Q Looms Over New ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Poster As John De Lancie Talks More About Season 2

John de Lancie’s Q is an essential part of the second season of Star Trek: Picard, and that is made even clearer with a brand new poster. We also have an update from the man himself and reactions to yesterday’s big news from the cast.

New S2 poster

Yesterday Paramount+ outlined their Star Trek plans for 2022, including the announcement that the second season of Star Trek: Picard will arrive on March 3rd. Today, Paramount+ released a new key art poster for the season featuring Jean Luc-Picard alongside his longtime foil Q.

Picard’s second season kicks off on Thursday, March 3, the same day as the eleventh episode of Discovery season four. The Discovery/Picard overlap will continue for two more weeks as new episodes arrive each Thursday. The 10-episode season will wrap up on May 5th, the same day as the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

De Lancie on Q’s Agenda

John de Lancie has talked often about Q being a bit different in season two. Just a few days ago we reported on his comments during an online panel explaining how this new Q differs from the old one, saying the impish godlike being has “very strong internal motivation and a desire to get Picard to do something.”

And the actor also alluded to Q’s motivation in a recent Cameo video message:

It’s a somewhat different Q… an older Q, a more mature Q, a Q with an agenda. A Q with a real sense that something’s got to get done.

While trailers for Picard season two include Q referencing his final Star Trek: The Next Generation line that “the trial never ends,” these more recent comments from de Lancie indicate there could be something more going on than just another one of Q’s tests or games. It could be that Q needs Picard’s help. But would could be so insurmountable that could have the godlike being needing help from a mere mortal?

Q faces Picard in season two

Cast hypes the season

Series star Sir Patrick Stewart took to Twitter today to share the release date news and new poster with the message “The wait is over.” He also reminded international fans the show will be available in Canada on Crave (and CTV Sci-Fi) and internationally on Amazon Prime Video.

Michelle Hurd (Raffi) joined in on the hype, telling fans she “can’t wait for you to go in this wild adventure with us!”

Santiago Cabrera (Rios) posted a “Captain’s log” on Instagram announcing the date and adding, “Hold onto your seats, time is of the essence. ”

 

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A post shared by Santiago Cabrera (@santiagoc)

And TNG star Jonathan Frakes, who directed two episodes of season two, also shared the news with the simple message “Make it so.”

Trailer gets updated with new date

The season two trailer released on Star Trek Day has been updated with the new release date and re-released by Paramount+. There are no other changes besides “February” being swapped out for “March 3rd,” but it’s a chance to get a refresher on what is to come.


Keep up with all the Star Trek: Picard news and analysis.

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‘The wait is over..’ a subtle hint of ST09?

Very much so IMO. The poster art is very similar to the ST09 character posters.

Honestly this season could be just Picard and Q quoting Shakespeare at each other and I’d be happy. ;-) What a piece of work is Star Trek.

LOL same!

In regard of Picard quoting Proust would make more sense:

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

Picard and Q together again. It’s still surprising we’re back to these characters in such a grand way decades later! It warms this old Trekkie heart! :)

But for the love of Kahless, please be good this season!!!

So say we all

You know its very interesting that they keep mentioning that Q is gonna be a bit mature this time around. I actually didn’t find him too immature in his original appearances and he was downright scary in Q Who. Only his appearances in Voyager I think made him more of a doofus, but his TNG appearances seemed mature enough for me. I just hate this “more mature” buzzwords that almost every franchise throws out just to get more people to watch.

But in TNG Q was the kind of god Thornton Wilder would describe as one of these to whom “….we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer’s day…” (oh boy, I love to quote things) So Q would be scary and immature at the same time.

I think Trelane was basically the immature version of Q in TOS.

I would say the more innovent version. Trelane did not distinguish between good and evil. Q first appeared more malevolent like Mephisto in Faust later more benevolent like the ghosts in Chrismas Carol, he was always playful as Trelane but also a seducer or mentor

I feel like Trelane was Q’s father. In a metaphorical sense. And it really does make sense that Trelane was a Q anyway. I never considered Squire of Gothos to be a good episode but part of that was I was never a fan of all powerful “magical” beings on Trek.

That’s funny because Q never felt scary to me. He didn’t work in Farpoint at all and I think the show producers saw that because when he showed up later he was essentially a clownish figure. Drawing more laughs than anything else. If his appearance here is more “serious” then I think it a high probability that season 2 of Picard is set up to be another failure.

I never found Q scary, including Q Who. His early appearances are more ‘villainess’ though clearly. He is a genuinely threat here. Deja Q was where Q became a far less threatening presence, but more a campy and fun character. His last two appearances went in the middle again I thought. Voyager just kept him campy although I’d say Death Wish is Voyagers Q Who, a really strong episode in particular.

these more recent comments from de Lancie indicate there could be something more going on than just another one of Q’s tests or games. It could be that Q needs Picard’s help. But would could be so insurmountable that could have the godlike being needing help from a mere mortal?

Based on past experience, it’s turned out to be quite difficult to accurately predict things in the new Trek shows. The stories’ climaxes have frequently been something different to what had previously seemed the obvious, logical, or best explanations storywise.

So, with those caveats, some suggestions:

+ Another, possibly evil, Q has changed the historical timeline, and DeLancieQ has found that he can’t simply snap his fingers and change things back himself.

+ Another, possibly more powerful, godlike species has changed the historical timeline for the worse.

+ Using time-travel technology, Section 31 have changed something significant in the 21st century. It results in a stronger and (in terms of protection against external threats) safer Federation, but the Federation’s overall culture and ideology have become fascistic. Not necessarily as bad as the MU “Terran Empire”, but definitely a more aggressive/militaristic/totalitarian civilisation. Alternatively, Q himself caused these changes, not S31 (eg. “Be careful what you wish for, Jean-Luc”).

+ There may be a causality loop. If Picard doesn’t agree to go back to the 21st century and do whatever it is that Q needs him to do, the result is the fascistic future timeline. It’s only Picard’s actions in the 21st century that guarantee the existence of the normal Prime Universe Federation.

+ As I suggested on the other Q thread a few days ago — yes, I was very late to the party — maybe it’s a variation of the hypothetical scenario “Kill Hitler in the 1920s, and you prevent WW2 and the Holocaust, but it results in a much worse future timeline”. So it might be a similar dilemma for Picard, involving a nasty figure who later plays an important role in World War 3: Stop someone nasty in the 21st century, and it prevents WW3, but it eventually results in the fascistic future timeline. Help/save someone nasty in the 21st century, and it causes WW3 and a nuclear holocaust involving millions of deaths, but it eventually results in the utopian united Earth and your nice cosy PU Federation.

Maybe something like that.

“But would could be so insurmountable that could have the godlike being needing help from a mere mortal?”

I keep asking myself this question as well. Season two’s ability to answer this in a satisfying manner will be key.

The Q continuum are dying out. Q has no one to turn but but Jean Luc Picard, he was always handy in solving problems. Just my guess. Could explain why Q looks older too.

His look is already explained in the trailer. He just adapts how Picard looks. It is made pretty clear.

Hey Jai, how are you?

Yeah all interesting ideas. I do think it will be the last suggestion and it will be a COTEOF situation that ends up creating something worse down the line even with good intentions. But I actually like the idea it could just involve a more powerful and deadlier alien Q is up against and needs Picard’s help. That one I never thought of before.

But I have said in the past that whatever is happening may not involve Q directly and I think that’s what they are going for, subverting expectations. But I’m super excited now. Season 2 may turn out great!

Oh and our other ‘topic’ we been discussing in the past, I have gotten halfway through season 2 on the History channel but then stopped a few weeks ago. No major reason, I just never finished it yet. But seeing your handle has motivated me to finish it soon so when I do I’ll give you my thoughts on it all. I don’t want to derail the thread here until I do lol.

Prediction – nonsensical boring time travel arc that makes sense with another poor political analogy that enables beaming from Earth to Qo’nos and then ignores the ramifications.
Had some hopes that season one set up an arc that would enable a reintroduction of the Borg as a real game changer – the Borg wanting to engineer life and the ramifications – instead looks like they got too uncomfortable and went back to Q.
Maybe some things are best left crash landed on veridian three.
The best part about Picard is that it is hopefully keeping the Berman Trek fans away from SNW… fingers crossed.

Well I’ve got 6th May pencilled on my calendar to subscribe then so I can just get through the season over a week or so. Much better that way. Looking forward to this somewhat nervously. S1 was a disappointment overall for me, but here’s hoping the long wait has been worth it for S2. Doesn’t need to be crazy brilliant. Just be solid and enjoyable, please!

As someone who was also disappointed with season 1, I do have more faith in this season as well. I wish I had other people’s will power like yours and could wait until the season is over to binge it all, but I’m one of those people that gets antsy once it’s a minute past midnight and the latest episode is still not up yet. I have zero willpower. ;)

But I am a lot more excited about the season the more I hear about it. Exciting time to be a Star Trek fan!

The PICARD typography is uninspired and amateurish.