Why The Studio Pushed Back On Ro Laren's Return In Star Trek: Picard
Ensign Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) first appeared in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Ensign Ro" (October 7, 1991), and she introduced an interesting character dynamic to the series. Whereas most of the characters on "Next Generation" were wholly devoted to Starfleet principals and unwaveringly loyal to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), Ensign Ro felt that Starfleet frequently let suffering go unacknowledged. She was combative and disobedient as a result, often openly defying her captain and responding to diplomatic solutions with belligerence.
Forbes' performance was so assured and defiant, however, that Ro's disobedience never felt impulsive or immature. Her reactions were organic and principled, revealing a hardened but understandable heart. Ro only appeared in eight episodes of "Next Generation," but she was always welcome to shake up the system and offer metaphorical headbutts to her commanding officers.
Ro's final "Next Generation" episode was "Preemptive Strike" (May 16, 1994) wherein she found herself sympathizing with a group of anti-Starfleet Maquis separatists that she was assigned to infiltrate. She ended up leaving Starfleet behind to join the Maquis and to fight the Federation's neglect. This was disappointing to Captain Picard who felt she was slowly approaching loyalty to Starfleet. As far as Picard knew, that was going to be the last of her.
Ro, however, returned for the "Star Trek: Picard" episode "Imposters" (March 16, 2023). In that episode, she was back in Starfleet, now a Commander, and investigating a potential Changeling infiltration in Starfleet. Her reunion with Picard — now over 100 years old — was spiky at best, and a lot of old resentments flared up.
According to an interview with Collider, "Picard" showrunner Terry Matalas had to push Paramount pretty hard to get Ro back on Trek. It seems Paramount was afraid viewers wouldn't know who she was.
Ro's Return
The plot of the third season of "Star Trek: Picard" is a little twisty. An evil villain named Vadic (Amanda Plummer) is trying to apprehend Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the secret love child of Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Vadic is a Changeling, a shape-shifting species last seen on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and she is in league with a mysterious boss whose identity isn't revealed until late in the series.
Ro appears halfway through the season to investigate a shadowy conspiracy, and reveals that something horrible is afoot. She eventually sacrifices herself to disable a potentially compromised pursuit vessel so that Picard's ship, the Titan-A, can flee with Jack on board.
There is a lot of paranoia and mystery for the first part of the third "Picard" season, and Matalas wanted a surprise cameo to up the stakes ... and also, likely, to push a few nostalgic buttons. He figured the return of Ro was perfect, as she was one of the few characters who left Picard on a sour note. Matalas said:
"This story was always ... the pitch that I had for it was, 'How great would it be to do a paranoia thriller with someone that you have all this baggage with?' The only way to be sure you're sitting across from the person that you hope you're sitting across from is to get through your trauma with them. I thought that if we could pull that off, we'd have a really interesting episode of television. But that required us getting Michelle Forbes and convincing the studio and the network it was the right idea, and educating a lot of people on who Ro Laren [was]."
Luckily, they both agreed.
Ro or bust
The writers did an exemplary job of organically working exposition into the show's dialogue. Picard described who Ro was and why he was angry with her succinctly. That she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Picard brought a new dimension to the characters' relationship. It was also a tragic and surprising way to deepen the mystery of the episode. The eventual reveal as to what was happening all along was a pretty massive disappointment, but in the moment, Ro's appearance was exhilarating.
Of course, if Forbes didn't agree to return to the role, what was Matalas' backup plan? Was there another "Star Trek" character from Picard's past who might have fulfilled a similar function? As it turns out, no. "[T]here was never anyone else other than that," Matalas said. "It was Ro Laren or bust. It had to be her."
Matalas' greatest feat with the third season of "Star Trek: Picard" was assembling the cast that he did. The season was sold as a reunion, and Stewart was joined by his old "Next Generation" castmates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, and Brent Spiner. The series also had cameos from Elizabeth Dennehy from the "Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds," Tim Russ from "Star Trek: Voyager," Alice Krige from "Star Trek: First Contact," and Walter Koenig from the original series.
The show also luxuriated — too much, in my opinion — in prolonged shots of old "Star Trek" ships, contentedly playing old theme songs and letting characters stare wistfully at rebuilt sets from 30-year-old TV shows. In a series that already leaned hard into nostalgia, Forbes seemed perfectly willing to return.