Easter Eggs You Missed In Star Trek: Picard Season 2

The first season of "Star Trek: Picard" did what few thought possible: Bring back a beloved character and a star actor who had long moved on from his role as captain of the Enterprise, and continued his adventures into the new millennium. It had been nearly 20 years since we'd seen him Jean-Luc Picard, and while there had been plenty of "Star Trek" in that time, "Picard" still managed to offer up something new and daring, with plenty of surprises. But it was also filled with loads of callbacks, from the surprise inclusion of "Voyager" fan favorite Seven Of Nine to plot threads that tied back to an unexpected classic episode.

Season 2 of "Picard" picks up right where the first left off, and ups the stakes. From the first trailer, we knew the show would be reminiscent of classic "Trek" stories, including a dark parallel reality and time travel into the past. The return of the powerful trickster Q and the Enterprise's longtime barkeep Guinan showed that this season was going to have plenty of references to adventures of "Trek" past. 

As such, the new season is loaded with Easter eggs. Here's a list of our favorites so far — especially ones that might have escaped your notice.

As many eagle eyed viewers noticed in the first trailer for the new season, a major piece of "Deep Space Nine" lore appeared prominently on the table in Picard's library. Surrounded by books, it appeared that the former Enterprise captain — an avid archeologist — was studying the object, known as the Reckoning Tablet. The tablet made its first and only appearance in the "Deep Space Nine" episode "The Reckoning" and was smashed to pieces by Captain Sisko after receiving a vision. In doing so, he released the villainous Pah-wraiths that were locked in a centuries long war with the Bajoran Prophets.

Many wondered if the appearance of the tablet was an Easter egg just for trailers, perhaps as a nod to his past friendship with Bajoran officer Ensign Ro, or just a sly nod to "Deep Space Nine." But the tablet does indeed appear in the opening episode. As Picard and Laris speak in his library, it appears on the table between them in the center of the screen, and it is still in pieces. There's a viewing glass above it, which that suggests Picard has indeed been studying it. Given its prominence in the scene, we're forced to wonder if it's more than just an Easter egg, and perhaps a hint of more to come.

During his speech, Picard is proud to introduce his friend Elnor — the young swordsman raised by the Qowat Milat — as the first "fully Romulan" entrant into Starfleet Academy. This indicates that, at some point prior to the events of the episode, the Academy had admitted other cadets with at least partial Romulan ancestry. It's notable also because there has been at least one Starfleet officer that we've seen whose bloodline could be traced to Romulans: A crewman named Simon Tarses, from "The Next Generation" episode "The Drumhead."

Tarses was investigated for his possible role in sabotaging the Enterprise, but his real crime was lying about his parentage by claiming he was part Vulcan rather than Romulan. Ultimately, Tarses did not even attend the Academy, and chose to enlist instead. Nevertheless, it was heavily implied that there was great controversy surrounding officers who carried the blood of a Federation enemy. It remains to be seen if this will be an issue for Elnor, who vocalizes his concerns about fitting in at the Academy due to his race, though Picard's gift — a book written by Spock — should help.

We didn't see much of any Starfleet vessels in Season 1 — but now that audiences are brought aboard a Starfleet ship in Season 3, we see they've stayed true to the past, and for many fans it will feel like a welcome homecoming.

Throughout the second season premiere, we are given many visual and audio callbacks to the days of 1990s "Star Trek" — from the updated LCARS computer layouts, to transporter sounds used on "The Next Generation," and the comms beeps used on "Star Trek: Voyager." Trekkies will no doubt appreciate the little touches, and the lengths that new showrunner Terry Matalas ("12 Monkeys") has gone to in order to lovingly recreate the world of Starfleet that they remember.

But the biggest and best nod might the use of "The Next Generation" theme music front and center, which begins when Jurati first beams aboard Rios' starship, and reaches a crescendo when he orders them to warp. While shows like "Star Trek: Discovery" and even the first season of "Picard" had seemingly tried to step out from the pure nostalgia of "The Next Generation" and past "Trek" series, it looks like Season 2 has chosen to fully embrace it.

Though it's called out in the episode itself, and as such isn't quite an "Easter egg" in the traditional sense, we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about Rios' new ship: the USS Stargazer. The namesake is a familiar one, as it was the ship that Picard commanded prior to helming the Enterprise-D, first seen in "TNG" episode "The Battle." In that episode, it was revealed that the ship was apparently destroyed in a fight with the Ferengi while he was in command, leading to Picard's court martial. But it was rediscovered by Daimon Bok and used in a plot to exact revenge. This new Stargazer is a welcome callback to Picard's old ship, and even boasts the same four nacelle configuration. 

Of course, Seven Of Nine notes that this Stargazer is also part of a new class of starships using Borg technology taken from the reclaimed cube in Season 1. This follows many stories in "Star Trek: Voyager," where Captain Janeway and Seven Of Nine would often use the ex-Borg's nano-probes to augment various systems when the need arose. Those tactics seem to have been embraced by Starfleet and implemented on a broader scale after Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, and subsequent to the Borg Reclamation Project. 

When they first meet, Picard notes that Guinan's people age slowly, and she tells him its "only if we choose to" — and that she has chosen to for the benefit of humans who dislike being reminded of their own mortality. This helps explain to audiences why the centuries-old Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, looks 20 years older than the last time we saw her in "Star Trek: Nemesis." She then makes a few clever nods to classic "TNG" episodes, referencing "Q Who" when she mentions holding Picard's hand while they faced a galactic threat, and "Yesterday's Enterprise" when she says "we have jumped universes together."

But Picard hasn't come to reminisce, and is instead looking for some advice regarding his love life. Picard insists that he has loved before, and quite deeply, to which Guinan responds "but only to those who would be temporary." It's true that Picard has had a handful of dalliances in "Trek," and the most obvious candidate is renegade archeologist Vash who he met in "Captain's Holiday" — who Picard clearly held a deep and passionate attraction towards. But as Guinan said, Vash was never a good match because she was always on the move, and Picard's first love was Starfleet. 

Their most haunting exchange is when she tells Picard that he should know better than most that there are worse things than being dead. This is a clear reference to his previous assimilation by the Borg, when they stole his body and mind and used him as an instrument of destruction.

The Bajoran Recknoning Tablet isn't the only easter egg to be found in Picard's home in "The Star Gazer." The former Enterprise captain's chateau is filled with a number of links to past adventures, episodes, and characters. As pointed out by Twitter user @gaghyogi49, a decorative plate is seen hanging on the wall behind Picard while he speaks to Laris. Discerning viewers may recognize it as the same one seen in "TNG" episode "Family," hanging in the home of Robert Picard. It's not as noteworthy a callout as the Reckoning Tablet, but it's a nice connection nonetheless.

Elsewhere on Picard's bookshelf, audiences may spot a golden statuette of the USS Enterprise-C, possibly even the same model that once hung in the observation lounge on Picard's Enterprise. But the best easter egg in the chateau might be the ship in a bottle that appears on a bureau by the library's entrance. If you're a longtime fan of "The Next Generation," you may recall Picard's claim of owning one in the episode "Booby Trap." Having discovered the ruins of a ancient Promellian Battle Cruiser in that episode, the captain noted that he once had a model of the same ship in a bottle as a boy ... and here we see that very model. It's references like these that show what a dedicated fan producer Terry Matalas really is, as well as his dedication to on-screen continuity to even the franchise's finest details.

At the close of "The Star Gazer" we encounter the Borg, who arrive through a bizarre spatial anomaly and call out for Jean-Luc Picard. Starfleet, initially not knowing who has sent the message, makes the call to bring in Admiral Picard, who arrives and greets them with open arms. But soon they realize it's the Borg, and learn that the Queen herself wishes to seek peace, and apparently wants to join the Federation. Everyone involved is perplexed by the situation, with Dr. Jurati noting that "the Borg we know have been effectively decimated, functionally hobbled." 

This is the first we've heard about the state of the Borg in the years past "Star Trek: Voyager," and it's an interesting update to the status quo in the galaxy. But it shouldn't come as a surprise to longtime viewers, as it seems to be a reference to the events seen in "Star Trek: Voyager." In the series finale, Janeway and the crew of Voyager dealt the Borg a crippling blow by destroying their Uni-Complex in the Delta Quadrant thanks to an invasive virus — along with countless ships, and the Borg Queen. On top of all that, a rebellion from within the collective was seen taking shape in the episode "Unimatrix Zero" which proved to be a real problem for them; it's entirely possible that it continued to grow from that point.

All told, it would seem that between the end of "Voyager" and where we see them now, things have only gotten worse for the Borg, a race of cybernetic tyrants once thought unstoppable.

As Q gives Picard a brief tour of who he is in this new bizarre altered reality, he leads him into his trophy room, which is packed with Easter eggs and references to the wider "Star Trek" franchise. One of the first things we see is a Cardassian military uniform, as well as the armor of the Klingon Torchbearer seen in "Star Trek: Discovery." A number of phase rifles, disruptors, and alien weapons hang on the wall, but the most exciting references come with Picard's collection of skulls. Yes, skulls.

Among the many lives that Picard has taken is Gul Dukat, the villainous Cardassian who terrorized Captain Sisko on "Deep Space Nine." According to Q, Picard killed him just outside the capitol city in a brutal fight that resulted in this version of Picard needing a synthetic body. Next we see the skinned head of General Martok, the Klingon warrior from "Deep Space Nine" who was killed in armed combat after a bio-engineered virus decimated the Klingon homeworld. Director Sarek's skull is also shown upon a pedestal, said to have been decapitated by Picard on the steps of the Vulcan Science Academy in front of his own wife and son — an obvious reference to Spock. A Ferengi skull also shown is likely the Grand Nagus, as his traditional gold-tipped staff is seen mounted beneath it.

In the dark reality, we learn that Seven of Nine was never assimilated by the Borg, and — as Annika Hansen — has become the President of Earth. Finding herself married to a man she's never met, she attempts to play the part until she can figure out what's going on. She's asked by her husband — who is also a high ranking administrator in the Earth government — the status of the war on the Vulcan front, and she brings up a display that gives her the details.

On the screen we see that image of Rios, now a Colonel in the Confederation, fighting near Vulcan, which is labeled in parentheses as "Ni'Var." Fans of "Star Trek: Discovery" will recall that in the far future where the series is now set, the planet Vulcan had been reunified with their Romulan cousins, and changed their homeworld's name to Ni'Var to reflect that. Its use here may suggest that, in this reality, the Vulcans and Romulans have similarly unified. This seems to be supported by the image of a Romulan Bird of Prey engaged in battle with the La Sirena elsewhere on the viewscreen.

But the deepest of cuts comes when one pauses to read the description of Rios' mission, as the Confederation is preparing to deploy a devastating weapon called the Metreon Cascade. This is the same weapon of mass destruction that was at the center of the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Jetrel," and used on the planet Rinax in the war between the Talaxians and the Haakonian Order. How the Confederation got their hands on a weapon from the Delta Quadrant remains a mystery.

After Q changes history and alters reality into a dark version of the world they know, Picard, Seven, Rios, Raffi, Elnor, and Jurati all wake up without any knowledge of what has happened. The last thing they remember was the Borg's attack on the bridge of the Stargazer, and a sudden flash of light. 

Jurati comes to in a laboratory, and is greeted to the sarcastic comments of an artificially intelligent program in the form of an animated cat. Calling itself Spot-73, this cartoon kitten will surely evoke memories of another cat in "Star Trek" lore named Spot, Data's beloved pet feline on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." As Jurati worked on the project to recreate Data's positronic brain in the original timeline, it's entirely possible that she did the same in this new one, and that Spot-73's creation was an ode to Data's cat Spot.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen artificially intelligent pets created by antisocial genius inventors in "Star Trek." Way back in the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Lifeline," Dr. Lewis Zimmerman — the brilliant engineer who created the Emergency Medical Hologram — kept several holographic pets including an iguana named Leonard and even a housefly named Roy.

The Klingon Torchbearer armor and the skulls of his enemies aren't the only relics kept by the great General Jean-Luc Picard in this altered, darker reality. Picard also has a collection of keepsakes from his many conquests In his French chateau that would make any Trekkie jealous. While they are tough to make out on-screen, intrepid fans have been able to ID most of them. Notably, Twitter user and contributor to the long-running "Star Trek" fan site Ex Astris Scientia Jörg Hillebrand pointed out several props that had appeared in past "Star Trek" stories.

Based on Hillebrand's account, which was accompanied by a helpful side-by-side photomontage, it would appear that Picard is quite the collector of alien antiquities — or at least their weapons. In addition to the Zhat Vash phaser rifle, dagger, and the Klingon disruptor that are seen when he first enters, Picard seems to have kept many weapons from his other enemies. This includes a Bajoran phaser rifle seen often in "Deep Space Nine," a Shinzon's knife, and a Reman disrupter rifle from "Star Trek: Nemesis." Also visible is what appears to be a Romulan disruptor rifle from the 2009 J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movie. Finally, the appearance of a knife used by Ezri Dax in the mirror universe on "Deep Space Nine" seems to suggest that this Picard may have conquered more than other worlds, but other universes as well.

Tasha Yar and Miles O'Brien are not the only ones to make a triumphant return to the franchise in this dark reality. After Picard, Raffi, Elnor, Seven, and Jurati rendezvous with Rios aboard the La Sirena, they're quickly intercepted by several Confederation ships that take chase. In addition to the Steamrunner class ship seen in "Star Trek: First Contact," a Nova class vessel is seen in hot pursuit. This is the first time we've seen that class of ship since 1997, when it appeared prominently in the Season 5 "Star Trek: Voyager" cliffhanger and Season 6 premiere, "Equinox Parts 1 and 2."

There, Voyager encounters the USS Equinox, a science vessel that, like Voyager, has become trapped in the Delta Quadrant. After a happy reunion, Captain Janeway learns that Ransom and his crew have been kidnapping and torturing alien life forms to fuel their upgraded warp drive. It's a nail-biting adventure and one of the very best of "Voyager." The Nova class starship is a standout in the episode in a number of thrilling action sequences, and its return in "Assimilation" is a welcome one. It would appear, however, that the Nova class in this reality is more than a mere science vessel and armed to the teeth for combat and tactical missions such as hunting the La Sirena.

Coincidence or not, it just so happens that Picard and his new crew find themselves in 2024, the same year that Captain Sisko, Dr. Bashir, and Lt. Dax time-traveled to in the "Deep Space Nine" episode "Past Tense." That two-part time travel episode has become a beloved classic among Trekkies for its haunting portrayal of what was then a future 30 years away. Ironically, much of what is predicted in 1995 has since come to pass, but the crux of that episode revolved around Sisko and Bashir being trapped in a homeless encampment called a Sanctuary District in San Francisco.

Sisko and Bashir are forced to stay in a closed-off area designed to keep the homeless from encroaching on the city because they have no I.D. or paperwork. While there, they get caught up in a historic civilian uprising called the Bell Riots, which were said to have occurred in September of 2024. In "Assimilation," Raffi and Seven appear to materialize within a Sanctuary District in the very same year. Of course, the fact that this one is in Los Angeles seems to show us that the government-run homeless encampments extend beyond the Bay Area in California.

It doesn't explain, however, how Seven and Raffi seem to have no trouble leaving the district. In "Past Tense," the armed guards patrolling its borders barred Sisko and Bashir from exiting.

Landing from a two-story fall didn't get Rios a nice meal from Tipton's Deli. Instead, it sends him to a local clinic with serious injuries, including some broken bones. The clinic in question, run by Dr. Teresa, seems to specialize in caring for those without identification. Happy to help Rios off the books when he insists on "no hospitals," it's still not safe for him to be there, and Rios makes for a quick exit after getting treated. However, it's a little too late, as Homeland Security arrives for a raid on the facility before he can slip out.

Attempting to stay behind to help Dr. Teresa, Rios is instead taken into custody by the police. The officer who cuffs him asks for I.D., and when Rios admits that he doesn't have any, the man says, "let me guess, no UHC card?" Fans of "Deep Space Nine" will remember this line from the time travel two-parter, "Past Tense." When Sisko and Bashir arrive in 2024 they have no identification, just like Rios, and are stopped by police who ask for the same UHC card. Though it's never said what the card is, it's clearly used for identification in this version of 2024. Without one, it sounds like Rios is getting a one-way ticket to a Sanctuary District, just like Sisko.

If you're looking for some deep cut Easter eggs, strap in because this one's a doozy. In "Assimilation," after Confederation officers shoot Elnor, Raffi takes him for emergency medical treatment. Struggling to keep him alive, it starts to look like the young Romulan officer isn't going to make it. Elnor instructs Raffi to hand him a medallion he keeps in his pocket, explaining that it's a relic given to him by the Qowat Molat nuns on Romulus. He says it gives him comfort and wants to hold it as he lies dying.

However, the logo seen on the engraved medallion appears to be inspired by a Romulan design that's been seen before, if only briefly. The icon seen here harkens back to an episode of "The Next Generation." Ex Astris Scientia contributor Jörg Hillebrand noted on Twitter that the triangular symbol, circled with the Romulan phrase that translates to "now is the only moment," looks to have been based on the crest on the uniform of the Romulan commander Taris in the episode "Contagion."

The logo's use here as a Qowat Molat medallion could be seen as a retcon that indicates Commander Taris was a member of the same religious order.

Having brought the Borg Queen aboard the La Sirena to help guide them back in time, Picard and his crew once again rely on her for interdimensional knowledge. The Borg Queen claims to know the location of the Watcher, a being with awareness of other timelines which might be able to help them. However, to access the information, Jurati needs to be partially assimilated. It's a risky procedure, but she convinces Picard it's the only way. 

They get some of the information they need, but much of it is scrambled in Jurati's head. While Picard gives her a tour of his family's French chateau, Jurati begins subconsciously fixating on the number 15. Picard points out that while in the chateau's library she moves 15 beads on an abacus, selects the 15th volume of an encyclopedia, and picks up a bottle of pinot noir from 1915. This seems to indicate that there's some information rattling around in her subconscious — something Picard would recognize because he's seen this sort of thing before.

The subconscious fixation feels like a direct nod to the events of "The Next Generation" episode "Cause And Effect." In that episode, the Enterprise is stuck in a repeating loop of time, and Data implants a subconscious message to himself regarding the number three to help them solve the dilemma. Perhaps thanks to this experience, Picard can recognize the same phenomenon in Jurati and see the fixation on 15 as a potentially helpful subconscious message.

After shutting down the noisy punk, Raffi laments that they didn't stay in the future and craft a better plan rather than rushing into the past with no real strategy. The haphazard jump back in time resulted in Elnor's death, and Raffi is worried that they won't be able to bring him back by resetting the timeline. Seven attempts to console her, reassuring her that the responsibility for Elnor's death doesn't fall on her shoulders.

"You lost someone. And losing him was not your fault," Seven tells Raffi as she reaches out and holds her hand in a touching moment of empathy from the former Borg drone. This is more than just Seven attempting to make her partner feel better, though, as Seven has a history with guilt regarding a lost loved one. Her line to Raffi is a callback to Season 1 of "Picard," where we saw Seven lose Icheb, the young former Borg who became like a son to her. Although Icheb was killed by the villain Bjayzel, a woman hunting for Borg technology, Seven had felt that his death was largely her fault. 

The relationship between Raffi and Elnor parallels that of Seven and Icheb as quasi-parental figures to wayward souls. When Seven consoles Raffi, it's clear that the current situation also serves as a reminder to Seven that she too should bear no guilt for Icheb's death.

Entering the bar, Picard discovers a much younger Guinan — now played by actress Ito Aghayere — with a much different attitude. Far more cynical, this Guinan in 2024 has had enough of the human race and is about to close her bar and depart planet Earth. She also doesn't recognize Picard, and that makes sense. After all, when Q altered history, there was no starship Enterprise to travel back in time to 1893 to meet Guinan in the two-part "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Season 5 cliff-hanger episode "Time's Arrow." It's possible that her new, less hopeful attitude is the result of never having met Picard and getting a peek into humanity's — and her own — future.

When she meets Picard in "Watcher," Guinan is more than just cynical — she's distrusting and suspicious. She makes it known she won't tolerate a thief by pulling a shotgun out from under the bar. This should come as no surprise to fans of "The Next Generation," who will remember that Guinan is known for keeping a powerful firearm at her side, even at Ten Forward on the Enterprise. In the episode "Night Terrors," when fear grips the Enterprise and a fight breaks out in the ship's lounge, Guinan pulls a phaser rifle from under her bar that she claims she got from Magus III. But in 2024, a simple pump-action shotgun is all she needs to ward off thieves, brawlers, and malcontents.

At the tail end of the fourth episode, "Watcher," we find Q sitting at a table outdoors reading a copy of a contemporary newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. In this version of 2024, it seems the world has the same issues as the real world in 2022, with one headline noting that "Brynner fights unionization." The Guardian notes that unionization has been a hot-button issue in the real world, and it appears that the same is true in the "Star Trek" universe. 

The headline is a reference to Chris Brynner, the wealthy magnate from the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" time travel episode "Past Tense." There he appeared as something of a cross between Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch. Brynner is the owner and CEO of a tech conglomerate called Brynner Information Systems and wields political influence through the several network channels he controls. While he presents himself as an elitist, he seems genuinely good-hearted and helps Dax locate her friends in the Sanctuary District, even coming to question the ethics of his time.

However, the headline of the paper held by Q reveals that Brynner is now anti-union. With this new stance, it's hard not to wonder if Brynner has been reimagined as an analog to Elon Musk, the complicated tech mogul that NPR once described as "a vocal union opponent."

While reading the paper, Q observes a mysterious woman who sits down at a table nearby. At first, she seems like a random passerby, but as Q focuses on her, it becomes clear that she may be more important than we first realize. "You can't do it, and you know it," Q says as the woman takes a seat and continues reading her book. However, it's not just any book the woman is leafing through — it's a book titled "The Pallid Son" by author Tracy Tormé.

But don't go hunting on Amazon for this one — well, not until "Star Trek" licensing inevitably produces a real version — because this is not an existing volume, nor a random book pulled off a shelf for her to read in the scene. A sharp eye will note that the book cover is adorned with the banner "A Dixon Hill Mystery." Dixon Hill was the name of a fictional detective in "Star Trek" and star of several novels — and later holodeck programs — preferred by Jean-Luc Picard. 

First mentioned in "The Next Generation," Dixon Hill has been referenced over the years in episodes of "Enterprise" and "Voyager" as well. The book's fictional author, Tracy Tormé, is named after the real-life writer of "The Next Generation" episode that the detective series first appeared in, "The Big Goodbye."

From the episodes so far, it looks like the producers of "Star Trek: Picard" enjoy filling episodes with some deep cuts, and we get yet another one as Picard and Guinan head down the street from her bar on Forward Avenue. They pass a number of merchants, one that would only be recognizable to the most astute observers of "Star Trek" lore, Floyd's Barber Shop. 

Once again, the new season that sees Picard traveling through time gives us a callback to the classic time travel episode "The City On The Edge Of Forever." This establishment is the same one that Kirk and Spock pass by in that episode, all the way back in 1967. Like the 21st Street Mission, it seems that Floyd's Barber Shop has gone national by 2024. It may be even more impressive that Floyd's is still operating after nearly a hundred years since Kirk and Spock landed in New York in 1930. 

Picard and the crew of the La Sirena have been seeking a mysterious being called the Watcher since arriving in the 21st century. After Guinan leads him to her doorstep we're finally introduced to a woman who somehow bears the likeness of Picard's Romulan companion Laris. But this is not Laris, as the Watcher — who introduces herself as Tallinn — seems as mystified as we are by the resemblance. Instead, she describes herself as a "supervisor" of Earthly events. She has been assigned the task of watching over historical events, and monitoring the destiny of Renee Picard in particular, who she describes as "a single thread" of the tapestry of history.

Picard recognizes Tallinn's self-description right away. "Kirk's Enterprise crossed paths with a human called Gary ... Gary Seven. He too was recruited by superior beings as an agent who would ... protect the tapestry of history." This is the season's second reference to Kirk's adventures on the Enterprise, this time a nod to the episode "Assignment: Earth." The episode saw Kirk and crew travel back to 1968, where they met a man called Gary Seven, who also called himself a supervisor — tasked with completing another agent's mission to ensure that humans did not annihilate each other in nuclear war. 

With the revelation of the Watcher as one of Gary Seven's people, we now know that the Supervisors do more than just help mankind on a broad historical level. They are also on Earth to watch over and protect important individuals whose lives could impact the Earth's destiny.

Adam Soong's work in eugenics leads to a number of important breakthroughs, but it hasn't been without its controversy either. Having apparently experimented on ex-soldiers through a private contractor, he's been brought before a medical review board to explain himself. Among the panelists however, is a man with surname that fans of "The Next Generation" should know well. A dark-haired man sits silently with a cold stare, and his nameplate reads "Vassily Rozhenko, Vice Chair." This can not be anything other than an Easter egg referencing the "Next Generation" main character Lieutenant Worf, the orphaned Klingon officer. After being found by humans at the site of the Khitomer Massacre as a child, Worf was raised by human foster parents on Earth, a kind Russian couple named Sergey and Helena Rozhenko. 

Sergey, of course, appeared in the episode "Family," mostly a story about Jean-Luc Picard returning to France; but in the B-story, Worf has a reunion with his Earth parents, too. We learn that Sergey was an enlisted Starfleet crewman aboard the USS Intrepid, and after marrying Helena, they had one biological son, Nicholai (played by Paul Sorvino in the episode "Homeward"). Later, Worf's son Alexander, by the Klingon Ambassador K'Ehlyr, would take their surname. Little else was revealed about the Rozhenko family, but here we learn they have a rich family history, with Vassily being an important figure in the world's medical community in 2024.

Now that Picard has discovered the Watcher and learned just who and what their mission to restore history involves, he gathers the La Sirena crew to go over a plan of action. Some, including Rios, are perplexed at how Renee Picard, a single woman, could be so crucial to history that she's the difference between a bright and hopeful future and a dark totalitarian nightmare reality. Picard says he's not sure how or why his ancestor is so important either. Picard announces that "the history of this time period is wildly incomplete. The century leading up to first contact was just rife with chaos."

And Picard would know, as this is a clear reference to the events he took part in during the film "Star Trek: First Contact," another time travel story that saw the Enterprise go back to 2063 — just 39 years after this episode set. In that time, it's said that the Earth is still recovering from the Third World War, and most records of the era were lost or incomplete. Here, all Picard claims to know of his ancestor is that she commanded the Europa mission, and that while exploring the solar system, it was said that she discovered a micro organism on that she believed was sentient. 

Clearly this is a hint of things to come in the second half of Season 2, but if "Trek" history is anything to go by, it sounds like records of the day will be lost during a major global catastrophe.

In Episode 5, "Fly Me To The Moon," a time-traveling Q approaches the ancestor of Commander Data's creator Noonian Soong to ensure that Picard can not save his future timeline. He first appears to Soong in the form of a message on his computer, telling him to check his 3D printer. When Soong opens the device he finds a business card of sorts, with a complex etching of the letter Q, along with a string of numbers beneath. Keen viewers may have recognized it as a phone number, and the most obsessive "Star Trek" fans have taken to Reddit to report what occurred when they called the number on the card.

In perhaps the best Easter egg yet in the series, dialing the number on the card (323-634-5667) will get you a real message from Q himself (voiced by none other than actor John De Lancie) who proceeds to criticize you for wasting his time. We've transcribed the message below, but you really ought to hear it for yourself.

"Hello! You have reached the Q Continuum. We are unable to get to the phone right now because we are busy living in a plane of existence your feeble, mortal mind cannot possibly comprehend. Furthermore, it's pointless to leave a message because we, of course, already knew that you would call, and we simply do not care. Have a nice day!"

At the gala, Renee Picard feels overwhelmed by the spotlight and retreats to a quieter room to be alone. While Q — disguised as her therapist — encourages her to back out of the mission, her descendant, Jean-Luc Picard, is there to ensure she follows through. He follows her and finds her in a hallway commemorating the history of Earth space flight, from the early orbiters all the way up to contemporary spacecraft in the fictional 2024. There we see many models, including the 1969 moon lander and the Shango X-1, which Renee Picard will pilot on the upcoming Europa Mission. 

When the two Picards meet and Renee is feeling too distraught to speak, Jean-Luc implores her to look up and tell him about the ship hanging in the museum above them. The ship we see is no stranger to "Star Trek," though it's never been seen in an actual episode. 

The ship in question is an OV-165, which can be seen in the opening credits of "Star Trek: Enterprise." Originally designed to show mankind's slow evolution from Apollo 11 to the NX-01 Enterprise, its appearance here is the first time we've seen a model of it. Renee describes it as a shuttle that has fuel-efficient "aero-spike" engines. It seems the writers of "Star Trek: Picard" are respecting the canon history of space exploration in Earth's fictional present day, including the OV-165 shuttle.

When Raffi meets up with Rios during the Gala, she notes his upbeat attitude and connects it to his meeting Teresa. Warning him about falling in love in 2024, she tells him, "when you meet someone from another century, the relationship is kind of built on lies." While this is definitely good advice for Rios, it feels like a nod to previous "Star Trek" time travel episodes in which one of the main cast falls in love with someone from the past. 

In the original series episode "City on the Edge of Forever" Captain Kirk becomes romantically involved with Edith Keeler, a woman in 1930 New York, and is forced to let her die to preserve the timeline. He again becomes linked to a woman in 1986 after traveling back in time in the film "The Voyage Home," leading to a complicated conversation in a restaurant where he must dance around his true origins. 

In the "Star Trek: Voyager" two-parter "Future's End," it's Tom Paris who must cut short a budding romance with Sarah Silverman's character Rain Robinson — who clearly has the hots for him — because he has to return to the 24th century. Even in "Deep Space Nine" Jadzia Dax's quasi-romance with 21st-century industrialist Chris Brynner was doomed to failure. Whether just a coincidence or an intentional reference to similar "Star Trek" stories of old, Raffi is right to warn Rios about the perils of time-crossed romances.

As Episode 7, "Monsters," begins we are moved far from where the action of the previous episode left us. Though the former Enterprise captain is still in his tuxedo from the Europa Mission gala, he's now aboard some sort of space station and being interviewed by a mysterious therapist played by "Battlestar Galactica" alum James Callis. While some may have mistaken Callis for the similar-looking Alexander Siddig, who appeared prominently in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the therapist will prove to be a key new character. 

While he speaks to his patient as any therapist would, there are other clues that something is not quite right — besides Picard's tuxedo. These irregularities include the therapist's outdated Starfleet uniform and combadge, along with a confusing array of relics on the desk behind him. There, we see display models from different points in "Star Trek" history. This includes the space station K-7, from the classic episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," and what appears to be station Regula I, seen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan."

We also get a glimpse of an unidentifiable starship saucer, as well as what could be the USS Excelsior. It seems like these might even be store-bought model kits, but whatever the case it's a nice trip down memory lane and another clue as to the truth of the scene.

During his therapy session, Picard recalls events from his childhood and the time he spent in the family estate's arboretum with his mother. During that time, Picard and his mother painted the glass walls with elaborate scenes from mythology, which she then used to teach him important lessons. One of the lessons taught by Picard's mother, "there is no better teacher than one's enemy," ultimately comes to have great importance in the episode. While speaking to the young Jean-Luc about his future, his mother tells him he is a prince, and that he must learn to inspire others in order "to lift them up in times of great danger, to lead them with inspiring speech."

If there's one defining quality of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, it is his penchant for big, inspiring speeches. Whether it was to make a case in defense of a friend in "The Measure of a Man" or to lecture a young officer in "The First Duty," Picard is perhaps the greatest speech giver in "Star Trek" history. Ironically, Q once noted this about Picard himself. When visiting Picard in "The Next Generation" episode "True Q," he remarks, "sometimes I think the only reason I come here is to listen to these wonderful speeches of yours."

In Picard's therapy session, James Callis' Starfleet psychologist isn't getting anywhere with the obstinate Picard. Unwilling to be open and share his thoughts and feelings, the grumpy old Admiral wants to get on with things and be cleared for duty. He comments on Picard's stubborn nature, remarking that "there are those who have built such walls around their wounds that even a Betazoid can't get a read." Picard chuckles, as he knows a thing or two about Betazoids, having served alongside one on the Enterprise-D — and later Enterprise-E — for more than a decade.

Fans will recall the ship's resident counselor was Deanna Troi who, while not a full-blooded Betazoid and thus lacking traditional telepathic abilities, had incredible powers of empathy. Troi was able to sense the feelings of those around her no matter how hard they might try to mask them. Picard, a famously private man, was not fond of speaking of personal issues with her but respected the insight she provided, particularly when he was recovering from his time as an assimilated Borg. However, it seems that James Callis' mysterious therapist is having even more trouble than Troi at breaking down Picard's walls and revealing his hidden truths.

Meanwhile, Seven of Nine and Raffi work on the La Sirena to locate Jurati and the Borg Queen. They discover that the Borg Queen has locked them out of the ship's systems, and it's up to them to break the lockout, track down Jurati, and stop a Borg takeover of the 21st century. While getting down to business, Raffi prepares a couple of cups of strong coffee, setting one down on Seven of Nine's console. However, the former Borg drone keeps working, surprising Raffi, who observes, "You haven't touched your coffee. You never don't touch your coffee." 

Though Seven of Nine was not one to consume caffeinated beverages during her days in the Delta Quadrant, this seems like a nod to her former "Star Trek: Voyager" captain, Kathryn Janeway. Janeway, who was a role model for Seven of Nine, was well-known for her love of coffee, even calling it "the finest organic suspension ever devised" in the "Voyager" episode "Hunters." In fact, in the same episode, Janeway even claimed she beat the Borg with it — so perhaps Seven of Nine would be wise to take a few sips to help her stop the Borg Queen from taking over Jurati and escaping Earth.

As Tallinn begins to explore the innermost recesses of Picard's mind, she finds herself in a dark dungeon of old stone-walled corridors. As she begins to walk, we hear voices — recognizable voices. We are hearing Jean-Luc Picard himself, and these aren't random words being spoken but lines taken from classic episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Though the lines overlap, some can be heard pretty clearly, and the first one is unmistakable. It is spoken by Locutus, the version of Picard that was assimilated by the Borg. "I am Locutus ... of Borg." 

From there, we hear the muffled line, "You are dangerous, they're only victims. You made them what they are. You asked them to defend your way of life and then you discarded them." This line is from the Season 3 "The Next Generation" episode "The Hunted." In that episode, the Enterprise visits a world aspiring to join the Federation but the crew is troubled to find a group of violent criminals who had once been soldiers. When Picard discovers that it was the world's leaders who turned them into ruthless killers, he speaks the harsh words that we hear now.

We also hear the line "I would rather die as the man I was" from "Tapestry," a Q episode where Picard is offered the chance to change his past. Finally, we hear the iconic line "There. Are. Four. Lights!" from the infamous scene where Picard is tortured by a brutal Cardassian interrogator in the episode "Chain of Command."

In "Mercy" we get another direct reference to the previous unresolved history between Guinan and Q first teased in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Q Who." That episode mentions a cold war between El-Aurians and Q, but here it becomes clear that this period of conflict was not when Q met Guinan. When Q comes to visit her while disguised as an FBI Agent, he seems surprised to see her and even more confused when she doesn't recognize him. This is the first meeting between Q and Guinan in more than 30 years on screen, and he makes a remark that references their past connection when he says, "That's right, it's the 21st century. We haven't met yet."

This at least gives Trekkies a time frame to work with, because all we knew about their history before this was that their "dealings" together were more than 200 years before their meeting in "Q Who," which is set in 2365. Thanks to this new scene, fans can now narrow down their first canonical encounter to somewhere between 2100 and 2165, given the way Q has phrased it here. We still don't know quite what happened at that meeting, but perhaps we'll get more answers as the season winds towards the finish line.

In "Mercy" we finally get a glimpse of a scene from an early trailer that features a pair of Vulcans in the woods with a young human boy. Here we learn that the scene takes place some decades earlier, perhaps as early as the 1970s, when FBI Agent Wells was just a child. While looking for his dog, the future agent Wells stumbles upon a pair of Vulcans engaged in some form of monitoring of Earth. That Earth had been visited before by Vulcans for covert surveillance is not a new revelation, as it is first mentioned in the "Enterprise" episode "Carbon Creek."

In that Season 2 episode of "Enterprise," we learn that science officer T'Pol's foremother T'Mir was on a Vulcan ship that had been monitoring Earth in the 1950s. T'Mir and a small team wind up trapped on Earth after crash landing in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, and live undercover as humans until they are rescued, with T'Mir posing as a young woman named Maggie. T'Pol mentions in the episode that T'Mir's visit was her people's first contact with humanity. Now, we see that the Vulcans undertook further missions to observe human progress, just as the Federation observes pre-warp societies. The Vulcans in "Mercy" even use a handheld device that's a near-identical match for those carried by Vulcans on "Enterprise."

Interestingly, the young boy's dog is named Maggie, and given showrunner and head writer Terry Matalas' meticulousness, we can't help but see that too as an intentional reference to "Carbon Creek."

First introduced in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" second season episode "Q Who," the Borg's black-clad cyborg visage has become an iconic part of pop culture. Their cube-like starships are as oddly distinctive as any spacecraft in science fiction, and the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" is a TV classic. 

Like any good characters in fiction, the Borg also have several catchphrases and memorable lines that have entered the lexicon. Perhaps most famous is their monotoned greeting "We are the Borg ... Resistance is futile." This line is revisited here in "Mercy," but with a 21st-century twist. When the Jurati Queen visits Adam Soong, she states, "I assume a lecture on the futility of resistance isn't going to be necessary."

Once Adam Soong has supplied her with what she needs — an army of highly trained military soldiers — the two prepare for a mission. In a sense, these mercenaries are Earth's first Borg drones, with the Jurati Queen injecting them with Borg technology and changing them into her own willing army. As the nanoprobes infiltrate one soldier's body, she asks the group, "who's in the mood to add a little of their biological and technological distinctiveness to our own?"

This echoes the early speech that the Borg give Picard as an ominous warning about their intentions towards humanity. For that is the Borg mission statement: to absorb other beings, cultures, and technology, adding everything unique and distinctive about them to their collective whole.

During further flashbacks to Jean-Luc Picard's childhood, we see the young future Enterprise captain playing with toys in the family home. Among them is a ship sure to make Trekkie's eyes widen: the NX-01 Refit. The NX-01 is easily identifiable as the titular starship featured in the 2001 series "Enterprise" starring Scott Bakula. While the series lasted four seasons, the events it depicted are rarely mentioned, mainly because the entire series was a retcon of "Star Trek" history. Making this version of the NX-01 Enterprise even more difficult to identify, however, is the fact that it was never seen on screen. It has only been the subject of conjecture, developed by designers and model makers for a future the series never saw.

Originally planned to be introduced into a fifth season that never happened — thanks to an abrupt cancelation in 2005 — it has only ever been seen off-screen. Artwork of the NX-01 Refit was seen in the "Star Trek: Ships Of The Line" calendar series, while Polar Lights produced a model kit of the variant starship as well. In fact, the version we see in this episode appears to be a model produced by Eaglemoss as part of their Hero Collector series of "Star Trek" starships.

Ever since Season 1 of "Star Trek: Picard," fans have wondered what happened in Seven of Nine's adventures following "Star Trek: Voyager" that caused her to turn to vigilantism and the Fenris Rangers rather than Starfleet. Well, thanks to Episode 9 of Season 2, we finally know why, and it harkens back to several episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager." 

While running from the newly-minted Borg soldiers in the tunnels beneath the Picard Chateau, Seven of Nine and Raffi have another heart-to-heart. As they arm up and prepare to take on the squad of soldiers chasing them, Raffi comments that Seven — who is shouting orders at him — sounds like a starship captain. She says that Seven should have joined Starfleet, and it's then that we learn why she never did, finally giving fans a deeper glimpse into what happened to Seven after returning to the Alpha Quadrant in the "Star Trek: Voyager" finale. 

According to Seven, she did attempt to join Starfleet but was turned away because of her time as a Borg drone. Apparently, her former captain Janeway "went to bat" for her, even threatening to resign, but Seven opted to abandon her Academy aspirations and become a Fenris Ranger. This chain of events mirrors concerns that Seven of Nine expressed more than once in "Star Trek: Voyager" when she considered staying behind in the Delta Quadrant because she feared that she would not be accepted on Earth. It seems that her beliefs were well-founded.

Since the beginning of the season, Picard's mother Yvette has played a major role in the story. Yvette is seen only once in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" when she appears during a hallucination that the captain experiences while traveling through an unusual region of space in "Where No One Has Gone Before." In that distant part of the galaxy, thoughts become reality, and Picard finds himself face to face with his mother. In his hallucinatory vision, Yvette Picard asks her son to sit with her for a cup of tea and a chat. Picard notes that her presence is impossible because his mother is dead.

However, in this episode of "Picard," we learn exactly how she died when Picard was young. Having suffered from severe mental illness, she takes her own life after her son lets her out of her room, leaving him to feel responsible for her death. At first, this seems like an irreconcilable retcon, with Yvette dying as a young woman rather than the elderly version we saw on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Even as a hallucination, how could Picard remember her as an old woman if she never was one? However, in a direct reference to "Where No One Has Gone Before," Picard says that long after her death he often imagined her having grown older and inviting him for a cup of tea and a chat as an old woman. It's a clever Easter egg for longtime fans that helps resolve a potential plot hole in a satisfying way.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

In the final moments of the Season 2 finale "Farewell" we learn the identity of the strange Borg woman who arrived on the Stargazer in the season premiere. Revealed to be the Jurati Queen created through Picard's intervention in 2024, she has arrived looking for help from the Federation. According to her, there is a dangerous new threat that only the combined efforts of her Borg collective and Starfleet can solve. 

Once she declares the dangers she brings up a star chart on the Stargazer's viewscreen filled with plenty of "Star Trek" Easter eggs, from Benzar to Draylax. But one stands out as particularly meaningful on "Star Trek: Picard." The star system Maxia can be clearly seen when the chart first appears, and it's a system well known to Picard. As revealed in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" first season episode "The Battle," it's at Maxia that Picard had a fateful encounter with the Ferengi while he was captain of the original USS Stargazer. In a brutal defeat, the Stargazer was seemingly destroyed, but Picard used clever tactics to save his crew, including a deft strategy that became known as "The Picard Maneuver."

Eventually known as "The Battle of Maxia," it resulted in Picard being courtmartialed after the loss of his ship, leaving a major stain on his otherwise impeccable service record. Of course, he would be somewhat redeemed in "The Battle" when the Stargazer was discovered intact, and used as part of a revenge plot by Ferengi Daimon Bok for the death of his son at the Battle of Maxia.

"Star Trek" isn't just known for its characters, stories, and one-liners, but also features some of pop culture's most famous musical themes. The original "Star Trek" opening title music has become indelibly etched into the public consciousness, while the rousing march that plays over the credits of "The Next Generation" isn't far behind in the collective consciousness. For decades "Star Trek" has employed one of the movie industry's best musical scorers, Jerry Goldsmith, and "Farewell" features another of his "Star Trek" themes in its closing moments.

While Picard and his crew, along with his old friend Guinan, toast each other at the end of the episode, we hear the unmistakable theme from "Star Trek: First Contact." A recognizable tune, it played at the close of that film as well as when Zephram Cochrane made first contact with alien visitors, a Vulcan survey ship. Here it's used to good effect — in a scene that in some ways mirrors the final scene of "The Next Generation" with Picard joining his crew in a casual setting — to say goodbye. 

The use of Goldsmith's 1996 movie theme is not the first reference this season to "First Contact," which also centered a time travel story that also gave us the first appearance of the Borg Queen, but it may be the best and most emotional one.

As we enter the final episode of Season 2, Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) has developed elaborate final failsafe plans to stop the Europa mission. The first of these involves deadly drones designed to stop the Shango X-1 shuttle as it exits Earth's atmosphere. The second is to assassinate Renée Picard before she can board the shuttle to Europa. Thankfully, Raffi, Rios, and Seven manage to stop the drones, while Tallin sacrifices herself to allow Renée to make it aboard the shuttle safely.

As Soong returns to his lab enraged by his failures, his "daughter" Kore takes control of his computer monitors and begins deleting all of his research files. Furious, Soong sits back, seemingly accepting that his work was all for nothing. Just as we think his story is over, Soong pulls a folder from his desk labeled "Project Khan." This is more than just a reference to classic "Star Trek" villain Khan Noonien-Singh, as it appears to be a direct connection to his descendant Arik Soong — also played by actor Brent Spiner — seen in a 2004 storyline on "Star Trek: Enterprise." 

About a hundred years later Arik Soong will also work in eugenics. At least some of Soong's research survives as "Project Khan" is passed down through the generations, ultimately leading to Arik's work on Augments embryos.