Star Trekfans know their captains, and everyone has a favorite who is ready to go boldly where no one has gone before. Jean-Luc Picard, played bySir Patrick Stewart, is considered to beone of the best and most beloved captains in Star Trek. Stewart first appeared in the pilot episode ofStar Trek: Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint” and, more recently, has reprised his role inStar Trek: Picard.
Picard’s journey as Captain of the Enterprise, and his eventual promotion to Starfleet Admiral, is full of twists and turns as he navigates everything from his assimilation by the Borg to long-lost love. The best episodes make Jean-Luc come to terms with (and sometimes ignore) his emotions, which providesStar Trekfans with insight into how complex he is as a character. In most of Picard’s best episodes, his identity as a Starfleet captain becomes secondary, and they explore who he is as a person.
10"The Impossible Box"
‘Star Trek: Picard’ S.1, Ep.6
In “The Impossible Box,” directed by Maja Vrvilo, Picard and the Enterprise crew head to a “retired” Borg Cube run by Cardassians. Jean-Luc is hesitant to board the cube due to his traumatic encounters with the Borg. He tries to push away those feelings as he is set on meeting with Hugh, a friend who happens to be a former borg. Picard boards the Borg cube alone and instantly is overwhelmed by memories of his assimilation. His emotional state becomes somewhat calmer after he learns aboutHugh’s plans for the Borg Reclamation Project. Hugh proposes to Picard that he should become an advocate for Borg rights.
This episode providesStar Trekfans with a look at Picard, whostillhasn’t yet processed what he did and experienced under Borg control. Even after all of those years, the only Borg that Jean-Luc trusts is Hugh. Picard’s attitude towards the Borg shifts when he realizes that not all of them are seeking to assimilate everyone.
Star Trek: Picard
WATCH ON PARAMOUNT+
9"We’ll Always Have Paris"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.1, Ep.24
Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew’s shore leave is interrupted by the occurrence of a time loop. They receive a distress call from a scientist, Dr. Paul Manheim (Rod Loomis), who is well-known for his work related to time theory. Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) senses that Picard is feeling emotional, but he tells Troi that he is fine. Henry goes to the hologram for some unsuccessful therapy. It turns out that the wife of Paul, Jenice (Michelle Phillips), is an old flame of Picard’s. Picard had stood up Jenice while they were in Paris. He puts his feelings aside to help Dr. Manheim, but he finds it to be challenging.
There have been quite a few cases whereStar Trekfans witnessed Captain Picard falling in love. However, this particular romance shows a different side of Picard. He is haunted by this lost love and wishes deep down that things would have turned out differently with Jenice. There is definitely romantic tension between Jenice and Picard, but this episode wouldn’t be anything withoutDr. Crusher pouring out her feelings about Jean-Lucto Troi. While Picard isn’t present in this crucial scene, fans get to see how the two most prominent women in his life see him.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.2, Ep.16
Q (John de Lancie) sends the Enterprise crew straight into unknown territory. Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), a close confidant of Picard, warns Jean-Luc to return to Federation territory. However, Picard only listens to the pull of exploration. The Enterprise faces off with the Borg. The result is many crew deaths and the ship being close to destruction. Despite all of this, Picard refuses Q’s help until he is out of options. Q transports the Enterprise back home. Jean-Luc is left to deal with his losses and prepare for future Borg encounters.
Picard is usually fine with letting his crew help him, but not so much when it comes to Q. As a Starfleet captain, Jean-Luc can be overconfident. However, in this episode,Star Trekfans watch as Captain Picard lets his ego get in his way, and he does not want to ask Q for help to get out of the situation with the Borg. Picard does not even listen to Guinan because he usually thinks very highly of her advice. Picard’s ego is very bruised from his confrontation with the Borg, but he does learn that being a risk-taker sometimes doesn’t provide him with the best results. This is an interesting character arc that Jean-Luc goes through, and it sets the foundation for his tumultuous relationship with the Borg.
7"Devil’s Due"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.4, Ep.13
The Enterprise gets a distress call from Dr. Howard Clarke, played byPaul Lambert, about a planet called Ventax II. The scientist tells Picard and his crew that the people on this planet are thinking that their world is going to end soon. Jean-Luc along with Data (Brent Spiner) and a few other officers, meet with Jared (Marcelo Tubert), who is a Ventaxian leader, to discuss their beliefs around Andra. Suddenly, Adra (Marta DuBois) herself appears and offers up a contract. Picard starts to suspect that Andra is a con artist. Picard, Data, Jared, and Adra hold an arbitration hearing, and Picard defends the Ventaxian people. It turns out that Picard’s instincts are right, and Adra is really a con artist. The contract becomes voided, and Ventax II is saved.
It’s not often that fans get to see Captain Picard go to court for a planet. He becomes a hero to the Ventaxian people for saving them from the clutches of “Adra.” Jean-Luc is very humble about his role in stopping Adra. After all, he didn’t do it alone, and he teamed up, for the most part, with Data to discredit Adra. He forgoes his ego and gives the people of Ventax II credit for saving themselves. It’s refreshing to see Jean-Luc go to bat for those who are vulnerable.
6"The Emissary"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.2, Ep.20
The Enterprise receives a classified mission to help out the Klingons. An emissary named K’Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson), a former lover of Worf (Michael Dorn), arrives and informs the crew that a Klingon ship is in a “sleep state,” which means the Klingons on that ship don’t know that the war with the Federation is over. K’Ehleyr wants to destroy the ship, but Picard doesn’t want to. She wants them to die in battle. Picard encourages Worf to work with K’Ehleyr; however, this only leads to tension between the two. Ultimately, Worf comes up with a plan where he and K’Ehleyr disguise themselves as Klingon commanders and inform them that the war is over.
While this episode might be considered to be more Worf-centric, this is also a Jean-Luc episode. Picard pushes against what K’Ehleyr says because he is firm in his beliefs and his duty as a Starfleet captain. He doesn’t want to kill innocent Klingons, even if they might fight back. This is one of the big reasons why Captain Picard is one of the most complex characters in the Star Trek universe. Yes, Jean-Luc loves taking risks, but he knows when something is too risky.
5"Tapestry"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.6, Ep.15
Picard gets shot by a terrorist and becomes unconscious. When Jean-Luc “wakes” up, he is greeted by Q, who says that he is dead because his artificial heart couldn’t take the weapon. Picard says that he regrets his past actions of starting a bar fight as a young officer. During the fight, Jean-Luc was stabbed in his heart and had to get it replaced with an artificial one. Q transports Picard back in time and Jean-Luc prevents the bar fight from happening. He is taken back to the present, where he is no longer a Starfleet captain. Picard realizes that the risk he took during the fight made him the person that he was. With help from Q, Jean-Luc relives the bar fight as it originally was, and then he wakes back up on the Enterprise as a captain.
Star Trekfans know Jean-Luc as a risk-tasker, and it is fascinating to see how Picard’s life would have been different from the result of one single event. This is yet another instance of Q providing Picard with a valuable life lesson, whether Jean-Luc knows it or not. If this “dream” had not happened, then Picard would have been afraid to take risks, and that would have prevented him from growing to become the captain that fans know and love.
4"The Star Gazer"
‘Star Trek: Picard’ S.2 Ep.1
Picard isgetting used to his new body. He relaxes at his family home in France with Laris (Orla Brady). Both Laris and Picard want a romance, but the two stay distant from each other. He thinks about his relationship with his parents, and how his mother and father fought a lot. A mystery around a signal reunites Picard with new and old friends. They eventually make contact, and the Borg unexpectedly appear, and they seem to be asking to make peace. Jean-Luc self-destructs the ship. When he wakes up, he is face to face with Q.
There’s so much going on in this very Picard-centric episode, and poor Jean-Luc gets a lot of challenges thrown his way all at once. Not only is Picard processing his “rebirth,” he is also trying to live his best life after being a captain for such a long time. He is having a bit of an identity crisis and revisiting traumatic childhood memories on top of all of this. Picard’s mother encouraged him to look at the stars, and Jean-Luc certainly couldn’t look away from them. He becomes a Starfleet Admiral and continues to, unfortunately, ignore his life beyond his work. In this episode, Star Trek fans might at first be under the impression that Jean-Luc is set for “retirement,” but this captain doesn’t want to stop exploring, which is one of his most admirable personality traits. Another bonus in this episode is that fans witness the reunion of Q and Picard – a reliable formula for a great episode.
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.4, Ep.2
Gene Roddenberry wasn’t a big fan of this episode, but fans love this one because they actually get to know Picard’s family. Picard visits his brother Robert (Jeremy Kemp), sister-in-law, and nephew René (David Birkin) in France. Jean-Luc is trying to recover from being assimilated by the Borg. He is reconsidering his career as a Starfleet captain. Jean-Luc and Robert get into a big argument with each other. They fight in the mud! Picard confesses that he feels that he has lost his humanity after being assimilated by the Borg. However, the fight results in them becoming closer together, and the two brothers bond over laughter and wine.
Patrick Stewart’s acting is always remarkable, and in this episode, he digs deep into who Picard is with and without his family. That emotional scene where Jean-Luc breaks down is so intense and provides a glimpse into how he is processing what he is going through.
2"Chain of Command, Part II"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.6, Ep.11
In a previous episode, Picard is captured as a prisoner after a covert mission goes array. Picard is tortured by Gul Madred (David Warner), a Cardassian. Madred tries different methods to try to get Jean-Luc to talk, but Picard refuses to give him any information. The Cardassians are not able to successfully get Minos Korva, and are forced to retreat. Madred continues to torture Picard for information and lies to him about the Enterprise being destroyed. He wants Jean-Luc to admit that there are five lights instead of four. However, Madred’s plan is ruined by one of his henchmen, and Picard is rescued.
This episode, like part one, deals with a lot of heavy topics like torture, which makes it hard to watch. Partick Stewart gives a heart-wrenching performance as a tortured Jean-Luc. Picard becomes almost broken to the point of no return, and that is scary. It’s frightening to see a hero like Jean-Luc having to endure such pain. It is definitely one of those episodes that leaves fans on the edge of their seats hoping that Picard will be saved.
1"The Inner Light"
‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ S.5, Ep.25
Picard is knocked unconscious by a beam of light, and is transported into the body of another man named Kamin, who lives on a planet called Kattan. Picard falls in love, gets married, has children, and even learns to play the flute. He lives Kamin’s life to its fullest. However, there are some signs that the planet Kamin calls home isn’t doing well. There are signs of drought and a supernova set to destroy the planet. The citizens of Kattan store their memories in a rocket. After Picard wakes up, he realizes that he was experiencing Kamin’s memories.
This is one of the best Jean-Luc Picard episodes, and it has beendeclared asStar Trek’s Magnus Opus. Both critics and fans love this one because it shows Picard outside his role as captain. This is the life that Picard would have had if he hadn’t become a risk-tasking Starfleet captain.
NEXT:These Star Trek Episodes Were Banned in the U.K. for Almost 20 Years
