The producers are afraid of the fan base. They will not kill off anyone.No, but this discussion thread developed out of a conversation about how many of the new Pic cast will still be with us in S3, and the main point was that if S3 represents a final hurrah for the TNG cast, passing the baton to a new generation to take the franchise into the 25th century, it would make sense to leave as many as possible of the new cast standing, in order to have established characters to build on for any potential spin-off, rather than killing any of them off or leaving anyone behind in the 21st century. Why start again from scratch when so much groundwork has already been laid? Why cut off such potential in its prime?
But whether the producers see it that way or not remains to be seen.
Kid gloves.