Summary
Star Trek: Picard, while not the only currentStar Trekseries airing, is the only series to take place inStar Trek’spresent timeline. Picard is one of the most celebrated Starfleet captains, and it was only fair that he receive his own television series. The show’s first season cleverly brought back characters and plot points from the days ofTheNext Generation, which led to a surprising twist at the end ofPicard’sfirst season.
The first season followsAdmiral Jean-Luc Picardhelping a woman who knows him, but he’s never met. The adventure takes him away from Earth and in the middle of a decades-long Romulan conspiracy. Along the way, he makes new friends and reunites with old ones. The most fascinating feature of the show is that Picard doesn’t end the season in the same body he started with, earning himself a new lease on life.
Did Picard Die in His Series?
Early on inPicard’sfirst season, fans learned the titular character wasn’t well. The show decided to bring back an ailment from the character’s past, turning something from a deleted alternate future timeline into reality. When Picard requested command of a starship for an off-world mission, he needed a Starfleet doctor to clear him medically sound. However, Picard’s old friend Dr. Moritz Benayoun diagnosed the good Admiral with Irumodic Syndrome, a neurological disorder that degrades the synaptic pathways.
Fans ofThe Next Generationwere already familiar with this disease. InThe Next Generation’sfinale episode, “All Good Things,” Picard experienced his life at different points in time simultaneously. In the future he experienced, he learned that he developed Irumodic Syndrome. However, when the episode revealed it was only a possible future, fans thought he was in the clear. The crew of the Enterprise continued on their adventures through four movies without the neurological disorder ever being mentioned again. Still, when Picard learns about his ailment, it’s not too surprising to him.
By the end of the series, Picard does succumb to Irumodic Syndrome on the surface of the planet Coppelius, after preventing an attack from both a Romulan fleet and an army of extra-dimensional synthetic beings.Picard dies surrounded by old and new friends, doing what he always did in life: protecting the less fortunate and standing up for his principles.
How Did Picard Get a Synthetic Body?
By Picard’s side on Coppelius was a familiar face, yet a complete stranger simultaneously. Altan Soong was the son ofDr. Noonian Soong, creator of the android Data. Altan Soong created a small civilization of advanced androids, continuing his father’s work. Along with the different androids on Coppelius, Altan developed an object known as a golem. His creation wasn’t too dissimilar from the true definition of a golem, except he created it to transfer his consciousness into at the event of his own death, allowing him to essentially live forever.
Altan, along withDr. Agnes Jurati, decided to use the golem on Picard and transfer his consciousness into the synthetic body. The new body was a carbon copy of his physical one. It appeared to be the same age he was when he passed away, and contained the same physical imperfections and even ages as he does. A synthetic body doesn’t mean that Picard will live indefinitely, or that he has any super strength. In fact, he’ll live out the same lifespan he would as an average human.
Then why make Picard synthetic? According to the executive producer ofPicard, Akiva Goldsman:
And we really do play it that way, there are no super-secret neato cool things that happened to Picard, and at what Picard is capable of doing that are in any way tied to his new body… we did it to sort of make a resurrection arc.
By the end of the show’s finale, Starfleet has lifted its ban on synthetic life forms, which would have been awkward if they hadn’t since Picard, their most recognized admiral, now occupied an artificial body. The body is entirely healthy, and there’s no risk of Picard dying from anything other than a phaser blast or old age. This wasn’t the former captain’s first experience with cybernetic body parts either. The borg briefly assimilated him during his daysaboard the Enterprise, and his heart was also artificial. While there’s nothing inherently special about Picard’s new body, and ifSir Patrick Stewart is up to it, he could play Picard for another season of the show or even appear in a movie.
Star Trek: Picard
Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.
