Star Trek: Picard said goodbye to Lt. Commander Data for the last time in its final episode
Lt. Commander Data made his appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987 and quickly became the android version of Spock, earning a place in the hearts of millions of fans who’d watched and never watched the Original Series alike. Data sacrificed his life to save Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek: Nemesis, and we thought that was the last we’d seen of him. Then Star Trek: Picard debuted.
As much as we’d missed Data, seeing him again, knowing things would never be the same as when he stood on the bridge of the Enterprise or played poker with the crew, was bittersweet. The season finale of Picard highlighted the wonderful friendship between the admiral and Data, but it tore at our heartstrings when the two said their final goodbyes.
Fortunately, we’ll always be able to see Data in reruns of The Next Generation as well as Picard, and then, of course, there are fans like Trekkie4Life on Youtube who keep the memories fresh by creating a wonderful tribute video with some of Data’s best moments.
This video doesn’t include any clips of Brent Spiner’s appearance on Star Trek: Picard, but Trekkie4Life created a music video last year that takes you on that journey. The tribute video focuses on Data’s time aboard the Enterprise, ending with the wonderful scene between Captain Picard and Commander Riker after the ship was destroyed. Picard’s final words in that scene speaks directly to Lt. Commander Data.
"“What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived.”"
Though Brent Spiner is open to returning to Star Trek: Picard in other capacities, he will no longer portray the beloved android so we’ve seen the last new scenes we’ll ever see with Data and the admiral or the crew. And, to Star Trek fans, that’s like losing a close friend.