Within the second season of “Star Trek: Picard,” the great admiral (Patrick Stewart) is approached by his outdated rival, the trickster house deity Q (John de Lanice), a couple of new problem. Q snaps his fingers and flings Picard into an alternate universe the place Earth had change into a galaxy-wide tyrannical energy, dedicated to the extermination of its perceived enemies. Earth had already pushed the Romulans and the Klingons to extinction, and is now gearing as much as execute the last-known Borg (Annie Werching). It is fairly grim. Picard, occupying the house of his tyrannical interdimensional counterpart, has to assemble his buddies (Q conveniently teleports a number of of them to the evil universe as effectively), after which journey again in time to the yr 2024 to determine how the evil universe got here to be.
On the finish of the season, it is revealed that Q solely performed his little time-travel sport with Picard as a form of wistful farewell. Q was beforehand regarded as immortal, however he was really nearing the top of his life, and his powers have been waning. He used a few of his final shreds of magic to check Picard, hoping to attach with him. The season ends with Picard and Q giving one another a heat hug goodbye.
This was a comparatively restrained conclusion for the character, given how foolish he had been previously. There was an episode of “Star Trek: The Subsequent Era” whereby Q reworked Picard and his crew into Robin Hood characters, as an example. In one other episode, to rejoice a private milestone, Q appeared on the bridge of the Enterprise with a magically manifested mariachi band. Q, in case you could not inform, often introduced a substantial amount of levity to “Star Trek.”
When it got here to “Picard,” nevertheless, de Lanice most popular to be rather less ridiculous. He even made a particular request in that regard.
John de Lancie requested that he not be requested to put on tights
Remember the fact that “Star Trek: Picard” served largely as a throwback collection, catching up with Jean-Luc Picard about 20 years since his final look (within the 2002 function movie “Star Trek: Nemesis”). Many episodes of “Picard” introduced again acquainted faces from Picard’s world, together with Q, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), and the majority of the solid of “Star Trek: The Subsequent Era.” Stewart had agreed to return for the entire of the “Picard” collection, however de Lancie required some convincing.
De Lancie was involved that he, now in his mid-70s, could be required to be as buffoonish on “Picard” as he was a long time in the past within the Robin Hood episode. Fortunately, the producers of “Picard” put his thoughts comfy. As de Lanice defined to Newsweek in 2022:
“I sat down, and I stated, ‘Pay attention, the very first thing I need to know is: you are not going to be placing me in these tights once more, are you? As a result of if that is the case, the deal’s off!’ They stated ‘No, no, no, no, we’re going for a distinct really feel.’ I seemed just about as I do now. And so they stated, ‘As a matter of truth, we even need the beard, we wish a way of maturity. Time has handed, and there’s something up in your aspect.’ And I stated, ‘So it isn’t, like, mariachi band time?’ And so they stated, ‘No.'”
Q “died” on the finish of the second season of “Picard,” glad to have given his outdated pal one closing problem. His look was each threatening and nostalgic; it featured no mariachi bands, and Q himself wore a tasteful black overcoat. In fact, since Q does not expertise time linearly, he additionally returned on the finish of the third season of “Picard” to confront Picard’s grownup son Jack (Ed Speleers). Though it appears extremely unlikely, time will inform if Q seems in the proposed “Star Trek: Legacy.”
