All 3 Seasons Of Star Trek: Picard, Ranked

At a time when the "Star Trek" universe was beginning to subtly reboot itself with shows like "Discovery" and "Strange New Worlds," "Star Trek: Picard" stood out as the only series of its peers to be a direct continuation of a previous iteration of the franchise without making any significant canonical tweaks. Taking place after "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and its subsequent film entries, "Picard" initially revolved around the titular Starship captain-turned-retired Starfleet Admiral. But of course, it quickly became apparent that "Picard" was going to evolve into "TNG 2.0," while also bringing in characters and storylines from "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager," and "Enterprise." 

All three seasons of "Picard" were well received, and none of them is universally viewed in a negative light. When the show is at its best, it represents some of the highest highs the entire "Star Trek" franchise has ever reached. For instance, it has one of the best "Star Trek" pilot episodes to date. But even at its worst, "Picard" remained one of the most consistently great "Star Trek" products yet released, and even the lowest-ranked of its three seasons is still ultimately great sci-fi television.  

After being assimilated by the Borg, Picard (Patrick Stewart) was forever changed and would remain indelibly linked to the alien pseudo-race. With this in mind, it would've been disingenuous for "Picard" to not heavily feature the Borg, a conclusion that was made all the more foregone once fellow Borg assimilation survivor Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) was revealed to be one of the show's main characters. And Season 2 is the one of the trio in which the Borg were mostly heavily featured.

While a great season overall, one of the things that makes Season 3 the least of the three seasons of "Picard" is that it gets a little too bogged down in time travel and alternate universes/realities. Some of that was the result of iconic "Star Trek" villain Q (John De Lancie), who is always a welcome presence and was a wonderful surprise in the Season 2 premiere. But playing with space and time still represented a lack of overall polish and cohesion for a series that was otherwise some of the most finely-tuned and intricately-crafted "Star Trek" ever put on screen.

While "The Next Generation" had already addressed who created Data (Brent Spiner) and what happened to him, much of Season 1 of "Picard" was devoted to diving deeper into the history of the beloved android. Considering that the deep bond between Data and Picard developed over the course of the original show and films, and the heroic sacrifice Data made during the climax of what was previously the last hurrah of the "TNG" crew, it stood to reason that Data's shadow would loom large over the show.

Data's twin "daughters," as it were — played by breakout star Isa Briones — made for the ideal next generation to feature on this "Next Generation" successor. It created a perfectly believable excuse to draw Picard back into action and reconnect him with his past. And while fans had hoped that "Picard" would immediately dole out the legacy "TNG" characters, the show smartly kept Season 1 more narrowly focused on Picard himself and didn't just become an instant fan service bonanza. It also gave Seven of Nine room to breathe as she crossed over into the "TNG" universe, as well as letting the new characters be properly introduced without being overshadowed by legacy characters.

By the time Season 3 of "Picard" had brought all of the major "TNG" players into action, it truly felt earned after the show took its time in introducing them. Nobody feels like an afterthought, nor are they only there for nostalgic fan service. The previous two seasons laid the groundwork for everyone to be brought back into the fold in a way that made sense and felt creatively justified, and the result is a season that can stand toe to toe with the best of OG "TNG."

It was during this season that one of the biggest "Star Trek" questions was answered by "Picard": Did Picard and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) every actually hook up? The answer to that question results in one of the biggest plot points for "Picard" Season 3, as it should. Fittingly, Season 3 explores the complicated nature of legacy, and how our legacy might not be what we hoped, but we still need to reckon with it as best we can. As for whether it's truly the last we'll ever hear from the "TNG" crew in their existing form, never say never — but if it is, it's hard to imagine a better way to say farewell to them than Season 3 of "Picard."