When in need of a starship captain, look no further than everyone’s favorite English Frenchman, Jean-Luc Picard. While the character’s standalone TV series has boldly pushed him where no Picard has gone before, it’s important to remember where the flute-playing captain came from. After all,Star Trek:The Next Generationis what brought Picard to life in the first place.
Want anIndiana Jones-style adventure? How about a gumshoe detective mystery? Impassioned military courtroom drama? Heated light-counting debate?Ignoring the prime directive? Chances are, there’s aThe Next Generationepisode with Captain Picard at its center. From the goofy to the serious and everything in between, there’s something for everyone.
10S1 Episode 25: Conspiracy
While not high on a lot ofThe Next Generationlists, Conspiracy really showcases Picard’s strength of character early on in the series. An old friend invites Picard to a secret meeting (along with two other Starfleet captains) to discuss a farfetched plot hatched by Starfleet Command to replace captains who died under strange circumstances. Picard doesn’t indulge the idea and returns to the Enterprise only then to see his old friend blow up. He then returns to Earth to investigatewhat’s going on with the Federationand finds that alien worms have taken over the minds of Starfleet Command’s upper echelon.
At any point, Picard could have let the threat of losing his career get the better of his principles, but he forges ahead nonetheless to root out the conspiracy and avenge his friend. This episode also has one of the most surprising (and surprisingly gruesome) death scenes of anyStar Trekvillain.
9S1 Episode 12: The Big Goodbye
Another lighthearted episode, but an important one nonetheless, The Big Goodbye beginsThe Next Generation’s longstanding tradition of holodeck adventures. It also introduces us to Picard’s fascination with pulp mysteries similar to that ofSherlock Holmes.
This episode is so foundational toThe Next Generation’smakeup, in fact, that the episode’s holodeck program makes a cameo in the 1996 movie,First Contact. And, if the idea of a Picard-as-Sherlock adventure isn’t enticing enough, he also delivers an incredible (and unintelligible) monologuein an alien language.
8S3 Episode 19: Captain’s Holiday
Only a man of Jean-Luc’s tireless work ethic would have to be forced to take a vacation on Risa, and that’s exactly what Captain’s Holiday is all about. After negotiating a difficult treaty, Troi and Riker successfully convince Picard to take a breather on the famous pleasure planet. However, Picard being Picard, he’s immediately drawn into a mystery surrounding an artifact known as a Tox Uthat, a quantum phase inhibitor powerful enough to halt the fusion process of a star.
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Picard does his bestIndiana Jonesimpression in the episode: he digs holes, explores caves, finds the treasure, and eventually gets the girl (kind of).
7S2 Episode 16: Q Who
No top 10The Next Generationepisode list can leave out Q Who, which features the first canonical appearance of the relentless and terrifying Borg. Picard’s arrogance is tested by Q,an extradimensional being of extraordinary power, who teleports the Enterprise thousands of lightyears away to an unexplored quadrant of the galaxy. There, they find the remains of an industrialized civilization that the Borg had assimilated long ago, not to mention a Borg cube, which nearly destroys the Enterprise in dramatic fashion.
Picard is forced to admit that humanity isn’t prepared for everything in the universe, and he’s humbled as a result. This episode also marks the beginning of Picard’s complicated relationship with the Borg.
6S3 Episode 26: The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1
A year later, the Borg show up on humanity’s doorstep. Whilethe Borg have changed over the years, they’ve always been a force to be reckoned with, and this episode perfectly encapsulates that constant threat. How? Well, a singleBorg cube enters Federation space and proceeds to wreak havoc, then heads directly for Earth.
The Enterprise can do nothing to slow the cube’s progress. To make matters worse, Picard gets captured and forcibly turned into a human Borg hybrid, a liaison between Earth and the Borg to facilitate the assimilation process. Picard assumes a new name, Locutus of Borg, in this new, perverted role of “diplomat.”
5S4 Episode 21: The Drumhead
When Picard’s not busy moonlighting as Locutus, solving mysteries, or discovering ancient artifacts, he’s usually doing what he’s best at; talking. Some of Picard’s best character moments are found in episodes heavy on dialogue. It’s a credit to Patrick Stewart’s performance that Picard is remembered fondly in theStar Trekfandom.
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In The Drumhead, an ongoing conspiracy coincides with a warpcore accident that’s misidentified as sabotage; Admiral Satie comes aboard to root out the conspiracy and begins pointing fingers at anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path. After imploring the Admiral to drop the hearings, Picard is accused of treason and put on trial. What follows is a military courtroom drama wherein Picard is forced to defend his actions throughout the series thus far, and the arguments between him and Admiral Satie are some of the best dialogue in the series.
4S4 Episode 01: The Best Of Both Worlds, Part 2
One of the things Satie brings up during Picard’s trial is, in fact, an incident from this episode: the massacre at Wolf 359. Remember when Picard was forciblytransformed into Locutus of Borg? Well, the Federation sent an armada to deal with that pesky Borg cube (again, a single Borg cube), and Locutus led the Borg in annihilating that armada. The battle took place in the Wolf system, near its primary planet (hence Wolf 359).
Not only does Picard’s experience as Locutus inform his character as the series goes on (the trauma has lasting effects, most notably expressed in the filmFirst Contact)but it also informs the captain of anotherStar Trekshow: Captain Benjamin Sisko ofDeep Space Nine.
3S5 Episode 02: Darmok
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra. What does it mean? Why is this alien speaking in riddles? And how is Picard supposed to get back to the Enterprise if he can’t understand what’s being said to him?
This episode is one ofThe Next Generation’smost celebrated entries, and for good reason; it features Picard and a humanoid alien named Dathon asthey attempt to outwit a monstrous creaturethat’s stalking them. The twist? Picard’s handy universal translator can’t decipher Dathon’s language. The adventure that follows is better seen than read, so no spoilers!
2S5 Episode 25: The Inner Light
One of the more introspective episodes ofThe Next Generationis also one of its best. The Inner Light follows Picard as he’s incapacitated by an alien probe and “reborn” as a man named Kamin on a planet called Kataan. While the rest of the Enterprise crew try to wake their captain, Picard lives out this new life, spanning decades, as the planet slowly becomes unlivable. It turns out that these are the finals years of this civilization, and for some reason, Picard is there to witness them.
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Though Picard initially rejects his new life as Kamin, he eventually comes to accept it as his own. He settles down with Kamin’s spouse, has children, raises them, and starts playing the flute. Picard awakens aboard the Enterprise at the end of the episode, having lived a whole lifetime in the span of minutes. We see him mourn the loss of his family, but on the bright side, he’s finally mastered the flute.
1S6 Episode 10: Chain of Command, Part 2
At this point in the series, tensions between the Federation and the Cardassian Union have reached a crisis point. Military conflict appears inevitable, especially so with Captain Picard being held prisoner and tortured by a Cardassian officer named Gul Madred.
How many lights are there? Four? Five? Picard’s mental fortitude is once again tested and pushed to its absolute limit, culminating in one of Picard’s most triumphant moments in the series.
