The return of John de Lancie to Star Trek: Picard as his iconic character Q has gotten the interwebs a buzzing with what his return could mean to not just the show but the franchise as a whole. Turns out when a god-like character returns to the fold, people start expecting big things. Some are even comparing Q’s return to that of a possible Avengers/Thanos type event that would create large and reaching ramifications for the Star Trek franchise. One that would both continue and reboot the entire timeline as we know it.
A bad idea, but an idea nonetheless. Let’s look at three theories that may explain why Q is back.
A Kelvin-style crossover
The idea of bringing in the Kevlin Universe of characters is an idea, but not a great one. The issue with returning to the Kelvin Universe will be twofold, no matter the way you try to solve it. Firstly, Chris Pine is done with the franchise. While Zachary Quinto is open to returning for the right script, Pine is done. Why bother doing a crossover when the big reason to do it, Pine as Captain Kirk, is gone?
The second big issue is the fact that even if you did get Pine back, you’d never be able to actually do a full Kelvin crossover, as Anton Yelchin is sadly no longer with us. There’s really no reason to do anything with that franchise again without Pavel Chekov.
Yet, there exists a creative possibility, as the good folks at Inverse put it;
"Q is the easiest candidate to facilitate a Thanos-style time travel event, but Discovery also has Carl, the Guardian of Forever. Finally, Discovery Season 3 totally had David Cronenberg’s mysterious Kovich outright acknowledge that the Prime Universe knows about the Kelvin Universe. If Star Trek Universe is planning a larger crossover that spans the 23rd, 25th, and 32nd centuries, then, all the ways to make that crossover are currently back in play — hence, Star Trek hitting its Endgame moment. With Q back on the scene, it now seems almost more unlikely that a crossover won’t occur, than the idea that one will."
If you got back a few characters from every show/film, then sure. Maybe it could work. I’d personally love to see Captain Archer and Bones McCoy arguing about duty and responsibility.
A return to the Temporal Cold War
Speaking of Captain Johnathan Archer, he was the focal point of Star Trek: Enterprise, a series that introduced the idea of the Temporal Cold War. A time-travel war against a called the Suliban, an alien race that is attempting to rewrite time. Archer had several encounters with them throughout the show, and while the Temporal Cold War storyline always existed in the franchise, it did take a back seat to the Xindi storylines.
Star Trek’s Discovery and Picard have seemingly opened the door to a return of the Temporal Cold War, with Screenrant writing;
"This is why it’s very possible the events of Star Trek: Picard season 2 could set the stage for the Temporal Wars that will ultimately reach back to Star Trek: Enterprise’s 22nd century, Star Trek: Discovery’s distant future, and even into the Kelvin timeline of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies."
Like the previous entry, the idea of a massive crossover, and involvement of the Kevlin universe are again being brought into the conversation thanks in part to Q’s involvement. Whether or not that actually happens is anyone’s guess. Frankly, a return to the Temporal Cold War would make a lot of sense, but only if it’s done in its own series. Bringing in several characters from across the timelines would be a great idea for a show.
You could have Scott Bakula’s Archer lead a group that includes Zoey Saldana’s Uhura, Karl Urban’s Bones, Garrett Wang’s Henry Kim, maybe someone from Discovery, like the real Gabriel Lorca, and maybe someone from Picard, like Isa Briones’ Soji (or Dahj, cus again, time travel).
Q is here to kill off Picard
Yet, what if Q is here to actually kill off Picard and escort him to the next “great adventure”? The idea that Q is here to test Jean-Luc Picard and humanity one last time, not to determine if we as a species are worthy but to see if Picard is worthy. Worthy of becoming a member of the Q Continuum. That would be a heck of a story to tell, with Picard wrestling with the notion of such a request and challenge.
It would be an idea that would serve specifically to usher Picard and Patrick Stewart off for good; a final goodbye to one of the franchise’s most impressive legends.
From a previous article we posted;
"Unlike other characters who can/could/will return to the universe of Star Trek, de Lancie’s Q is the only character that brings with him the cosmic weight to be a series ender."
While many think this could change the course of Star Trek, by including the Kelvin cast in future episodes and the like, it feels more likely to some of us that the return of Q really brings with it a sense of finality. A chance for fans and the like to say goodbye to Stewart and Picard while we can, and to give both the actor and character the perfect sendoff.
Q may be here to change history or explore time but it’s far more likely that Q is here to usher Picard off to the next grand adventure.