Today brings with it the season finale of Star Trek: Picard. The first half of the two-part climax, titled “Et in Arcadia Ego,” set the stage for some fireworks to come in the last episode, with Soji and the synthetics declaring war on all organic life and Picard and his crew powerless to stop it. But maybe there’s a big twist coming that will allow Jean-Luc to save the day – but at the cost of his own humanity. Literally.
ComicBook.com has put forward a fascinating theory which asks: will Picard become an android in the finale? To recap, episode 9 introduced Brent Spiner’s latest character, Alton Soong, the son of Data’s creator Noonien Soong, who is fearing death in his advanced years. In a bid to become immortal, he’s devised a revolutionary mind transfer procedure and hopes to insert his consciousness into a powerful android body he calls the Golem.
What if Soong isn’t the ultimate recipient of the process, however, and it’s Picard who gets his mind transferred into the Golem? Jean-Luc himself has a terminal diagnosis, so his own time is short and an android body would be a way to extend his life and keep the show going. What’s more, in the short term, being reborn as a synthetic would surely give Picard sway with Soji’s people. He could call off their attack and go on to become a spokesperson for the synthetics to Starfleet.
Obviously, having Picard become an android would be a huge development for the character, and it also raises the question of whether another, younger, actor could take over the role from Sir Patrick Stewart. While that might seem sacrilegious, it would ensure that the iconic hero could continue on in a whole new way, similar to Chris Pine taking over the role of Kirk in the Star Trek movies.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. There’s nothing suggesting that Stewart’s retiring from Star Trek: Picard. That being said, this twist would definitely make a lot of sense within the storyline.
