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Q made a surprise appearance at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, much to the excitement of Star Trek fans across the world. Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 10, which premiered on April 20, 2023, seemed to be quite packed with interesting enough things. The show never misses a chance to surprise fans, and that's exactly what it did once again in the post-credit scene of the anticipated finale.
After the finale was almost done with surprises and setups for the future of the franchise, including the promotion of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), which should act as a key plot point in the future spinoffs of the series, it introduced Q (John DeLancie). Q was the most annoying adversary of Picard (Patrick Stewart). Viewers assumed that he died at the end of the second season, but it seems that Q is here to stay.
In the post-credit scene of Star Trek: Picard, Q appeared in front of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and told him that he has a significant destiny, inadvertently setting up a new plotline to follow through on in the coming episodes.
Who is Q in the Star Trek universe?
Q is a fictional character and the name of a race in the fabled universe. He has been a part of the primary lore for years. John de Lancie plays the most well-known Q, however, numerous others have filled the character in various iterations of the franchise.
Q is an omnipotent entity of unknown origin that possesses immeasurable power over time, space, and the laws of physics. He is also rumored to be able to manipulate reality as we know it. Despite his vast knowledge and power, he harbors a love for practical jokes, and his motivations are often unclear.
He made his first appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. Since then, he has been one of the most consistently recurring characters in the universe. Q is also known for having comedic and dramatic chemistry with Jean-Luc Picard, something that was a large part of the new Picard-centric project, which aired its finale today.
In the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, Q played a significant role, but it was assumed that he died at the end of the second season. When asked about his return, Q gave a cryptic answer in the finale in a way that would set up the premise for Star Trek: Legacy, which should follow up on Picard.
How did Q survive in Star Trek: Picard?
While Q's time on screen was too brief to fully comprehend all of his motivations and reasons for returning, he did allude to alternate or future timelines by remarking that humans tend to think too "linearly."
There could be several ways his return can be explained. The most easily explainable one would be that this is a Q from a different point in the timeline. While there could be many other acceptable alternatives, it will not be clear until it is explained in the future.
Anyhow, Q seems to be there to stay and will surely be an important part of the narrative for the future of the franchise.
Star Trek: Picard is now streaming on Paramount+.
