The second episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 is now streaming in the US on Paramount+. With the villainous Vadic (Amanda Plummer) breathing down their necks, the crew of the USS Titan find themselves backed in to a corner this week. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of Easter eggs to watch out for!
Today we’re taking a look at just some of what we’ve picked up whilst watching the second 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!
Mariposa
In the opening moments of the episode we learn that Ed Speleers is playing a character by the name of Jack Crusher. But in his opening line of dialogue in this episode he also drops another familiar name, Mariposa.
Mariposa is an inhabited planet in the Ficus sector. The class M planet is a ringed world which was settled by human survivors from the crashed SS Mariposa in the mid-22nd century.
The planet appeared the 18th episode of The Next Generation season 2, “Up The Long Ladder”. In that episode, the crew of the Enterprise-D settled a number of colonists from the nearby Bringloid V on Mariposa.
It’s also likely that Mariposa is connected to Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) from seasons 1 and 2 of Picard. In season 2, Rios decided to remain in the 21st century with local doctor Teresa Ramirez and her son Ricardo. When Picard returns to the future he returns to the Ten Forward bar and speaks with Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) who fills him in on what happened to Rios.
Together, Rios and Teresa formed the Mariposas, a medical movement. Rios captained the Mariposas through tough times and hard terrains while Teressa helped whoever needed help whenever they might need it. Guinan explains that she, Rios and his family remained close friends. Teresa eventually died of old age while Rios died “slightly younger” in a Moroccan bar fight over medical supplies and his last breath was into a cigar.
Shuttle Craft Saavik
After being attacked by the Shrike, Jack is forced to inform Admiral Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) and Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) that their shuttle has been destroyed. Our view quickly shifts to outside of the SS Elios as debris from the shuttle floats out in to space. As a piece of debris hurtles towards the camera we see the shuttle had a very familiar name, Saavik.
Saavik was a Vulcan serving as a Starfleet officer who, in the mid-2280s, served aboard the USS Enterprise alongside Captain Kirk and his second in command, Spock. The character first appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where she was portrayed by Kirstie Alley. The character would return in both The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home although this time portrayed by Robin Curtis.
Haliian on the Bridge
In episode 2 we get to spend a little more time with the bridge crew on the USS Titan, one of whom comes from a lesser known race with ties back to The Next Generation. Ensign Kova Rin, the Titan’s communications officer, is a Haliian. A race first introduced back in the season 6 episode “Aquiel”.
Hailing from the planet Halii, the humanoid race is identified by the distinctive ridges around their eyebrows and nose. The Haitians are a telepathic species, although their abilities are limited to person to person empathy. Haliians utilise a special crystal called a canar which has the potential to greatly increase their telepathic abilities and allow them to bond with others and share their thoughts in a similar experience to a mind-meld.
Baseball
Later in the episode and back on the cleverly named M’Talas Prime, Raffi (Michelle Hurd) pays a visit to Ferengi gangster, Sneed. Sneed tells her that he likes to collect human things and we see a number of curios in his bar. One of those will shake the core of any Deep Space Nine fan as it seems Sneed has collected a baseball.
Could it be the very baseball which Captain Sisko kept on his desk at DS9? After Sisko was forced to abandon Deep Space 9 at the start of the Dominion war, he left his baseball behind as a reminder to Gul Dukat that he would return to claim it and the station. Dukat would later return the baseball in the season 6 episode “Sacrifice of Angels”. When Sisko joined the Prophets in the series finale, the baseball remained on his desk with Colonel Kira. It’s last appearance in live action.
That’s a wrap on episode two, 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.
