Star Trek Picard Season 3 Episode 1 Ending Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 1 – “The Next Generation”

The premiere episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 ends with a shocking reveal and sets up the action and mysteries for the rest of the season. Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) boarded the SS Eleos, the medical ship owned by Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). They found Beverly in cryostasis as a young man (Ed Speleers) briefly tries to hold Riker at gunpoint. Finally, the Eleos was confronted by the Shrike, the fearsome starship owned by Picard season’s villain, Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer).

As the first chapter of what’s essentially a 10-hour Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Picard season 3’s opener, “The Next Generation,” confidently puts the pieces in place, reintroducing Picard, Riker, and the crew of the USS Titan-A, the starship they try to hijack in order to rescue Dr. Crusher. Riker and Picard are the only TNG icons present in the premiere, although there are mentions of Will’s wife, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). Picard and Riker do meet the Titan’s helmsman, Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut), Geordi’s daughter. Meanwhile, Commander Raffaela Musiker (Michelle Hurd) is alone on M’Talas Prime on an undercover mission to learn who stole experimental weapons from Daystrom Station.

Related: Every New Picard Season 3 Star Trek Character & Ship Reveal

Beverly Crusher Has A Son! (Is He Also Picard’s?)

Aboard the SS Eleos, Picard and Riker meet a young man who claims he’s Beverly Crusher’s son. Neither Will nor Jean-Luc have much time to process this bombshell as they immediately must turn their attention to the unnamed enemies coming after the Eleos. Taking the man at his word, Beverly Crusher having another son, which also makes him the younger brother of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), is a massive canon-altering bombshell by Star Trek: Picard season 3. But it does explain why Beverly ensured he was safe by taking on the marauders by her lonesome at the start of Star Trek: Picard season 3’s premiere.

Naturally, the question of who the father of Beverly’s son is must immediately be asked, and the natural assumption to jump to is that Jean-Luc Picard is the father. After all, Beverly’s son mysteriously speaks with a British accent. Yet Jean-Luc being the father comes with some logical issues as well, because the question arises of when he could have fathered him, and if Jean-Luc and Beverly got romantic after Star Trek: Nemesis. Jean-Luc and Beverly’s ages also make Picard and Dr. Crusher having a son together questionable. There are other possibilities for who the father of Beverly’s son could be (including that he’s lying), but Star Trek: Picard won’t deal with this revelation until at least episode 2.

Who’s Hunting Beverly And Her Son (And Why?)

Another question that’s paramount is who is hunting Dr. Crusher and her presumed son? The SS Eleos was boarded by aliens who don’t identify as any of the known Star Trek aliens. Yet when Beverly sent her distress call to Jean-Luc, she urged him to “trust no one,” not even Starfleet. Crusher’s son also expressed confusion at their pursuers and their identities. While Captain Vadic is the main villain of Star Trek: Picard season 3, her henchmen are shrouded in secrecy. Perhaps Vadic leads a coalition of multiple species hunting the Crushers, although Star Trek: Picard season 3’s premiere didn’t indicate why.

The Red Lady Attack On Starfleet Explained

On M’Talas Prime, Raffi Musiker’s investigation of the weapon stolen from Daystrom Station led to an Orion contact who pointed her toward “the Red Lady.” After a frustrating series of faceless conversations with her handler from Starfleet Intelligence, Raffi realized the Red Lady was a crimson-colored statue of Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neil). Introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation classic, “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” Garrett was the doomed Captain of the USS Enterprise-C who was lost in an alternate timeline.

Related: Geordi’s Daughters In Picard Honor Both La Forge TNG Roles

Tragically, Raffi, piloting La Sirena, was too late to stop the terrorist attack on the Red Lady, wherein a portal swallowed up a Starfleet recruitment building (and Garrett’s statue), and deposited the remains from a second portal in the sky. But why the mystery villain attacked a Starfleet recruitment center, and why it was targeted to the memorial of a former Captain of the Enterprise, is unclear. It remains to be seen what the greater plot is and whether the Red Lady attack was more than a TNG Easter egg by Star Trek: Picard.

Seven Of Nine Ended Her Starfleet Career By Helping Picard & Riker

Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) is clearly struggling in her role as First Officer of the USS Titan-A. Seven, who has to use her former name as Commander Annika Hansen at the behest of her Captain, Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), was immediately torn between her loyalty to Picard and Riker and her duty to the Titan. Seven decided to defy Shaw’s orders and send the Titan to the Ryton system in order to help Picard and Riker rescue Beverly Crusher.

But after Captain Shaw found out the Titan was hijacked, and their interloping guests stole a shuttle, his wrath was targeted squarely at Seven. Shaw made it clear that Seven “just ended” her Starfleet career. After waiting since the end of Star Trek: Voyager to see Seven of Nine in Starfleet, did it all come crashing down immediately in Star Trek: Picard season 3?

Captain Shaw’s Hostility Toward Picard & Riker

Seven warned Picard and Riker not to get their hopes up when they meet Captain Shaw, but it was worse than the TNG heroes could have predicted. Shaw condescended to both Picard and Riker, and he flatly denied their “request” to divert the Titan’s course to the Ryton system. Shaw soon stormed off after insulting Riker, Picard, and Seven, accusing the latter two former Borg of being collaborators.

Related: Picard Season 3’s New Captain: Where You’ve Seen Todd Stashwick Before

In Shaw’s defense, however, Picard and Riker were trying to deceive him and intended to shanghai his ship for their own purposes. Shaw sensed something was off when Picard and Riker suddenly appeared on the Titan claiming to conduct an “inspection.” Shaw was right that the former Enterprise commanders were up to something. And yet, there seems to be something more deeply rooted about Shaw’s hostility toward Picard and Riker that he could barely contain. Although they’d never met before, there has to be more to the story between Shaw, Riker, and Picard.

Raffi Has A Mystery Handler At Starfleet Intelligence

Commander Raffi Musiker reports to an unseen handler in Starfleet Intelligence, and she clearly doesn’t know who her commanding officer is. Poor Raffi seems to have been left to twist in the wind by Starfleet Intelligence, as her deep cover operation on M’Talas Prime has rendered her desperate and forced Musiker to face her isolation from her family and her past addictions. Meanwhile, Raffi gets little help, information, or support from her mystery handler besides terse messages. Raffi also admitted her “girlfriend left” her, indicating her romance with Seven of Nine is now, sadly, over.

Raffi’s unknown handler is set up as a big reveal, and there are possibilities for who it could be. It could certainly be one of the remaining members of the TNG cast yet to appear, including Geordi, Worf (Michael Dorn), or Deanna Troi, who Riker admitted “would be glad” to spend time away from him, alarmingly hinting their marriage is in trouble. It may even be Lore (Brent Spiner), Data’s evil android brother, who is back in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Further, it could be a character linked to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, like Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) or Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) from Star Trek: Voyager, since Star Trek: Picard season 3 is also designed to be a sequel to both spinoffs.

More: Will Picard Season 3 Fix The Greatest Riker Enterprise Mistake?

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.