Star Trek: Picard should’ve kept Elnor and Laris, not Raffi

Star Trek: Picard’s third season really biffed it by writing off Elnor and Laris.

Star Trek: Picard’s third season really did it right. At least in the eyes of long-time The Next Generation fans. The show dipped out on two years of established story and world-building in favor of a prolonged reunion that would essentially go throughout the final season. An odd decision, considering the show was originally sold to series icon Patrick Stewart as the exact opposite.

No crew, no ship, now uniforms. That was the mantra Stewart held dear through that first season. Then things started changing during the second season, and by the third season, the show was unrecognizable from what it was.

With seasons two and three in production back to back, it was evident by the end of the second season that the new showrunner, Terry Matalas, was not going to use season one showrunner Michael Chabon’s newer characters.

The only non-legacy character to be carried over from season one into three was Michelle Hurd’s Raffi, arguably the least popular character from Picard. While we agree with the idea of ridding the show of characters like Agnes Jurati, all of Isa Briones’ characters, and Chris Rios, the two characters we wished they’d kept were part of the season switchover purge;

Elnor and Laris.

In fact, keeping Elnor and Laris on the show would’ve not only kept the continuity stronger from season to season but would’ve made some of the more meandering bits of season three better.

Elnor and Laris would’ve made Star Trek: Picard’s final season better

Why the showrunners thought Raffi of all characters needed more air time is beyond me. Even more so, why was she kept on when all of her plot lines, besides her issues with her family, were seemingly dropped?

Do you know who would’ve been a better partner for Worf in those early episodes? Elnor. The two are combat kings, and putting them together in a situation where they’re both forced to fight off a horde of baddies would’ve been some great television.

As for Laris, she could’ve provided some much-needed confrontation with Beverly Crusher. Only someone who hates men and fathers would defend Beverly for what she did to Jean-Luc by denying his right to be a father to their son. And Laris could’ve been that person to stand up for Jean-Luc and rightfully call her out for all the decades worth of lies she told.

The drama from that scene alone would’ve been award-worthy.

Instead, we just get Picard accepting everything bad that happens to him for some bizarre reason and the worst chemistry in the history of the franchise with Raffi and Worf.