Warning: This post contains spoilers for the second to the last episode of Star Trek: Picard “Vox.” Please read at your own risk!
If you have not watched the Star Trek: Picard episode “Vox,” and you don’t want any spoilers, please stop reading now.
“Vox” brought a bit of a shock to the USS Titan when its captain, Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) was shot by a member of his Borg-assimilated crew. There wasn’t anything that could be done for him, and the captain died seconds before passing command of the ship to Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Shaw even used her designation, handing over the reins with the utmost respect.
So what does this mean to those of us who are hoping for a Star Trek: Legacy series? Does it mean that we will never see the sarcastically grumpy captain again? Well, for one, this is Star Trek, and who knows more about bringing characters back from the dead than Star Trek? And two, we have the words straight from showrunner Terry Matalas’ mouth that if Star Trek: Legacy gets greenlit, we haven’t seen the last of Captain Shaw.
If the Star Trek: Picard spin-off Star Trek: Legacy happens, we should see the captain again.
In an interview with Collider, Matalas clarified that there isn’t a Star Trek: Legacy series in development, but there was always a plan to bring Captain Shaw in if the series does happen, adding that it amazing how it happens.
"“I will say this, because I have to say this, there is currently no Star Trek: Legacy in development at Paramount+. But from the very beginning of this season, there has always been a plan for this character to be part of the spin-off, and it is absolutely amazing how. And should we be so lucky to ever have a discussion, it would be very cool, and Todd Stashwick would absolutely be a part of it.”"
We have no idea how they would make this work, but in this world, nothing surprises us, and very few of us would be mad if they brought Captain Shaw back to life. Otherwise, though, we’d settle for flashbacks and maybe his ghost serving as Seven of Nine’s mentor as she takes over as captain of the USS Titan.