Why Picard’s Facepalm Became Star Trek: TNG’s Most Popular Meme

Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) would occasionally bring his hand to his face in an expression of exasperation - and thus the Picard facepalm meme was born. As Captain of the USS Enterprise-D, Picard had the unenviable task of looking out for his crew and facing off against dangerous alien foes and bizarre space anomalies. Captain Picard rarely let his emotions show, remaining calm and collected even in the tensest situations, but sometimes, Jean-Luc got irritated enough to facepalm.

It should come as no surprise that John de Lancie's Q was responsible for Captain Picard's exasperated facepalm in the most common version of the meme. Q was often a thorn in Picard's side in Star Trek: The Next Generation, popping up at the most inopportune times to drag Jean-Luc and the Enterprise into his problems or schemes. Picard resorted to facepalming several times throughout TNG in response to various other characters. Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), too, occasionally expressed his frustration in the same way. No other single shot from TNG has become as widely recognized as Picard's facepalm and the memes it has spawned.

Captain Picard’s Star Trek: TNG Facepalm Meme Explained

Picard Had Plenty Of Good Reasons To Facepalm.

The most famous iteration of Captain Picard's facepalm meme comes from Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 13, "Deja Q." When Q appears on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D claiming to have been stripped of his powers, Picard and his crew members are less than sympathetic. As Q goes on about his misfortune, Picard brings his hand to his face in an obvious expression of exasperation. When Q calls Jean-Luc "the closest thing [he has] to a friend," Picard raises his eyes, staring at Q incredulously. The freeze frame just before Picard raises his head has since been immortalized as the now-famous meme.

Captain Picard does a similar facepalm move a few more times throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, even using two hands to cover his face in TNG season 3, episode 16, "The Offspring." As Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) goes off on a tangent about various parenting styles, Picard briefly lets his frustration show as he tries to impress upon Data the consequences of creating another android like himself. As Picard covers his face with both hands, Data looks on in confusion, unsure how to interpret this very human expression. Picard facepalmed several times throughout TNG, generally when he was irritated or facing a particularly difficult decision.

Why Picard & Riker’s Star Trek: TNG Facepalms Are So Funny

Seeing Two Serious Characters Be Used For Ridiculous Memes Is Always Funny.

Captain Picard and Commander Riker's facepalms are only sometimes played for laughs within the context of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Riker's facepalm in "A Matter of Perspective," for example, comes during a tense trial where Riker has been accused of murder. Similarly, Picard raises his hand to his face again in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 21, "The Drumhead" during a serious moment just before he delivers a powerful Picard speech. The memes depicting these facepalm freeze frames become funnier out of context when combined with modern-day problems or funny Star Trek tropes.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term "facepalm" was not coined until 1996, two years after TNG ended. Memes, too, began gaining recognition in the mid-1990s, although they would not become truly widespread until the rise of social media in the 2000s and 2010s. Patrick Stewart and the rest of Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast, of course, had no idea that their actions would be shared around as silly photos on the internet years later, making the widespread popularity of the Picard facepalm meme even more hilarious.