Season 3’s Star Trek: Picard not only brings back Geordi La Forge in episode 6. The big The Next Generation reunion surprises and confuses with yet another return.
Warning, spoilers for episode 6 of Picard season 3: Patience pays off. The final season of Star Trek: Picard brought back, piece by piece, the members of Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) old Enterprise crew. After six weeks, the reunion is finally complete with the episode The Bounty.
In the midst of the Changeling conspiracy, Picard seeks the help of an old friend: Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), the head of the Starfleet Museum. However, the Enterprise reunion would not be complete without another member. In a surprising twist, the return of the twice-deceased Data (Brent Spiner) also succeeds.
The trailers for the final Picard season misled us. Before, it looked as if actor Brent Spiner would only be seen as Data’s evil twin Lore. The new episode proves us wrong. Here you can find an explanation of Data’s unusual return.
Star Trek surprise: Picard finale solves Data problem
Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard gave Data the emotional send-off he was previously denied in Star Trek: Nemesis. Only unfortunately, Data’s death became a problem as time went on. The big reunion of the old Enterprise veterans would have to take place without Data. All the greater is the surprise now that the series has found a (somewhat complicated) solution to bring Data back from the dead.
In the shallows of Daystrom Station, Worf (Michael Dorn), Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) make a surprising discovery. The scientist Altan Soong wanted to create a masterpiece shortly before his death. A synth-android hybrid that combines the best set pieces of Data, B-4, Lore, Data’s daughter Lal and Altan himself into a naturally ageing golem. This is a positronic body, like Jean-Luc Picard’s.
Altan Soong was unable to complete the project before his death and successfully integrate all the personalities into the new Data 2.0. This is now being directed by Geordi La Forge. And Star Trek: Picard has thus solved two problems at once. Data has (partially) returned and his actor Brent Spiner does not have to be digitally rejuvenated again at great expense.
Data’s greatest wish almost comes true in Star Trek: Picard
For Spiner, the Data return brings with it an exciting challenge. After he has already embodied a wide variety of characters from the Soong family in the course of Star Trek history, he is now taking on the next level of acting.
For now he gets to bring to life a character with multiple personalities that break out uncontrollably. And fans can look forward to an emotional conclusion to his character. For Data finally achieves what he always wanted: to become as good as human.
With Data and Geordi La Forge, all the key members of The Next Generation crew are now part of the plot of Picard Season 3, and the series has four episodes left to get them all together in one place for a real reunion. Perhaps on an old Enterprise-D from the Starfleet Museum collection? But first, Captain Riker and Deanna have to be freed from the clutches of the changelings.
