‘Star Trek: Picard’ Easter Eggs List: Season 3, ‘The Next Generation’

Episode 1

In the primary 5 minutes of Season 3, we beam aboard the Mariposa medical vessel Eleos XII and shortly notice this should be Dr. Beverly Crusher’s ship. Why? Because we acknowledge her style and belongings from The Next Generation: orchids (a favourite flower, additionally in her quarters in “Cause and Effect”), pearls (“The Big Goodbye”) and drama and comedy masks (representing her love of theater in a number of episodes together with “The Nth Degree,” “Disaster,” “Frame of Mind” and “Fistful of Datas”). There’s additionally a mission plaque honoring her service on Cor Caroli V (a labeled case we heard about however didn’t see in “Allegiance”) and an away workforce equipment belonging to her late husband Lt. Commander Jack Crusher (introduced out of storage in “Family”). If all that didn’t clue you in, nothing will.

Another Easter egg is much extra refined. It’s a voice, the ship’s laptop, warning Beverly of intruders. It belongs to Amy Earhart, spouse of showrunner Terry Matalas, and it’s a little bit nod to Majel Barrett (Gene Roddenberry’s spouse, who performed Lwaxana Troi, and in addition supplied the voice of a lot of the onboard laptop interfaces). A recording of Barrett’s voice speaks as soon as extra on the finish of Picard Season 3. Matalas himself gives a voice on the Starfleet Spacedock.

Quick bits to identify throughout Jean-Luc’s spring cleansing: a Ressikan flute from “The Inner Light,” an artifact from “The Chase” and a ship in a bottle from “Booby Trap.”

Episode 2

Jack Crusher is in a lot bother. Or is it Jack Canby? John Carson? James Cole? Jarlis Carvel? Of all Crusher’s aliases, the final one took him some critical thought — but it surely’s the next-to-last that gave us pause. James Cole, for those who recall, is the title of the protagonist within the 1995 movie and subsequent tv adaptation of 12 Monkeys, which ran on Syfy from 2015 to 2018. The showrunner for that sequence? Yes, it was Terry Matalas, who recruited many members of his 12 Monkeys forged (Todd Stashwick, Aaron Stanford, Kirk Acevedo) and crew (co-executive producers Chris Monfette and Sean Tretta) for Picard. Which is why Picard typically seems like a 12 Monkeys Easter egg hunt. In addition to the James Cole shout-out, Cole himself — Aaron Stanford — seems because the Ferengi gangster Sneed. Sneed traffics in a drug referred to as Splinter, a reference to splintering, which is what time journey was referred to as in 12 Monkeys.

Beyond that, there are numerous eggs of observe on the rap sheets of (alleged) criminals. Among Sneed’s identified associates are Quark, from Deep Space Nine, and smuggler Thadiun Okona, from TNG’s “The Outrageous Okona,” Lower Decks and Prodigy. (This man will get round.)

There’s additionally a fast bit to identify throughout the cease on M’Talas Prime: The title itself is a reference to showrunner Matalas, but it surely dates again to the Enterprise episode “Dawn,” during which the present’s producers determined to troll Matalas (then an assistant) by naming one of many worst locations within the galaxy after him.

Episode 3

Worf saved the day! Introducing himself to Raffi, he lists the highlights of his narrative historical past: Son of Mogh (his organic father), House of Martok (the Klingon common who sponsored him), Son of Sergey and House of Rozhenko (his adoptive human Earth father from “Family”), Bane to the Duras household (because the killer of a number of heads of House of Duras) and Slayer of Gowron (because the killer of the High Chancellor in DS9’s “Tacking Into the Wind”).

Together, Worf and Raffi monitor down and interrogate Titus Rikka, who’s performed by Thomas Dekker. This is a casting Easter egg, as Dekker additionally performed Picard’s Nexus fantasy son within the movie Star Trek: Generations, and contemplating that is the episode the place Picard confronts his missed fatherhood alternative, the location appears purposeful. (When he was nonetheless a toddler, Dekker additionally performed a hologram in a number of episodes of Voyager.) Here, Dekker is as soon as once more a Trek character who shouldn’t be what he seems to be — a Changeling. (Definitely not a junkie.)

And as a pleasant nod to our favourite Changeling, Odo, who couldn’t be right here for this outing (actor René Auberjonois handed away in 2019), Worf refers to his former colleague as an honorable man.

Quick bit to identify throughout Beverly’s off-grid rationalization: She and Jean-Luc dated on Casperia Prime, the holiday capital of the Horvan sector. You’ll recall one other Star Trek couple has romantic historical past there: Worf and Jadzia picked it as their honeymoon vacation spot in DS9’s “Change of Heart.”

Episode 4

The Ten Forward lounge in Los Angeles (first seen in Season 2 of Picard) is the place Picard and Riker like to satisfy up. Picard typically eats there alone, as we see him doing within the flashback. When admiring officers stumble upon him, he regales them with a narrative in regards to the Tamarians, who base their language on fable and metaphor, from certainly one of TNG’s greatest episodes, “Darmok.” (Have you ever tried speaking to somebody who retains quoting an impenetrable TV present you’ve by no means seen? It’s like that.) With a lot persistence, Picard ultimately deciphers their meanings. For instance, “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” means “working together.” Eventually, they add “Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel,” or first contact, to their vocab as effectively.

Attempts to speak with an alien tradition aren’t all the time so profitable. For a quick interval, Picard served because the mouthpiece of the Borg and was pressured to guide an invasion drive. While within the holodeck model of Ten Forward, Captain Shaw reveals that throughout the Battle of Wolf 359 (seen in DS9’s “Emissary”), he served aboard the usS. Constance — observe {that a} diagram of the starship seems within the closing credit.

Also throughout drinks at Ten Forward, the Arcanis Lager emblem is identical one from the Starfleet bar in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. And one of many photos of Guinan is from a scene in Generations, when she appeared as an echo of herself within the Nexus. (How is there a photo of that second on this world?)

Episode 5

Showrunner Terry Matalas determined to deliver Ro Laren again, he says, as a result of her story “felt like it wasn’t finished.” TNG’s “Preemptive Strike” wasn’t alleged to be Ro’s final look. There was a plan in place to have the character be extra closely featured on DS9, however Michelle Forbes declined a suggestion to hitch the spinoff, which led to the creation of a substitute Bajoran character, Kira Nerys, in addition to a change of path for Ro’s storyline on TNG. Instead of constant to work with Starfleet, Ro defected and joined the liberty fighters often known as the Maquis. Picard asks Ro if she remembers Guinan to check her id — but it surely’s not simply because Guinan used to stash weapons behind the bar and he’s reaching for one. The three of them had a particular bond; they have been unintentionally become kids collectively in “Rascals.”

The Changeling blood take a look at, nonetheless, has by no means been foolproof. In DS9 episodes equivalent to “The Way of the Warrior” and “Homefront,” it was demonstrated and mentioned that Changelings might retailer actual blood inside their assumed our bodies for such events. Also, pay attention for the little guttural noises that Ro’s two Starfleet officers make, revealing that they’re Changelings.

Quick bits to identify throughout the turbolift trip: Captain Shaw rattles off a listing of incidents that occurred throughout the movies Generations (the saucer part crash) and Insurrection (ignoring the Prime Directive) and the TNG sequence finale (the time paradox).

Episode 6

Daystrom Station is mainly an Easter egg museum; it’s filled with genetically-modified assault Tribbles, a model of the planet-changing Genesis Device and the bodily stays of James T. Kirk (which implies that somebody dug him up after Picard buried him in Generations), in addition to the human corpse of Picard himself. The theme of alternative and resurrection hangs closely within the air as Riker and firm meet a Professor Moriarty hologram and a composite android (Data, Lore, B-4, Lal, in a brand new vessel). Instead of Moriarty being an adversary to the android, now they’re the identical. Riker figures this out by referring to key factors of his relationship with Data — from whistling collectively (“Encounter at Farpoint”) to the Sherlock Holmes video games they performed (“Elementary, Dear Data”). When Data died in Nemesis, Riker struggled to recollect what tune it was that Data was trying to whistle. Now, years later, he does. (It’s “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and within the closing credit, you get a glimpse of its musical notation.)

A fast bit to identify throughout the Fleet Museum tour: The Klingon Bird of Prey was initially featured in The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Bones gave it the title the H.M.S. Bounty in reference to the 1789 mutiny. And the best way the cloaking machine is stolen and put in on one other ship is a reference to the unique Star Trek episode “The Enterprise Incident,” solely that one was a Romulan cloaking machine.

Episode 7

It’s not precisely the return of Tuvok on this episode — it’s simply {that a} Changeling is pretending to be him. But even the thought of Tuvok counts, since he hasn’t appeared in a live-action Trek since 2001. However, Seven of Nine can inform this isn’t her outdated Voyager shipmate. First, she refers to their video games of Vulcan Kal-Toh, which might hardly be an actual take a look at of id, on condition that they performed in full view of the crew (Voyager’s “The Omega Directive”). The incontrovertible fact that they performed, and who gained, could be public data. Just to make sure, although, she tries once more — and journeys up the imposter by mentioning her neural sample stabilization, claiming it was carried out on a planet as a substitute of onboard their ship (Voyager’s “Infinite Regress”). The planet she names has had demonstrations towards Kolinahr, the Vulcan observe of shedding emotion on the best way to pure logic, first depicted in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. No Vulcan would go there, not to mention the true Tuvok, who had beforehand immersed himself in Kolinahr (Voyager’s “Flashback”).

Speaking of flashbacks, Vadic’s origin story, which takes place throughout the occasions of DS9, refers to how, after Section 31 created a Changeling virus, a remedy was developed, and Odo introduced it to the Great Link (“What You Leave Behind”).

And a final fast bit to identify throughout Geordi’s Engineering: When Data says, “I’m no longer on the Enterprise,” he’s referring to his remaining moments in Nemesis.

Episode 8

The Easter eggs are entrance and middle on this episode, during which Data offers his TNG recollections to Lore. Some of those are mementos from previous leisure actions (a hat and pipe from his holodeck roleplay as Sherlock Holmes from “Elementary, Dear Data”) and his deck of playing cards and chips for taking part in poker. Others recollections signify the 2 greatest loves of his life: Spot the cat (who began showing in “Data’s Day” and was final… noticed… in Nemesis) and Lt. Tasha Yar (who found to her enjoyment of “The Naked Now” that Data is “fully functional” in each method and “programmed in multiple techniques”). After Tasha died, the android saved a holographic statue of her (first seen in “A Measure of Man”). But it was Spot — technically feminine, and a mom, even when Data retains figuring out her as male — who taught Data learn how to love. She impressed poetry and even tears of pleasure, when Data bought an emotion chip (Generations).

Quick bit to identify throughout a stint on the Shrike: Another unlikely couple is referenced throughout Worf’s rescue of Riker and Troi — this being the truth that Worf and Troi as soon as dated. When Worf bursts in, speaking about counting the times since he final noticed her, Riker says, “Inappropriate,” after which, “Is this a rescue mission or a continuation of the torture?” Of course, Worf wasn’t being romantic; he was pondering of Troi’s empathetic presents throughout his sensitivity coaching. Still, awkward!

Episode 9

Isn’t it ironic? Picard calls it, however doesn’t clarify, so we are going to. Admiral Elizabeth Shelby, onetime prime Borg skilled (final seen in “The Best of Both Worlds” gunning for Riker’s job as First Officer of the usS. Enterprise) fell for a Borg entice. She didn’t acknowledge that the synchronistic know-how that permits each ship in Starfleet to function as one is the very definition of how the Borg operates, as a collective. So this isn’t a fleet formation safeguard, however a gap for fleet-wide incapacitation.

Shelby is accountable for the Enterprise-F throughout the Frontier Day ceremony… so what occurred to the Enterprise-E? Everyone seems to be at Worf. Not my fault, Worf says, referring to one thing that occurred not on display, however within the novels. “There have been books written about what they have done,” Matalas factors out. “There was a whole arc about Worf being captain of the Enterprise-E for a while.” (That was in The Last Best Hope, by Una McCormack.) But the ship’s remaining mission — involving an “incident” above Kriilar Prime — is listed as labeled, in line with the Star Trek: Picard logs on Instagram. Other ships within the armada embrace the usS. Hikaru Sulu and the usS. Cochrane (named for the inventor of the warp drive).

Quick bit to identify throughout the reunion on the Enterprise: Picard’s order, “Set a course for Earth, maximum warp,” is identical line he says in Star Trek: First Contact.

Episode 10

Matalas considers the TNG sequence finale “All Good Things” to be an ideal send-off, with the crew and captain enjoying poker collectively. So one of many remaining photographs of the Picard sequence finale emulates that iconic remaining picture, proper all the way down to the rotation of the digicam hovering over the poker desk as Picard offers a hand. Before the sport, the characters’ revelry in Ten Forward in Los Angeles contains a number of callbacks. References are made relating to drinks of alternative — prune juice for Worf, the “warrior’s drink” (“Yesterday’s Enterprise”). Data tries to recite a limerick that nobody ever lets him end: “There was a young lady from Venus, whose body was shaped like a …” (“The Naked Now”). Picard recites Shakespeare, as each he and Patrick Stewart, a member of England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, are wont to do. So all’s effectively that ends effectively… or is it? Q returns and tells Jack Crusher that he’s to face trial for humanity — the identical factor he instructed Jean-Luc Picard within the TNG pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint.”

One final fast bit. Pay consideration to the voice, phrases and title of the President of the United Federation of Planets: Anton Chekov. He’s voiced by Walter Koenig, aka the unique Star Trek sequence’ navigator and weapons officer Pavel Chekov. This new character is known as after the rebooted Star Trek movies’ model of Pavel Chekov, who was performed by the late Anton Yelchin. And his message resembles an identical one in The Voyage Home: “Do not approach Earth.” Not but, not less than.