Another Season 3 Comeback of “Star Trek: Picard”: The Surprising Return of the “Next Generation” Explained in Episode 5

Even before the third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard”, it was clear that the new season would be a true revival of “Spaceship Enterprise: The Next Century” aka “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, in which the complete, continuous main cast of the sci-fi cult series returns. But that is not everything! In episode 5 of the current season, there is another “Next Generation” comeback, which is quite surprising: Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) is back!

So if you’re not familiar with Next Generation or can’t remember all the ins and outs of the 30-year-old series, let’s take a quick look back at Ro Laren’s Star Trek past to clarify the significance of her return.

This is Ro Laren

Ro Laren is a Bajoran who grew up in very poor conditions during the occupation of her home planet by the Cardassians – and eventually even had to see how her father was tortured to death by the occupying forces. While she subsequently argued repeatedly with her own origins, she then joined Starfleet as a young adult.

However, her career was threatened early on when her disobedience to orders resulted in the death of the entire reconnaissance team on a Federation ship. After a court-martial against her (in which she refused to defend herself), Ro was sentenced to several years in prison. This was finally ended by a Starfleet admiral, who transferred her to the Enterprise, where she was to help put a Bajoran terrorist to work.

Ro Laren’s time on the Enterprise

Although Ro Laren did not immediately play with his cards completely open on this job, has Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) recognized the great potential in her and, despite her own misgivings, finally convinced her to stay with Starfleet. In the years that followed, Picard became something of a father figure to her. Then it was all the bigger Disappointment when Ro turned his back on the Federation some time later during an undercover mission and joined the Maquis.

She had previously sympathized with the resistance group, some of whose members rebelled against the Cardassian occupation of their homeworlds by extreme means, even legitimized by the Federation in the course of peace negotiations with the Cardassians. The group, branded by many as terrorists and traitors, was subsequently largely destroyed in the course of the Dominion War.

Ro’s fate remained open. Originally, the character was to appear in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and play an even bigger role there than in “The Next Century”. However, nothing came of it when actress Michelle Forbes turned down an offer to focus more on her film career.

Ro Laren and Picard

Since Ro Laren’s departure from Starfleet did not occur until one of the last “Next Generation” episodes, there was no longer an opportunity to address her quasi-betrayal and Picard’s handling of it. That’s exactly what the third season of “Star Trek: Picard” does decades later.

As it turns out, not only is Ro alive, but because of her experience in terrorist activities and after an extensive rehabilitation program, she was even recruited into Starfleet Intelligence, where she has now risen to the rank of Commander.

In that capacity, she now comes aboard the USS Titan in “Star Trek: Picard” under the pretext of interrogating Picard and Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who are less than thrilled about their return, about the events on board. But in reality, she wants to enlist Picard, whom she still trusts most, in her fight against the Federation’s burgeoning changeling conspiracy. And both the tension between the two characters and their newfound rapprochement take on a much more emotional tone when you know about their common past, which Picard has visibly yet to nibble on.