I Loved Star Trek: Picard Season 3's The Next Generation Reunion, But I Felt Guilty About It

With its Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion, Star Trek: Picard season 3 is amazing, but one aspect made me feel a bit guilty for loving it so much. Star Trek: Picard kicked off its third and final season when Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) receives an urgent distress call from Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Picard then recruits his friend and former first officer Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to commandeer the USS Titan-A and mount a rescue mission. This mission eventually brought the rest of the TNG crew together aboard the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D for one last adventure.

As a huge fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I loved seeing Picard reunite with his old crew aboard his iconic ship. Showrunner Terry Matalas and the other folks behind Star Trek: Picard season 3 let their love of TNG shine through and leaned into the nostalgia of seeing the Enterprise-D crew back together. Despite TNG's brilliant series finale, Star Trek: Nemesis is somewhat lackluster as a final send-off. Picard season 3 redeemed some of the aspects I didn't love about the TNG films, but in doing so, it left the characters from Picard's first two seasons behind.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3's TNG Reunion Came At The Expense Of The Spinoff's Original Cast

Picard Season Did Not Bring Back Most Of The Original Cast From Seasons 1 & 2

While Star Trek: Picard's first two seasons were met with mixed reviews, the show introduced some great new characters to the Star Trek franchise. Of Picard's original cast, only Michelle Hurd's Raffi Musiker plays a role in the show's final season. Picard season 3 prioritized the reunion of the TNG cast over the inclusion of the characters introduced in the previous two seasons. While I loved seeing all the TNG cast again, Picard season 3 left me wondering what became of the android Soji Asha (Isa Briones), the Romulan cadet Elnor (Evan Evagora), and Agnes Jurati's (Alison Pill) benevolent Borg Queen.

Picard season 3 takes Admiral Picard and his TNG crew on an adventure involving Changelings and the Borg, continuing stories that began decades ago. Along the way, the season introduces some amazing new characters (Todd Stashwick's Captain Liam Shaw is a personal favorite) and gives Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine more to do. These aspects helped make it one of my favorite Star Trek seasons, but they also made it feel like a different show than the first two seasons. While Picard season 3 is great, it did leave me feeling sad for the show's original cast.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3's Missing Characters Deserved Better

Picard's Characters Deserve A Better Ending

Although there were elements of Picard's first two seasons that I didn't love, I did like most of the new characters the show created. All the actors deliver strong performances and their characters deserve proper endings. While Picard season 3 works well on its own, I couldn't help thinking about the many characters the season forgot. With no plans for spinoffs or future stories featuring the characters introduced by Picard, many of the characters' fates may remain a mystery indefinitely.

Cristobal Rios' (Santiago Cabrera) story comes to a satisfying conclusion in Picard season 2 and season 3 brings back Raffi, but every other original character is mostly forgotten. I would like to learn more about Soji's story, for example, and see her meet Data (Brent Spiner), whose positronic neuron was used in her creation. Picard season 1 also sets up Elnor to play a larger role in the series, considering his connection with Admiral Picard and his status as the only Romulan in Starfleet. Jean-Luc now has a biological son in Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), but surely he won't forget about Elnor.

Star Trek: Picard Season 3's Cast Change Was Still The Right Call

Everything Worked Out For The Best In The End With Picard

Despite dropping most of Star Trek: Picard's original characters, the third season ultimately made the right decision in telling a nostalgic story that appealed to many Star Trek fans. By keeping Commander Raffi (arguably the strongest original character from Picard season 1) and Seven of Nine, season 3 retains some ties to the show's early seasons while shedding many of the weaknesses. While there were many things about Picard seasons 1 and 2 that I enjoyed, the plots felt somewhat convoluted, and the tone occasionally veered too dark.

With its galaxy-saving adventures and cast that felt like family, Picard season 3 has everything I adore about Star Trek. There are some characters from the show's first two seasons I want to see more of, but I ultimately love that Picard gave the original crew of the Enterprise-D a proper send-off. From Jean-Luc and Beverly Crusher's reunion to Data's ultimate upgrade to Riker and Deanna Troi's (Marina Sirtis) reconciliation, I enjoyed almost everything about the finale. Star Trek: Picard season 3 truly felt like a love letter to Star Trek: The Next Generation in all the best ways.