Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 4 - "Watcher"
The identity of the Watcher in Star Trek: Picard season 2 is revealed and the doppelganger of Laris (Orla Brady) shockingly connects to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Assignment: Earth." Many assumed that Guinan (Ito Aghayere) would be the Watcher Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is seeking in 2024 Los Angeles but she turned out to be a red herring. While the coordinates Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) stole from the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) did lead to Guinan and her 10 Forward bar in Los Angeles, the El-Aurian's role was to introduce Picard to the Watcher, who inexplicably looks identical to Laris.
When the reluctant Guinan brought Picard to the Watcher in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 4, she explained "watcher" was another word for "supervisor," which set off alarm bells for longtime Trekkers who remember Star Trek: The Original Series. Indeed, when the Watcher found Picard in LA's MacArthur Park, she mind-controlled several people to lead Jean-Luc to her. The Watcher, who perfectly resembles Laris, then teleported Picard to an unknown destination in a rectangle-shaped transporter, which resembled the closet-shaped transporter technology utilized by Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) in the Star Trek: TOS episode, "Assignment: Earth." This must mean the Watcher is, like Gary Seven, one of the Supervisors who are charged with protecting humanity's future.
In "Assignment: Earth," the Starship Enterprise time-traveled to 1968 and accidentally intercepted Gary Seven as he was beaming to Earth. Seven, who was accompanied by a black cat named Isis, explained that he was a 20th-century human who was raised on another planet (that was never named) and his job was to protect the human race in this "critical time" in their history. Gary Seven was a Class-1 supervisor designated Supervisor 194. He arrived on Earth to investigate the disappearance of two of his colleagues. When Seven learned that they were killed in an automobile accident, Supervisor 194 took over their mission to prevent the launch of an orbital nuclear platform that could start World War III. Gary Seven also used a versatile device called a Servo and had advanced technology such as the Beta-5 Computer.
The Watcher is apparently a Supervisor from the same alien world that employed Gary Seven in 1968, and the Supervisors from "Assignment: Earth" are still operating in the early 21st century. The Watcher's mission on Earth is to protect someone, and it could be the same target from which Q causes a time divergence. In fact, Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 4 ends with Q at the Europa Mission in 2024, where he taunts an unidentified blonde woman (Penelope Mitchell) from afar before Q's powers expectedly fail him. It's possible the Watcher is meant to protect that blonde woman and that she's the same divergence in time Picard is looking for. But why the Watcher is a dead ringer for Laris and why she seems to despise Guinan isn't clear. Still, Picard was obviously destined to meet the Watcher, who has her own "Assignment: Earth."
In the Star Trek: TOS episode "Assignment: Earth," Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) beamed to Earth incognito and helped Gary Seven destroy the orbital nuclear platform. They also encountered Gary's human assistant, Roberta Lincoln (Teri Garr). Jean-Luc has already made several references to "Kirk's Enterprise" in Star Trek: Picard season 2 and this can't be a coincidence. Rather, Star Trek: Picard season 2 appears to directly tie into "Assignment: Earth," the TOS season 2 episode which was intended to be a backdoor pilot for a spinoff TV series about Gary Seven that was never produced. "Assignment: Earth" continued in Star Trek novels and comic books but Star Trek: Picard is the first time it's been woven back into official canon since Star Trek: The Original Series. Whether or not Gary Seven is also still alive in Star Trek: Picard's 2024 timeframe remains to be seen.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.