Star Trek: Picard season 3 ending explained
What happens to The Next Generation Crew and other characters in Star Trek: Picard.
It has been a thrilling and nostalgic ride during the third season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. Starfleet is facing a large galactic threat that it wasn't prepared for, and what better people to come to the rescue than the old crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation. As weeks went by, we gradually saw the return of old cast members with the reunion culminating in last week's final scene with them all on board a reconstructed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D).
With the gang all here and an old trusty starship, they race to save the Federation, the planet Earth, and in Picard's case, a son. That's a whole lot of rescuing for an episode. Are the wily group of veterans up to the challenge?
Let's dive into the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale 'The Last Generation.'
Spoilers for Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 10 below.Vanquishing an old foe on Star Trek: Picard
We discussed earlier in the season the return of the Changelings as antagonists, but they were serving a higher power. It turned out the Borg Queen, played by original actress Alice Krieg from Star Trek: First Contact, was pulling the strings behind the scenes. She tasked the Changelings to implant Picard's Borg altered DNA into the members of Starfleet 25 years and younger via transporters that are commonly used. Then using a beacon from the Borg cube, she, with the help of Picard and Beverly Crusher's son Jack, who has the same altered DNA, could control all the assimilated crewmembers.
The Enterprise crew find the Borg cube hidden in the clouds of Jupiter. They launch a multipronged attack where Worf and William Riker find the beacon and relay its location to Data, Geordi La Forge, Crusher, and Deanna Troi on board the ship to destroy it. Meanwhile, Picard searches for Jack to free him from the Borg Queen's influence.
Things don't go entirely to plan, but in the end, our heroes prevail. When they destroy the beacon, it's tied to the integrity of the Borg cube and blows up the ship with the Borg Queen along with it.
What are Seven of Nine and Raffi up to in the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale?
In the previous episode, Seven of Nine and Raffi remain onboard the Titan while the others escape to the Enterprise. They team up with other survivors to form a resistance against their assimilated crewmembers.
Eventually, they are able to regain control of the USS Titan and use it to perform sneak attacks on the Borg controlled Starfleet ships. They are greatly outnumbered and are unable to prevent the destruction of spacedock and Earth's planetary shields, but they are able to delay the assault on Earth long enough for Picard and company to save the day sparing millions of lives on the planet.
What happens to the Star Trek: The Next Generation characters in Star Trek: Picard?
With such a grand adventure, the final minutes of the season finale serve as an epilogue to catch up with everyone. The USS Enterprise-D is retired and stored at the Fleet Museum. Data is still adjusting to his emotions (it's his gut feeling that helped him fly through the Borg cube) and becoming more human. He is in therapy with none other than Counsellor Troi. Speaking of which, she and Riker have settled their marital problems and have a big trip planned to rekindle the romance and grow closer together.
Elsewhere, Admiral Crusher has rejoined Starfleet as the head of its medical branch. She ensures that all those affected during the most recent Borg assimilation are returned to normal, and develops new scanning technology to identify the remaining Changelings within the Federation. She and Picard are proud that Jack decides to follow in their footsteps and accompany him to his first assignment.
In a nice callback to how Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, the entire crew meet up for drinks and play some cards as the end credits roll. A fun grounded way to celebrate saving the day for the umpteenth time.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 ushers in the next, next generation
While Picard and company are ready to take a back seat and relax, a whole new generation of Starfleet officers and ensigns are ready to explore the galaxy. Due to its heroics in the battle with the Borg, and as a nod to the ship that protected Earth, the USS Titan is rechristened as the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G).
As a result of a complimentary performance review from the late Captain Shaw, Seven of Nine is promoted to captain of the Enterprise. We also learn her Star Trek: Voyager compatriot, Tuvok, is alive and well (The Changelings conveniently didn't kill their targets for intel purposes).
Joining her is the new first officer Raffi, and Jack, who serves as the captain's counselor. He is on an accelerated track in Starfleet due to a combination of nepotism and merit. Who would have thought that "Starfleet saw fit to give a thief, a pirate, and a spy a ship." Throw in Geordi's daughter Ensign Sidney La Forge, who is a helmsman onboard, and we have an interesting new crew with a mix of experience and youth with older and new characters.
Is there a post-credits scene in the season 3 finale of Star Trek: Picard?
If you stay past all the cardplaying, there is a post-credits scene. While Jack unpacks his things in his cabin, the extra-dimensional being Q pays him a visit. Though Picard's trials for humanity are over, Jack's are just beginning. For those unfamiliar with Q, he first appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot, and is a known mischief maker. He would serve as a recurring antagonist to Jean-Luc in multiple episodes and series.
Will there be a Star Trek: Picard season 4?
Star Trek: Picard season 3 was initially confirmed by Paramount+ to be its last. That's why they went big with bringing the old cast back for one last hurrah. In a group interview, Akiva Goldsman stated how the series was always planned to be three seasons.
More recently in an interview with TV Line last January, both executive producer Alex Kurtzman and star Patrick Stewart were open to another season. Kurtzman said, "If a show blows the doors off the place, as we’re certainly hoping it will, and we’re very, very proud of Season 3, who knows?" Similarly, Stewart added, "If we can maintain the work that we did on Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Picard, then absolutely, yes. Because there is still enormous potential for narrative in what we’ve been doing, and there are doors left open, still. We didn’t close all of them." There still isn't any formal announcement for a fourth season.
What could be more likely is a spin-off, especially with the post-credits scene implying more to the story. At the 2022San Diego Comic-Con, Kurtzman told fans to expect more shows with female leads. We have Seven of Nine and Raffi as the commanding officers of the new USS Enterprise. Even showrunner Terry Matalas tweeted about Star Trek: Legacy, "a spin-off show from #StarTrekPicard. A 25th Century show that explores the Last Generation and the Next." As with a fourth season, there is no formal confirmation from Paramount about the development of Star Trek: Legacy.
