Star Trek: Picard Torn To Shreds By Fans, Even After Season 3

If there’s one thing you need to know about die-hard Star Trek fans, it’s that they are very passionate about their favorite franchise. When Reddit user u/safe-viewing asked why Star Trek: Picard got so much hate on the r/startrek Reddit community, that passion translated into a number of insightful takes as to why they felt like the series failed to deliver. But fittingly — since we’re talking about a character who’s most well known for his sense of diplomacy — the hundreds of comments that popped up in a very short amount of time were thoughtful, pleasant, and considerate to the original question.

One of the biggest contention Star Trek fans had about Picard is the series’ desire to turn its central character into an action hero. One Reddit user expressed disappointment that the Jean-Luc Picard portrayed in the series is more reminiscent of the version we saw in movies rather than in The Next Generation. In other words, instead of seeing the thoughtful and diplomatic version of the character from the TV show, we got a version that’s more aggressive.

Other users pointed out that Star Trek: Picard isn’t as optimistic and hopeful as TNG either. One user summed it up when they said that they want their Star Trek to be hopeful and inspiring, but Picard ends up being yet another depressing dystopian sci-fi series that relies too heavily on character drama rather than being an inspiring take on humanity’s future.

Fans were also quick to point out that Star Trek: Picard leaned to heavily into a number of science-fiction tropes that aren’t necessarily in support of the the lore that the franchise as a whole has established over the decades. Pointing to series like Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds, it’s made clear that it’s possible for a newer Star Trek property to stay the course, which is something that Picard could have done, but seemingly decided not to.

Even Star Trek fans who actually enjoyed Picard’s run for what it was still suggest that the series isn’t memorable. Some blame the current state of television production on this kind of narrative shift. Citing frustration over the fact that most new series try to function as 10-part movies rather than a series of somewhat connected stand-alone episodes with a general sense of continuity, one user simply misses the episodic nature of The Next Generation that was missing from Picard.

While it’s unlikely that Star Trek will give us a Picard spinoff series to address some of these issues, there have been reports of a movie in the works that focuses on Picard’s character with more depth and scope. We can’t say for certain whether the movie will make up for what Picard is said to have been lacking, but we remain hopeful that we’ll see a proper sendoff that’s a little more character-driven and contemplative.