Terry Matalas on why a final scene with Laris wasn’t included in Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard ended without another mention of Laris, and showrunner Terry Matalas provides a reason why.

For those of us who liked the relationship between Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Laris (Orla Brady), his Romulan housekeeper turned girlfriend, we were a bit disappointed when, after kissing PIcard goodbye in the first episode of the third season, Laris disappeared. And she didn’t return for the remainder of the season nor was she even mentioned in the following nine episodes. That in and of itself is a bit surprising. Why wouldn’t Picard have mentioned his relationship with Laris to Dr. Beverly Crusher, someone he discovered he shared a son with?

Though showrunner Terry Matalas doesn’t give us an answer to that question, he did tell Yahoo!entertainment that there just wasn’t time to film a scene where Picard returns home to Laris. And even if they had the time, Brady would have most likely have returned to her home in Ireland by then.

But Terry Matalas may have given away another reason why Laris wasn’t seen again in Star Trek: Picard.

So many fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation wanted to see a romantic reunion between Picard and Dr. Crusher and may even feel cheated that what happened between the couple was off-screen. So seeing Picard choose Laris over Crusher might not have made some fans happy, but the same thing could be said for those who loved the relationship Picard had with Laris, as brief as it was.

"“I think there is a subset of fans who would love to have seen that scene, and I think there’s a big group of fans who would much prefer that he stayed with Beverly. And I think both are valid answers, and I think, you know, the right ending is the one you choose.”"

So Matalas allowed fans to choose the ending they wanted. Of course, it’s entirely possible we could see Admiral Picard and Dr. Crusher again in a future series. Perhaps then, we’ll get a solid answer as to whether they are a couple or have simply remained good friends.