John de Lancie Hated A Key Part Of Star Trek: Picard But Returned As Q Anyway
While the Star Trek series ended on a high note, most of the Picard spinoff was an unwatchable mess. That’s particularly true of the second season, one which wastes appearances by fan-favorite villain Q in service of an incomprehensible story. It turns out that Q actor John de Lancie had his own beef with his appearance in Star Trek: Picard, complaining recently that the show failed to do a much-needed deep dive into the topic of death.
Not Enough Time Spent On Q’s Death
The beginning of John de Lancie’s concerns was, ironically, the ending of his character. Despite Q always appearing as an ageless, god-like being, season 2 of Star Trek: Picard had Q dying, and he uses his final days to teach Picard a dimension-hopping lesson about emotional growth. The actor firmly believed that “If you’re going to have me die, which is fine, we need to delve into that” and was disappointed that Paramount did not delve into this provocative topic.
Questions That Needed Answered
According to John de Lancie, his chief concern about this “lost opportunity” is that it failed to give the audience a proper resolution or even a comprehensible story. He made his concerns “clear to Terry [Matalas],” saying that the audience would feel “there’s a disconnect” because an “immortal” character is suddenly dying. He felt the show’s creators “need to answer some of these questions,” none of which are addressed in any real way by the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2.
Killed For Nothing
In retrospect, what makes this story for John de Lancie’s character even more annoying is that all of its emotional weight is undone by the very next season. Despite Q and Picard having a heartbreaking farewell at the end of season 2, the impish god returned in the series finale. The character hinted that he was simply a version of himself before he died and further hinted that he would be tormenting the young Jack Crusher in the same way that he previously tormented Jean-Luc Picard.
Unsurprisingly, de Lancie was excited about coming back to Star Trek: Picard, expressing gratitude to the showrunner as soon as Terry Matalas revealed “I have figured out a way for you to come back.” But the character’s surprising return to the franchise still didn’t expire Q’s death in any kind of meaningful way. That leaves season 2 frustrating, both in its confusing plot and meaningless sacrifice of a beloved character.
Season 2 Ruined Everything
John de Lancie’s points about the “lost opportunity” highlight some of the more baffling parts of Star Trek: Picard season 2. As far as we can tell, this godlike being risked all of reality as we know it, turning Picard’s dimension into a fascist dystopia and gambling that he might have an emotional breakthrough by trying to fix everything. When it comes to Q and Picard, the show’s message seems to be that men would rather risk destroying the delicate fabric of space and time rather than go to therapy.
Q Is Likely To Return
Because John de Lancie popped up at the very end of Star Trek: Picard, the door is open for the character to return. But we can’t help but agree with the actor’s earlier argument; really, it’s hardly worth bringing such a character back from the dead if the show is unwilling to closely examine either his death or his resurrection.
But that might require Paramount to follow Kirk’s example, slingshotting to an earlier period in the past…one where they still had writers who actually understood what makes Star Trek so special.
Source: ScreenRant
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