat Vash. The vision depicts destruction at the hands of artificial life. Whether it's a story from the past or a vision of the future, it scares the Romulans enough to inspire them to act on it.
There's just not enough information about or within the vision to be compelling. Too quickly it gets explained as a message to artificial life about potential allyship. Then it's swept under the rug during the climax.
Deserved: An Ode To Data
Data plays a huge part in Picard. Not only is he in Picard's dreams, but he is also the "father" of Soji. Fans can see it in the way she tilts her head or in her inquisitive nature.
In the final episode, Picard gets to say goodbye to Data in the way he always wished he could. It's a beautiful moment. The whole show is full of love for Data but no episode more than the finale.
Deserved Better: Dark Starfleet
In Picard, Starfleet has not only betrayed their own ideals, but they have also been infiltrated from within by Romulans. It adds a layer of depth to see the shades of gray within such a shiny organization, such as in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But in this case, Starfleet just feels like an ice-cold former friend.
Picard didn't have the time to or perhaps the interest in exploring the Starfleet subplot. Thus, the organization which once sent Captain Kirk into the great unknown to explore has become fearful and antagonistic.
Deserved: Humanism
In the end, Picard boils down to a celebration of life in all its forms. Androids, made to be like humans in all but origin, are just as much alive as anyone else. The Romulans don't agree and are on the warpath to eliminate them.
Picard is willing to defend the androids with his life. He never once doubts their worth. He never once doubts that life is what makes the universe beautiful. He has seen so much and yet still has faith in people.
Deserved Better: Dark Future
Star Trek reflected a utopian future. By the 23rd Century, Earth had achieved peace, moved beyond capitalism, and cured most illnesses. Though DS9 interrogated the goodness of the Federation and the rest of the galaxy as a whole, it rarely brought its critique to Earth.
Picard paints an even darker view of the future. Artificial life is capable of destruction. Starfleet is capable of blatant infiltration (no shapeshifters here!). Humans still struggle with addiction. It's a much more realistic future, for sure. But Star Trek wasn't meant to be realistic. It was meant to be hopeful.