Today, the third episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 streams for fans in the US on Paramount+. Things are looking bleak for our heroes as Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the Shrike has the USS Titan trapped in the Ryton system nebula. But with Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and her mysterious handler on the trail of another terrorist on M’Talas Prime, are the seasons villains about to be revealed?
Today we’re taking a look at just some of what we’ve picked up whilst watching the third episode of the final season. If you haven’t seen the episode yet then you might want to come back later and avoid potential spoilers!
Kolarus V
The episode quickly picks up from last week’s cliffhanger with Jean-Luc (Sir Patrick Stewart) coming to grips with the revelation that Jack (Ed Speleers) is his son. During a brief reprieve in the battle between the USS Titan and the Shrike, Picard ventures to sickbay to confront Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) on why she chose to hide Jack from him.
The two get in to a heated debate over Beverly’s decision with Picard hurt that she felt unable to talk to him. In her responses the former Chief Medical officer of the Enterprise tells him that something always got in the way.
One of those scenarios which got in the way was a hostage situation with refugees from a planet called Kolarus V. This certainly sounds like a reference to the Kolarin system which exists near the border with the Romulan Neutral Zone. During the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, the USS Enterprise-E diverted to the Kolarin system while en route to Betazed, after detecting B-4’s positronic signature on Kolarus III.
Little Ships
We pay two visits to the quarters of Commander Seven (Jeri Ryan) during “Seventeen Seconds”. The commander is still under house arrest after assisting Picard and Riker (Jonathan Frakes) by granting them passage to the Ryton system.
Seven is visited by Sidney LaForge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and Jack at different juncture in the story. But one item is very clearly displayed in Seven’s sparsely decorated home. A model of the original USS Voyager.
You don’t need us to tell you that the USS Voyager was the ship captained by Kathryn Janeyway (Kate Mulgrew) which was thrown to the Delta Quadrant and forced to begin a lengthy journey home. During that journey the ship came across a Borg cube which was home to Seven of Nine. The former human was rescued by Janeway and de-assimilated and became part of the crew.
The Donatra Sector?
Back to the argument between Beverly and Picard. Another incident which the Admiral’s former flame notes for reasons not to tell him she was pregnant was a time when Reman assassins held him hostage with a gun to his head in the Donatra Sector.
Could this be another reference to the events of Star Trek: Nemesis? Donatra was the name of a Commander in the Romulan military. She was portrayed by Dina Meyer in the film and became an unlikely ally to the crew of the Enterprise.
Whilst Donatra had been a co-conspirator in a plot to elevate Shinzon (Tom Hardy) to the position of praetor, her loyalty wavered when she learned of Shinzon’s plan to destroy all life on Earth. Donatra commanded the Valdore in assisting the Enterprise in combat against Shinzon’s vessel, the Reman warbird Scimitar.
Wesley Crusher
Sticking with the Picard/Crusher head-to-head, Beverly emotionally says that she lost her first husband, Jean-Luc and her son Wesley (Wil Wheaton) to “the stars”. This is a reference to several key moments in the character’s history: the loss of her first husband, Picard’s dedication to Starfleet and her son Wesley’s decision to become a “Traveler”.
The Traveler (Eric Menyuk) appeared several times across the seven season run of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was first introduced as the assistant to a Starfleet engineer who was looking to make improvement’s to the Enterprise’s warp drive. During that visit the Traveler would notice a special quality in the young Wesley Crusher. He would later return to assist Wesley in saving his mother when she would become trapped in a static warp bubble.
His final appearance would come during the season 7 episode “Journey’s End”. That episode would find Wesley at a turning point in his life. Unsure about a future in Starfleet, he would ultimately decide to join the Traveler and become one of his people. Wesley was last seen in the season 2 finale of Star Trek: Picard when he would visit Earth’s past to meet Kore Soong (Isa Briones) and offer her a choice: she could continue to lead an ordinary life, or she could take a different path that would lead to “everything else”.
Thaddeus Troi-Riker
The title “Seventeen Seconds” refers to an emotional story which is shared over a glass of whiskey between Riker and Picard in a flashback scene. The two reminisce about the birth of Riker’s son, Thaddeus, during a quiet moment in the Ten Forward bar in Los Angeles.
Riker explains that the birth was not straightforward and led to a stressed Riker rushing to his wife’s bedside on the USS Titan. The seventeen second tubrolift ride was the longest of his life and is a moment that is reflected back to Jean-Luc later in the episode. The moment between the former colleagues is interrupted from a brilliant comedic cameo from Troi (Marina Sirtis) but also serves to remind us of something we lost.
Thaddeus was born in 2381 and spent much of his early life travelling the galaxy aboard Starfleet vessels. A creative child, Thaddeus was fascinated by the idea of home worlds given that he was born and raised on a ship. This led him to invent his own home world, Ardani.
After being diagnosed with mendaxic neurosclerosis, his family moved to Nepenthe, which became a real homeworld for him. He was brought to Nepenthe due to the regenerative properties of its soil. His condition could have been easily cured through the use of an active positronic matrix, however due to the ban on synthetic lifeforms, there were no active synthetic matrices and no new ones could be created. In the absence of this treatment option, Thad died from his condition.
Musical Callback
At the end of last week’s episode it was revealed that Raffi’s (Michelle Hurd) mysterious handler was none other than Worf (Michael Dorn). This week we get to explore a whole lot more of their relationship as they navigate the underworld on M’Talas Prime.
This week, Raffi awakes back on La Sirena as Worf is nearby undertaking some of his classic callisthenics. As the Klingon warrior practices with his new Kur’leth he listens to a very familiar piece of classical music. It’s none other than “Les Troyens” by Berlioz.
Why should this particular piece of music sound familiar? It’s the same music which the then Captain Picard was listening to in his quarters as the USS Enterprise-E prepared to encounter The Borg in Star Trek: First Contact. It’s the second time this season we’ve learned that Picard’s love of classical composers has influenced one of his former crew.
“I am Worf, Son of Mogh…”
As all Klingon’s should, Worf formally introduces himself to Raffi using all of his familial ties and titles. Fans are used to hearing the veteran character proclaiming himself the “son of Mogh” or from the House of Martok, but it seems he’s padded out his length legacy over the years.
“Son of Mogh” refers to Worf’s father who was once accused by the Duras family of betraying the Klingons to the Romulans. The status of Worf’s honour as a Klingon was often in flux during The Next Generation due to his ongoing conflict with the Duras family as they attempted to wrestle for control of the Klingon High Council.
“House of Martok” refers to the equally legendary General Bartok, played by J.G. Hertzler in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Martok was a strong ally to Worf, eventually inviting him to become part of his house and helping to give Worf a place amongst the Klingon people once again.
Worf also refers to himself as the “son of Sergey of House Rozhenko”. This is reference to Worf’s human parents. After his father was killed, Worf was raised by human parents Sergey and Helena. Though they would make sporadic appearances in The Next Generation it was always clear that Worf’s human upbringing had a huge upbringing on his career in Starfleet.
The final two titles in his name refer to two famous battles in his past. Firstly, “Bain of the Duras Family” refers to Worf’s various dealings with members of the Duras family. Throughout the seven seasons of The Next Generation, the Duras family would appear to cause trouble for the Klingon Empire. Either by attempting to overthrow the High Council or by causing Civil War. Eventually it’s two more famous members, sisters Lursa and B’Etor would cause the destruction of the Enterprise-D in the events of Star Trek: Generations.
Finally, Worf calls himself “Slayer of Gowron”, referring to an incident which took place on Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War. The character of Gowron (Robert O’Reilly) would appear many times across both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. First seen as a candidate for Chancellor of the High Council, Worf would eventually help Gowron to take power over the Duras family.
During the Dominion War, Gowron would become jealous of General Martok’s position amongst the Klingon people. Matrok was seen as a saviour to the Klingon people and so Gowron attempted to undermine this by sending him in to countless no-win scenarios. Worf would become wise to Gowron’s plans and challenge him for leadership of the council, eventually killing Gowron in one-to-one combat, essentially leaving Worf as the leader. Worf would pass the role to Martok in order to continue his duties with Starfleet.
The Changelings
One of the biggest revelations in “Seventeen Seconds” is the idea that the Changelings has returned to seek revenge on Starfleet and the Federation. First we learn there may be a Changeling aboard the USS Titan. But then it becomes clear that the terrorist being hunted by Raffi and Worf is also a member of the classic Trek race.
Of course the most famous Changeling is Odo, the head of security for Deep Space Nine. Played by the late-Rene Auberjonois across all seven seasons of the show. During the course of Deep Space Nine we would learn that Odo had no contact or knowledge of his race, instead growing up amongst the Bajoran people near the space station. Worf refers to “a man of honour” he knows who is part of the Changeling’s Great Link, a likely reference to Odo.
As DS9 would progress the Changelings would be introduced as the villainous masters behind the Dominon War. Whilst most of the Changeling race existed purely in a gelatinous form, members of the group had formed the Dominion and become known as the somewhat mythic Founders. After their defeat at the hands of Captain Sisko (Avery Brookes) and an army of Klingon, Cardassian and Romulan forces, it was believed that the Changelings has retreated back to the Great Link.
What could have brought this group out of hiding? Why are they now seeking revenge on Starfleet? What does this have to do with Admiral Picard? So many questions!
That’s a wrap on episode three, did you spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
Stream new episodes of Star Trek: Picard every Thursday on Paramount+ in the UK. Here in the UK new episodes stream every Friday on both Paramount+ and Prime Video. Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital now.
