Star Trek Heroes We Need To See Before Picard Ends
There are only three episodes left of Star Trek: Picard, and we have some top choices for the characters who need to show up before the end.
The final season of Star Trek: Picard has brought fans a number of long awaited returns beyond even the already anticipated returns of the Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s lead cast. We’ve seen Michelle Forbes come back and Ro Laren, Tim Russ come back as Tuvok (or, at least, a Changeling disguised as the Vulcan), and even Daniel Davis as the holographic Professor Moriarty. With only three episodes left, here are our choices for the characters who absolutely must make an appearance before it’s all wrapped up.
Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay
Few recurring characters saw as much growth over the course of the franchise as Dwight Schultz’s Reginald Barclay. The socially awkward Barclay begins his time in TNG as an underachiever addicted to holographic fantasies and he eventually becomes one of the main reasons Star Trek: Voyager‘s heroic crew is able to make their way home. Outside of the lead cast, there is likely no one else in TNG who fans are more desperate to see a return for.
It could fit extremely well with the story as well. The most recent episode, “Dominion,” informs us that that Picard (Patric Stewart) and co. have tried and failed to find someone in Starfleet willing to help them and who hasn’t been replaced by a Changeling. Imagine if after failing to get help from all the heroic captains and admirals they know, the Picard heroes finally find an ally in the guy Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), when we first meet Barclay, probably wouldn’t have trusted to deliver a bottle of milk.
Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher
Wil Wheaton makes a cameo in the season 2 finale of Star Trek: Picard to help facilitate the departure of Kare Soong (Isa Briones) from the series. But we think he needs a more substantial Star Trek return.
And that’s particularly the case considering the events of Picard‘s third season. Wesley has something he never had throughout all of TNG: a brother. It would be difficult to imagine the more cerebral Wesley and Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) getting along right away, but at the very least they should meet.
Andrew Robinson as Garak
This may be the basic answer, but it’s the right one. We haven’t seen Andrew Robinson canonically play Garak since the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and his return is long overdue. Not only would a Garak comeback be an amazing moments for fans, in the context of the story, it would actually make a lot of sense.
Deep Space Nine ends with a lot of question marks over the newly liberated Cardassian Empire. While we don’t know exactly what became of Garak after the Dominion was defeated, we’re left with the distinct impression that he’ll have no choice but to assume some kind of leadership position in whatever government rises from the ashes. And if you’re the heroes currently on board the USS Titan and you need information related to the Dominion, who else would be a better choice to turn to?
Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway
Again, this isn’t exactly the most shocking answer I could pick, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate. Star Trek: Picard needs to see the return of Kate Mulgrew to her signature role, if for no other reason than to confirm Admiral Janeway is alive. She’s been mentioned a number of times in the final Picard season, and in the most recent episode we find out the heroes have been trying, without success to contact her.
To be clear, Mulgrew has gone on record to say she would not be appearing in the final season of Picard, but in a post-Spider-Man: No Way Home world, who are you going to believe?
To find out who does and doesn’t return, you can watch the final three episodes of Star Trek: Picard over the next few weeks on Paramount+.
