15 essential Captain Picard episodes to get you pumped for his return

Here are 15 essential episodes to rekindle our love with the captain as we prepare for Patrick Stewart’s reprisal of the famous Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

He’s the man in charge and the man with the plan, and there no one like Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Captain Picard embodied the virtue of Starfleet for his bravery and his good deeds toward others; his strength was in his character and his convictions, which never wavered even under the greatest pressure.

Yet he isn’t all severeness, philosophy, and perfection. There are those little moments that show he’s no superhero; he’s human like the rest of us — whether it be watching him learn to play the space-flute (okay, a recorder) or get interrupted before bedtime. He loves Shakespeare and history; he values his friendships.

That’s why it’s thrilling that exactly when we need leaders like him most, Captain Picard is returning to us. At least, Patrick Stewart has confirmed he will be reprising the role. In honor of this momentous occasion, it’s time to review some of the episodes that really show us who this Captain Picard really is. Maybe if we’re lucky, he’ll even direct a few, as he debuted his directorial skills in his favorite episode of TNG.

So to get excited about Picard’s return, here are 15 essential Captain Picard episodes that you need to see now, or rewatch if you’ve already seen them. We’ve even identified some of our “Picard perks” for these episodes. Just think of them as tags for each show (like “Picard in love” and  “annoyed Picard”) to help you pick out which episodes are for you.