The debut of Star Trek: Picard marked twenty years since Star Trek fans had seen Patrick Stewart return to the role that made him a household name; Jean-Luc Picard, one of Starfleet’s most famous officers. For seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and multiple films, Captain Jean-Luc Picard led the stalwart crew of the Enterprise-D and later the Enterprise-E with compassion, integrity, and diplomacy. Picard’s captaincy may have been different from his predecessor’s Captain Kirk, but it was just as effective, especially rooted in his ability to always see the best in those around him.
The new series exclusive to CBS All Access revealed a man who had been much tempered by the passing years of retirement, long having left his daring days in Starfleet behind him. Even the emergence of a new adventure and a new crew couldn’t shake some of the effects of isolation. But by series end, with newfound vigor and purpose, the old Picard began to come to the fore. Here are 5 ways Captain Picard improved as a person, and 5 ways he didn’t.
IMPROVED: PERSONAL DISPLAYS OF EMOTION
Watching Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation was witnessing a study in emotional distancing at the professional level. An intensely private person, Picard never joined his bridge officers for their weekly poker night, and rarely allowed anyone access to his innermost personal thoughts.
Throughout Star Trek: Picard, beginning with his Romulan refugee housekeepers and continuing with the crew of the La Sirena, he allowed himself to emote freely without care for rank or distinction. No longer bound by the trappings of duty and protocol, Picard felt free to be himself.
DIDN’T IMPROVE: TOO TRUSTING
From the moment Dahj mysteriously appeared on his property, Picard trusted her almost explicitly, even when her presence caused Romulan Tal Shiar agents to break into his house. This occurred before he even knew her special connection to his longtime friend, the late Commander Data.
Furthermore, he trusted Seven of Nine, a woman he’d only heard about, to assist in a dangerous operation in the abolished Neutral Zone. He acted surprised by her duplicitous actions, when he should have expected that level of capricious behavior from someone he’d never served with.
IMPROVED: ABILITY TO ASK FOR HELP
Though Picard wasn’t above asking for help from Q when the omnipotent trickster sent the Enterprise right into the Borg’s path, it took a situation of great importance to make Captain Picard ask for help in a plaintive way. While he always sought the counsel of his officers for a mission, it was harder for him to accept their help in any other circumstance.
Going to Starfleet headquarters after the way he’d summarily left the organization took gall, but going to apologize to Raffi and essentially beg for her help after Starfleet dismissed him took even more of it. Picard sought help from all across the universe and learned that if he was willing to ask for it, it would be granted.
DIDN’T IMPROVE: BECAME PETTY AND SHORT-TEMPERED
Years in isolation as a recluse in Burgundy country had made Jean-Luc Picard a particularly spiteful codger in some respects. While he was kindly and welcoming for the most part, his anti-social tendencies made him rough around the edges when it came to dealing with certain individuals.
He completely disregarded the fact that Elnor might have his own reasons for wanting to spend time with him as opposed to making it all about himself and Soji, and where Soji is concerned, he acted completely instinctively about her circumstances and how they affected her.
IMPROVED: WASN’T A STICKLER FOR PROTOCOL
For someone who was once so remiss to step outside the parameters of Federation doctrine and Starfleet protocol, Picard spent a lot of time during the series eschewing the very principles he’d once set the cadence of his life to. Starting with allowing a colleague to call him the unflattering moniker “JL”.
In the series, Picard seemed to operate by his own internal moral code, which didn’t need to be tethered to a certain starship, uniform, or com badge. He loosened his grip on controlling every aspect of his environment and the people in it, therefore allowing him to easily adapt when the situation called for it.
DIDN’T IMPROVE: BEAT HIMSELF UP ABOUT THINGS HE COULDN’T CHANGE
One of the foundational aspects of the series pertained to Commander Data’s sacrifice in Star Trek: Nemesis, where he allowed himself to get blown up aboard The Scimitar so that Captain Picard could live. Another was his assimilation into the Borg Collective, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Starfleet personnel.
Data’s devotion, along with the weight of the innocent victims of the Borg massacre, caused Picard immense guilt, and he spent the next twenty years feeling that the two events were clearly his fault. It seemed by the time he retired to Chateau Picard, the former admiral had many regrets. He blamed himself for so many things that were outside of his control.
IMPROVED: STOOD BY HIS PRINCIPLES
Picard had a long history of standing by his principles throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation when it came to tackling challenges with Klingons, the Borg, and even Starfleet. It didn’t matter if he had to stand toe to toe with a Klingon Chancellor, the Borg Queen, or a seditious Starfleet Admiral, he wouldn’t back down when any of them challenged his beliefs.
Though it pained fans to know Picard was no longer a part of an organization whose ideals he’d spent his entire life in devotion to, the fact that he quit Starfleet because it failed to live up to its conceptional principles gave them comfort. When push came to shove, Picard put his Federation credits where his mouth was.
DIDN’T IMPROVE: HIS ABILITY TO SEE THINGS FROM ANOTHER’S POINT OF VIEW
Picard often employed empathy to bridge interactions between two differing cultures, as well as two differing officers aboard the Enterprise. Whether it was a congregation of delegates from across the universe or a group of disgruntled officers in Ten Forward, Picard used his ability to put himself in another person’s shoes to settle disputes sagaciously.
In Star Trek: Picard, the former admiral displayed an egregious lack of one of his best traits. He failed to understand why Elnor was still upset with him for abandoning him decades ago and he couldn’t grasp what it was like for Soji to witness her reality be shattered all around her.
IMPROVED: RECOGNIZED HIS SHORTCOMINGS
Doubtless, fans might never get used to a Picard twenty years beyond the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, who was prone to petty remarks, hostility, and insensitivity. But the effects of Data’s sacrifice, assimilation into the Borg Collective, and the feeling that he let numerous loved ones down account for much of the change.
A saving grace was that for his part, Picard was able to recognize many of his shortcomings by the conclusion of the series. He apologized wherever necessary, and worked on mending his relationships with those he’d disappointed. And after the help of Agnes Jurati and Alton Soong, he has a second chance.
DIDN’T IMPROVE: HIS CAUTION
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picard learned with Q’s help what his life would have looked like had he displayed caution instead of courage during that fateful barfight with the Nausicaan. Foregoing an existence where he played it safe, Picard was nevertheless known for his erudite temperance between daring and recklessness.
Picard’s fortitude was always tempered with wisdom, yet in Star Trek: Picard he displays uncharacteristic brashness. On Vishta, after his reunion with Elnor, he walks into a Romulan watering hole where humans clearly aren’t welcome, and begins an altercation with a Romulan thug that was never going to be advantageous for either party.
