The last trip of a generation. With this sentence we could identify Picard 3, the final season of the Star Trek series that brought back the Trekkies alongside Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of two Enterprises played by Patrick Stewart. This promised closure to the Next Generation mythos will be celebrated with the return of Picard’s historic crew, for one last journey where old friends will be confronted not only with new threats to the Federation, but also facing a showdown with historical nemeses and unsavory members of what we can consider an extended family. Which is why, to better enjoy this latest journey to the final frontier, it’s best to review the history of this crew: here are the Star Trek episodes to watch before Picard 3.
The most faithful Trekkies will surely have a clear understanding of what the strong points of the Star Trek myth could be that will be brought into question in Picard 3. The final trailer of the series, which will arrive on Prime Video on February 17th, has certainly not skimped on appearances excellent, digging with both hands into the myth of Next Generation. A depth that was not limited only to presenting well-known faces, but going to look for emotional references to some typical nuances of Picard’s personality, which emerged in some particularly exciting episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
What are the episodes of Star Trek to see before Picard 3? Here are our recommendations
If for fans of the saga the following could be a pleasant refresher, for those who have approached the myth of Picard as a neophyte, our guide could be a sort of summary of Picard’s existence, providing details that will give greater solidity to this last journey .
Family
Although Picard has shown us an elderly and sensitive Jean-Luc, the past as commander of the Enterprise has been shown to us in a different light. Since Meeting at Farpointfirst episode of Star Trek: The Next Generationit was quickly highlighted that Picard had an iron discipline in terms of fraternization with his crew, trying to maintain a certain distance with his officers. Where personalities such as Riker (Jonathan Frakes), LaForge (LeVar Burton) and Crusher (Gates McFadden) showed the most empathy by building bonds of friendship between them, Picard was always presented as the distant element. Despite the numerous efforts of his crew to involve him, showing their closeness.
To better understand this separation, in The Next Generation there are some episodes that highlight this trait of the captain. Picard’s self-imposed solitude falters at various moments, both ironically, when a solitary vacation becomes a real adventure (The Captain’s Vacation), or more tragically, as happened during the abduction of Picard by the Borg, between the third and fourth seasons of the series.
In the double episode The attack of the Borg we see how devotedly Picard’s crew, especially William Riker, are willing to risk everything to save their captain from these lethal adversaries. Assimilated by the Borg Collective and apparently having become the Locutus drone, Picard is a familiar to his crew to save, even facing the reticence of officers such as Captain Jellico, ready to sacrifice him in order to have a tactical advantage. On this occasion, mention is made for the first time of how Riker is refusing several offers of his own command, preferring to remain aboard the Enterprise out of loyalty to his commander.
Always following this tragic event, the events of Families, where we witness the aftermath of Picard’s imprisonment. Returning to Earth to heal, Jean-Luc returns to the family estate, meeting his brother Robert and his beloved nephew Rene. The conflicting relationship with his older brother leads Picard to open up in an excruciating way, revealing all the suffering associated with the Borg captivity. The bond with his family strengthens, but takes on a bittersweet tone thinking back to how in Generations Picard is informed of the loss of his brother and nephew in a fire, but that he is cared for by his action family: his crew.
Central in this aspect Yesterday, today, tomorrow, the last episode of The Next Generation, where the relationship between Picard and his officers is unequivocally shown, an affection that right at the end of this double episode is enhanced by a gesture that encloses the grip of conscience of the captain of how much Riker, Troi, Data and the other superior officers are his ‘family among the stars’: after years of rejected invitations, Picard takes part in the legendary poker game of the officers held every Wednesday.
lore
So much in Picard how much in The Next Generation, Data (Brent Spiner) was the delicate way of telling humanity through the myth of the tin man. Devoid of emotions, Data tried in every way to experience humanity, eventually creating an emotional chip that allowed him to experience these sensations, especially after discovering that the android was initially expected to experience the human condition even under this condition. I wait. Prerogative initially granted to his brother Lore, created before Data and whose evil nature had prompted their creator to deactivate him and deprive Data of this dangerous possibility.
Lore debuts in Dataloreepisodes of the first season of The Next Generation where this parenthesis of the past of the two androids is told. From this first clash with Data’s ‘evil twin’, the Enterprise will often be able to confront Lore, who for her ends will not hesitate to use a dangerous form of life that feeds on vital energy known as an ‘entity of crystal’ or even to put himself at the head of a small community of Borg, the lethal cybernetic aliens.
To better understand the complex relationship between Lore and Data, and how this has also had repercussions for the entire crew of the Enterprise, one cannot help but review Brothers, episode of the third season. Data, under an uncontrollable impulse, manages to take the Enterprise to a remote planet where the androdie meets Dr. Noonien Soong, its creator, who surprises Lore too, recalled by the same signal. In a final attempt to reconcile his ‘children’, Soong confesses that he has also designed an emotional chip for Data, but Lore’s jealousy deceives Lore into having this chip installed. The centrality of this episode is in showing the naive goodness with which Data continues to perceive his brother, who instead shows a ruthless lucidity in pursuing his shady ends.
Curiously, as we have seen in series such as Enterprise and Picard, Soong’s ancestors are men of great intellect but moved by far from recommendable ideals. A tradition that Lore has always embodied well, and his return to Picard, now that Data has sacrificed himself to save his captain at the end of Nemesiscould turn out to be yet another chapter in the life of the French captain that is about to close
Moriarty
The presence of James Moriarty is surprising, played again by Daniel Davis, the villain who appeared in a single episode in the second season of The Next Generation, Elementary, dear Data. Data, LaForge and Dr. Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) use the holodeck to recreate some of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures, but carelessly forget to close the program by letting Holmes’ great adversary, Professor Moriarty, discover that he is part of a gigantic simulation. Although he is modeled on a 19th century character, the legendary ingenuity of the character created by Conan Doyle leads him to develop a criminal plan that threatens to endanger the entire Enterprise.
While not appearing on other occasions, Moriarty was one of the more intriguing opponents seen in The Next Generation. After this episode it was assumed that the character had remained ‘imprisoned’ in his program, but when we saw his angry expression in the final trailer of Picard 3, we could not hide the curiosity to witness this unusual rendition of the accounts.
Star Trek episodes to watch before Picard 3: how to watch them
Retrieving the Star Trek episodes to watch before Picard 3 is not an impossible task, thanks to the streaming services that have Star Trek in their catalog. As for the mentioned episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generationthe point of reference is Netflix, which currently has all trekkie series in its catalog, excluding discovery And Strange New Worlds. Wanting to better understand the strong relationship between Picard and his officers, it is essential to see the first and last film at the cinema of the Next Generation, Generations And Nemesis. These two titles are also present in the Prime Video catalog, which includes all the cinematic episodes of the saga, as well as the possibility of reviewing the previous two seasons of Picard.
