Star Trek: Picard's Series-Ending Nod To TNG 'Felt Right' To S3's Showrunner

Boldy throwing it back to "Star Trek: The Next Generation." That's a big component of "Star Trek: Picard," Season 3, which finds Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) joining forces with "The Next Generation's" main cast for one more fight against the Borg. But there is another well-known villain who becomes acquainted with the next generation.

Q (John de Lancie) has been trying to get Picard to answer for humanity's mistakes since "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Season 1, Episode 1, "Encounter at Farpoint." The being appears throughout "The Next Generation" and returns in "Star Trek: Picard" Season 2, which ends with Q giving up his last bit of energy to bring Picard back to his own time in Season 2, Episode 10, "Farewell." Q proves that he can survive anything when he appears in front of Picard's son Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) in Season 3, Episode 10, "The Last Generation."

"Star Trek: Picard" Season 3 is all about full-circle moments, which is why showrunner Terry Matalas was excited about Q's return. He told Collider, "It felt right to go back to 'Encounter at Farpoint,' that while humanity's trial was over for his father, it now begins again for his son. And it was almost as if, like that moment at the end of 'All Good Things...' when Q goes to whisper about, 'There's a thing you should know, Jean-Luc,' and then he's like, 'Ah, you'll see.' Maybe that was about Jack," he said. But de Lancie never actually expected that Q would be involved in "Star Trek: Picard."

Amid "Star Trek: Picard" Season 2, John de Lancie told The Ready Room, "I went in and I met with Terry [Matalas] ..., and he said, 'I'm sure you were expecting this.' And I said, 'Well, actually not.' You have to remember 'Star Trek' has done a bunch of movies after ["Star Trek: The Next Generation"], and they didn't have Q in it. So I sort of didn't really expect it. So when it came, I was delighted." Following Season 2, de Lancie told Screen Rant Plus that he was happy with Q's ending, but also thought of his character as immortal.

That immortality is something that "Star Trek: Picard" seems to put on full display with his return in Season 3, Episode 10, "The Last Generation." The return of Q also gives fans an open ending to "Star Trek: Picard," once again proving that "Star Trek" is a vast universe with endless possibilities. While Jean-Luc Picard and Jack Crusher defeat the Borg together, defeating Q may be something that Jack will have to either do on his own or with the help of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).

While Ed Speleers would love to go toe-to-toe with John de Lancie again, that final scene could also set up a battle between Jack and Q's son, Q2, who is first introduced as an infant on "Star Trek: Voyager," Season 3, Episode 11, "The Q and the Grey," before reappearing as a teenager, portrayed by Keegan de Lancie, during Season 7, Episode 10, "Q2."