At the end of the 24th century, and fourteen years after his retirement from Starfleet, Jean-Luc Picard is living a quiet life on his vineyard, Château Picard. When he is sought out by a mysterious young woman, Dahj, in need of his help, he soon realizes she may have personal connections to his own past. (Series premiere)

Summary

Teaser

As the USS Enterprise-D cruises through space, Lieutenant Commander Data and Captain Jean-Luc Picard play poker together at a table in Ten Forward. They discuss Data's ability to bluff. Data says to Picard that he is now uncertain as to what deception to employ now that Picard has told him he has a tell. Data raises the bet to "fifty," everything Picard has. Picard makes tea to stall; he doesn't want the game to end. Picard goes "all in." Data lays down five queens of hearts as Picard looks outside the window to see Mars. He is confused since he didn't know the Enterprise was on course to the red planet of the Terran solar system. He realizes something isn't right as an attack by rogue synthetics begins to devastate Mars. (ST: "Children of Mars") As he turns back, he finds that Data is gone from his seat as the explosion from Mars blows through the windows of Ten Forward and destroys the Enterprise. He gasps and wakes from this dream at his family vineyard, Château Picard, in La Barre, France on Earth. Getting up from his bed, Picard opens the doors from his bedroom to look outside at the vineyard, while telling his dog that everything is all right.

Meanwhile, in Greater Boston, Dahj Asha and her Xahean boyfriend Caler are sharing a romantic evening. She tells him that she has been accepted for a fellowship in Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Consciousness at the Daystrom Institute. He jokingly criticizes her replicator options. Just then, a squad of masked men transport into the room. One throws a knife, killing Caler. The men speak an alien language before switching to English. Forcing the panicking Dahj down on her coffee table, one places a pair of devices on her temples with a holographic interface and quickly swipes through a few screens, reporting that she hasn't been "activated." Getting her to her feet and throwing aside the table, they briefly interrogate her, demanding about the location of "the others" and where she's from, but from her bewildered responses, they determine they can get what they need later. They place a bag over Dahj's head to render her unconscious, but she begins fighting back, alarming them that she is now "activating". Behaving like a highly trained and skilled fighter, she incapacitates the squad in moments and shoots them dead with one of their weapons, all while the bag is still on her head. Pulling it off, she regards the scene in confusion and regarding the weapon, lets it drop in her shock. She kneels over the body of her boyfriend to mourn as his blood continues to pool on the floor, and with a sudden gasp, has a vision of the face of Jean-Luc Picard.

Act One

At Château Picard, retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and his dog, Number One, walk through the fields, greeting his workers, who are tending to the grapevines as he passes by. Picard talks to the dog in French. He returns to the house, where he speaks with Laris and Zhaban, two Romulan refugees who work as his housekeepers. Picard talks of his dreams and how he is feeling melancholy. As Zhaban makes breakfast, Picard laments his agreement to be interviewed live by the Federation News Network. He orders his trademark Earl Grey tea from a replicator, but decaf this time.

He dresses in a jacket and tie as the news crew sets up in his study. He's nervous, making sure that Zhaban requested that the interview will not address Picard's separation from Starfleet: Zhaban assures he did so no fewer than three times. Laris tells him not to forget who he is and what he did, saying, "We have not." Zhaban tells him to "be the captain they remember."

The FNN interview begins with a capsule biography of Picard. The interviewer, Richter, asks him about the supernova that destroyed Romulus in 2387. Richter grows combative, asking him the very question that Picard dreaded: why he left Starfleet. He says that he left the USS Enterprise-E to command a rescue armada of ten thousand warp-capable ferries to Romulus before the supernova to relocate nine hundred million Romulans. He compares it to the evacuation at Dunkirk during World War II. Picard says that the Federation abandoned its duty to save millions of lives, regardless of whether or not they were Romulan. The unimaginable happened – the rescue armada was wiped out by a group of rogue synthetics who dropped the planetary defense shields and destroyed the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, killing 92,143 residents and igniting the stratosphere of Mars, which still burns fourteen years later. The intention of the attack remains unknown, and synthetic lifeforms were banned as a result of the attack. Picard believes this ban is still a mistake.

Richter brings up Lieutenant Commander Data and asks if Picard ever lost faith in him. "Never", replies Picard. She asks what he did lose faith in, why he resigned from Starfleet. Picard says, "Because it was no longer Starfleet! We withdrew. The galaxy was mourning, burying its dead, and Starfleet slunk from its duties. The decision to call off the rescue and to abandon those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonorable, it was downright criminal! And I was not prepared to stand by and be a spectator! And you, my dear, you have no idea what Dunkirk is, right? You're a stranger to history. You're a stranger to war. You just wave your hand and (Scoffs) it all goes away. Well, it's not so easy for those who died. And it was not so easy for those who were left behind. We're done here." He swiftly ends the interview.

Dahj comes across and watches the interview on a viewscreen from a rainy street corner. She recognizes Picard as the man from her vision.

Act Two

Back at Château Picard, Picard sits on a porch with his dog, drinking wine and quoting Shakespeare: "No legacy is so rich as honesty," from All's Well That Ends Well. Number One begins barking; Dahj has arrived. Picard stands to look at her and asks what she wants. She says she saw the interview and asks if he knows her. He's not sure. She tells him of the attack in her apartment and her killing of the assailants. She just knew how to fight them: "It was like lightning seeking the ground." Picard holds her hands and tries to calm her. She tells him she keeps seeing his face. "Everything inside of me says that I'm safe with you," she tells him.

That evening, Laris and Zhaban heal Dahj's wound from the fight and offer her a blanket. Picard offers her Earl Grey tea and sits with her on an outdoor deck, and he comments on her necklace. She takes it off and hands it to him when he asks to see it. She asks him if he'd ever been a stranger to himself, and he replies, "Many, many times." He returns her necklace and asks her name. She knows his name somehow, from an "older, deeper" place. He agrees but doesn't know why. He tells her she isn't crazy and that she isn't dangerous (Number One would have let him know; instead, he has chosen to rest beside her chair rather than that of his master). He offers her a room, and Laris takes her there. Before Dahj goes, she thanks Picard. He touches her necklace, left on the table.

In the morning, he has another dream. In the dream, Picard awakens, opens his window, and sees Data in the distance painting a picture in the vineyard. Picard, now in an old, familiar uniform, walks up to Data, also dressed in the same style. Data slowly turns from the painting and asks Picard if he'd like to finish it, but Picard doesn't know how. It's a painting of a woman whose face is not yet started, wearing a hooded cloak and standing on a rocky shore in front of a stormy sea. Data tells Picard that it is not true that he cannot finish the painting, and as Picard reaches for the proffered brush, he is awakened by a clock. He has been asleep at his desk in his study. He quickly stands up to look behind him at a similar painting on his wall, only with the woman turned away to the sea. Laris enters, announcing that Dahj is gone: Laris was up at 5 am, and when she passed by the occupied guestroom, the door was open and she only found Number One in the bed. She is nowhere to be seen on the feeds covering the property. Picard tells Laris that he has somewhere to go and to contact him if Dahj returns.

He travels to San Francisco to the Starfleet Archive Museum. He double-checks with Index, the museum's holographic directory assistant, that only he has access to his belongings locked in stasis in the quantum archives. He enters a single-room vault containing memorabilia from his Starfleet career, including a model of the USS Stargazer, the Captain Picard Day banner, and several award statues. He uses a datapad control panel to access the quantum archive and recalls one of his items stored within its servers, which beams in onto the display case beside the datapad inside a protective case. He places it on the glass table in the middle of the room and opens it; it is the painting from his dream, only finished and with Dahj's face on the woman at the shore. Summoning Index, she reconfirms that no one has entered his archive, even for servicing. On his request, she recites that the painting is an oil on canvas and one of a paired set painted by Data in 2369 and given as a gift to Picard during their service on the Enterprise-D. The title of this one is Daughter.

Act Three

In Paris, Dahj is on the run. Slumping against an alley wall, she opens up a holographic communicator device to contact her mother and tells her about the attack. She had gone somewhere to be safe, but was afraid that her presence would put the people there in danger, so she fled. Her mother is concerned, and tells her to go back to Picard. Dahj realizes that she hadn't told her mother about Picard, and is confused by how her mother knows. The face of her mother glitches and then tells her to focus and to find Picard. Opening her eyes, Dahj conducts a rapid-fire search on her communicator through secured systems to locate Picard at the archives, all within seconds.

Picard is walking out of the building when Dahj appears. He's stunned to see her, and glad she is safe. She tells him she can hear conversations a block away, and worries she has schizophrenia or suffering from head trauma. Picard tells her she does not, nor is she a "freak" – she might be very special. He tells her about Data, but that Data was not like those who attacked Mars. He insinuates that this is a common prejudice; Data was a decorated Starfleet officer who sacrificed his life for Picard over two decades ago. He was an artist and painted a picture of her thirty years ago. She says that's impossible. Picard tells her the title of the painting, Daughter, and relates it to her situation; he suggests the attack on Dahj became a "wake-up call," a "positronic alarm bell" that activated her power as an android. He reminds her of how she stated that "it was like lightning seeking the ground": the sudden emergence of her fighting abilities, the super hearing, and being able to search through secured Starfleet tracking systems to find him, which she most certainly did not have the proper security clearances for, all point him to the same conclusion. She protests, telling of her childhood in Seattle, where her father, a xenobotanist, developed a new hybrid of orchid and named it after her. He assures her that it is a "beautiful memory", but it is still hers and no one can take that away from her. He tells her to look inside, deeply and honestly, and see that she might be something lovingly and deliberately created, like the flower, and not a "soulless killing machine" as she fears. If she is who he thinks she is, she is dear to him. He tells her that they will go to the Daystrom Institute in Okinawa, Japan to see if she is indeed related to Data. He marvels when she tells him of her received fellowship.

She flinches and, warning Picard, begins running, pulling him behind her. Someone is after them. Picard, out of breath, follows her up a flight of emergency stairs to the rooftop of the museum, where men similar to the group of assassins who killed her boyfriend and attacked her suddenly appear using personal cloaking devices. She begins fighting them, using advanced hand-to-hand combat skills, dodging disruptor blasts, and leaping long distances. She smashes the mask of one of the men, who is revealed to be Romulan. One bites down on a capsule and spits an acid at her, damaging his gun, which Dahj is holding, and getting it on her lower face and clothes. Dropping the weapon, the acid eats away and burns her, and she screams in extreme pain. As Picard shouts in horror, the compromised weapon causes a large, fiery explosion that envelops Dahj and blows Picard to his back some distance.

Act Four

Flashes of his dreams and events of the day appear as Picard awakens at home, tended by Laris and Zhaban. Picard tells them that Dahj is dead, and they are shocked. The police told them he was found alone on the roof and, according to the feeds, got there alone. They wonder if she has access to a cloaking device that interfered with the feeds. Picard muses she must have had an automatic system that triggered when she was in danger and that she was a refugee, like the housekeepers and himself. He laments his life in hiding, "nursing [his] offended dignity, writing books of history people prefer to forget." He declares, "I haven't been living. I've been waiting to die." He stands up with purpose.

At the Daystrom Institute, he meets with Doctor Agnes Jurati. He asks her if it is possible to make a sentient android out of flesh and blood, and she laughs. She realizes he is serious and says it is impossible, a thousand years away. He tells her he had tea with one. They walk to the remains of the Division of Advanced Synthetic Research lab area, now a "ghost town" of unused work desks. Jurati explains that the rogue synthetics came from their lab; now they do only theoretical research that can never be developed or tested. The creation of new androids would be a violation of galactic treaty.

Jurati opens a drawer containing a dissembled B-4. Jurati explains that Data's attempt to copy his neural network to B-4 shortly before his death was an almost total failure; (Star Trek Nemesis) B-4 was far too inferior and "not much like Data at all," and most of the positronic network was lost. Nobody had since been able to redevelop the science to create a Soong-type android. She tells Picard she was recruited by Bruce Maddox out of Starfleet to work on developing such technology, but after the ban, an emotionally crushed Maddox disappeared; she's been unable to find him since.

Jurati tells him that any new android, even one of flesh and blood, would need to be created out of Data's neural net, now lost. He holds up Dahj's necklace, and she is stunned. She sits, and tells him the necklace holds a symbol for "fractal neuronic cloning," a radical idea of Maddox's. He theorized that Data's entire code and even his memories could be reconstituted from a single positronic neuron. Picard concludes that this would have allowed a new android to be created that thus contained an essence of the dead officer, or at least part of him. Picard declares Dahj to be Data's daughter, created by Maddox and modeled after Daughter; he comments that Data "always wanted a daughter". Jurati says it would be possible to create a female android from Data's positronic neuron, using the plural "they." Picard asks, "Twins?" Jurati concurs: they were created in pairs. "So there's another one..." Picard muses.

A Romulan transport flies into a dock at the Romulan Reclamation Site. Narek walks on a catwalk over to a "Doctor Asha." She looks exactly like Dahj. He introduces himself, and she introduces herself as Soji. He compliments her necklace, identical to the one in Picard's possession: she briefly explains it was made by her father, a match with the one her twin sister wears. Narek talks about his brother, who had died unexpectedly the previous year. Narek apologizes for laying this on her, since she spends most of her work day fixing broken people. However, she offers to listen to Narek's "sad story".

It is revealed that the Romulan Reclamation Site is inside the wreckage of a Borg cube the Artifact.

Memorable quotes

"See... and raise."
"Hm... call."

- Picard and Data, first spoken lines of the series

"Fifty."
"Fifty? That's everything I have."
"I can see that, Captain. Do you wish to call or fold?"
"Let's behave like civilized men."

- Data and Picard

"Why are you stalling, Captain?"
"I don't want the game to end."

- Data and Picard

"He won't take breakfast from me."
"Old dogs."
"Which one?"

- Zhaban and Picard

"Tea. Earl grey. Decaf."

- Picard

"After so long, sometimes I worry you've forgotten what you did, who you are."
"Laris, I-"
"We have not."

- Laris and Picard

"The Federation understood there were millions of lives at stake."
"Romulan lives."
"No. Lives."

- Picard and Richter

"You left the Enterprise to command the rescue armada. Ten thousand warp-capable ferries. A mission to relocate nine hundred million Romulan citizens to worlds outside the blast of the supernova, a logistical feat more ambitious than the pyramids."
"The pyramids were a symbol of colossal vanity. If you want to look for a historical analogy: Dunkirk."

- Richter and Picard

"We withdrew. The galaxy was mourning, burying its dead, and Starfleet had slunk from its duties! The decision to call off the rescue and to abandon those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonorable, it was downright criminal! And I was not prepared to stand by and be a spectator. And you, my dear, you have no idea what Dunkirk is, right? You're a stranger to history. You're a stranger to war. You just wave your hand, and it all goes away. Well, it's not so easy for those who died, and it was not so easy for those who were left behind. We're done here."

- Picard, to Richter on why he left Starfleet

"And no one beside myself has access, correct?"
"Unless you prefer we sell tickets."
"Is that humor?"
"We're trying something new."
"Don't give up your day job."

- Picard and Index

"I was born in Seattle. My dad was a xenobotanist, and our house was full of orchids. He spliced two genuses and he named the offspring after me: Orchidaceae Dahj oncidium. Yellow and pink."
"That's a beautiful memory, and it's yours. No one can touch it or take it away. But you must look inside deeply and honestly. Have you ever considered the possibility–"
"That I'm a soulless murder machine?"
"That you are something lovingly and deliberately created, like Dahj oncidium."
"You're telling me that I'm not real."
"No, I'm not. If you are who I think you are... You are dear to me in ways that you can't understand."

- Dahj and Picard

"I haven't been living. I've been waiting to die."

- Picard

"How can I help you?"
"You can tell me if it is possible to make a sentient android out of flesh and blood."
(Jurati laughs)
"No, really. How can I... Is that why you've come here?"
"It is."
"Even before the ban, that was... Well... W-Well, a flesh and blood android was in our sights, but a sentient one? Not for a thousand years."
"That makes it even more curious that recently, I had tea with one."

- Agnes Jurati and Picard

Background information

Production

• 23 January 2020: Premiere airdate on CBS All Access.
• The line "Tea. Earl Grey. Decaf." was written by Patrick Stewart. "I just thought the fans would really, really enjoy that," he said. "They expect 'tea, Earl Grey, hot,' but instead they get 'tea, Earl Grey, decaf.'" [1]
• The Château Picard scenes were filmed at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez, California. Director Hanelle Culpepper said, ""I loved The Next Generation but didn't feel like the house from The Next Generation felt like a chateau. It was crucial to me that felt like it was in France, after asking the producers; 'Can we shoot in France?' and getting a big fat 'No,' we ended up finding this spot in Santa Ynez which is made of brick that is imported from France. It's about as authentic as you can get!" [2]
• The Starfleet archives were filmed at the Anaheim Convention Center.
• The scenes set at the Daystrom Institute were filmed inside the Sony Pictures Plaza. In the first scene in the building, a large rainbow arch that is located on the Sony Studios lot can barely be made out through the large window.
• This episode marks the first time that a Star Trek series has made its debut with a single episode of regular length since "Beyond the Farthest Star" in 1973. While Star Trek: Discovery's first episode was also of regular length, it was the first half of a two-parter whose second episode was released simultaneously.
• The coordinates of Picard seen on Dahj's display (37.7749° N / 112.419° W) point to the Market Street & Van Ness Avenue transit station in San Francisco.

Cast and characters

• Patrick Stewart reprises his role as Jean-Luc Picard. He last portrayed the role in Star Trek Nemesis, while an image of Picard prominently appeared in "Children of Mars".
• Brent Spiner reprises his role as Data, albeit only in dreams. Spiner previously voiced the role in a cameo for "These Are The Voyages..." and last portrayed Data in Star Trek Nemesis. Spiner also portrayed B-4 in that film, and his likeness is used to show the disassembled android in this episode.
• This episode marks the third series premiere of a Star Trek series in which Patrick Stewart portrays the role of Jean-Luc Picard. He previously appeared in "Encounter at Farpoint" and "Emissary". Notably, it is also the third time that Stewart delivers the first line of spoken dialog in a Star Trek series.
• Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner join the ranks of actors who have played the same character in three different Star Trek series. Both were regulars on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Stewart also appeared on the premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, while Spiner was heard in the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, where he also portrayed Arik Soong in earlier episodes. Additionally, both actors appeared in four Star Trek films.
• Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd and Santiago Cabrera are not credited as main cast members and do not appear in this episode.

Continuity

• The Star Trek: Short Treks episode "Children of Mars" is a prelude to this episode, showing the attack on Mars through the eyes of two school children. This episode confirms that the Utopia Planitia Ship Yards were destroyed in the attack and that Mars was rendered largely inhospitable.
• Except for "Calypso", which is set in the far future, this series marks the first Star Trek production to take place in the prime universe after the destruction of Romulus in 2387. It confirms that the prime universe survived and continues to exist after Spock and Nero traveled back in time and created the alternate reality.
• The episode expands on the backstory of the 2009 film Star Trek, as told by Nero and Spock. The FNN reporter Richter states that the star Romulus caused the supernova of 2387 that led to the destruction of Romulus. She also explains that Starfleet was initially reluctantly willing to help the Romulan Star Empire at Picard's behest but later abandoned these plans following the attack on Mars. It was not just Vulcan that ultimately refused to help but many other Federation member worlds, as well as Starfleet itself, explaining Nero's claims to Christopher Pike that the Federation did nothing to help Romulus.
• This episode establishes that Picard was in command of the USS Enterprise-E until the mid-2380s. He gave up command of the ship in order to oversee Starfleet's evacuation efforts in the Romulan Star Empire. At some point during that time, Picard was also promoted to admiral. He ultimately resigned his Starfleet commission in protest over the Federation's unwillingness to help the Romulans following the attack on Mars.
• Picard is haunted by dreams of Data, an officer and friend who served under him from 2364 to 2379. Picard was the last person to speak to Data before his death in Nemesis, when the android sacrificed his own life to save Picard's. In these dreams, Data performs actions that hearken back to his interests during the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including painting pictures, as seen in "Birthright, Part I" (among others), and playing poker, as seen in "Descent" and "All Good Things...". Data appears to Picard in two distinct Starfleet uniforms of the 2360s and 2370s.
• Château Picard was first established as the residence of the Picard family in "Family" but is only now definitively named in this episode. Jean-Luc Picard's brother Robert lived there with his family until he and his son René died in a fire in 2371 as referenced in Star Trek Generations, leaving Jean-Luc as the last living member of the Picard bloodline. It is never established what happened to Robert's wife, Marie.
• The terms "synth" and "synthetics" are widely used both colloquially and formally to refer to artificial lifeforms. They appear to have a somewhat negative connotation, likely as a result of the attack on Mars.
• This episode establishes that Bruce Maddox continued his research on Soong-type androids and worked with the Daystrom Institute until the late 2380s. Maddox was eventually able to create large numbers of androids for Starfleet but left the Daystrom Institute when research on synthetics was heavily restricted through galactic treaties. Maddox was last seen in "The Measure Of A Man" and last mentioned in "Data's Day".
• Dr. Agnes Jurati claims that no other android has come close to Data in terms of sophistication. While this clearly applies to B-4 as an inferior prototype as well as the other androids created at the Daystrom Institute, it is unknown whether this is also an assessment of Lore or how much Jurati is aware of Data's twin. It also implies that Jurati has no knowledge of Juliana Tainer.
• Dahj Asha and Soji Asha are said to be Data's daughters, although it is implied that they were in fact created by Bruce Maddox using traces of Data's positronic matrix. Data actually created a daughter of his own, Lal, in "The Offspring", which is referenced obliquely in Picard's conversation with Dr. Jurati.
• This episode confirms that Data attempted to transfer his memories into B-4 during the events of Nemesis. The attempt apparently failed, as B-4 was not able to handle Data's more advanced positronic technology. B-4 was ultimately deactivated and sent to the Daystrom Institute.
• Romulans both with and without ridges appear alongside each other for the first time, in the form of Zhaban and Laris. Previously, Romulans without ridges were most prominently seen in the 23rd century, while Romulans with ridges appeared in the 22nd and 24th century. "The End is the Beginning" would go on to label the ridged Romulans as "Northerners".
• A new variation of the emblem for Romulans, namely the Romulan Free State, can be seen at the Romulan Reclamation Site. The large bird of prey depicted in the emblem no longer holds the twin worlds of Romulus and Remus in its talons, mirroring their destruction in the supernova of 2387.
• The episode marks the first on-screen appearance of a Tellarite in the 24th century outside of reused footage. The Tellarites were introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series and later appeared on Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery, each time with updated designs. The Tellarite shown among the FNN staff largely retains the updated look from their Discovery appearances.
• A Xahean appears for the first time in the 24th century in the form of Caler. The Xaheans were introduced on Short Treks and later appeared on Discovery.
• During the FNN report on Picard, a picture of him alongside Worf is shown. Worf and the other Klingons depicted in the image are shown with their original appearances and not with the updated Klingon design from Discovery. The image is taken from "Sins of The Father".
• The USS Enterprise-D appears for the first time since "These Are The Voyages...", although only in a dream sequence.
• The Starfleet uniform worn by Data during the poker game was not introduced until after the destruction of the Enterprise-D. This discontinuity can easily be explained away, as the sequence is a dream.
• While Picard is preparing for the FNN interview, a fedora appears behind him in his reflection in the mirror. It is the same kind of hat Picard has often worn when playing his favorite holodeck program, the Dixon Hill series.
• The knives used by the Romulan assassins are similar to the Reman knives seen in Nemesis.
• This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of the Daystrom Institute. It is established that the Institute is located in Okinawa, Japan.
• The Greater Boston cityview features signage for Kasidy Yates Interstellar Freights, the London Kings, and Ferengi wine, the latter prominently featuring the symbol of the Ferengi Alliance.
• Picard visits his quantum archive, containing artifacts and memorabilia of his career and private life. The identifiable items inlcude:
  • models of the USS Stargazer, USS Enterprise-D, USS Enterprise-E, and the Cousteau
  • the Kurlan naiskos
  • a Klingon bat'leth and d'k tahg
  • the Captain Picard Day banner
  • Picard's edition of The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works, opened to the first two pages of Act III of All's Well That Ends Well, the Shakespeare play Picard quotes earlier in the episode.
• The Enterprise-E model marks the first depiction of the exterior of a Sovereign-class starship outside of a Star Trek film.
• In addition to above-mentioned continuity aspects, many callbacks and references to previous Star Trek episodes and films are made throughout the episode.
  • The opening scene of the episode is reminiscent of the opening of "Encounter at Farpoint". In both episodes, the Enterprise-D is shown in space, while the camera slowly closes in on the interior of the ship and a shot of Jean-Luc Picard. Additionally, the first dialog in both episodes is shared between Picard and Data.
  • The song heard during the first scene is "Blue Skies", which was also sung near the beginning and at the end of Star Trek Nemesis, by Data and B-4 respectively.
  • Parallels can be drawn between this episode and the anti-time future shown in "All Good Things...". In both episodes, Picard spends his retirement as a winemaker and is then taking on an unofficial mission. However, Picard's retirement in the anti-time future, set in approximately 2395, was implied to be due to his impending illness, not a resignation in protest of Starfleet's actions.
  • In addition, the opening sequence of this episode mirrors the final scene of The Next Generation in "All Good Things..", as Picard was seen playing poker with crew members aboard the Enterprise-D in both. Tonally, the two scenes are drastically different, though.
  • The melody played by the clock in Picard's study is the same melody played by the clock given to James T. Kirk by Leonard McCoy in Star Trek Generations.
  • The opening sequence of this episode also mirrors the beginning of Star Trek: First Contact. There, Picard wakes up from a life-like nightmare that is followed by the first shot of the Enterprise-E flying through a nebula. In this episode, the Enterprise-D is first seen flying through a nebula, which leads to Picard waking up from a surreal dream.
  • Similar to his actions in Star Trek: Insurrection, this episode acknowledges Picard's willingness to take a stand against the Federation and Starfleet over orders and actions that he deems unjust and that endanger other species, such as the Ba'ku or the Romulans.
• In VOY: "Timeless", Harry Kim mentions a wrecked Borg cube in the Beta Quadrant. "Remembrance", set in 2399, establishes the existence of the Artifact, a captured Borg cube in Romulan space (which is located, at least in part, in the Beta Quadrant as well).
• Among the FNN team are a Trill woman and a Bajoran woman. This episode is the first appearance of a Bajoran character since the final season of Voyager.
• Much of the episode notably contradicts material from the 2009 Star Trek: Countdown comic miniseries, particularly in B-4's fate after the events of Nemesis. Both the comic and the episode notably give story credit to Picard producer and writer Alex Kurtzman, who had helped devise the comic as a prequel to the 2009 Star Trek film, which he co-wrote.

Music and sound

• Composer Jeff Russo describes some of the composition of the main title theme in TRR: "Remembrance", mentioning that the piccolo sections both early and late in the theme are deliberate references to the Ressikan flute from "The Inner Light".
• The version of "Blue Skies" heard during the opening sequence is performed by Bing Crosby, the grandfather of Star Trek: The Next Generation regular Denise Crosby.
• When Picard arrives at the Starfleet archive, which appears to be near Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, Jerry Goldsmith's theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which was also the theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation, is paraphrased, just as we see him enter the building and talk with Index. The first time this theme was heard as incidental music, as opposed to a main title tune, was also the first time we ever saw Starfleet HQ in San Francisco in The Motion Picture.
• The motif that plays from the moment we first see the Romulan Reclamation Site is a musical paraphrase of the incidental music used throughout "Balance of Terror", the first episode involving Romulans.

Reception

• TRR: "Remembrance" discusses the making of, and events in, this episode.

Video and DVD releases

• Released on PIC Season 1 Blu-ray and PIC Season 1 DVD.

Links and references

Starring

• Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
• Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati
• Isa Briones as Dahj Asha / Soji Asha

And

• Harry Treadaway as Narek

Special guest star

• Brent Spiner as Data

Guest starring

• Orla Brady as Laris
• David Carzell as Caler
• Merrin Dungey as Richter
• Jamie McShane as Zhaban
• Sumalee Montano as Mom AI

Co-starring

• Maya Eshet as Index
• Douglas Tait as Tellarite FNN assistant

Uncredited co-stars

• Bryant Burnett as guard with a helmet
• Dinero as Number One
• Michael Dorn as Worf (photograph)
• Jon Ian Dredge as Passerby
• Matt Freeman as Starfleet commander
• Patrick Massett as Duras (photograph)
• Arlene Rodrigez-Lopez as Trill FNN assistant
• Richard Scott as Armenian businessman
• Kyle Weishaar as helmeted guard
• John Woodley as Starfleet Admiral
• Unknown performers as
  • Andorian Starfleet officer
  • Bajoran FNN assistant
  • Four other FNN assistants

Stunts

• Selkie Hom as stunt double for Isa Briones
• Kiera O'Connor as stunt double for Isa Briones
• David Paul Olsen – stunt performer
• Tim Storms as stunt double for Patrick Stewart

Stand-ins

• John Funk as stand-in for Patrick Stewart

References

2305; 2369; 2379; 2389; admiral; adrenaline; advertisement; aircar; Alameda Island; Alcatraz; All's Well That Ends Well; analogy; Andorian; android; Angel Island; apartment (Dahj Asha's apartment); armada; argon; Artifact; artificial intelligence; artist; Asha house; assassin; Attack on Mars; author; automation; B-4; Bajoran; ban; bed; bicycle; block; blood; "Blue Skies"; bluebird; bluff; Boudhanath; Bourgogne; Borg cube; breakfast; Brooks Island; brush; cafeteria; California; candle; canvas; Château Picard; citizen; Class C shuttlecraft; cloaking device; codger; combadge (comm pin); conversation; coordinates; coot; dagger; Dahj and Soji's father; Daughter; Daystrom Institute; Daystrom Institute floating cities; death; decaf; defense net; dermal regenerator; diplomat; disruptor pistol; disruptor rifle; Division of Advanced Synthetic Research; doctor; dog; door; dream; Dumbarton Bridge; Dunkirk; Earl Grey tea; Earth; Eiffel Tower; energy-isolating device; English language; Enterprise-D, USS; Enterprise-E, USS; explorer; eye; farm implement; Federation; Federation drone; Federation News Network (aka FNN); fedora; female; Ferengi Alliance; Ferengi wine; ferry; flagship; flat cap; fractal neuronic cloning; France; freak; French language; friend; fuchsia red; galactic treaty; geezer; genus; geolocation; ghost town; globe; Golden Gate Bridge; Golden Gate Park; grand slam; Greater Boston; guillotine; hallucination; hand; head (face); hearing; helium; hologram; host; hover-cam; hovercar; Human; humanitarian; humor; interview; iris bloom; Kasidy Yates Interstellar Freights; Kings; kitchen; Klingon; La Barre; lab; lecturing; lemon; lightning; machine; Maddox, Bruce; make-up; make-up color-adjusting tool; Mars; memory; menu; milk; mirror; mixer; mourn; murder; name; Narek's brother; necklace; neural net; newscast; nitrogen; offspring; Okinawa; operations officer; orchid; Orchidaceae Dahj oncidium; oxygen; PADD; paint brush; painter; painting; palm tree; Paris; pink; Pit bull; planetary defense shield; poker; poker chip; police; positronic neuron; Presidio; privacy; property; pupil; pyramids; quantum consciousness; queen of hearts; rainbow; replicator; research fellow; retirement; Richmond-San Rafael Bridge; robotics; Romulan; Romulan language; Romulan Reclamation Site; Romulan warbird (unnamed); Romulan workbee; Romulus (planet); Romulus; roof; room; San Francisco; S., Fred; San Francisco Bay; San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; San Mateo-Hayward Bridge; schizophrenia; science; Seattle; security clearance; security feed (property feed); service number; Shakespeare, William; simulation; sleep; Soong-type android; special report; squirrel; Starfleet; Starfleet archive; Starfleet Archive Museum; Starfleet insignia; Starfleet Museum Quantum Archives; Starfleet secretary; Starfleet uniform (2350s-2370s); Starfleet uniform (2370s-early 2380s); Starfleet uniform (late 2390s); stasis; stratosphere; strategist; study; sugar; supernova; synth; synth ship; Tal Shiar; tell; Tellarite; Ten Forward; ticket; tracking; Treasure Island; tricycle; Trill; twin; umbrella; Utopia Planitia Ship Yard; vanilla; visitor alert; walking stick; Wallenberg-class; Westminster Quarters; wine; "Wish I Knew"; Women in an Interior; Xahean; xenobotanist; yellow; Yerba Buena Island

Starfleet Archive Museum references

2161; 2321; 2327; 2333; 2340; 2349; 2350; 2351; 2355; 2360; 2364; 2375; 2380; 2386; academy advisor (individual); academy advisor (title); Academy graduate award; Alpha Quadrant; Andoria; Andorian award; Andorian language; As You Like It; Bajoran award; Bajoran language; banner; bat'leth; Betazoid Loyalties award; cadet; captain; Captain Picard Day; Children of Tama, The; Circle of Galaxies, The; Class of 2327; Command and Control; Cousteau; Crystal Planet Award; degree; Dignified Person award; d'k tahg; Galaxy of Planets and Suns; Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: The Complete Works, The; graduate; Grankite Order of Tactics; Hall of Honor; Henry VI, Part I; Henry VIII; Honorary Olympian; Humanitarian Award of Federation Planets; Julius Caesar; kilometer per second; Henry IV, Part I; King Lear; Klingon Planetary Humanitarian Award; Klingonese; Kurlan naiskos; Latin; Legion of Honor; Leondegrance, USS; Macbeth; Midsummer Night's Dream, A; Othello; Paris; Picard Maneuver; professor emeritus; Reliant, USS; Rising Phoenix; Roman numeral; Service Award; Silver Medal in Diplomacy; Speed of Light Club; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet Academy Games; Starfleet admiral; Starfleet Command; Stargazer, USS; Twelfth Night, or What You Will; Vulcan award; Vulcan language; work ethic

Meta references

intertitle; subtitle

External links

• "Remembrance" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Remembrance" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Observations in PIC: "Remembrance" at Ex Astris Scientia
• ""Star Trek: Picard, Remembrance"" at MissionLogPodcast.com

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Star Trek: Picard Season 1

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