Star Trek Picard S2 trailer: timing, totalitarianism, Borg queen, and humanity’s trial + S3 news

Well, you knew the inclusion of Q in Picard season two would bring its own chaos. But from the looks of the new Star Trek: Picard S2 trailer, things are way, way worse than expected.

Dark times ahead

Star Trek Day unveiled a much more sinister trailer than I was expecting. We see that Q is not only testing his favorite frenemy with a time-twist challenge, but Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew—consisting of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill—yes, that annoying character is back), Soji (Isa Briones), Elnor (Evan Evagora), Raffi (Michelle Hurd), and Rios (Santiago Cabrera)—may be grappling with more than one time alternative. The somber future is a totalitarian one, which may have been brought about because of Picard himself, or a relative (more on that later). Talk about twisted. This is a truly demented test that Q has devised this time.

The trial never ends…

Star Trek: Picard not only is bringing Q back to the Trek universe, but transporting Next Generation fans full circle with references that go back to the episode where the omnipotent trickster was first introduced, the 1987 pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint.”

“The Trial never ends,” teases Q at one point during the Picard S2 trailer, and we even glimpse a trial-like scene that brings to mind the original ‘trial against humanity.’ Except this time it seems that the trial is now a time travel puzzle that Picard and his crew must solve in order to release the future totalitarian nightmare by resolving the past. The past may include a disturbing nod to Picard’s family as well. And there are a few very interesting theories on that one, including a ‘Space Hitler’ brother who Picard has to confront in the comic, “The Gift” (but never explored in Next Generation, where Picard’s brother is a much more benevolent figure).

At one point in the Picard S2 trailer, Jean-Luc is staring at a totalitarian portrait that seems to be him, but perhaps it’s a portrait of the evil brother (although unlikely since that storyline was never pursued in TNG), or perhaps another brother? Or maybe just another distant relative from the alternate timeline that Q sets in motion. I have to admit that the concept is a very intriguing one, although most bets are on the dystopian figure being Jean-Luc himself.

He needs help from an unlikely ally

To solve the time disaster Q has thrust them into, Picard must turn to an unlikely ally in order to set things right in the past. He needs to wake up the Borg Queen, who is now being played by Annie Wersching, which will come with its own set of complications.

“The only way to heal our future is to go back and repair the past,” says Picard in the trailer.

Premiere date and season three news

The Star Trek Day panel did not disappoint, revealing the season two premiere time period for Picard, which begins airing on Paramount + in February of next year.

Even better, Paramount + kept the juicy morsels coming, announcing that Star Trek: Picard had also been renewed for a third season even before the second one drops. We had already guessed it was coming, but now it’s official.

For all the Star Trek Day panels and trailers, check out the Paramount + YouTube channel. There’s so much Trek to get excited about!