Star Trek: Picard‘s season 2 trailer has teased the reunion of one of Jean-Luc’s best friends, as well as one of his most troubling antagonists with the return of both Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan and John de Lancie as Q. Longtime Star Trek viewers will recognize Goldberg as the bartender/empathetic ear from Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Ten Forward, the lounge aboard the Enterprise-D. And of course, Q (and his people, the Q Continuum) has been a sliver in Starfleet’s palm since The Next Generation‘s premiere episode, “Encounter at Farpoint,” in 1987. But these two characters have an unexamined connection that fans have been waiting to be revealed for more than 30 years.
Early in Guinan’s residency on the Enterprise, it was revealed that she and the omnipotent Q had encountered each other previously. In The Next Generation episode, “Q Who” (season 2, episode 16), Guinan said that she and Q had “some dealings” previously. She seemed to be able to sense his presence, contacting the bridge to ask Commander Riker if anything unexpected had happened just before the crew realized that Jean-Luc was missing. Later, Q argued that Guinan, who Jean-Luc trusted implicitly, was “an imp” and said, “where she goes, trouble always follows.” He also implied that Guinan had gone by another name when he knew her previously. Beyond that, however, little is truly known about their relationship.
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By bringing back Guinan and Q for Picard season 2, Star Trek may finally be revealing the connection between the two long-lived and enigmatic characters. Both of them are part of civilizations that have been kept shadowed by mystery in the Star Trek franchise, though it is clear that Guinan’s people, the El-Aurian, were decimated by the Borg around 2265. Their homeworld was lost and the few survivors were scattered throughout the stars. Guinan spent time on Earth even prior to her world’s destruction, and it seems that’s where her story will pick up in Picard.
But there is also a connection between the Q Continuum and the Borg. De Lancie’s Q was the entity that introduced the Federation to the Borg—in the very same episode that Guinan and Q’s connection was established. And though the Q Continuum’s dealings with the Borg have never been clarified, it is clear that Q fears the potential that the Borg represents. It is also obvious that the Borg would benefit greatly from assimilating the incredible abilities of a Q.
Given the fact that both Guinan and Q will be returning in Picard, and the fact that the Borg (and Jean-Luc’s true nemesis, The Borg Queen) seem to be featured strongly in season 2, it will be interesting to see if the connections between these three are finally delved into. With Star Trek focusing on a serialized approach for the newer series and focusing on excavating the trauma that these action-packed storylines have created, these deeper relationships are ripe for development. It will be especially interesting to see three incredible characters – Jean-Luc, Guinan, and Q – work through these revelations as older, more mature people, untethered slightly from the confines of Starfleet.
Long-time fans of the Star Trek franchise hope to be rewarded for their loyalty with the answers they’ve waited a lifetime for. Picard season 2 will reunite several of the most interesting and mysterious characters in franchise history. In doing so, audiences may finally be given the answers to some of Star Trek‘s lingering questions, as well as creating fresh, new storylines to further these beloved characters’ arcs. Guinan’s ability to listen and perceive is an incredible foil to Q’s all-powerful, sometimes mischievous personality, and the fireworks could be amazing if Star Trek: Picard is allowed to fully develop their interactions.
