Star Trek: Picard season 2 dove into the backstory of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), revealing the tragic story of his mother, Yvette Picard (Madeline Wise). In its second season, Star Trek: Picard sent Jean-Luc and his friends into the past to correct changes to the timeline caused by Q (John de Lancie). While trapped in the 21st century, Picard revisited his childhood home and confronted the demons of his past. He remembered his father, Maurice Picard (James Callis), as being abusive towards him and his mother. The truth, however, was a bit more complicated.
Yvette Picard struggled with her mental health, experiencing mood swings and other symptoms she refused to treat. Maurice tried to help her however he could, which sometimes involved locking her in her room for her own safety. On one of these occasions, a young Jean-Luc unlocked his mother's door, and she later chose to take her own life. Picard blamed himself and repressed these traumatic memories due to his own guilt and the fact that he was so young. Star Trek: Picard season 2 presented this story via the jumbled memories of Jean-Luc as he tried to sort out the truth.
Why Star Trek: Picard Introducing Jean-Luc’s Mother Yvette Is Controversial
Yvette's Suicide Was Depicted On Screen Without A Content Warning
The way Star Trek: Picard presents Yvette's story is controversial for several reasons. Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent films, Captain Picard maintained that he did not want a family. He focused on his Starfleet career and kept himself at a distance from his crew aboard the USS Enterprise-D. Star Trek: Picard season 2 suggested that Picard made this choice because of the father he believed was abusive and his mother's suicide. Yvette's mental health struggles and suicide ultimately became less about her as a character and more about the effect they had on a young Jean-Luc.
Captain Picard once had a vision of his mother as an old woman on Star Trek: The Next Generation in which she asked him to join her for tea. This apparent break in canon was explained in Picard season 2, episode 9, "Hide and Seek," when Picard admits that he "used to imagine seeing [his mother] older, offering [him] a cup of tea."
On the one hand, it's understandable that the story would focus on Jean-Luc's feelings (the show is called Star Trek: Picard, after all), but it feels like an odd way to explain Picard's reluctance to let people in, as well as a disservice to Yvette as a character. Considering Picard is now an old man and is remembering experiences he had as a young boy, it's also possible (and even likely) that his memories are not entirely accurate. While this makes sense from a story perspective, it makes it even more difficult to parse out the truth.
How Star Trek: Picard Explains Jean-Luc’s Mother & Father Relationship
Picard's Parents Had A Troubled Relationship
Maurice and Yvette were both presented as flawed individuals. They rejected the technology and medical advancements of the time, despite the fact that Yvette clearly needed help from medical professionals. As a child, Jean-Luc was particularly close to his mother, and she encouraged his imagination and his fascination with the stars. Jean-Luc did not understand that his mother was sick, so he perceived his father's attempts to help her as abuse. Still, Maurice Picard was clearly in over his head. He may have been desperate and genuinely trying to help, but he still locked his wife in her bedroom and left Jean-Luc alone with her.
Because Jean-Luc remembered his father as being abusive, the two did not have much of a relationship as adults. Maurice also opposed his son's decision to join Starfleet, instead wanting him to tend to the family's French vineyard. Jean-Luc remained estranged from his father until the older man's death, and Picard regretted never reaching out. As Jean-Luc realized the truth of his mother's illness, he began to see his father in a different light, although Maurice had been dead for years by the time of Picard season 2.
Does Star Trek: Picard’s Explanation For Jean-Luc & His Mother Make Sense?
Jean-Luc's Memories Regarding His Mother Are Somewhat Confusing
It's difficult for a modern show to fill in the backstory for a character that originated in 1987, but Star Trek: Picard mostly succeeds in maintaining previously established canon. Still, the story of Picard and his mother does not quite make sense as an explanation for Picard's reluctance to get close to people. It's unclear, for instance, whether Picard worried that his own mental state would deteriorate, whether he feared seeing someone else he loved suffer the same fate, or if was he worried about becoming his father. Furthermore, Q's plan to make Picard confront his childhood trauma felt overly complicated and made the season unnecessarily confusing.
From being assimilated by the Borg to being tortured by Cardassians, Jean-Luc Picard has experienced plenty of trauma throughout his life. Heaping more trauma upon Jean-Luc as a child felt unnecessary, and neither of his parents received enough screen time to become a fully realized character. Also, the original ending of Star Trek: The Next Generation suggested that Picard had already begun to allow people in, as he finally joined his friends for a poker game. Picard also had a romance in Star Trek: Insurrection, making his story in Picard season 2 feel somewhat redundant.
How Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Fixed Season 2’s Problems With Jean-Luc’s Parents
Picard Season 3 Finally Gave Jean-Luc His Own Family
Star Trek: Picard season 3 made the smart decision to focus on Jean-Luc Picard's future rather than his past, as he moved on from his childhood trauma to focus on his relationships. Jean-Luc did not hesitate to respond to a distress call from his friend and former flame Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), which drew him into a mission that saw the Enterprise-D crew reunite to save the galaxy one last time. When Beverly came crashing back into his life, she revealed that the two had a now-adult son named Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers).
Picard was understandably upset that Beverly had kept Jack's existence a secret, but he later decided to move past this and enjoy the time he had with his son.
Jean-Luc was no longer paralyzed by his childhood trauma and seemed ready to be a part of a family with Beverly and Jack. Although Picard was undoubtedly shaped by his parents and the trauma he experienced (as everyone is), he has been just as shaped by every experience he has had since then. Star Trek: Picard season 3 allowed Jean-Luc to command the Enterprise-D again, surrounded by his Star Trek: The Next Generation family. Admiral Picard also got to see his son join Starfleet and land a position on the bridge of the newly rechristened USS Enterprise-G.
