What The Latest Star Trek: Picard Character Deaths Tell Us About The Season So Far – And What To Expect Next
Warning. This post contains spoilers through the eighth episode of the third season of "Star Trek: Picard."
The eighth episode of the third season of "Star Trek: Picard," called "Surrender," is climactic in several regards. In it, the villainous Changeling Vadic (Amanda Plummer) has taken control of the U.S.S. Titan and demands that Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) be delivered to her. As previously established, Jack Crusher is some sort of evolutionary step forward, possessed of eerie and undefined psychic powers. He can reach into people's minds and influence their actions and also seems to have picked up supernatural super kung-fu fighting skills. Vadic wants him, and her Changeling compatriots hidden throughout the Federation have conspired to abduct the dead biological body of Admiral Picard for nefarious, currently unexplained, reasons.
In the episode's climactic scene, Vadic lines up the entire bridge crew of the Titan and threatens to execute them one by one until Crusher is delivered. In the lineup are Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick), Commander Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the Vulcan Lieutenant T'Veen (Stephanie Czajkowski), Ensign Kova Rin Esmar (Jin Maley), Lieutenant Matthew Arliss Mura (Joseph Lee), and a few new Starfleet officers, previously unseen. To paraphrase the 1990s teaser trailers for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," someone listed in this paragraph will not survive until the end of the episode.
Lest someone thinks that this is a "redshirts die first" scenario, the first character to be killed will not be some random officer in a red uniform. It will be someone audiences know. The death is upsetting and fouls up several fan theories. Then, dear reader, there is a more dramatic death thereafter, and it changes the course of the whole season.
R.I.P. T'Veen, R.I.P. Vadic
To begin with a small eulogy, rest in peace Lieutenant T'Veen. /Film has previously written about the alien bridge crew of the U.S.S. Titan, and how the new season of "Picard" could very well serve as a backdoor pilot to a "Star Trek: Titan" TV show. Paramount has made no announcements in this regard, but Trekkies on social media are having a wonderful time piecing together a spinoff series in their head. Captain Shaw is such a fun character, and his dynamic with Seven, his first officer, would make for a fine "Trek" television. Plus, thanks to their constant presence in the background, an entire ensemble cast is already there, ready and able. Although it initially looks like Vadic is going to kill Ensign Esmar, she pivots and kills T'Veen instead. A pity. Trekkies now must mourn the passing of an ensemble that never was. A small relief is that the queer character — Esmar is nonbinary — was not murdered.
But that's not even the most dramatic death of the episode. In the end, Seven and Jack manage to get the drop on Vadic. Using a forcefield, Seven encases herself and Jack inside a protective bubble while Picard (Patrick Stewart) opens a heretofore-unknown evacuation hatch right behind the Titan's forward viewscreen. This seems to be a dangerous feature for a starship to have — surely the bridge shouldn't have a hatch that could potentially suck senior officers outside to their doom — but it's handy for when a villain infiltrates and takes over the bridge. The force field protects our heroes from being blown out into the cosmos, but Vadic is not so lucky. She soars outside of the ship and freezes in the vacuum of space.
What now?
Because Vadic is a Changeling, her actual life status may be argued. Changelings, to remind the reader, are actually made of liquid. Freezing, as far as we know, may not adversely affect them, and oxygen may not be so urgently needed by a lung-less species. Vadic freezes outside of the ship, drifts rapidly over to her own vessel, smashes into its hull, and shatters into thousands of pieces. This is a dramatic way to remove the villain from the story. Whether or not her pieces can be salvaged and reconstituted remains to be seen. After all, that's what happened with Data between the events of "Star Trek: Nemesis" and "Star Trek: Picard."
But those nitpicks aside, the death of Vadic denotes an interesting change in the story. "Picard" has two remaining episodes, and the season's most prominent villain has already been dispatched. From a storytelling perspective, this was a strangely fitting choice. While Vadic represented a massive threat, and the Shrike was so powerful as to be described as a guillotine, her actual goals and the capabilities of her ship were decidedly not the season's narrative fulcrum. In the previous episode of "Picard," Vadic revealed her own personal motivations for attacking the Federation — a Federation scientist conducted torturous medical experiments on her — but that didn't account for the larger conspiracy.
There are still the many, many Changelings who have taken over key figures in the Federation, as well as Vadic's mysterious superior officer, an unnamed Changeling seen only in a strange communication device. Who was that? Vadic communicated with them by severing her own hand. Was her captain a part of her body? Are they alive? There are more mysteries to solve.
The gang's all here
Solving the above problems is going to be a lot more difficult than merely blowing a single villain out into space or destroying one ship. In true "Star Trek" fashion, the solution will likely be far more nuanced.
The death of Vadic, in its way, reveals "Picard" is headed in a more "Star Trek" direction than her introduction would belie. The "single villain hellbent on revenge" was an unfortunate trend started by "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and it's been a trope that "Trek" revisited for four additional feature films. On the small screen, however, "Trek" has long been more nuanced than that, often solving its problems using wit and/or diplomacy rather than brute force or military tactics. While exploding the Shrike may have been emotionally satisfying, it's a relief that it wasn't the end of the story. Following its destruction, all the known "Next Generation" characters gather around a table to discuss what needs to be done next. The episode lays on the nostalgic music a little heavily, but the treacle can be forgiven; this was, after all, the reason "Picard" season 3 exists at all.
That they have gathered to discuss the next steps, however, not only reveals a greater crisis, but one that needs to be thought about. There isn't a villain to defeat, but an aggrieved people — the Changelings — with an unspoken grievance. "Picard" seems poised to present an ending where the Federation can not only stop the Changelings but, as Trekkies may hope, address their concerns, provide them reparations, and ultimately make peace.
The death of Vadic sets up a very "Trek" ending for the season and for the series. Fingers crossed they can pull it off.