Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-2 and the teasers, trailers, and announcements for Season 3. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Next Generation and Voyager.
Today I’m updating one of my big Star Trek: Picard Season 3 theories and adding a second part to it! This addition is based on what we saw in the recent New York Comic-Con trailer, and if you’re a regular reader you may have seen me allude to it in my recent articles about who Captain Vadic could be and who else might be joining her on the villainous side of the season!
First of all, a recap. A few months ago I put together a theory that, if it were to pan out, would tie together all three seasons of Star Trek: Picard – which is something that hasn’t really happened so far. Seasons 1 and 2 told largely standalone stories, and it’s a distinct possibility that Season 3 will also go in its own direction – the likelihood of which was arguably raised when most of the main cast members from Seasons 1 and 2 were dumped.
The crew of La Sirena at the end of Season 1.
But the theory that I came up with tied together Seasons 1 and 2 in a big way, and potentially set the stage for Season 3 as well.
In brief, my theory says that the super-synths from Season 1 (the faction who left the beacon on Aia and who Soji and Sutra attempted to open a portal for in the season finale) are also responsible for the anomaly that the Borg Queen and Picard joined forces to stop at the end of Season 2. After being unable to arrive at Coppelius, the super-synths used the anomaly to try to attack the Federation and/or the Romulans, perhaps in retaliation or perhaps as some kind of preemptive strike prior to an invasion.
Nothing that we saw on screen in either season would rule out the super-synths as being responsible for both attacks, and as we know so little about this faction and their objectives and motivations, it feels plausible to me that they might have left the beacon on Aia as a trap – that their real intent was not to help synthetics, but to use the presence of synthetic life as an indicator that a quadrant or galaxy was ripe for the conquering!
The super-synths’ portal.
Enter Captain Vadic and her “rogues’ gallery.” After what we saw of synthetic life in Seasons 1 and 2, I don’t think we can entirely rule out an artificial background for Captain Vadic, even though she appears to be organic at a glance. But that’s neither here nor there, really. One thing that I find absolutely fascinating about the characters we saw joining her crew is this: they’re both artificial life forms. Professor Moriarty is a sentient hologram and Lore is, of course, an android.
I had speculated back when I made my original theory that the villain Picard and the crew would have to face in Season 3 would be the super-synths; tying together all three seasons of the show and giving Picard a truly powerful adversary to defeat. This theory now expands to include Captain Vadic – she could be their pawn, she could be a synth, or she could be someone who experienced the beacon on Aia and became obsessed with the arrival of the super-synths.
Who is Captain Vadic?
We’ve spoken before about some of the similarities between Picard Season 1 and the Mass Effect video game series, in particular the first game, and I think we can draw upon Mass Effect once again to add to this theory. In the world of Mass Effect, the Reapers – a race of sentient machines from far beyond the Milky Way galaxy – could exert influence over organic minds through a process called “indoctrination.” Indoctrinated servants of the Reapers could work on their behalf, but would eventually begin to worship the Reapers themselves before going mad.
Captain Vadic could be someone who has been indoctrinated – or brainwashed, if you prefer that term – by the super-synths. Perhaps this happened when she encountered their beacon, or maybe it happened on some other occasion – possibly during the standoff over Coppelius. Either way, Captain Vadic came to worship the super-synths and wants them to arrive in the Milky Way galaxy. Picard prevented that from happening – at least once and maybe twice – so that could explain why Captain Vadic has such a personal grudge against him and his crew.
Could Captain Vadic be “indoctrinated” like some characters in the Mass Effect video game series?
This could also set the stage for the story of the season. Season 1 ended with Picard preventing the arrival of the super-synths, and Season 2 ended with Picard and the Borg Queen stopping the anomaly – which, as we’ve discussed, could be a super-synth weapon. Season 3 may begin with Captain Vadic on a quest for revenge against Picard, but it could also see her – and her gallery of rogues – planning to build a new portal to allow the super-synths to invade. This could be what Picard and the crew have to stop, it could even be what Dr Crusher was doing on her mission in space when she had to send a distress signal.
If I’m right, the super-synths could be behind the attack on Starfleet Command that we saw in the most recent trailer, too. We saw some kind of beam coming from above completely destroy one of the main Starfleet buildings, and that beam was superficially similar (in colour, at least) to the Season 2 anomaly. Could that be another piece of the jigsaw puzzle?
Who did this… and why?
So there are really two additional components to my super-synths theory! And the story could go in either direction. It seems possible that Captain Vadic has been driven mad by the beacon on Aia, like the Zhat Vash were, but redirected her madness into some kind of devotion to or worship of the super-synths, perhaps through a process not dissimilar to Mass Effect’s indoctrination. That could explain why she wants to attack Picard and the Federation – they were responsible for preventing the super-synths’ arrival.
Alternatively, Captain Vadic could be seeking to build her own portal to allow the super-synths to travel to the Milky Way, and this could be what Picard and the crew have to prevent. Captain Vadic could be a synth herself, or she could be an organic under their thrall who’s doing their bidding.
The Shrike – Captain Vadic’s ship.
With Professor Moriarty and Lore on her side – both of whom are malevolent artificial life-forms – Captain Vadic could be attempting to bring about a full-scale assault on organic life in the Milky Way galaxy, or seeking revenge for an arrival that was thwarted by Picard and the Federation. I could quite see Lore and Moriarty supporting this kind of “synthetic supremacy” crusade, and who knows – maybe the ultimate twist will be that the super-synths never intended to help artificial life-forms, but rather intended to destroy, conquer, or assimilate them.
So that’s my addendum to my earlier theory!
What I liked about the super-synth idea in the first place was that it would tie together all three seasons of the show in a big way, connecting everything from the attack on Mars and the Zhat Vash plot through to the Season 2 anomaly, Dr Jurati becoming a Borg Queen, and beyond into Season 3. Star Trek: Picard would be transformed from a disjointed sequence of standalone stories into one continuous story – albeit one that got sidetracked!
The strange anomaly in Season 2.
And at the very least, what we’ve seen of Captain Vadic and her “rogues’ gallery” – at least so far – hasn’t ruled any of that out. It’s still a viable theory, and it still seems at least possible to me that Season 3 will pan out this way. The decision to show Captain Vadic seemingly working with two artificial life-forms could even be a hint toward the idea of her working for the super-synths in some capacity.
There are other possibilities, of course, and as has happened in recent seasons of Star Trek, the show could go in wildly unpredictable directions! But I think it’s possible to tell this kind of story in a way that would still keep Season 3 approachable for newcomers and casual viewers. Because the super-synths and the Season 2 anomaly were only on screen for such a short time, and because so little was revealed about them in the first two seasons, Season 3 has a near-blank slate on which to build. The connection back to Seasons 1 and 2 would be fun for returning viewers, but wouldn’t necessarily hamper the enjoyment of anyone who missed those seasons or for casual viewers who may not remember every event that unfolded.
Professor Moriarty.
But as I always say: I have no “insider information,” and all of this is just for fun! I like writing, I like Star Trek, and writing up these Star Trek theories is fun for me – and that’s the spirit in which I hope you’ll take this theory. No fan theory, no matter how fun or plausible it may seem, is worth getting upset about, and it’s highly likely that Star Trek: Picard Season 3 won’t include anything that we’ve talked about today. I’m totally okay with that, and I hope that the new season will tell a fun and exciting story regardless of whether any of my fan theories come to pass!
So that’s all for today. After thinking about Captain Vadic a lot over the last couple of weeks I thought it was worth adding this addendum to my earlier super-synths theory. I’m really looking forward to Picard Season 3, which is now less than three months away from being broadcast! If we get any major news or new trailers between now and then I hope you’ll check in as I’ll be sure to provide some analysis.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will be broadcast on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom and around the world beginning on the 17th of February 2023. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties discussed above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-2 and the trailers, teasers, and announcements for Season 3. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Discovery, and Lower Decks.
Last time we talked about Captain Vadic – the mysterious villain who will appear in Picard’s third and final season next year. We considered a few possibilities as to who she might be and what her grievance might be with Admiral Picard, so if you want to check out those theories – some of which are more plausible than others – you can do so by clicking or tapping here.
This time I want to move beyond Captain Vadic. Taking the most recent trailer as a starting point, I thought it could be fun to look back at other characters from The Next Generation and beyond who might have a bone to pick with Admiral Picard. The most recent trailer for Season 3 included two pretty big surprises: the return of Lore and Professor Moriarty, both of whom seem to be allied with Captain Vadic. So here’s my theory: those two won’t be the only villains on her team!
Professor Moriarty in the recent Season 3 trailer.
Could Captain Vadic have put together what I’ve termed a “rogues’ gallery” of Star Trek villains? If so, it could make for an even more explosive and exiting final season – and there’s certainly no shortage of candidates for such a team. Like Marvel’s HYDRA or DC Comics’ Legion of Doom, perhaps Captain Vadic has managed to create her very own rogues’ gallery!
So today, I thought it could be fun to consider which other characters could be included – if indeed this is part of Captain Vadic’s scheme. During his adventures aboard the Enterprise-D, it’s not unfair to say that Picard made more than his share of enemies, and it stands to reason that many of them would jump at the chance to seek revenge.
As always, a caveat: this is just for fun! I don’t have any “sources” or “insider information,” and I’m not trying to claim that any of the characters below definitely will appear in Season 3 of Picard. I don’t even know for sure that there will be any other villainous characters besides those we’ve already glimpsed, so please take all of this with a healthy pinch of salt! With that out of the way, let’s get started!
Rogue #1: Toral, son of Duras
Toral, son of Duras, after his attempted coup failed.
The two-part episode Redemption, which closed out Season 4 of The Next Generation and kicked off Season 5, introduced us to Toral, son of Duras. The House of Duras made several attempts to take over the Klingon Empire and to cover up their family’s collaboration with the Romulans, including at the attack on Khitomer in which Worf’s family was killed. Although Toral was relatively young during the events of Redemption, and was merely being used by his more powerful and manipulative aunts, there’s no denying his ambition.
Toral’s father and his aunts were killed by the crew of the Enterprise-D, and both Toral and his house were left disgraced and without a future in Klingon politics. If given the chance, Toral – or perhaps another member of the House of Duras – would surely be on board with a mission to destroy Admiral Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D.
Rogue #2: Ro Laren
Ro Laren in Season 7 of The Next Generation.
Although Ro Laren, a former Starfleet officer and Maquis defector, didn’t hate Picard the last time they met, subsequent events could certainly have changed her opinion. In the years before the Dominion War, Picard was very much in favour of maintaining peace with the Cardassians at all costs – even if that included abandoning Federation colonies in Cardassian space. The former Ensign Ro took a different approach, ultimately defecting to the Maquis and abandoning Starfleet.
As we learned in Deep Space Nine, following their alliance with the Dominion the Cardassians were able to wipe out nearly all of the Maquis, leaving only a few survivors. Starfleet was unable to help, and given how bad relations had got between the Federation and the breakaway Maquis, it stands to reason that any survivors would carry a deep hatred for the Federation. If Ro Laren survived the Dominion War, maybe she’d try to seek revenge on her former captain and the organisation that abandoned her friends to their fate.
Rogue #3: The Remans
The Reman Viceroy.
The Romulans treated the native Remans horribly, essentially using them as a class of slave labourers. The Remans’ only real chance to overturn this came when Shinzon – a Romulan-created clone of Picard – seized power on Romulus and uplifted many Remans, putting them into positions of power. Picard defeated Shinzon and his Reman Viceroy, potentially restoring the status quo on Romulus and relegating the Remans once again to their enslavement.
Not only that, but Starfleet’s decision to abandon the Romulan rescue armada that Picard was in charge of arguably cost Reman lives. The Romulans would surely have prioritised saving their own citizens ahead of saving Remans, so it stands to reason that many Remans were killed during the supernova. Although there are no remaining Reman main characters (the Viceroy was killed in Nemesis) I think it’s possible that we could see a Reman figure who wants to get revenge on Picard.
Rogue #4: Sela
Sela aboard the Enterprise-D.
The half-Romulan daughter of an alternate timeline’s Tasha Yar was an adversary for Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D on more than one occasion. Picard prevented her from interfering on behalf of the House of Duras during the Klingon succession crisis, and then thwarted her plans again when she tried to use Ambassador Spock’s peace process to invade and conquer Vulcan. Sela survived – but her authority within the Romulan hierarchy was surely undermined by these major defeats.
Sela would almost certainly want revenge on Picard for those incidents, and I could absolutely see her teaming up with someone like Captain Vadic. Assuming that Sela survived the Romulan supernova, Picard must be right at the top of her enemies’ list! Furthermore, Picard disrupted yet another Romulan scheme back in Season 1, and while we can’t say that Sela was involved with the Zhat Vash, it’s possible that she was privy to their plans or involved, to some degree, in the mission to Coppelius.
Sela and Tasha Yar actress Denise Crosby has teased a possible appearance in Season 3, too… so I think Sela showing up is a distinct possibility!
Rogue #5: DaiMon Bok
DaiMon Bok on the Enterprise-D’s viewscreen.
While in command of the USS Stargazer – about ten years before the events of The Next Generation – Picard defeated a Ferengi vessel, and in doing so killed the son of DaiMon Bok, a Ferengi captain. Bok attempted to get his revenge on Picard on two subsequent occasions, firstly by sabotaging the wreck of the Stargazer, which he had salvaged, and secondly by convincing Picard that he had a son. Both times, Bok was defeated.
However, Bok survived his run-ins with Picard, and as I noted last time, the grudge he carried is deeply personal and feels like it would be something he would never be able to let go of. Like Sela above, Bok has a personal vendetta against Picard, and if the opportunity were to arise to join a mission to kill or defeat him, I could see Bok signing up in a heartbeat!
Rogue #6: The Conspiracy parasite-aliens
One of the parasite-aliens outside of a host body.
After thirty-five years, could a continuation of the story begun in The Next Generation first season episode Conspiracy finally be on the agenda? Anything’s possible, right?!
The Conspiracy parasite-aliens attempted to take over Starfleet and the Federation before being thwarted by Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D. Although their “mother creature” was killed, before it died it was able to send a message, presumably to its home world or others of its species… but the story was never continued (although the parasite-aliens were recently referenced in an episode of Lower Decks).
The parasite-aliens were originally conceived as part of the storyline that would eventually lead to the introduction of the Borg in Season 2, but this connection was written out of the series before Q Who entered production. So the parasite-aliens have remained a mystery ever since – but would surely want to gain revenge on the people most responsible for foiling their plans. Maybe Captain Vadic and others on her crew have been taken over by these parasitic beings.
Rogue #7: Norah Satie
Norah Satie overseeing a sham trial.
Rear Admiral Norah Satie was sent to the Enterprise-D to investigate an apparent act of sabotage. However, she massively overstepped her brief and became paranoid, treating the entire crew with suspicion and using her power to drag innocent officers before a hastily-arranged “drumhead” trial. Picard was eventually able to outmanoeuvre her at the trial, ending her investigation – and possibly her career as well.
We don’t know what became of Norah Satie after her humiliation, but it’s at least possible that she would hate Picard as a result. Perhaps her actions led to her being kicked out of Starfleet, or at least losing her investigative position, and after having had years in which to build up resentment, she might be ready to seek revenge.
Bringing a Federation officer into the “rogues’ gallery” (if Captain Vadic is not a former member of Starfleet herself) could lead to some really interesting and complex storytelling.
Rogue #8: Altan Inigo Soong and/or the Coppelius synths
The Coppelius synths.
Although we’ve seen Brent Spiner as Lore in the most recent trailer, could he also be back as Season 1’s Altan Inigo Soong? One line from the first teaser trailer really stood out to me (as I flagged up at the time) and that line came from one of Spiner’s characters: “evolution is not an act of preservation; it’s addition.” I’ve wondered ever since if that line could be Dr Soong – or one of his synths – arguing in favour of some kind of organic-synthetic synthesis.
Connected to this idea is something we touched on last time – my theory that Captain Vadic could be motivated by the Season 1 super-synths. Both of the characters we know of so far in her “rogues’ gallery” are synthetic: Lore is an android and Moriarty is a hologram. If her crusade against Picard and the Federation is somehow connected to the super-synths from Season 1, perhaps other synthetics will join her cause, such as the ones on Coppelius.
Rogue #9: Captain Benjamin Maxwell
Captain Maxwell shortly before his arrest.
Captain Maxwell was a fascinating character in his sole appearance. A renegade Starfleet officer who took his ship on an unsanctioned mission into Cardassian space, Maxwell held a personal grudge against the Cardassians for the deaths of his family. He found it hard to adjust to peace with the Cardassians, and sought to expose their secret military build-up – something that he was, in the end, right about.
Picard was sent after him, and with the help of Miles O’Brien, Maxwell was taken into custody before peace between the Cardassians and Federation could be jeopardised. But Maxwell wasn’t exactly wrong about the Cardassians – something that feels even more significant in the aftermath of the Dominion War. Would someone like Maxwell – an otherwise upstanding Starfleet officer – want to get revenge on Picard and his crew? It’s got to be at least a possibility!
Rogue #10: T’Paal (also known as Tallera)
T’Paal on Vulcan.
T’Paal used the assumed identity of “Tallera” to track down an ancient Vulcan weapon called the Stone of Gol. She hoped to use the weapon to purge Vulcan of all alien influence, believing that contact with non-Vulcans was “polluting” her planet and culture. Picard, on an undercover mission of his own, managed to stop her, and she was taken into custody by the Vulcan authorities.
I’d consider T’Paal to be a real zealot, someone completely dedicated to her cause and her scheme. When Picard thwarted her attempts to use the Stone of Gol to rid Vulcan of all alien influence, she became enraged – and someone like that could hold a grudge for a very long time indeed. Though perhaps not as iconic or well-remembered as some of The Next Generation’s other adversaries, T’Paal could certainly make a return and join Captain Vadic’s mission.
Rogue #11: Kelsey the mercenary
Kelsey on board the Enterprise-D.
Known only by her first name, Kelsey was presumed to have been killed when her ship was destroyed near Arkaria Base – but maybe there’s some way she could have survived! Picard thwarted her plot to steal a valuable and highly dangerous substance called trilithium resin from the Enterprise-D when it was undergoing maintenance at the base, allowing her to escape with a sabotaged canister that caused her ship to explode moments later.
If Kelsey survived somehow – such as by boarding an escape pod – it stands to reason that she’d be furious with Picard. Not only did he prevent her from getting the trilithium resin, he was responsible for the deaths of several of her friends, and the destruction of her ship. Although we’ve considered her dead ever since Starship Mine aired, it’s possible that there might be an unexpected resurrection!
Rogue #12: Commodore Oh
Commodore Oh on the bridge of her ship.
One of the primary antagonists in Season 1 was the Romulan spy Commodore Oh. Oh infiltrated Starfleet shortly after the discovery of Data, playing a very long game to sabotage the Federation’s work on developing synthetic life. She was responsible for the attack on Mars, the death of Chris Rios’ captain aboard the USS Ibn Majid, and the attack that claimed Dahj’s life.
Commodore Oh was also a zealot, completely dedicated the Zhat Vash mission to prevent and exterminate synthetic life. Although she was convinced to withdraw from Coppelius, I see no evidence whatsoever that she or the Zhat Vash would abandon their anti-synthetic crusade. Having been exposed, the Zhat Vash may be on a quest for revenge – and as the person who stopped them and exposed their secrets, Picard would surely be at the top of Oh’s list.
Rogue #13: The Control AI
The Control AI took over Captain Leland’s body.
Returning to the theme of artificial life that we discussed above, one other “evil” AI that springs to mind is Control, which was the primary antagonist for much of Discovery’s second season. Control wanted to evolve and become fully sentient, so if it had the opportunity to contact a race of super-synths, that seems like something it would have tried to do! Although the end of Discovery Season 2 implied that Control was completely and utterly dead (or shut down), it’s not implausible to think that it could be revived.
One thing that I’ve been disappointed with in modern Star Trek has been a lack of major points of connection between the franchise’s main live-action shows. Discovery and Picard have run alongside one another since 2020, and four seasons of television have been produced in that time. But aside from a couple of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references, there haven’t been any major connections or crossovers. If Captain Vadic is on a mission connected to the Season 1 super-synths, synthetic life, or building a crew of artificial life forms, including Control would be a way of rectifying that.
Rogue #14: The impostor known as “Ardra”
“Ardra” realises she’s been caught.
“Ardra” – whose real name remains unknown – was a con artist who attempted to prey on the Ventaxian civilisation in The Next Generation Season 4 episode Devil’s Due. She claimed to be the Ventaxian devil, and tried to force the entire population into slavery to enforce a “contract” that they had signed in the distant past.
Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D were able to expose “Ardra” for what she really was, denying her the chance to rule over the Ventaxians. She was subsequently arrested – and I’m sure she’d hold a grudge against Picard for that! Although “Ardra” isn’t one of the most iconic Star Trek villains, I could entertain the idea of bringing her back as part of a team-up against Picard.
Rogue #15: Nicholas Locarno
Cadet Locarno.
Nicholas Locarno is probably best-known to Trekkies nowadays because he was portrayed by future Tom Paris actor Robert Duncan McNeill. But he was a complex and interesting character in The First Duty, an episode of the fifth season of The Next Generation, and I could conceivably see him holding Picard responsible for his expulsion from Starfleet Academy.
Locarno was the head of Nova Squadron – an elite flight performance team at the Academy – when he covered up the death of a fellow cadet. Wesley Crusher, after a major dressing-down from Captain Picard, eventually told the truth at an inquiry into the cadet’s death, leading to Locarno’s expulsion.
Rogue #16: Narek
Narek aboard the Artifact in Season 1.
I was disappointed that Narek’s story was abandoned partway through the Season 1 finale of Picard. Could Season 3 bring back Narek in some form – if for no other reason than to bring some kind of closure to his narrative arc? I’m not sure… but if we’re considering characters from within Picard who might want to join a crusade against the retired Admiral, Narek has to be in contention.
Like Commodore Oh above, Narek was a true believer in the Zhat Vash cause to the very end – and while I know some fans didn’t like his storyline, for me it was at least interesting that he stuck to his mission and didn’t fall into the clichéd trap of being the “spy with a heart of gold” who falls in love with his target. I’d quite like to see Narek again, and if Captain Vadic is putting together a squad, his unique skillset could make him an invaluable addition.
Rogue #17: The Ux-Mal prisoners
The Ux-Mal prisoners.
After more than five hundred years imprisoned on a moon, stripped of their physical bodies, a group of prisoners belonging to a race called the Ux-Mal came very close to escaping. Using the bodies of several Enterprise-D officers and crew, they hoped to transport their fellow prisoners away from the torturous moon that they had been confined to – until the rest of the Enterprise-D’s crew thwarted their plans.
If some of the Ux-Mal prisoners were able to escape the moon of Mab-Bu VI, it’s at least possible that they would want to get revenge on Picard and the others who stopped their earlier escape attempt. Captain Vadic could even turn out to be “possessed” by one of the prisoners in the same way as they took over the bodies of Data, Troi, and O’Brien.
Rogue #18: Thomas Riker
Thomas Riker on Nervala IV.
Like Ro Laren above, Thomas Riker was a Starfleet officer who defected to the Maquis in the years before the Dominion War. A transporter clone of William Riker, Thomas spent years in isolation on the planet Nervala IV before being rescued by the crew of the Enterprise-D and resuming his Starfleet career. He would later attempt to steal the USS Defiant from Deep Space Nine – exposing a fleet of ships that the Obsidian Order had been building in secret.
Thomas Riker was arrested by the Cardassians and sent to a labor camp – with the approval of the Federation. It’s unclear what happened to him during and after the Dominion War, but if he survived he may very well hold a grudge against the Federation and his doppelgänger – as well as Picard.
Rogue #19: Jev
Jev attempting to perform his telepathic attack.
Jev was an Ullian, a member of a telepathic race whose job was to gather memories. However, he abused his powers, telepathically assaulting dozens of people across multiple star systems. His crimes were brought to light when he tried to attack Deanna Troi and other members of the Enterprise-D’s crew. Jev was arrested by the Ullians and was expected to receive a harsh punishment for his crimes.
As a classic narcissist who put his own pleasure ahead of the basic rights of others, Jev may well blame Picard and others for his downfall rather than being able to admit his own wrongdoings. Although the episode in which he appeared, Violations from Season 5, may not be as well-remembered as some others, Jev is certainly a slimy, nasty villain who could be interesting to revisit.
Rogue #20: Admiral Erik Pressman
Admiral Pressman in Ten-Forward on the Enterprise-D.
In the late 2350s, before Picard assumed command of the Enterprise-D, Admiral Pressman was in charge of a secret project to design and test a cloaking device – despite the Federation being prohibited from doing so under the terms of a treaty with the Romulans. The mission went wrong and a young Ensign Will Riker was one of the few survivors. Years later, Pressman came aboard the Enterprise-D to go looking for his old ship, the Pegasus, and recover or destroy its prototype cloak.
Riker, along with Picard, was instrumental in exposing Pressman to both Starfleet and the Romulans, and he was taken into custody to face a court-martial. Although we don’t know what became of Pressman after the events of The Pegasus, it stands to reason that he lost his reputation, and possibly his position in Starfleet as well. If he suffered major repercussions, he could blame Picard and Riker for his troubles and want to get his revenge.
So that’s it!
Who else might join Captain Vadic on her mission?
We’ve considered quite a few candidates for Captain Vadic’s “rogues’ gallery” – some of whom, I freely admit, are more likely to appear than others! But it was a bit of fun to put together this list and to speculate about what kind of team Captain Vadic might have put together, as well as what her criteria could be for choosing people.
As I said at the start, I’m not convinced that we’ve seen every member of what I’m calling the “rogues’ gallery” just yet, and there may be more surprise casting announcements to come either before Season 3 premieres or saved for surprises after it kicks off. I quite like the idea of a team-up of some of Picard’s enemies from his many Star Trek appearances, as that’s something that has the potential to be explosive and exciting.
Could some of the people on this list be the obscured characters in this still from the most recent trailer?
Last time we talked about Captain Vadic as having a Khan-esque obsession with Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D. While we still don’t know why that is, there are many events that we’ve seen on screen that could connect to the story of the new season, and while it’s still possible that Vadic is someone new whose grudge against Picard and the crew originates with some hitherto-unseen occurrence, it would be an absolute blast if it turned out that something we’re already familiar with from a past episode or story was her driving force.
I hope this was a bit of fun while we wait for Season 3, if nothing else! Please remember what I said at the beginning: all of this is pure speculation and the opinion of just one person. It’s quite likely that none of the characters discussed above will appear in Season 3, and that’s totally fine. As much fun as it is to speculate – and to occasionally get things right – it’s also fantastic when Star Trek can take us on adventures to truly unexpected places.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video around the world beginning on the 16th of February 2023. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-2 as well as for announcements and trailers for Season 3. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Next Generation, Voyager, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis and Discovery.
Today we’re going to talk about Captain Vadic, the villainous commander of the Shrike who appeared in the most recent trailer for Season 3. Based on the information that Paramount has released so far, Captain Vadic appears set to be the main adversary that Admiral Picard and the former crew of the Enterprise-D will face off against in the upcoming final season of the show, and I think we have enough evidence to put together a few theories about who she could potentially be.
One thing we can say for near-certain based on her appearance in the trailer is that Captain Vadic has become obsessed with Picard – and possibly with his former crewmates as well. Her desire to get revenge for some (real or perceived) wrong that was done to her seems to be her driving force, and as a result there are favourable comparisons to one of the Star Trek franchise’s most iconic villains – Khan. Vadic seems to channel much of the same energy as Khan did in The Wrath of Khan, with a passionate quest for vengeance that strays into near-madness.
Captain Vadic.
The question of why Vadic is so obsessed with getting revenge is inherently tied to who she is. Although past iterations of Star Trek didn’t ultimately connect to the big story arcs in Seasons 1 or 2 of Picard, it has to be at least possible that Captain Vadic has a connection to some character or event that we’ve seen unfold on screen before. She could even be a character that we’ve already met.
So that’s what we’re going to take a look at today! Who could Captain Vadic be? And tied to that question is the nature of her revenge plot – why is she seeking vengeance? What could Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D have done to her in the past?
Captain Vadic appears to have scars on her face that superficially resemble those of the ex-Borg that we met in Season 1, so some kind of Borg origin feels like a possibility. We could learn that Vadic was among the survivors of the Artifact when it crash-landed on Coppelius at the end of Season 1, and that could be the beginning of her vendetta against Picard.
It’s possible that Vadic was assimilated by Locutus – Picard’s Borg designation when he was himself briefly part of the Borg Collective. If Vadic was assimilated at, for example, the Battle of Wolf-359, she may have spent years in the Collective before she was freed, and may hold Picard personally to blame for her traumatic experience.
Starfleet engages the Borg at the Battle of Wolf-359.
Seasons 1 and 2 both dealt with the Borg to an extent, albeit in different ways, so this could be somewhat of a continuation of that familiar theme. Although Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D faced off against many enemies and opponents during their adventures, few are as ferocious or intimidating as the Borg, so there’d be something significant if the final foe they have to deal with has some kind of Borg connection.
If Captain Vadic is an ex-Borg, that could also explain her interest in both Picard’s crew and the Federation as a whole; she may blame the Enterprise-D and Starfleet more broadly for what happened to her.
Theory #2: An augment.
A group of 22nd Century human augments.
We talked a moment ago about the superficial similarities between Captain Vadic and iconic Star Trek villain Khan… but what if there’s more to it than that? The end of Season 2 seemed to imply that Picard’s adversary Adam Soong would either begin or re-start research into Khan-inspired human augments, connecting his story to that of Dr Arik Soong in Enterprise. Could Captain Vadic be a descendant of one of Dr Soong’s augments – or perhaps even an augment who had been kept alive in stasis?
If so, her vendetta may be inspired by Dr Soong – she may blame Picard for changing the timeline and preventing Dr Soong from being celebrated in the Confederation timeline that we saw in Season 2. Successive generations of augments may have carried that grudge, or alternatively Captain Vadic may have been “programmed” to awaken in the early 25th Century by Dr Soong to get his revenge.
The “Project Khan” folder seen at the end of Season 2.
This would connect the story of Season 3 to what happened last time in a major way, and I think that would be to the show’s overall benefit. Season 2 could even look better in retrospect if it ends up being one piece of a larger connected story, so giving Captain Vadic a connection to what happened in Season 2 would be a net positive.
There’s also a possibility that Captain Vadic is an augment, but one who isn’t connected to Adam Soong or Khan. There are a couple of episodes of The Next Generation in which Picard and the crew tussled with genetic engineering and human augmentation: Season 2’s Unnatural Selection and The Masterpiece Society from Season 5. Perhaps Captain Vadic is one of the augments from the Darwin Genetic Research Station or one of the Moab IV colonists whose society was disrupted by the arrival of the Enterprise-D.
Theory #3: A Romulan (or Romulan ally)
A Romulan commander in the 23rd Century.
I know, I know: Captain Vadic doesn’t have the right ears to be a Romulan! But as noted above, she does have significant facial scars – could those hint at some kind of cosmetic surgery to alter her appearance? The design of her warship, the Shrike, definitely feels Romulan to me. It evokes both Nero’s Narada (from the 2009 Star Trek reboot film) and the Scimitar, Shinzon’s flagship in Nemesis. Could that design hint at some kind of Romulan origin for Vadic… or at least for her ship?
Picard has dealt with the Romulans on multiple occasions, and thwarted major Romulan schemes to invade Vulcan, to end the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons, and to use a thalaron radiation weapon to attack Earth, just to name three examples. Then there’s Picard’s failure to aid in the Romulan evacuation in the aftermath of the attack on Mars – perhaps Captain Vadic blames Picard for the deaths of people she cared about. And finally there’s Sela: the daughter of Tasha Yar who was raised by Romulans and eventually held a senior role in the Romulan military. Picard outmanoeuvred and defeated her on two separate occasions.
Sela, a Romulan-human hybrid and enemy of Picard.
I don’t think we’ve seen all of the members of Captain Vadic’s “rogues’ gallery” of Star Trek villains just yet, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Denise Crosby reprise her role as Sela in Season 3. So at this point I don’t think we can say “Vadic is Sela,” although that’s a possibility. But she may be an ally of Sela, perhaps a relative or another child of Tasha Yar.
The Romulans played a major role in Season 1 of Picard, and bringing them back in some form in Season 3 could tie things together nicely. We could learn more about the Zhat Vash and Tal Shiar, and particularly what happened to the Zhat Vash’s anti-synthetic crusade after it was exposed. Maybe Captain Vadic is a Zhat Vash zealot who is unwilling to accept her faction’s defeat at the hands of Picard and his crew.
Theory #4: A descendant of Adam and/or Noonian Soong
Adam Soong in Season 2.
We touched on a potential connection to the Soong family above, but rather than being an augment or genetic creation, could it be possible that Captain Vadic is a relative or descendant of the Soongs? This could explain how she managed to recruit Lore for her revenge quest, or how she was able to reassemble and reactive him after the events of The Next Generation two-part story Descent.
Clearly the relationship between Picard and the Soong family is complicated. On the one hand, Picard’s strong friendship with Data should mean that he and the Soongs would get along, but on the other hand his actions in Season 2 prevented Adam Soong from becoming one of the most important humans in history, and from establishing a dynasty that was still important in the early 25th Century. Surely some members of the family would want revenge for that – if they knew about it.
Dr Noonian Soong – the creator of Data and Lore.
Picard also tussled with Altan Inigo Soong in Season 1, disrupting his research into synths and potentially denying him a synthetic body of his own. Although Altan would eventually team up with Picard’s crew to stop Sutra and Soji’s plan to contact the unnamed faction of super-synths, it isn’t clear what happened after that to the Coppelius synths.
If things went wrong, maybe a relative or colleague of Altan Inigo Soong would want revenge. Perhaps Altan sought out and reactivated Lore in order to continue his research; the loss of Data’s neurons may have brought his work to an abrupt halt. Again, this could explain how and why Lore is back!
Theory #5: A Son’a
Ru’afo, a Son’a commander in the late 24th Century.
There are a couple of reasons why the Son’a spring to mind as a possible origin for Captain Vadic. Firstly there are the facial scars that we’ve already discussed; the Son’a had to use technology to keep their skin stretched and to get rid of toxins in their bodies after losing access to the metaphasic radiation of their home planet. Although the Ba’ku believed their physiology would be restored if they returned home, it’s possible that there would be lingering physical effects of being away for so long.
Secondly, the most recent trailer showed off Captain Vadic’s ship, the Shrike, engaging in a battle against the USS Titan in a nebula that looked awfully similar to the Briar Patch – the location of the Ba’ku/Son’a home planet. After Picard was instrumental in defeating the Son’a, could some members of the faction hold a grudge against him personally?
Does this battle take place in the Briar Patch?
The Son’a had planned their revenge on their Ba’ku cousins for a long time – they had been living in exile for almost a century at the time of the events of Insurrection. Although the Ba’ku welcomed them back, it stands to reason that not every Son’a would have wanted to return home under those circumstances.
Ru’afo, the Son’a leader, was killed, and it’s possible that Captain Vadic may have been his partner or close friend. Even if she wasn’t a true believer in the Son’a cause, she may be seeking revenge for the loss of someone she cared about.
Theory #6: A member of Picard’s crew
Captain Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise-D.
Could it be possible that Captain Vadic once served under Picard’s command? She could be an officer or crewman who served on the Stargazer, the Enterprise-D, the Enterprise-E, or during the Romulan rescue and the attack on Mars. Although Picard never deliberately endangered members of his crew – and would go above and beyond to help them on multiple occasions – during his time in command we saw a number of casualties.
Perhaps Captain Vadic was badly wounded during Soran’s attack on the Enterprise-D, or was left behind on Bersallis III during the firestorm that nearly claimed the life of Nella Daren. She could be a victim of the first Borg encounter when a slice was carved out of the Enterprise-D’s saucer section in system J-25, or an officer who was assimilated when the Borg took over the lower decks of the Enterprise-E. She could even be a familiar character, such as Ensign Sito, who was sent on a dangerous mission into Cardassian space by Picard.
Ensign Sito Jaxa.
The reality is that Picard has no shortage of “victims” – people who were killed or maimed while serving under his command going all the way back to his time on the Stargazer. Any one of them – or their close friends or family – could hold Picard personally responsible, even if he did everything he reasonably could have to prevent what happened to them.
I think this is an interesting idea. Starfleet is far from perfect, and we haven’t often seen the organisation or its leaders having to confront those left behind or caught up in conflicts, battles, or dangerous situations. Whoever Captain Vadic is, she clearly has a personal grievance against Picard, and if she had once served under his command, that could explain why.
Theory #7: An ally of DaiMon Bok
DaiMon Bok.
One of the first villains that we ever saw Picard deal with was DaiMon Bok, a Ferengi captain who blamed Picard for the death of his son. Bok is similar to what we know of Captain Vadic insofar as his vendetta against Picard was deeply personal. After being defeated in the episode The Battle, Bok would tangle with Picard one final time toward the end of The Next Generation’s run in the episode Bloodlines – and while he suffered a mutiny from his crew, he was still alive as of the end of the episode.
Most importantly for this theory, Bok’s quest for revenge was left incomplete, his personal vendetta unfulfilled. Bok would almost certainly have carried this grudge for his entire life – and while we don’t know for sure that he would still be alive thirty years after we last saw him, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be. Perhaps Captain Vadic is an ally of Bok’s, and her quest for vengeance is connected to his.
Could DaiMon Bok be a member of Vadic’s rogues’ gallery?
Even if DaiMon Bok’s revenge mission isn’t the main factor driving Captain Vadic, I would consider it at least a possibility that Bok could be another of the hidden members of her rogues’ gallery. Few characters in Star Trek have such a strongly-felt personal animosity toward Picard, so if someone asked him to join a mission of this type, Bok would surely have jumped at the chance!
So whether Bok proves to be a big part of the story or not, it’s definitely possible that we’ll see him or hear of him in Season 3!
Theory #8: A devotee of the super-synths from Season 1
Sutra became obsessed with contacting the super-synths.
The super-synths from Season 1 claimed to be “an alliance of synthetic life,” and they left behind at least one beacon to instruct other synths on how to contact them. Whether their offer to help the Milky Way’s synthetics was genuine or part of an elaborate trap was never explained, and the super-synths themselves were only glimpsed on screen very briefly.
But one thing we know is that their beacon – known to the Zhat Vash as the “admonition” – could drive organic minds to madness, and that madness could be so powerful that it could even damage an entire Borg cube if a Zhat Vash initiate was assimilated. Sutra’s behaviour after being exposed to the beacon’s message could also be argued to show that synthetic minds were not entirely immune from this, especially in synths with human qualities.
The device on Coppelius that the synths built to open a portal for the super-synths.
In short, whether she’s organic or synthetic, it’s possible that Captain Vadic has been exposed to the beacon on Aia – either before or after the events of Season 1. But rather than taking the Zhat Vash approach of fearing the coming of the super synths, maybe she had a different reaction: she wanted them to arrive. If she’s a synth, that could be because she wants to team up and attack organic civilisations – and that may explain why she’s teamed up with Lore and Moriarty, who are both artificial constructs. If she’s an organic, she may have simply been driven mad by the beacon’s vision and somehow come to worship the super-synths.
It was the intervention of Admiral Picard at the end of Season 1 that prevented the arrival of the super-synths at Coppelius, and if Starfleet took further action against the Zhat Vash in the aftermath of Season 1, such as shutting down the beacon on Aia, it may not be possible to construct another portal. Either way, as the person most responsible for stopping the super-synths, a devotee of theirs would surely hate Picard as a result.
Theory #9: Someone entirely new
The super-synths and Zhat Vash were brand-new to Star Trek in Season 1.
In Season 1, both the Zhat Vash and super-synths were brand-new to Star Trek. Likewise in Season 2, a new story was told that didn’t rely on events or characters from past iterations of the franchise. So it has to be considered plausible – perhaps even more likely than not – that Captain Vadic is a brand-new character, and that the event in her past that kicked off her revenge obsession will also be new to us as the audience.
Modern Star Trek has, I feel, rather teased longstanding fans with implied or hinted connections that have ultimately failed to materialise. Discovery’s second season seemed to be setting up a possible Borg origin story – before that was ripped away in the season finale. Storylines in Seasons 3 and 4 also could have connected to events in Star Trek’s past, but decisions were taken to go in new directions again, despite seemingly teasing those potential ties. And as mentioned, both seasons of Picard have likewise not made major connections in terms of their main storylines.
Season 2 introduced us to a piece of Picard’s personal history that was brand-new.
Depending on your point of view, this can be a positive or negative thing! I would suggest, though, that after Season 2 spent a long time on an element of Picard’s personal history that was entirely new to us as the audience, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Captain Vadic was connected to an event that longstanding Star Trek fans would be familiar with.
The “mystery box” style of storytelling can work very well, but it can also feel rather hollow if the story doesn’t pull out an excellent ending, and when a connection to past iterations of Star Trek has been teased – as it arguably has been with Vadic’s quest for revenge – it could feel underwhelming if we’re once again confronted with some brand-new story that bears no relation to anything from The Next Generation or other aspects of Picard’s past that we already know. So there’s a potential stumbling block here, I fear.
So that’s it!
Captain Vadic on the Titan’s viewscreen.
We’ve considered a few possibilities for who Captain Vadic could be and what her beef might be with Admiral Picard and his crew. As much as I like the idea of Vadic having a major connection to an event in The Next Generation or one of the films, if you forced me to place a bet right now, in November 2022, I’d have to put my money on her being someone brand-new, with her quest for vengeance stemming from an event that will also be entirely new to us as the audience. Two seasons of Picard in which Star Trek’s past didn’t matter (as well as similar things going on in Discovery) may have left me feeling a little jaded in that respect!
But regardless, it was fun to speculate. All of the suggestions I’ve made feel plausible at this juncture… based on what little we’ve seen of Captain Vadic in her sole appearance in one teaser trailer! It would certainly be fun, in a season that will bring back the main cast members of The Next Generation, if the villain they had to defeat was also someone from the past.
The Shrike, Captain Vadic’s ship.
As mentioned, I don’t think we’ve yet seen all of Vadic’s friends and allies in what I’ve termed the “rogues’ gallery.” The most recent trailer showed us Professor Moriarty and Lore, but there seem to be at least four others with Captain Vadic on the bridge of her ship in one of the clips – and her ship will need more than just a handful of people on its crew! I think it’s possible that other villains from The Next Generation era, such as Sela or Bok, could make appearances in Season 3.
I’m looking forward to Season 3, even though I was generally unimpressed with much of Season 2. A return to space and a villain who feels rather Khan-esque promises to be a good combination, one that should lead to a fun and exciting story. When Season 3 premieres in February, I hope you’ll join me for episode reviews and perhaps some theory-crafting, and if we get any more trailers or significant announcements between now and then, I’ll take a look at those as well!
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video around the world beginning on the 16th of February 2023. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-2 and the trailers, teasers, and announcements for Season 3. Spoilers are also present for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.
At New York Comic-Con back in September, Paramount showed off a new trailer for the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Picard, and I’m finally getting around to taking a look at it! This time, I’m going to give my thoughts and analysis of what was shown off in the trailer, as well as speculate a little about what the plot of Picard’s final season might end up looking like.
The first thing to say is that Season 3 appears to be another standalone story, one that doesn’t follow on directly from the events of Season 2. Does that mean that we’ll never know who or what caused the anomaly that was so central to kicking off (and resolving) last season’s main story? And does it mean that the dangling story threads from Season 1 will also be left unresolved when Picard comes to an end? I hope not – but I have to say that, based on what we know of Season 3 at this stage, my hopes of the unresolved storylines from Seasons 1 and 2 being addressed are fading fast.
Will Season 3 provide a conclusion to unresolved stories from Seasons 1 and 2?
And before we go any further, I want to address that. Picard, despite having a lot of promise when it was announced and when it premiered, has been hit-and-miss so far; a rather disconnected series that has boldly tried some new and potentially-interesting ideas, but that hasn’t always managed to pull them off successfully. I still haven’t written up my full thoughts on Season 2 as a whole, but suffice to say that there were some pretty significant problems that seriously hampered my enjoyment. If Season 3 is, as I suspect, leaving all of that behind to rush off into another new story, for me that’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, spending too much time looking back at the underwhelming elements of Season 2 isn’t what I’d want to see… but on the other, Season 3 represents Star Trek’s last chance – at least in this iteration – to make more of some of those unresolved storylines. Season 2 could end up looking better in retrospect if it turns out to be one piece of a greater whole… but if Season 3 drops those stories to do its own thing, it will remain a disappointment.
I’ve already shared my thoughts on the way the casting situation has been handled, but as we’re diving back into Picard Season 3, I think it’s worth pointing out again that the return of The Next Generation’s main characters – all of whom got some screen time in the new trailer – has come at the expense of several genuinely interesting characters from Seasons 1 and 2 of Picard that we were only just beginning to get to know. As it seems unlikely that most of them will be seen in the franchise again – at least, not for a long time – I think it’s worth reiterating just how much potential has been squandered.
The cast of Star Trek: Picard Season 1 – most of whom are not returning this time around.
If the Star Trek franchise is to survive long-term, it can’t simply coast on nostalgia. Trying new things, innovating, and introducing new characters has been what the franchise has done since the 1980s, but the current crop of Star Trek shows all seem to be falling back on nostalgic crutches in a way that they really shouldn’t. Picard Season 3 may be the epitome of this backwards-looking take on the franchise, but it’s certainly not the only example.
But that’s enough about that for now! We’re here to look at the trailer rather than talk about Picard or the franchise in a general sense, and the New York Comic-Con trailer definitely raised a lot of interesting (or potentially-interesting) points!
The USS Titan at warp.
First of all, the season’s main villain, played by veteran actress Amanda Plummer, will be called Captain Vadic. Vadic was seen briefly in the trailer, and seems to have an almost Khan-like obsession with getting revenge on Picard and his former Enterprise-D crewmates. Exactly what her beef is with the retired admiral is unclear… but given who else is involved, surely there has to be a connection to The Next Generation, right?
Well, not so fast! In both Seasons 1 and 2, key storylines were ultimately not connected in a major way to Picard’s past… or at least, not to elements of his past that we were already familiar with. Speculation abounded regarding the Coppelius synths, the mysterious super-synths, the Borg Queen, the anomaly, and Q, but ultimately in both seasons the writers chose to go in a different and new direction. Captain Vadic could be connected to Picard either because she’s a returning character utilising a nom de guerre or because she’s related to or otherwise connected to a classic character. And don’t worry, I have plenty of ideas in that vein that we’ll talk about on another occasion! But I think we have to consider the very real possibility that this character, as well as whatever may have caused her to hate Picard and his crew, will be something entirely new to us as the audience.
The mysterious Captain Vadic.
I liked what I saw of Amanda Plummer’s performance in the trailer. She brought a ferocity to Captain Vadic that straddled the line between dedication and obsession, and had an almost animalistic or beastly quality that echoed not only Khan, but other great Star Trek villains too. Vadic has been described as an “alien,” though what species she could be if not human wasn’t clear. Could her scars suggest some kind of ex-Borg origin, perhaps?
Vadic’s ship, the Shrike, seemed to draw inspiration from Nemo’s Narada that we saw in 2009’s Star Trek reboot film, as well as perhaps from the Romulan vessels seen in Nemesis, which could all hint at a Romulan (or Reman) origin or connection. The sweeping, blade-like lines of the Shrike give the vessel a genuinely threatening appearance, and if what we saw from Picard and Riker in the trailer depicts them and their vessel in combat against the Shrike, Vadic’s ship seems to have the weapons to back up its intimidating look!
The Shrike, Captain Vadic’s ship.
Speaking of starships, we got a closer look at the USS Titan in the new trailer – and it looks absolutely fantastic! One of the criticisms some fans have had of Picard – especially with last season’s 21st Century story – has been the lack of starships, and in addition to the Titan we also caught a glimpse of Star Trek Online’s Enterprise-F. Though I dabbled briefly in Star Trek Online, MMO games aren’t really “my thing,” but I’m nevertheless happy to see the creative team take inspiration from the game on this occasion. Fans of Star Trek Online will be thrilled, undoubtedly!
La Sirena was also present, and may be being used by Raffi and/or Seven of Nine. I like the design of La Sirena and I hope the story will find a way to include the smaller vessel alongside bigger ships like the Titan and Enterprise-F. Rounding out the “starship porn” in the trailer was a beautiful shot of Earth Spacedock – bringing back memories of both The Next Generation and some of the Star Trek films in which the massive station was featured. Could a Search for Spock-inspired starship heist be on the cards? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
The Enterprise-F, with a design borrowed from Star Trek Online.
Although the producers are keeping a pretty tight lid on the season’s story, the trailer did actually give us quite a lot to go on. Captain Vadic seems to be chasing Dr Crusher – perhaps to get to Picard or get his attention – and her reason for doing so seems to be connected to her hatred of Picard and his Enterprise-D crewmates. As I said, we’ll speculate more about her possible reasons in the days ahead.
As part of her anti-Picard vendetta, Captain Vadic appears to have put together what I’d describe as something of a “rogues’ gallery” of The Next Generation’s villains. We saw Professor Moriarty – the sentient hologram created in the Season 2 episode Elementary, Dear Data – as well as Lore, Data’s “evil twin.” Could there be more villains from The Next Generation era who’ll be brought on board? I think that’s a distinct possibility!
Professor Moriarty joins a “rogues’ gallery” for an anti-Picard vendetta.
Captain Vadic was seen speaking to a group of characters – most of whom had their faces covered or obscured – promising “vengeance,” so I think it’s at least possible that we haven’t seen the last big or surprising announcement of a returning villain! Several of the characters with Vadic seemed to be aliens, and I can think of no shortage of alien adversaries that Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D tackled during their adventures. Could the promise of revenge combined with Captain Vadic’s powerful personality have convinced them all to work together?
Any time a television show brings back a number of past characters all at once, there’s a risk of some of them being overshadowed. If, as I suspect, Captain Vadic is someone wholly new connected to a hitherto-unseen event in Picard’s past, her dominant role as the leader of the rogues’ gallery could end up relegating the likes of Lore and Professor Moriarty to smaller cameos. Depending on how it’s handled that could be fine – or it could be a little underwhelming. Paramount is promising big things from this “explosive” final season of Picard… so I hope the series can deliver!
Lore makes a return!
We saw quite a lot of Riker in the new trailer, more than almost anyone else aside from Picard himself. The relationship between Riker and Picard was, in my view anyway, beautifully restored in the Season 1 episode Nepenthe, which saw the two men reuniting for the first time in almost twenty years (at least on screen). After seeing Riker out of uniform enjoying his family life and retirement, it’ll be great to see him back in action once more.
I feel that Worf’s appearance has the most potential to cause controversy out of all of the returning cast members. His statement in the trailer that he “prefers pacifism” and has abandoned the way of violence was played for laughs at first, but it represents a major departure from the character we knew through seven seasons of The Next Generation and four of Deep Space Nine. It’s definitely something that could feel like a natural progression if it’s suitably well-explained – some older Klingon characters, like Kor, for instance, seemed to mellow with age and become less quick to anger – but it’s definitely a move that could be controversial in some quarters. Could this be the producers and creators potentially setting up a calmer, more level-headed Worf for a leading role in his own series or film?
Worf in the trailer.
We didn’t see too much of either Dr Crusher or Deanna Troi, though the former seems to be a major driving force in kicking off the storyline. I expect we’ll hear of her distress signal in the season premiere, and that could be the moment where an off-duty Picard was approached by two Starfleet officers (was that scene in Guinan’s bar? I couldn’t tell!) As for Troi, she seems to be along for the ride with Riker, and her Betazoid senses were put to use describing the mood on what could be the Shrike as an “all-consuming darkness.” This ties into the themes of obsession and revenge that I touched on earlier.
Seeing Dr Crusher in some form of stasis pod was interesting; could her distress signal have been the lure to get Picard (and the others) back out into space? If Dr Crusher was the only one of the Enterprise-D crew who was on a deep space assignment, she would seem to be the logical target – as bait in a trap!
Dr Crusher seems to kick off the story.
Raffi also seems to be being hunted – can we assume it’s by the same adversary? If so, Captain Vadic may be doing more than simply targeting the crew of the Enterprise-D – she may be trying to get to Picard by attacking anyone he’s worked closely with in the past. As his former aide-de-camp from his time as an Admiral, Raffi certainly fits the profile!
But there could be more to it than that. We’re getting into some seriously speculative territory, but if the story of the new season involves a villain (and/or a rogues’ gallery of villains) trying to hurt Picard by targeting those close to him, we could potentially learn of the deaths of some friendly faces. Elnor and Soji spring to mind as possible victims – both worked closely with Picard and neither are scheduled to make a major appearance this time around. Could one or both of their deaths have sent Raffi into hiding? Or put her on the revenge trail?
Who is Raffi hiding from?
Finally we have Geordi La Forge. In the trailer his main moment came when he seemed to criticise Picard for dragging Worf and Riker into whatever crisis is going on… but it doesn’t end there. We know from casting – and briefly from an appearance at the Titan’s helm in the trailer – that Geordi will be joined by two of his children. One of his daughters will be played by LeVar Burton’s real-life daughter Mica, which is neat. Mica Burton hosted Star Trek Day 2021 alongside Wil Wheaton, and has been a fixture in the expanded Star Trek community ever since the franchise returned to the small screen.
Having covered the main characters – and speculated a little about some of them – we still have a few disjointed clips and images to assess from the trailer before we wrap things up! Starfleet Academy or Starfleet HQ appears to be attacked and destroyed at one point, but for some reason my gut instinct is to say that that may not happen in the real world. We could be looking at a simulation, dream, or plan rather than an actual attack. I don’t know exactly why I feel that way… but I do!
Is this moment real, or does it take place in a dream or fantasy sequence?
Amongst some wreckage in space we caught a glimpse of a derelict or abandoned starship. Could this be Dr Crusher’s ship – the one from which she sent the distress signal to Admiral Picard? The name and registry number was hard to make out from the trailer, and the design seemed similar to the USS Titan. The field of debris in which the ship was drifting seems too large to all have come from one (largely intact) vessel, so could this be the aftermath of a larger battle in which other ships were destroyed?
As mentioned, I can’t quite tell if the trailer’s opening shot sees Picard at Guinan’s bar on Earth (“Ten” on Forward Avenue in Los Angeles’ historic district that was featured in Season 2), but it certainly could be. Starting Season 3 in a location that was central to the story of Season 2 would go some way to tying the stories together if there isn’t a bigger connection between what seems to be two separate stories.
Is Picard dining at Guinan’s bar in this scene?
Some of the shots of the Shrike and Titan chasing one another and battling seem to be reminiscent of the Briar Patch from the film Insurrection, so could that be a clue? Starship battles that take place in nebulae have been a part of the franchise from The Wrath of Khan all the way through to Discovery’s most recent outing, so it’s by no means a cast-iron statement. But the colour and appearance of the clouds in the nebula certainly brought back memories of Insurrection for me.
The Shrike having the power to outgun the Titan could mean that the ship is incredibly powerful – like Nero’s Narada or Shinzon’s Scimitar, for example – but it could also speak to the Titan potentially being an older vessel, perhaps one that has been recently taken out of mothballs and potentially with only a skeleton crew aboard. While the Shrike definitely has the appearance of a warship or a hunter, it could be worth keeping in mind the Titan’s potential condition!
The Shrike engages the Titan.
After being given a field commission last season and assuming command of the USS Stargazer, Seven of Nine appears to wear the rank pips of a commander rather than a captain, though she does still seem to be on the command track. It wouldn’t be the first time that an officer below the rank of captain has been given a command, though, so Seven may yet prove to be in command of a vessel. Geordi, meanwhile, appears to hold the rank of either a commodore or perhaps a one-star admiral based on the single pip seen on his uniform collar.
I find it interesting, too, that Seven has chosen to remain in Starfleet while Raffi appears to have taken La Sirena on a mission of her own. Is this something that we’ll see her do during the season, or is this where her story will begin? If so, what could have caused her to abandon Seven, Elnor, and her role in Starfleet? And could this connect with my theory above about Captain Vadic potentially having attacked, kidnapped, or killed the likes of Elnor and Soji?
Seven of Nine wielding a phaser pistol.
By far my biggest question at this stage is this: who else, besides Moriarty and Lore, might be joining Captain Vadic’s rogues’ gallery? I feel all but certain that we’re going to see other villains of The Next Generation era coming on board if this is a quest for vengeance against Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D. From the Duras family and Sela to DaiMon Bok and even the Maquis, Picard and his crew thwarted the nefarious schemes of many villains during their adventures – and if Captain Vadic is indeed putting together a crew of her own to seek revenge, there must be no shortage of applicants!
If Picard and the crew are going to go out with a bang, as we’ve been promised, facing off against a team of their most powerful and feared adversaries could absolutely make for an exciting, tense, and explosive season of Star Trek. After the slower pace of Season 2 and its focus on Picard’s innermost thoughts and his personal family history, something a bit more action-oriented this time around could be just what the doctor ordered. Although I’m still upset about the decision to ditch most of the main cast members from Seasons 1 and 2 in favour of this return to The Next Generation’s characters, I’m hopeful that what we’ll get will be a fun ride and a great way to say goodbye.
Season 3 is purportedly the final voyage for Picard and the crew.
The trailer shown off at New York Comic-Con looked action-packed and exciting, so hopefully that’s representative of the new season. Although Picard has its problems and I have some gripes, the trailer itself has raised my hopes, and I’m now definitely looking forward to the new season.
So that’s it for now! Although this summer and autumn has seen me writing less and making fewer posts here on the website, when Picard Season 3 kicks off in February I still plan to review each episode in turn, as well as crafting a few theories and giving my thoughts on how the season as a whole shapes up. So I hope you’ll stay tuned and join me for that in the new year!
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video around the world beginning on the 16th of February 2023. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1 and 2, as well as the teaser trailer and casting announcements for Season 3. Further spoilers are present for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and other iterations of the Star Trek franchise.
Even as we continue to wind down from Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, my thoughts have already turned to Season 3! Although the new season is still in production and is probably a year away, I wanted to get one of my big pre-season theories written down ahead of time. This one ties together events in all three seasons of the show – and I think that could make it a satisfying story if it were to unfold.
There are some legitimate concerns about Picard Season 3, at least from where I’m sitting. The fact that most of the new cast members have been unceremoniously dumped in order to make way for the returning characters from The Next Generation really stings, and I’m truly disappointed that we won’t get to spend more time with the likes of Elnor and Soji next time around. I wanted to acknowledge that before we proceed with the theory, because both the cutting of characters and the fact that several of them have disappeared without a proper goodbye is poor form from Picard’s producers and creative team.
Most of the Picard cast are not returning for Season 3.
So let’s talk about this theory, then! In short, what I’ve come up with connects events in both Seasons 1 and 2 with what has been teased about Season 3, potentially meaning that Picard will turn out to be one long connected story after all. We’re taking the mysterious anomaly encountered at the end of Season 2 as a starting point and asking “who could have created something like that?” The Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid believed it was artificial in nature and had the potential to wipe out all life in an entire sector of space. That seems like the first phase of an invasion or attack – so who can we think of in Star Trek who could create a weapon on that scale?
We could absolutely pick on factions like the Dominion, Enterprise’s Sphere-Builders, or Species 8472. All of those – and many more – were potential suspects when it came to another mysterious anomaly in Discovery’s fourth season, too, and for good reason! But when we consider the elements that have already been introduced in Star Trek: Picard in particular, one faction more than any other appears to stand out: the super-synths from Season 1.
The super-synths as glimpsed in Season 1.
To briefly recap if it’s been a while since you watched Et in Arcadia Ego: the super-synths claimed to be “an alliance of synthetic life,” and it was implied that they resided far beyond the Milky Way galaxy. I nicknamed them the “Mass Effect Reapers” for their similarities to that video game faction! The super-synths literally moved stars to point to a beacon that they’d left behind on the planet of Aia, and in a vision that seemed jumbled and terrifying to organic minds they promised to come to the aid of any synths who requested their help.
The super-synths believed that all organics would eventually attack and destroy their synthetic creations; that war between synthetic and organic life was inevitable. The plans they left behind could open a portal to their home in dark space, allowing the super-synths to show up anywhere in the galaxy at a moment’s notice. It was left ambiguous as to whether their offer to help synths in their fight against organics was actually genuine or whether it was some kind of elaborate trap.
The super-synths’ portal over Coppelius.
Although Admiral Picard was able to convince Soji to close the portal she had opened before the super-synths could arrive at the planet of Coppelius, the portal was open for a significant amount of time. In that time the super-synths would’ve seen a civilisation of synthetics on Coppelius asking for their help, and two massive fleets of starships engaged in a stand-off over the planet. Whatever their intentions may have been, Soji and Sutra’s actions have ensured that the super-synths are now aware of the Milky Way, the Federation, the Romulans, and the Coppelius synths.
The super-synths then disappeared from the plot and weren’t mentioned again. It isn’t clear what happened to them, what their goals may have been, nor how they would have reacted to the portal being closed at the last moment. What we do know is that the super-synths possess powerful technology – technology that seems to allow them to hop from one part of the universe to another in an instant.
The super-synths left a beacon on the planet of Aia.
This brings us to the anomaly encountered by the Borg and the Federation at the end of Season 2. The strange anomaly was described by Seven of Nine as being akin to a “transwarp conduit.” The Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid was unsure of who created it, but considered them to be “a threat” requiring close observation. The anomaly was also described as being one piece of a larger puzzle – something that could tie in with a theory like this one!
Given what we know of the super-synths based on their appearance in Season 1, creating something on this scale seems well within their capabilities. They left behind instructions on how to create a portal to their domain, and what is a transwarp conduit if not a portal between two points in spacetime? Then there’s the scale of the attack: the initial outpouring of energy was enough to destroy an entire sector of space, something that hardly seems impossible for a faction that can literally move entire stars.
A joint Federation-Borg fleet defends against the anomaly at the end of Season 2.
So I think we have enough evidence based on what we saw on screen in the Season 2 finale to make the case that the anomaly may have been created by the same faction of super-synths that very nearly arrived at Coppelius in Season 1. But what of Season 3?
Not much has been officially teased so far about Picard’s upcoming third season – but we have a little to go on. Besides the announcement of returning cast members, we heard a few new lines of dialogue and caught a glimpse of both Admiral Picard and Captain Riker in a teaser trailer released to mark First Contact Day last month, and nothing there contradicts anything I’ve suggested above.
In fact, we could try to build a case for the Season 3 teaser hinting at this theory!
Captain Riker in the Season 3 teaser.
Firstly, the clips we saw of Admiral Picard and Captain Riker showed them readying themselves for combat, wielding some kind of phaser pistol (possibly the kind seen briefly in Seasons 1 and 2). At least part of the season, then, is going to involve a fight of some kind against a hitherto-unseen enemy! That’s hardly conclusive, of course, but it doesn’t contradict the idea that the main enemy is the super-synths.
Secondly, we have a handful of lines heard in voiceover. Geordi talked about “rushing into danger” during his time aboard the Enterprise. Worf speaks, saying that “sacrifice is required.” Dr Crusher spoke directly to Picard, telling him that “the galaxy comes calling.” In typical understated style, Riker talked about a “good old-fashioned road trip,” before Troi rounded things out by letting Picard know that he “will not be alone.” Again, nothing conclusive there – but also nothing contradictory. All the characters seem to be talking about gearing up for a big mission or battle.
Admiral Picard with a phaser pistol in the Season 3 teaser.
But the most interesting line in the trailer – and one that could perhaps be pointing to some kind of connection to synthetic life – came from Brent Spiner’s currently-unknown character. Spiner’s inflection sounded very emotive, definitely not like Data or B4. My first thought was that he could be portraying Lore (Data’s “evil twin” from The Next Generation), but he could also be portraying Dr Altan Inigo Soong – the son of Data’s creator who was a major character at the end of Season 1.
The line that stood out to me was this: “Evolution is not an act of preservation; it’s addition.” That line is ambiguous, naturally, but if we assume that Spiner’s character has something to do with synthetic life and synthetic research, he could very well be talking about the creation of new synths or the search for new synthetic life. He could also be talking about some kind of fusion between organic and synthetic life – perhaps Borg assimilation.
Will Brent Spiner’s Dr Altan Inigo Soong be a villain next season?
We don’t know what goals or objectives the super-synths might have, but if they view organic life as a threat it’s possible that they plan some kind of assimilation-like process to forcibly convert organics to become partially synthetic. That could be what Dr Soong is referring to – and he could be the super-synths’ advocate if they arrive in force and broadcast their intentions. Akin to someone who has been “indoctrinated” by the Reapers in the Mass Effect series, Dr Soong may be doing the super-synths’ bidding. That could set up Brent Spiner’s character to be one of the season’s main villains (again).
Am I clutching at straws? Well, that’s possible. But because of how deliberately coy the writers and producers of Picard have been about several key aspects of the storylines of both Seasons 1 and 2, I think this idea is a solid possibility. We don’t know what the super-synths wanted, but we do know they’re technologically very powerful and more than capable of creating portals and anomalies. We don’t know where the mysterious anomaly in Season 2 came from, nor why the Dr Jurati-Borg Queen hybrid considered it and its creators to be a threat. There’s enough ambiguity in those two points alone to reasonably connect them.
The Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid.
Ever since Season 1 came to a rather unspectacular conclusion, I’ve been hoping that Star Trek will do something more with this faction of super-synths. I suggested that they could be involved with the main storylines in both Seasons 3 and 4 of Discovery, as they seemed to be a faction with the technological power to do something like the Burn or to create something like the DMA. Those theories didn’t pan out, of course, but it’s possible that things will come full-circle and we’ll see them again before Picard comes to an end.
What we’d get, if this theory were to pan out, would be a transformation in the way Star Trek: Picard has operated. Rather than being three essentially standalone seasons with three distinct, separate stories, everything would be connected. What happened on Mars that sent Picard into a decade-long depression would be connected to the final fight against the super-synths; they’d be responsible for all of it. It would bring together the stories of Seasons 1, 2, and 3 in a neat way. The first two seasons could still be enjoyed as standalone affairs; nothing in Season 3 would overwrite any of that. But for fans who want to see a broader connection, this theory would deliver it!
The anomaly in Season 2.
Setting this theory aside for a moment, one of the concerns I have about Season 3 is that the events of Seasons 1 and 2 will be ignored. The fact that most main cast members aren’t returning has really ramped up the sense that Picard Season 3 may try to ignore everything that’s just happened – or relegate it to a couple of short scenes at the beginning of episode 1 – and rush ahead to become The Next Generation Season 8.
In particular, the mysterious anomaly that was shown off at the end of the season could be ignored as part of this push to get to a new story. I truly believe that would be a mistake; not only was the anomaly massively important to the plot of Season 2, but it was also very deliberately unexplained. Who could create something like that? Why would someone do that? Was it meant to be an attack against the Federation? How did the Borg know it was coming? There are many questions like this that Season 2 chose not to answer; if Season 3 ignores them as well then it’ll be very disappointing.
Will the dangling story threads of the anomaly and the Borg be concluded in Season 3?
Regular readers may recall from my Picard Season 2 reviews and commentary that I wasn’t wild about many of the storytelling decisions made last time. This new season is an opportunity to build on what came before; to make some of the first two seasons’ underwhelming events matter in a way that they currently don’t. If the Season 2 anomaly, for example, was just a naked plot device to give the Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid something to do then it’ll remain a disappointing element of an already underwhelming season. But if it turns out that Season 3 revisits it in a big way and builds on what we saw last time, it has the potential to transform this aspect of Season 2 and make it matter.
So I think that’s all there is to say this time. To briefly recap my theory: the super-synths from Season 1 were responsible for creating the mysterious anomaly that almost destroyed an entire sector of space at the end of Season 2. They will use this anomaly – and perhaps others like it – to travel to the Milky Way galaxy, where they will become one of the main villains of Season 3.
The beacon used to summon the super-synths.
I quite like this idea of bringing the story of Star Trek: Picard full circle, as well as bringing together the seemingly disconnected events of Seasons 1 and 2 in a natural, understandable way. Nothing we’ve seen on screen would prevent the Season 1 super-synths from also creating the dangerous anomaly in Season 2 – so if Season 3 ignores both of those things to go in a different direction… well, this might just have to become my own personal head-canon!
It’s always worth saying that no fan theory, no matter how fun or plausible it may seem, is worth getting too worked up over. This is an idea that I came up with to bind together events in Star Trek: Picard that may ultimately be unrelated. This theory may go nowhere – and that’s okay! I like it when Star Trek can surprise me and take me to different and unexpected places, so I always like to caveat my theories by saying that I have no “insider information,” I’m not trying to claim that anything we’ve talked about today will ever be seen on screen, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming the story of Season 3 – whatever direction it ultimately goes.
Having touched on this theory briefly the other day I wanted to give it a full write-up here on the website. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more Star Trek content in the weeks and months ahead – including a look at any major news or trailers for Picard Season 3. Until next time!
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video around the world some time next year. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.
Trekking with Dennis 