The penultimate episode of season two has some solid action beats, and some nice emotional arcs, and reminds us that these characters are flawed and human, and that is why we relate to them. There’s also a nice line that explains the appearance of Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) mother in The Next Generation episode Where No One Has Gone Before and her fate as we learn it here.

Nothing about Picard’s brother though.

Matthew Okumura and Christopher B. Derrick wrote this episode that was first broadcast on 28 April, 2022.

While Borg Jurati (Alison Pill) attempts to seize control of La Sirena, only to discover she’s been locked out, and the code hidden in a holographic Elnor (Evan Evagora), Soong (Brent Spiner) leads a Borg attack on Chateau Picard, even as Jean-Luc confronts the dark secrets of his own past.

Raffi (Michelle Hurd) and Seven (Jeri Ryan) are able to confront Jurati and perhaps they are able to find a way for the Borg to grow and evolve. Rios (Santiago Cabrera) admits to what he feels for Teresa (Sol Rodriguez) and helps save Picard at the last moment.

But a deal brokered between Borg Jurati and Seven sees the new Borg Queen taking La Sirena, leaving Picard and company in the past, with Soong still on the loose, and the fate of the Europa mission hanging in the balance.

The emotional impact of this episode is quite high, there is a lot going on here as themes of loneliness, sadness, depression and mental health continue to be explored from all angles.

Farewell wraps everything up. It explores why Q (John de Lancie) did everything he did, it reveals why the Borg reached out specifically to Picard, sees the restoration of the timeline, hints at where Soong goes after his failure with Kore (Isa Briones) and lets Picard absolve himself for his mother.

It also hints that the landscape of the Star Trek universe is changing again as enemies become allies.

Written by Christopher Monfette and Akiva Goldsman the episode, which debuted on 5 May, 2022, has a lot of exposition and explanation for a season finale. But it works nicely, because it lets us learn about fates and happenings in the lives of characters we’ve grown to care about.

The Europa Mission led by Renee Picard (Penelope Mitchell) launches, and destroys Soongs plans for the future he saw, but sets him on another path, which plays out with his ancestors in Enterprise. Picard begins to allow himself to care about people and perhaps takes a chance on love with Laris (Orla Brady).

There’s a happy appearance by Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) which makes great sense in the overall fabric of the Star Trek universe, tying in Tallin (Brady), not only with Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) from The Original Series but also with the Traveller (Eric Menyuk) in Where No One Has Gone Before.

So, say what you will about the season, and I know some people didn’t care for it, it really ties itself into the lore of the universe, and hints at something else out there that we haven’t discovered yet.

It wraps everything up nicely, positioning things for the third and final season, which I will be starting next time as I continue my exploration of the gorgeous limited edition boxed set, The Picard Legacy Collection, available now from Paramount Canada.

Boldly go.