Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 7 – “Monsters”
Guinan’s (Ito Aghayere) summoning spell in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 7 didn’t conjure Q (John de Lancie) because neither she nor Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) are aware of the problems the cosmic being encountered in the 21st century. Q is in 2024 Los Angeles to change the timeline and ensure the dark future ruled by the Confederation of Earth happens. Q’s target is Jean-Luc’s ancestor, Renée Picard (Penelope Mitchell), an astronaut whose destiny is to pilot the historic Europa Mission that will change the course of history.
Jean-Luc discovered that Guinan is operating her bar, 10 Forward, in 2024 Los Angeles but the El-Aurian bartender didn’t recognize the man who would become her closest friend in the 24th and 25th centuries. This is because Q’s meddling with the timeline meant that Star Trek: The Next Generation never happened. Thus, Captain Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D never time-traveled back to 1893 San Francisco to meet Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) in “Time’s Arrow.” However, Jean-Luc was able to convince Guinan of who he is and what their future is meant to be. For her part, Guinan introduced Picard to the Watcher he was seeking, who turned out to be a Supervisor named Tallinn (Orla Brady) assigned to Earth to watch over Renée Picard. But Picard and his motley crew soon learned Q has his own ally, Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner), who Q sent to eliminate Renée and who nearly killed Jean-Luc in the process.
In Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 7, “Monsters,” Jean-Luc sought Guinan’s help once more because he wanted to meet Q face-to-face. Guinan revealed that the El-Aurians and the Q Continuum achieved a truce long ago but Guinan’s people saved the actual moment of the truce in the liquid of a bottle that she possesses. But when Guinan uncorked the bottle, drank what was inside, and summoned Q, her spell didn’t work. This is because neither Guinan nor Jean-Luc are aware that Q has lost his powers in 2024. Q himself didn’t know until he tried to snap his fingers and harm Renée Picard at the Europa Mission. Without his omnipotence, Q has had to resort to recruiting intermediaries like Adam Soong to do his dirty work.
It’s possible that Q did hear or feel the El-Aurian’s earth-shaking ritual but without his powers, he was unable to instantly teleport to 10 Forward and answer the call. There’s every chance Q may still go to 10 Forward but he has to resort to conventional means to travel. If and when Q arrives at Guinan’s bar, he will likely find it empty since the El-Aurian and Picard were both arrested by the FBI under suspicion of being aliens. But it’s also possible that, stripped of his powers, Q didn’t register the El-Aurian summons at all. What wasn’t explained by Star Trek: Picard is why no other member of the Q Continuum responded to Guinan’s spell since, according to the basic rule of the ritual, “An El-Aurian summons a Q, a Q appears.” Is there no other Q in the galaxy that could respond to Guinan’s call?
Star Trek: Picard is also being vague and inconsistent about what Q’s powers are in 2024. The omnipotent imp may not be able to teleport or bend reality like he usually does but Q still seems to have some abilities. Q was able to hack into Adam Soong’s computers, including his 3D printer to generate a Q calling card (with an Easter egg phone number Trekkers can call in real life). Q also had the means to generate a temporary cure for Kore Soong’s (Isa Briones) genetic disease, and he promised Adam that he has the real cure. Q is also able to travel – but how? Does Q know how to drive a car? Star Trek: Picard isn’t revealing the details of how Q is existing and pursuing his plan in 2024 but he definitely is lacking the full range of his omnipotence, which is why Q didn’t respond to Guinan’s summons.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
