WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds."Star Trek: Picard season 3 is a thrilling reunion for the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation that teams up some classic TNG era characters with the newer Picard cast. Although Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) got a frosty response from Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), not every member of the USS Titan-A's crew is so hostile to the Starfleet legends. As the Titan faced off against the Shrike in the Ryton Nebula, everyone has had to pull together, resulting in some great character pairings.
The team-ups haven't been exclusive to Picard's USS Titan-A, either. As Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) investigated the theft of weapons from Daystrom Station, she was given a legendary TNG character, Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), as her Starfleet Intelligence handler. Star Trek: Picard season 3 is designed to for icons to pass the torch to the 'next generation,' and season 3 has created intriguing pairings to do so thus far. Here are the awesome Star Trek team-ups in Picard season 3's first 3 episodes.
5 Seven Of Nine And Sidney La Forge
It's immediately clear from Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 1, "The Next Generation", that Commander Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) is having a difficult time on the Titan. She has to deal with the anti-Borg prejudice of Captain Shaw, and still struggles to fit in among her fellow officers. Thankfully, Picard season 3, episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds" reveals that Seven has a friend: Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), who bonds with Seven over the burdens they both carry.
For Sidney, it's the burden of being the daughter of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) while for Seven, it's the burden of having to live up to the expectations of Admirals Picard and Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Seven also has the added issue of her Borg heritage being a sticking point for Starfleet as an institution. It's a short, sweet, scene, and it's hoped that there will be more interactions between Seven and Sidney as Picard season 3 continues.
4 Jack Crusher And Seven Of Nine
Also in "Seventeen Seconds", Seven teamed up with Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers) to investigate sabotage aboard the Titan. Jack was drawn to Seven, due to her history in the Fenris Rangers, who had previously hunted Jack on behalf of Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). Jack and Seven proved to be a capable team, who have gone a long way to redeeming themselves in the eyes of the rest of the Titan crew as they also exposed the Changeling infiltrator on board.
Intriguingly, Jack's vision saw Seven tell him to "connect the branches", though it's likely he would have visualized whoever came through the door. Whether Seven connects to Jack's vision or not, there will hopefully be further interactions between the two characters as they chase down the Changeling impersonating Ensign Foster (Chad Lindberg). As with Sidney, there's a sense of Seven fitting in with this next generation due to her own relationship with Picard and Janeway.
3 Jack And Beverly Crusher
"Seventeen Seconds" gave audiences a proper glimpse of how mother and son, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Jack Crusher, work together. Having spent years helping out those on the fringes of Federation space, they've clearly built up an ironclad partnership. The Beverly in Star Trek: Picard season 3 is commanding in a way that the TNG version often wasn't. She takes control of the Titan sickbay, while still being respectful of the Titan's own Chief Medical Officer.
When Captain Shaw was badly injured in the second attack by the Shrike, it was Beverly and Jack that saved his life. Beverly's superior, hands-on, medical skills identified Shaw's internal bleeding, while Shaw entrusted Jack to discover how Captain Vadic was tracking the Titan. It's a considerable shift in how Shaw sees the Crushers, which is a promising sign for future episodes.
2 Picard And Riker
At the start of Star Trek: Picard season 3, Picard and Riker relished the chance to get out among the stars again. Despite the foreboding of Beverly's message, Picard and his former Number One were in good spirits as they bantered with each other about their old age. As Riker observed: "Terrific. Your hands are stiff. My knees are killing me. So long as we don’t have to move or shoot, we should be fine." It was this ease and jovial spirit that reminded viewers of why Picard and Riker were such a strong TNG partnership.
Sadly, the goodwill between Admiral Picard and Captain Riker didn't last long, as they argued over the best course of action to evade the Shrike. Again, the scenes of Jean-Luc and Will discussing possible courses of action on the bridge gave audiences a nostalgic hit. However, Picard's more reckless decision to attack rather than flee flipped their dynamic in a dramatic way, triggering the much-teased Picard and Riker conflict in season 3. Hopefully the wedge that's now been driven between the two will be swiftly resolved as the Titan attempts to escape the gravity well in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 4, "No Win Scenario".
1 Worf And Raffi
The best, and most surprising team-up in Star Trek: Picard season 3 is that of Raffi and her Starfleet Intelligence handler, Captain Worf. In the decades since Star Trek: Nemesis, Worf has become a more centered version of himself, and only acts in anger when all other options are exhausted. This is in sharp contrast to Raffi, whose anger at Starfleet, and her estrangement from her family still defines her in Picard season 3. Worf can save Raffi from the darker aspects of her character, by sharing his newfound lifestyle with her.
Worf and Raffi's differences are the perfect set-up for a mismatched buddy cop movie, and the best example of this is their good cop/bad cop interrogation of the Changeling Titus Rikka (Thomas Dekker). Raffi threatens Titus with colorful and graphic acts of violence, while Worf firmly assures her that he doesn't do those things anymore, despite decapitating a Ferengi mere hours earlier. Worf and Raffi are the team to beat in Star Trek: Picard season 3, and their brilliant partnership has reignited hopes of a Worf spinoff series once the TNG reunion concludes.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.