Star Trek: Picard is one of a few brand-new Trek series that have been released since 2017. Many of these, like Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Lower Decks, introduce new characters to the Star Trek universe. Picard, however, follows events that involve, more often than not, well-known and beloved Star Trek characters from shows like The Next Generation and Voyager.
Patrick Stewart, who portrayed the well-known Captain Jean-Luc Picard in TNG, is the main protagonist in Picard (as the title of the show suggests). However, the Picard that viewers encounter in this series is different in many ways from the 1980s version of the character.
Warning: Vague spoilers ahead!
9 A More Philosophical Character
In TNG and Star Trek movies, like First Contact and Nemesis, Picard is portrayed as a model Starfleet Captain. In fact, owing to Captain Picard's heroism, intelligence, confidence, unwavering morals, and willingness to do the right thing despite personal sacrifice, many fans agree that he is the best Captain in the franchise.
In Star Trek: Picard, this has not changed, but Picard has mellowed down and has become more contemplative than he was before. He is, of course, much older now too. As such, his approach to saving the galaxy involves far less action, and focus is rather placed on his inner struggles more than external ones.
8 There's More Of Picard’s Backstory
In TNG, there was very little exploration of Picard's childhood. Fans know from the TNG episode "Family" that he has an older brother and that they own a vineyard in France, but that is about it. Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard is almost entirely dedicated to revealing a crucial detail from Picard's past: his mother's suicide.
This significant moment, and the events leading up to it, are explored in detail. In this season, Picard's childhood home, and biographical details about his father, are also shown in much greater detail than in any TNG episode.
7 A Different Attitude Towards The Borg
Like Captain Janeway from Voyager, Picard also has a long history with the infamous Borg. Picard is famously known as Locutus of Borg when he gets assimilated in the classic TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds." Throughout TNG, Picard's attitude towards the Borg is then, understandably, antagonistic.
In Picard, he is confronted by the Borg again. Although he is initially suspicious of the Borg, by the end of season 2, he has worked together with the Borg Queen herself to save the galaxy and even considers a partnership of sorts with his former nemesis.
6 Picard’s Relationship With Q
A constant menace to Captain Picard in TNG is the whimsical, omniscient, omnipotent Q. Picard regularly finds his morals and discipline challenged by Q, who has placed him (and other Captains) in some ridiculous situations throughout Star Trek history. Understandably, Picard dreads the appearance of this being.
In Picard, Q returns, and Picard's immediate response to him is, as has always been, annoyance and antagonism. However, in an emotional send-off at the end of season 2, Picard fondly hugs Q as a final farewell and the two part as friends.
5 Picard Is Not The captain
Jean-Luc Picard is, first and foremost, known as Captain Picard. In The Next Generation, he is portrayed not as just any captain, but as the ideal Starfleet Captain. In Picard, he is introduced as a retired admiral who now watches over his vineyard in France.
Viewers might have expected that his call to adventure would involve Picard acting as captain of his own ship again, but this is not the case. For most of the series, Picard is simply a crew member on other people's ships, like the SS La Sirena, captained by Cristóbal Rios.
4 Picard Is A Clone
Captain Picard is no stranger to technological implants, as he was briefly assimilated by the Borg, and later got an artificial heart after being stabbed by Nausicaans in the TNG episode "Tapestry." While he is mostly restored to human form after becoming Locutus of Borg, Star Trek: Picard takes the idea of artificial augmentation much further.
Throughout season 1 of Picard, it is hinted that Picard is dying due to an illness. In a shocking turn of events, at the end of the season, Picard does die, but he is resurrected as a clone. The Picard that audiences see from Season 2 onwards is not actually the human Picard, but a very accurate clone of him.
3 Soul-Searching
One of the reasons why Captain Picard is so beloved is resolve and confidence in navigating the vast universe and all its perils. In TNG, it is undeniable that Picard's place is among the stars, and that he represents the ideals that the Federation aims to uphold.
In Picard, the retired Admiral is reluctant to return to space, to say the least. Moreover, Picard has to deal with ghosts from his past and look within himself to find his place in a much darker world than is represented in TNG.
2 Picard Does Not Rely On Starfleet
Being one of the greatest Starfleet Captains Star Trek has ever seen, Captain Picard comfortably operates within Starfleet's structures and ideals in TNG. Although he might not always agree with Starfleet, Captain Picard is after all the one leading its flagship, the USS Enterprise-D.
Fans would have been shocked then to find that in Picard, the illustrious captain has quit Starfleet. When he does reach out to Starfleet for assistance in finding the android Dahj, they deny him. In this series, Picard instead relies on people and organizations outside Starfleet, such as Captain Rios, the Fenris Rangers, and the Qowat Milat, to achieve his mission.
1 Patrick Stewart's Influence
Generally, actors have some say in how they would like their characters to be portrayed, but they are rarely involved in the initial stages of writing the script. In TNG, this was the case, and Picard's portrayal was mainly determined by the writers of TNG at that time.
At the Star Trek: Picard Comic Con panel in 2019, show runner Michael Chabon revealed that Patrick Stewart was a collaborator on the show since its beginning stages. The result is a character that has been more directly influenced by the actor, who has portrayed Jean-Luc Picard for decades, but who has also, like Picard himself, aged since TNG.
Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard is streaming now on Paramount Plus.