Star Trek: Picard S3 Episode 6 Has Fans Buzzing Over The Genesis Device
The following article contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3, Episode 6 — "The Bounty."
With more TV shows than ever before, it's easier than ever for "Star Trek" properties to connect to one another. "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3 has done a pretty good job of connecting to the rest of the "Star Trek" mythos, particularly when it comes to "The Next Generation." The season has already brought back the likes of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Worf (Michael Dorn). And based on the most recent episode, it may also be laying the groundwork to tie into "Star Trek Generations."
Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Picard (Patrick Stewart) teamed up in "Generations," but Kirk suffered a mortal wound and ended up dying. While Picard buried Kirk on Veridian III, there was never any follow-up to what happened to his body after that. That all seemed to change with "Picard" Season 3, Episode 6, titled "The Bounty," when it was revealed that Kirk's remains were being held within a secret vault on the Daystrom Station. To make matters even more intriguing, a version of the Genesis Device, which was developed to terraform planets but has also been used to resurrect people, is nearby. It's made plenty of fans' heads metaphorically explode with the possibilities "The Bounty" just introduced.
Fans wonder if William Shatner could return to Star Trek
Numerous possibilities open up with the deceased body of a former "Star Trek" captain and the genesis device, and fans have gone crazy with ideas. In a Reddit discussion thread for "The Bounty," one user couldn't believe what just transpired: "Genesis II device? WTF IS THAT KIRKS BODY AT DAYSTROM???? It was making sickbay sounds like he's still alive!!!" As it stands, the Kirk reveal serves as kind of a sad epilogue to the character's journey because it would've meant his body was dug up, but it's possible they plan on giving Shatner a proper sendoff.
Of course, it could just be an Easter egg, as u/Sulissthea points out, "was there another genesis device? how and why is Kirk alive, is it an easter egg or do they plan on doing something with that." But it definitely feels like they're setting something up, with u/polymetisodusseus writing, "His body is apparently sitting right next to a genesis device, and if I know one thing about genesis devices it's that they revive dead captains of the Enterprise and rapidly age them to the age of the actor who plays that character."
Captain Kirk's death is a hotly contested topic in the "Star Trek" fandom, with many thinking it wasn't a proper end to the former captain of the Enterprise with a rather anticlimactic death. It's possible "Picard" could be seeking to right a wrong, as it were, giving Kirk one last chance for glory before burying him again but perhaps in a more fitting manner. There are four more episodes to "Picard" Season 3, and plenty more can happen between now and then.