Jonathan Frakes Teases Crew Conflict In Picard Season 3
The final outing for Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard promises fireworks between the crew of the Enterprise. According to Den of Geek, long-time Star Trek icon Jonathan Frakes teased that some conflict would find its way onto the bridge in season three of Picard. The new season has collected almost the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the Commander Riker actor says it’s not just a typical reunion.
With so many various crews and interwoven storylines, there was bound to be some conflict between the crewmembers of the Enterprise, especially between Jean-Luc and Dr. Beverly Crusher. The two characters had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship throughout The Next Generation, and Picard takes place decades later. Jonathan Frakes indicated that this will not be the only tension between crew members in the third season of Picard.
“[Gene] Roddenberry was, for some reason, opposed to conflict,” Frakes told Den of Geek.“It was a peculiar ask back in the day, but he wanted everyone to get along. Not so much with Terry. He’s really stirred the pot. Conflict, which, as we know, is an absolute necessity in drama.”
Rather than limiting the drama to solving situations presented by their occupation, Terry Matalas highlights the characters as individuals and personalities. Gene Roddenberry may not have wanted to broach these questions, but they were invited by The Next Generation when Jonathan Frakes and the rest of the crew had to figure out what to do when Captain Picard was assimilated into The Borg. By including both this plot and the character Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, Picard reintroduced those moral dilemmas to the Star Trek universe.
No one has been more dedicated to the stories of Starfleet than Jonathan Frakes, so his praise for the vision of Terry Matalas for Picard is noteworthy. While the third and final season of the show is not intended to be a Next Generation reunion, it has been acknowledged to be a sequel to both Deep Space Nine and Voyager. As past events merge with the present in Picard, Matalas has chosen a more nuanced approach to the relationships between the characters.
This is partly attributed to the show’s executive producer, Terry Matalas, and his fandom and respect for the entire franchise. Jonathan Frakes has contributed a lot to Star Trek ever since playing “number one” to Jean-Luc Picard in The Next Generation show and its spin-off movies, including Generations and Nemesis. He directed the other two Next Generation movies, Insurrection and First Contact.
As the franchise has expanded more, Jonathan Frakes has been a significant part of its growth, both with and without Picard in the picture. He has directed episodes of four shows in the franchise, including the more recent Picard and Discovery. He has played William Riker in person and by voicing the character in the animated shows Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks.
The Star Trek spin-off was not like other franchise shows from the very start. The more recent series are merged together by a seasonal story arc, rather than the episodic adventures of their predecessors. Jonathan Frakes has been an enthusiastic part of that, directing a Strange New World and Lower Decks crossover after season three of Picard.
Jonathan Frakes is one of the most influential figures in the Star Trek franchise, so his hints about the final season of Picard are no idle musings. The third season of the series drops on February 16, 2023, on Paramount Plus.
