Spoilers Star Trek Picard Season 2 Hopes and Predictions

I hope Season 2 is a complete “reboot” of the show (sort of like Homeland between certain seasons), making use of whatever reconciliation Picard has achieved with Starfleet, the fact that Rios was always a captain for hire, the need to put Jurati in jail (with psychiatric evaluation), and the question of what Raffi actually wants to do with her life (become a Fenris Ranger?)

I predict that won’t happen, though.

 

I agree that the should have shown that scene with Narek being detained. That said, I hope we've seen the last of both siblings. The development he got was too little, too late for me.

 

Since we're seeing more of Starfleet, I think we're going to see the Enterprise-F.

There's no way they're going not have an Enterprise show up eventually, and I think it's more effective if it's an Enterprise that was never Picard's to begin with. Driving home the fact that he'd never be able to go home again, even if he wanted to. The Federation is different, Starfleet's different, even the Enterprise is different.

And maybe they think he's different too. Maybe because he tore Starfleet a new asshole in "Remembrance", maybe because of the Gollum Body, they dramatize in the actual show people who think #NotMyPicard!

 

That sounds so much like a failing grade that I’d only include it as comic relief, but otherwise skip ahead to the -G.

Zheng He according to Riker was “the toughest, fastest, most powerful ship Starfleet ever put into service”, which are attributes traditionally reserved for an Enterprise. What if there was simply no Enterprise after the -E?

And yet PIC ended by showing that Starfleet was wrong and lazy in not pursuing a mind-boggling conspiracy that did in fact exist behind the synth attack, complete with a Chitauri invasion that was prevented just in time. Now there is quite a bit to discuss with Picard as opposed to simply letting him go on missions with a hired ship. He can be Admiral Hornblower again, not just a ship’s captain at 95.

Also, Season 1 more or less wound down at the end, so it’s easy enough to start Season 2 in 2400 and even do a Homeland-style reshuffling of characters and situations. And then again in Season 3, just to emphasize this series’ focus on Picard rather than a fixed setting like an Enterprise.

 

Most likely they're between Enterprises in 2399, so the Enterprise-F would be a brand-new ship commissioned during the series and after the first season. "What if there's no Enterprise after the E?" This is Star Trek. We all know how this franchise works. There's going to be another Enterprise, sooner or later. Anyone who argues otherwise is arguing for argument's sake. They kept making them up to that point. There would have to be a reason for them to discontinue. Not the other way around.

Starfleet might possibly want him back. But I think he won't want to come back. Maybe he'll convince himself he wants to, which will add some potential conflict and drama from within and without, then he'll think better of it. But I think Picard's center of gravity is Ex-Starfleet/Non-Starfleet. And Patrick Stewart doesn't want to play Picard back in uniform.

What I like about Picard is that Starfleet isn't the main focus. Starfleet is "outside". In PIC, Starfleet is "them" not "us". It's a large part of what makes this series so distinctive and separates it from Discovery and Strange New Worlds. With so many Star Trek series going on at the same time, the more things that can make them different from each other, the better.

Come on, that's some low-hanging fruit right there. And if it's not the main focus of a series, then I think we can regard the F the same way we regard the B and C. An Enterprise, not The Enterprise.

 

Too much to ask for. Fans simply want the Enterprise and Starfleet has used that name more than most.

 

If you think about it, Starfleet has always had its share of incompetent to corrupt administration. Is it really that different or did Picard give up too quickly in 2385, perhaps because the conspiracy idea really was so incredible? Also, Starfleet is not quite “them” — Picard praises Rios as being Starfleet at his core, contacts Starfleet for help getting onto the Artifact, and finally Riker saves the day with Zheng He and the copypaste fleet. Picard would’ve been totally fine with even more help immediately after the interview outburst.

Rios now knows more about the circumstances that made him leave Starfleet in the first place, so would he remain a captain for hire even if Picard wanted to keep spending money?

There is so much room for an unexpected Picard story that going with the obvious (La Sirena missions) would seem like a letdown. An Enterprise could appear, sure, but how to introduce her without making the Zheng He build-up feel like a red herring? Since the obvious choice would’ve been for a new Enterprise to appear in that scene, it comes across as specific restraint to choose another name instead, as if to say that Starfleet has moved on and perhaps the -E is still around with no particular imperative to modernize it. Chabon didn’t seem to be going for fan service and probably had a few background ideas on this subject.

 

I'd like to see Orla Brady return in her role of Naris for season 2 I really liked her character alot.

 

I'll be very glad if there is ONE Trek show for which Starfleet is not the be-all, end-all.

Indeed. And even on the "inside", there is probably more to explore (narratively) than just Starfleet.

And in-universe, it would make little sense for me if any of them wanted to return to SF.

Whatever his or SF's faults in the past or present, that doesn't mean he necessarily wants to be part of it anymore.

I think Picard, Raffi, and Rios have moved on from SF. (And Jean-Luc is 94, he deserves soe form of retirement, whether that is on his vinyard or with a ragtag crew in space.) That doesn't mean they don't appreciate the values they once associated with it.

The money thing does bother me a bit - i.e. willhe really continue to "emply" the others?

Now, would it be interesting if one or two were conflicted about going back? Yes. Rios (maybe Raffi) would be the mosre likeley candidate(s) imho.

I even had this crackpot idea a while back that there is a SF ceremony where they are honored in some way (which could provide opportunity for some of those TNG vet returns they are so hell-bent on, but also lead to a new "case" to investigate for our crew, like intrigue or murder of a diplomat or something).

Laris, but yes, definitely! I so wish they'd dump Jurati somewhere and take Laris onboard instead...
I vaguely remember a Chabon interview or Q&A where he mentioned they duly noted that Laris and Zhaban were well received, something along those lines. If they didn't have to juggle so many TNG crew returns, I'd be confident that they'd get prominent roles in s2 and s3.

Of course it's entirely possible that tptb disagree with me, and it will all be about their reintegration into Starfleet...

 

Nothing against Alison Pill — she does her best with what she’s given — but sign me up for ditching Jurati in favor of Laris. ;_;

 

Seems like those hoping for Q got their wish:

https://twitter.com/StarTrek/status/1379148587909607427

 

Soooooooooo

Q has a part to play for Season 2. And they hinted at exploring never before seen past events.

I am hoping we get some Stargazer backstory, and possibly some TNG era sets.

 

They're reading my posts for ideas again, aren't they?

 

Welp, tripling down now on my theory that Kestra's friend is Q.

 

Just saw the teaser. It looks good. I'm happy Q is back. He's a character you can't kill off so unless they make him like a King Joffery type character and totally unlikable, the chances of ruining Q are pretty low. I wonder if they are going to pick up on Soran's "Time is a Predator..." line from Generations, which is something I do think about sometimes.

 

Did anyone capture the BTS reel? Anything interesting to take from there? Can't wait to see Q again!

 

My crackpot hope is now we'll see DS9 or at least Bajor, maybe Kira again. (Ro would make sense, but the actress never had any inclination to return.)

 

There is an intriguing DS9 tie-in in the trailer.
https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/04/star-trek-picard-season-2-trailer-major-guest-star-announced/

 

I know!

Well, that trailer will keep us speculating for weeks, that's something! (I'm in lockdown, I'll take any distration.)

 

Hopes? That Q won't be featured that heavily.

Prediction? Q is a part of the crew.