The Star Trek: Picard Season 2 ending brought the thrilling, time-traveling journey of Jean-Luc Picard and friends to a close, though not without consequence. Paramount+ subscribers saw some big things happen in the episode, some of which will have a lasting impact on the Prime Universe.
As Star Trek: Picard fans wait on the final season, it’s important to talk about these major things that happened because they might have an impact on the story. Hell, they might even impact on the other Star Trek shows, so let’s dive in and hash this all out.
Q Is Dying
Star Trek: Picard actually revealed that Q is dying a couple of episodes before the Season 2 finale, but we never really understood his motive for most of what occurred in Season 2. It seemed, at first, like Q might be trying to save his own life, which he once thought was immortal. In the end, it turned out Q’s motive for chaos was the same as it's always been, to send a message to Jean-Luc Picard.
In the Season 2 finale, Q revealed his intentions to Picard after the Admiral replaced the key he’d hidden behind a brick so that his future self can find it. Picard acknowledging that the event was beyond his control and forgiving himself was a major key in Q’s plan, and would ultimately allow Picard to forgive himself and be loved.
And, Picard forgiving himself was important to Q because it let the Admiral to allow himself to be loved. Q is dying, and he’s dying alone, and as he said to Picard, he didn’t want the same thing to happen to his old frenemy. Picard ultimately understood Q’s intentions were good, and the two shared a tender moment before Q sent them back to the future.
Obviously, Q’s whole scheme changed the universe in a number of ways, both big and small. Most everything that happened was a result of him constructing this challenge for Picard and led to much of what happened below. Beyond that, he made love for Picard a reality, so there’s hope we’ll finally see the Admiral settle down in his final season.
The Borg Queen Jurati Joined The Federation
The Borg Queen and Agnes Jurati originally bonded on being lonely, and then they bonded quite literally when Agnes was forced to kill the Borg Queen to protect a policeman. Agnes dealt with the Borg Queen in her subconscious for a short while, but it wasn’t long before the Queen assumed full control and attempted to get the Borg a head start on assimilating the galaxy by a few centuries.
Luckily, Agnes wasn’t completely powerless, and managed to sway the Borg Queen’s thinking before she killed Seven of Nine. The two ultimately left with the ship before the rest of the crew, hoping to find a new way of using the Borg to better improve the galaxy. As many predicted, Agnes ended up being the Borg Queen that invaded the Stargazer in the Season 2 premiere.
Borg Queen Jurati ultimately arrived to help aide Starfleet in defending an incursion that created a transwarp conduit. She then committed to guarding the conduit with her shared collective, though it’s unknown what or who created it. The whole ending raised some interesting questions for the Star Trek universe, which we don’t really know the answers to. Like, did they change all the Borg or just this specific sect? I guess we’ll wait and see!
Wesley Crusher Returned As A Traveler
Perhaps the biggest surprise Star Trek: Picard’s Season 2 finale gave us was the return of a very unexpected character from The Next Generation. Wil Wheaton reprised his role as Wesley Crusher and solidified the character’s role as a Traveler in the Prime universe. Crusher approached Kore Soong, daughter of Adam Soong, to join him as a Traveler, and after a brief deliberation, she accepted, and the two went off to do whatever it is that Travelers do.
It cannot be understated just how much Wesley’s return impacts the Prime universe, especially now that he can feasibly appear across several Star Trek shows. There’s a possibility the franchise uses Wesley as the connective tissue between all its currently airing shows and creates impossible crossovers that wouldn’t be doable otherwise. Of course, they could do nothing else beyond Season 2, and just leave his confirmed canonical fate for expanded materials like novels to play with, so I’m just speculating.
With all of that said, it feels like no coincidence that Wil Wheaton re-entered the Star Trek franchise ahead of Star Trek: Picard Season 3. It feels possible that he’ll make a return, but as of this writing, we just don’t know if that’s happening. Keep in mind that Picard filmed this last cameo without folks finding out, so it’s totally possible they were able to do that with Season 3 as well.
Cristobal Rios Remained In The Past
Star Trek: Picard's Season 2 finale featured the exit of a main cast member, but it wasn’t a bad thing. Cristobal Rios heavily hinted that he enjoyed the past more than his own time. Of course, part of that was inspired by Teresa, the physician he met when he hit his head transporting out of the ship. It took some time, but Rios ultimately stuck with that feeling that he was born in the wrong era and that 2024 felt like his true home.
Guinan gave us a history of Rios’ life from that point, but it’s possible he left some butterflies behind that went unacknowledged. Whether those butterflies are good or bad remains to be seen, but they’re butterflies all the same. Who knows what all changed in the future as a result of Rios’ decision and how it could play into the story of Picard Season 3.
One thing we don’t know yet is whether or not Cristobal Rios will play any part in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Allison Pill revealed to Movieweb that she’s not coming back as Borg Jurati, as did Evan Evagora as Elnor (via Instagram). It seems like Santiago Cabrera’s character might stay in the past to clear as much of the main cast as possible for the incoming crew of The Next Generation, but we’ll have to wait and see for sure.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is finished, but anyone can watch the entire thing on Paramount+. Now is a good time to be a subscriber, especially with all the new Trek shows coming to the platform in 2022 and beyond.
