One of Star Trek: Picard season 1's most heartwarming moments was improvised on set by Jonathan Del Arco and Patrick Stewart. Picard season 1 is set about 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis, the final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. At the dawn of the 25th century, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) life as Captain of the Starship Enterprise is long behind him. Patrick Stewart initially did not want Star Trek: Picard to be a retread of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is why there were only a few faces from TNG in Picard season 1 - but Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) was one of them.
Star Trek: Picard season 1 revealed that Hugh was the director of the Borg Reclamation Project on the Artifact, a derelict Borg Cube controlled by the Romulans. Hugh was an 'xB' himself; in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1's "I, Borg," Hugh was a Borg drone separated from the Collective who regained his individuality thanks to the crew of the USS Enterprise-D. Hugh and Admiral Picard's paths crossed again in Star Trek: Picard when Jean-Luc traveled to the Artifact to rescue Dr. Soji Asha (Isa Briones), a synthetic targeted by Romulan Zhat Vash agents.
Jonathan Del Arco Improvised Hugh Hugging Jean-Luc In Star Trek: Picard Season 1
One of Picard season 1's best moments
In an interview with TrekMovie, Jonathan Del Arco revealed he improvised Hugh's hug with Admiral Picard, which was "not in the script." The heartwarming moment came in Star Trek: Picard season 1, episode 6, "The Impossible Box," soon after Jean-Luc Picard set foot on the Artifact. Facing his trauma from his own assimilation into Locutus of Borg, Picard was relieved to find Hugh's friendly face greeting him on the Artifact. Read Del Arco's quote below:
I will take full credit for the hug. It was not in the script. And I hear a lot of people talk about the hug being a moment for them, so that’s nice to hear… It was odd, the way it was written. We just had the conversation, there was no physical touching going on. And Patrick said, “I feel like we should at least shake hands or something.” And I said, “Would you mind if I hug you?” And he said, “No, let’s try it.” So we rehearsed it. And the director [Maja Vrvilo], she came up to us with tears in her eyes, and she goes, “Oh, we’re doing that. Everyone was crying, we’re definitely doing that.”
Jonathan Del Arco's instincts were 100% correct, as it was a beat that Star Trek: The Next Generation fans wanted. Star Trek: Picard season 1 takes place in 2399, 30 years since Captain Picard and Hugh last saw each other in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7's "Descent, Part 2." De Arco was right that Hugh would want to warmly embrace the Captain who helped give him back his individuality, and Picard also needed the reassurance that coming to the Artifact would not be an entirely hostile experience. Hugh and Jean-Luc hugging is one of Star Trek: Picard season 1's standout moments.
Star Trek: Picard TNG Callbacks Set Up Season 3’s Success
Picard realized what fans wanted was the TNG cast
Star Trek: Picard season 1 opened with Brent Spiner reprising his role as the late Lt. Commander Data, and Hugh was the second familiar face from Star Trek: The Next Generation to appear. Star Trek: Picard season 1, episode 7, "Nepenthe," is arguably the best-received episode of the season as it brought back Jonathan Frakes as Captain Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi. It was starting to become clear that what Star Trek fans wanted from Picard was the return of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas understood and shared fans' desire to see the whole crew of the USS Enterprise-D back together, and he delivered. Star Trek: Picard season 3 was the Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion fans wanted all along, and the result was one of the best acclaimed and warmly received seasons of Star Trek since the franchise returned to TV on Paramount+. Unfortunately, Hugh was killed off in Star Trek: Picard season 1 and couldn't be part of Picard season 3's TNG comeback, but Jonathan Del Arco's improv smartly showed the way toward what fans wanted and what was to come.
