Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard season 3 episode 5!
For the first time in three decades, Michelle Forbes’ Ro Laren is back. Forbes recurred on the last three seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Ensign Ro, a young Bajoran woman with a checkered past who was given a second chance in Starfleet on the crew of the Enterprise. However, Forbes hadn’t reprised her role since the penultimate episode of TNG in 1994. While speaking with EW, Picard showrunner admitted that he wanted to bring closure to Ro’s story and revisit her broken bond with Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard.
“There was nothing I wanted to do more than bring Ro Laren back,” said Matalas. “It felt like such a hanging chad from Next Generation. [Episode 5] to me is very special. It’s the idea of doing a paranoia thriller.”
In her final appearance on TNG, Ro betrayed Picard and Starfleet by defecting to the Maquis freedom fighters/terrorists. Behind the scenes, Forbes was offered one of the leading roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which she declined. Instead, Nana Visitor was cast as Kira Nerys, the primary Bajoran character on DS9. As for Forbes, she pursued a career in film roles.
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Given the threat of the renegade Changelings this season, neither Ro nor Picard are initially sure that they are who they appear to be in this week’s episode of Picard. Regardless, by talking through their issues with each other, it becomes clear that she really is Ro, and she found her way back into Starfleet as a Commander.
“The only way to be sure that the person that you’re talking to is actually the person you hope they are is by getting through a catharsis of the trauma of the past of this relationship, [which] to me felt like it could be really good television,” noted Matalas. “That was Ro and Picard, and I so desperately wanted to see the conclusion to that relationship.”
The next episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3 will premiere on Thursday, March 23 on Paramount+.
What did you think about Ro’s big comeback episode and the closure for her story? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Mirror Universe Collection
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