Why is Q Dying?

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#StarTrek #Picard

[@NoRecipes]

Is anyone else freaked out by how on-point this video was? Either this guy got ahold of a leaked copy of ep10 or he's a genius 💡🙌🏼

[@joanmilton9986]

They missed that it really was just about Picard and his inability to save his mother. Finding her dead shut him down so much that he never allowed anyone in. The escape of which Q speaks is Picard's inability to escape his past. When Picard decides not to destroy the key, he accepts his fate and it allows him to move on.

[@NoRecipes]

@@joanmilton9986 I think that part was already pretty well known and it's even referenced in the title of the video "It Might not Only be Picard who's Paying a Penance" the 🤯 about this video is they put the pieces together about Q.

[@sonik0578]

personally i picked up the final plot at about ep7 or 8 cant remember which one it was but it was when q spoke to guinan about humans being stuck in the past and i thought "oh... picards stuck up on the borg and shouldnt of blew up the ship and let it happen" with the next few ep's just confirming that

[@Caristria]

Well it was a good theorie but in my opinion it does not add up after watching the last episode. 1. Even tough Picard made the choise to self destruct the ship it wouldn't have come to this point if Q did not send them back (Because than there wouldn't be this specific "Borg Queen". It makes more sense to assume that Q must have known that the Ferdaration would need the help for what is to come. Helping Picard with his past could be eighter a "nice bonus" or could have a deeper meaning for later seasons. Him dying could be a side-effect or a punishment (altough he seemed quiet supprised when he couldn't use his powers in that one sceene) for creating/ helping to create the paradox that is the "new Borg Queen". BTW: How would this Timeline be called? The Jurati/ Star Gazer/ Q - Timeline? Since the borg are now presumably "friendly" all the bad things they did in the prime timeline shouldn't have come to be (Wolf 359; them trying to stop/ assimilate Zefram Cochran; etc.). Or are there still the "old Borg" too?

[@sonik0578]

@@Caristria we have seen In voyager the q do have the ability to null another q's power, what we saw in that scene could be genuinely his powers failing because he's dying or another q effectively stepping in to stop the desired effect because the action would mean it was impossible to correct for Picard but without making it known to him or the viewers. As for the timeline it seems to be a "don't look too closely at it" situation that it doesn't (at them moment given the lack of info) hold up to scrutiny, but it isn't a change to the timeline given the events that happened, were meant to happen kinda like what happened when Kirk went and stole some whales or when in tos they went back and meet the original watcher and made sure a satalite was launched, which this season is a reference to. As to things like wolf 359 and other Borg activity, there are two distinct possibilities, the first being that jurati queen never reconnected with the actual Borg given they had 400 years worth of advanced knowledge and tech and kinda just sat it out upgrading and helping and making their own group of Borg as jurati suggested to the queen. option two is they did reconnect but because of the knowledge they knew and the fact they wanted a better outcome for the Borg given alt timeline queen saw the full destruction of her borg and knew that other races and beings could tell when time was fucked around with or hadn't taken the correct path so decided to play things out as intended, allowing the Borg to capture Picard but shielded him from the future info, allowing 7 to be taken by Janeway and so forth.

[@leeknights5540]

John de lancie fills the screen every time he appears. So enigmatic, deep, mysterious, radiating complex deeply felt tides, his acting has never been better. I'd be happy if they'd called it Q rather than Picard.

[@paradisebreeze1705]

Its a dumpster 🔥

[@kevindondrea144]

I always thought it would be cool if they gave a "Shout Out" to "Days of Our Lives" and Q would have said, "I lived on Earth for awhile as Eugene Bradford, but then decided to go back to the Continuum." Not sure if you know when he left Days of Our Lives, he stepped into a time machine that he invented but never returned. :)

[@rkmugen]

Mr. de Lancie's voice alone is unmistakable. Even in as William Miles, in "Assassin's Creed", it stands out among the rest.... even among the likes of Nolan North, who, himself is practically everywhere!

[@hippocleides7105]

@@paradisebreeze1705 I agree, but the dumpster fire not being completely destroyed is all on the back of John de Lancie

[@olt4919]

John De-Lancie was good as the father of Jesse Pinkman's ill-fated girlfriend in "Breaking Bad."

[@pknuttarlott4934]

I never thought Q brought them back to life. I thought he hit pause right before the crew died and moved them some place safer than an exploding ship.

[@Makorze]

if he sent them back just before they died then technically he isn't bringing them back to life... its certainly changing the future though so who knows.

[@ascelot]

@@Makorze How can he change the future when the past has already been changed? borg queen in first episode was dr jurati, meaning they already went back in time and the whole season was a predetermined paradox.

[@Makorze]

@@ascelot Q has made alternate futures before like the time he put Picard in a timeline where Picard "played it safe". Picard was also technically dead at that moment. There also that anomally that was eating its way backwards in time and was changing the past. Time flows in weird ways in Trek.

[@riopato2009]

Correct. Q saved Picard and his closest crew members from dying which literally prevented their fate which Picard caused. Picard was supposed to die and Q wasn't supposed to save them.

[@ascelot]

@@riopato2009 Picard wasnt meant to die, simple, as the borg queen was Dr Jurati, if the trip to the past didnt happen, that whole timelime wouldnt of happened, and the whole quadrant would of been destroyed.

[@Sopranoanxieux]

John De Lance as Q has always been my favourite character. John is wonderful.

[@segevstormlord3713]

It's nice to see that De Lancie is still able to play and show love for his character. I have been afraid to see what this season would do to Q, because of what Season 1 did to Picard and...everyone...and what I have already seen from previews and clips that season 2 did to Guinan. :(

[@JohnDoe-zr8pc]

Wonder if our Q is being tested by the continuum, like Picard was by him in “Tapestry”? Giving him a chance to live by undoing a mistake, but it alters his life so drastically, he doesn’t recognize it anymore. In the end, he’d rather die as the Q that he was, rather than what he became because of the change. It will ultimately redeem him, and the continuum will bring him back.

[@OldGeezer55]

That's a good plot. I like the way you think.

[@JohnDoe-zr8pc]

@@OldGeezer55 Well it was. Turns out the actual ending is STUPID as hell.

[@OldGeezer55]

@@JohnDoe-zr8pc I guess I ll see tonight. I think the story written for this season has been written by committee. Too much filler. Not great. I just hope for a possible tying up of loose threads.

[@ebonforce8750]

@@JohnDoe-zr8pc So far we are not sure what happens. He said he was done, but who knows what actually happened. Besides, maybe his character passes the torch to another actor later.

[@tinafoster8665]

I think to the Q the trial never ends either but they just like to pretend they're outside it LOL

[@abubarrie88]

Bringing the dead back to life isn’t the same as stopping someone from dying.

[@jamesbizs]

If Q doesn’t exist in time, then stopping someone from dying in 2022 would be the same as bringing them back to life in 2023, as Q would know BOTH

[@kingboy76]

No, I would assume they all DID die as the Stargazer exploded, and Q then brought them back within seconds

[@brettcooper3893]

The explosion was complete, so Picard was indeed dead, at least for a moment.

[@neutrino78x]

@@brettcooper3893 who says Q didn't save them just before the ship exploded?

[@bellcross9985]

@@brettcooper3893 for a being that can control time and space he could have taken the crew 1 second before the explosion. I think the rule about not reviving the dead is about not resurrecting's someone aka bringing him/her to another time. We have seen Q save Picard from certain death on 2 different occasions (All Good Things and Tepastry).

[@mrq1701]

I think the Wesley Crusher Traveler scene is far more important than anyone realizes. Q seemed to be playing 3 sides. He helped Picard, he influenced Soong to do what he did, AND he helped Soong's daughter to learn the truth and to get away from her father. We don't know if she actually became a Traveler or is just "visiting" with them (like Sisko inside the Celestial Temple), but if she is a Traveler herself, she has very powerful and can affect the timeline and other realities.

[@evilsnowball]

John de Lancie is nailing it this season, this is Q at his lowest point and is acted so well

[@lashutterbug]

The Q have been on the ropes for a number of years now, and now they're on the canvas. They've stagnated, because they've been going nowhere for centuries, as de Lancie Q and Suicide Q had already pointed out in TNG and Voyager. They need new blood, desperately. This is why de Lancie Q has been trying to groom Picard for years now, as he wants Jean-Luc to provide that new blood. This is what the final episodes of TNG were all about: Picard learning to leave linear time behind and see the universe in its multidimensional complexity...like a Q. And at the end of TNG, Picard had begun to take the very first step towards that, but as we've since seen, obviously he didn't take the next steps of leaving humanity behind and becoming a Q. Naturally, de Lancie Q is very peeved about this. And here we are.

[@raven4k998]

yeppers maybe cause the Q are not reproducing sexually so there genes are degrading from to much liquid IV and no fresh dna being made from reproduction also making a Q mortal may cause some permanent damage to them they do not realize by over stressing them without them realizing

[@kenkong2113]

Love this take!

[@raven4k998]

@@kenkong2113 have a cookie kid and calm down!

[@PapillonOne]

Watch the 3rd episode of Season 3 The Orville New Horizons and you'll see what the Q are.

[@paradoxical_taco]

“That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars or studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.” - Q near the end of _All Good Things_ One of the best lines in any Trek episode or film.

[@tracymetherell8744]

Great Podcast! I loved this season’s evolution of Picard relationship with Q with Picard FINALLY realizing and accepting Q,s friendship.

[@amberklein1560]

Nope. In NG Q told the teenage Q who thought she was human that she could do whatever she wanted INCLUDING bringing her real parents back from the dead. Q is not dying for saving Picard's life. Something else is killing him. I'd guess it has something to do with the spacial anomaly. Wouldn't it be interesting if future human choices, and something to do with the Travelers, is what allows the Continuum to exist?

[@2laky150]

Most likely they copy discovery and make an extra galactic threat the cause of (the) Q's death.

[@CptNem]

I saw the final galactic event scene and thought to myself "Star Trek has finally entered the Stellaris end game phase, and here are the extra dimensional invaders and the Borg want to stand at the gates". People might disagree whether or not this is Star Trek, but it is certainly awesome. I can't wait for Season 3! I don't at all consider the books to be canon, and I don't see why the Q would ever not be allowed to bring someone back from the dead. The way they would see it, they are actually just saving someone at the point of death and pulling them into a new timeline, where right here, right now, they get to keep living. It's basically just teleportation combined with time travel. There is no reason the Q should have rules preventing this, but who am I to say, I am just a human. They have an extra-dimensional perspective that I don't share.

[@IndySkyFan]

Yes, it was established that the Q can bring people back to life. Good point. I think, maybe, they didn't explain it because they couldn't think of an explanation that made any sense.

[@paulc9643]

Wow, what a great take!

[@JustAnOldPyro]

A darker thought but... What if Q bringing them to the corrupted timeline caused the death of the Q in the multiverse by inadvertently bringing forth the ability to combat/kill a Q to a much more militant variant of humanity? I do also like the theory of Q exploring death & potential rebirth as mentioned in other comments that came before me.

[@lubricustheslippery5028]

I think it's the borg that destroys the continuum because of the event Q sets of when creating the corrupted timeline. Q have said himself to not toy with the borg that sounded more serious than destroying a few civilisations.

[@lf298]

some think q are evolved humans

[@sigmeier9675]

1. The "Galactic Event" is most likely what occurs when a Q dies. Each event may vary for each individual Q death. 2. Q, knowing his death would destroy a good chunk of the Quadrant, realized a long time ago that the Borg along with Picard and starfleet would be able to prevent this disaster. Which is why he introduced the federation to the Borg in the first place in TNG. 3. With each snap of their fingers, a Q shortens their own seemingly infinite lifespan. So long as a Q doesn't meddle with the tapestry they can live on indefinitely. This is why the continuum has rules in place to prolong their existence. They know what drains a Q of their powers. 4. Q, of his own volition, more than likely put himself in a position to be a sort of watcher to Picard as he had grown to favor him from their very first encounter at Farpoint.

[@shep9231]

You make many good points...

[@colibrinoctis2130]

I agree. Plus he also brought back another life from the dead, the young Romulan, who actually did die. Because I got the idea that Picard and everyone was pulled out of time before the self destruct sequence actually finished by Q.

[@justmeiniowa]

@@colibrinoctis2130 Elnor died in the alternate timeline. Once Q sent Picard, etc back to the Stargazer battle (erasing the alternate timeline in the process), his death in the alternate timeline would never have occurred so he did not actually bring Elnor back to life.

[@jenniferschmitzer299]

You think a lot. It’s good.

[@melanieweider2497]

since when has their lifespan shortened with each snap of their fingers? the Q have always been presented as immortal.

[@tomwilson2112]

I doubt the entire continuum is dying. Individual Q have died before, and the most likely answer is that when Janeway allowed Quinn to die, this actually *introduced* mortality into the continuum, and like a disease, death has now infected the continuum and will eventually take all the Q. That's not to say the continuum will go extinct. The Q can recruit: Q wanted to recruit Riker, once up on a time, after all. So when a Q is ready to shuffle off this immortal coil, one of the things they will need to do is find someone to take their place. That could potentially be what Q was *really* doing: helping JL clear his conscience so he doesn't bring a lifetime's baggage along with him to the continuum. I have always suspected that on JL's final day, when he draws his final breath, that Q (or maybe Q, Q, or Q) will be there, by his side, to adopt him in to the continuum, where he can explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldy go where no one has gone before... for eons to come.

[@ShaolinShadowStroke]

Hmm...I hadn't thought of that! That's actually a great theory. In that way, Picard would never really die, just like Captain Pike regained and conceivably retained his youth once he returned to Talos IV.

[@CptNem]

That also sums up the literal last words Q gave Picard at the end of TNG - the final exploration is of the mind, not of the cosmos. Of states of existing. It is entirely plausible that the Q have adopted death, with a requirement that you recruit someone before you use it. Excellent idea!!

[@gawainethefirst]

Ok, so Q, Q, and Q, are fine and all that, and maybe “q” will do in a pinch…but what if it’s Q? Didn’t think about that, did’ja?

[@bike6626]

I wish it were possible to have the power of Q.

[@davidrooks3274]

@@gawainethefirst LMAO!!!

[@Necrolord76]

Perhaps this "new thing" that Q is experiencing is the evolution of the Continuum to an even higher plane of existence. Q has always been guiding humanity towards evolving to the state of being that the Continuum are.

[@benkei7530]

Yup

[@acardenasjr1340]

I mean, the language he uses implies that. Then again, maybe death is evolution? Experience determines what emerges in the other end? And we won't remember any of it.

[@shaunreilly8097]

My crazy theory. In the q civil war their fight was causing stars to go super nova it is well known in Andromeda that stars have avatars what if the q are avatar's for their stars and q is just at his natural multi billion year life's end. Tied to the original timeline no matter where his avatar ends up it seems that time is linier for the q unlike the wormhole aliens who experience time very different from other beings in the star trek universe.

[@ThePopcast]

I love this

[@billkeithchannel]

In the Book of Enoch it plainly states that the stars are sentient beings and their bodies are made of fire and light and were told by the Creator to march in their course for six of His days (6,000 years).

[@paradisebreeze1705]

Its a dumster 🔥

[@CyberpunkStudiosLtd]

@@paradisebreeze1705 It's practically Shakespeare compared to the dreck that is Lower Decks. At least it's trying to tell a compelling story, even if it fails at consistency. Jurati singing at the gala was just total BS for example. But it's sad to say that the bar is so low for modern Trek that if it isn't as bad as Lower Decks then I'm no longer disappointed (so long as I don't compare it too much with classic Trek)

[@bl8388]

@@CyberpunkStudiosLtd Lower Decks is parody, though. It's the first silly, "Mad Lib," version of Star Trek. I assume it isn't considered canon.

[@bobotheclown88]

I got the impression from the voyager episode with the suicidal Q that a Q had never died and had no idea how to die since the Q had to be turned human and ingest poison because he could not commit suicide as a Q. Also when they are taken to the continuum the nature of the road there to me implies that time is cyclical to the Q and they can travel the road and end up where they started. This is reinforced when Quinn asks Janeway how she would feel as an explorer if there was nothing left to explore and Quinn was a philosopher and scholar among the Q, the Q might not know everything but it would seem they have access to everything. It just hits me weird that a being that can exist across all of time can die, that's what I thought the continuum was scared of when they locked away Quinn for wanting to die, they had no idea what would happen if something that exists across all of time is destroyed.

[@tablescissors67]

Good comment.

[@ge45gecalled39]

this was ultra, beyond nice to see, thanks for the monologue, hit's the heart strings

[@robinellis83]

The thing that gets me most is, if the queen has a 400 year head start to make everything right, then all the events in enterprise, TNG and voyager were never written. So I do wonder if voyager would have made it back sooner as soon as they met the collective because they were on their way to make peace with the federation. This would have been a good offering. Super confusing I think as I believe it means the timeline would have been completely rewritten. The enterprise e was built with Borg countenance in mind. So the “E” would maybe also look different because of what it not had to be prepared for. Furthermore, species 8472 would have also had a different engagement. 7 of 9 would have never been assimilated. So much that we know would have changed as the idea was to be a good queen 400 years ago. I really do wonder how this season will end. And really hope they give an amazing explanation to it all. I love Star Trek as it has guided me in my life always to be good to people. But continuity is somewhat important as I wouldn’t like to forget the last thirty years as if they didn’t happen…

[@kevindondrea144]

Was thinking that too :) Icheb would still be alive too because he would still be with his parents. Also Star Trek Generations never would have happened. Malcolm wouldn't have lost his family and they would still be living on El-Auria. Maybe even Guinan never would have left El-Auria either.

[@cryofpaine]

I get the feeling that the Borg we've seen developed normally, while this Cooperative (or whatever they called themselves) were keeping a low profile, until the Collective were weakened enough and they were strong enough to take over.

[@robinellis83]

@@cryofpaine if I was the queen I would see how I would get out of that body and choose someone weaker and then take that 400 year head start and head to earth and assimilate on the way there.

[@reecemarais690]

Look beyond the 3D perspective. The Borg are not “one thing” that happens on a linear timeline, they’re more of a pattern that emerges over and over, there can be many different versions of the collective and many different queens

[@robinellis83]

@@reecemarais690 maybe that could also mean good and bad borg at the same time but in different areas. Damn this is getting confusing haha either way, I look forward to the ending of this season 🙂👍

[@BarryH1701]

I didn't like Q when he made his first appearance in TNG, but after a few episodes, I grew to like him and see him as a bit of a prankster just messing with Picard. Now we see Q in a completely different light and this should prove very interesting.

[@Aquarius61]

I think he's the only surviving "Q" left, and his passing is the end of the Q Continuum, Hence no contact with the Continuum for 600 years in the Discovery timeline.

[@amberklein1560]

Yes. I was wondering where Q's son was. The Continuum ruled that Q had to stay with him if he was going to be allowed to live. So, where was Q's son? If he was dead with the rest of the Continuum, it would make sense that Q was alone. Hm. I wonder if this had anything to do with the Q civil war.

[@MogulSuccess]

I love this new perspective - this layered story within a story makes this beautiful

[@gulliverdeboer5836]

We're all thinking way too linear about this: Q could be a trillion years older than the last time we saw him, the Q may just have an insanely long, but ultimately finite lifespan, though it's weird that they wouldn't know about that themselves. Just bad writing, unless they somehow explain it in the finale.

[@dmitch1743]

Nope. Just bad writing. They will make Picard the new Q at the end of the series

[@willdwyer6782]

Yes it is bad writing. They couldn't even quote the Bhagavad Gita correctly. They left out one important word and took the quote completely out of context.

[@Raul-wt5jx]

U took the words out of my mouth!

[@PurpleChevron]

@@willdwyer6782 well, actually... I assume you mean the word "become," but in fact the original Sanskrit of the line is exactly translated as "Now I am become the world-destroying time." "World-destroying time" has been familiarized in the west as "death," most famously by Robert Oppenheimer. In this context, it actually fits quite well with the themes of the season.

[@lokhtar]

@@willdwyer6782 It's interesting. The original is "kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho". I studied sanskrit a little in school so I am by no means an expert, but kalo definitely means time. And I think most translations have that (many translate it as: Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people). You can take it to mean many things - a lot of people take it as a comment on the futility of our lives in the face of time. Just like in the poem ozymandias, the verse can be taken to mean that everything that human beings accomplish is crumbles in the face of time - no man's achievements will last forever. Interestingly, the same root ("kala") can also refer to the supreme being, which is fascinating, as you can say that the text is saying that time is the true supreme being in the universe (or as the modern philosopher Rocky Balboa put it "time takes everyone out. time is undefeated."). So you can take it literally saying that the supreme lord is the embodiment of time - the true destroyer of worlds. Some translations do in fact use 'death', but I am not convinced that is what is directly intended by the original verse (unless you mean death or destruction in the face of time).

[@cylontoaster7660]

After this most recent episode, there are some interesting parallels between the suicide of Picard's mother and Picard blowing up the Stargazer. In both instances, a tragedy was caused by Picard doing what he thought was right. However, he did as such ignoring clues that would have informed him that he was making a decision without considering those clues. If child Picard had listened to his father, and saw the signs his mother wasn't well, he may have avoided opening the door and letting her hang herself. If present day Picard had paid more attention to the fact the Borg encounter was very a-typical and not a normal Borg attack, then he may have avoided self-destructing the ship and killing all on board In both instances, Picard drew on memories of the past and used them to dictate his actions. But he did as such ignoring the information immediately present before him, which led him to make poor choices.

[@RealComp5]

Another interesting point, in TNG picards mom lived to old age. This show is trash. Don't waste time thinking about it.

[@SWGmovies]

@@RealComp5 wait. She did? What episode?

[@RealComp5]

@@SWGmovies Season 1, where no man has gone before, ~24 minutes in. They experience an alien force that allows them to talk to the dead and Picard talks to his mom who is quite old and very sane.

[@OldGeezer55]

Very interesting take.Possibly avoiding all the complications of cause and effect in the timeline. If the Borg is not there for Voyager to get back in the conduit, they didn't get home until after Janeway's death during her command. So much more will be re-written. I have a bad feeling about the ending. I'll see tonight..

[@ebonforce8750]

@@RealComp5 They have basically explained that away as a fantasy memory Picard has of his mother.

[@gretchenjaenisch1826]

I'd like to think Q is evolving into something new.

[@Paulafan5]

The letter R, perhaps?

[@hollynorman1424]

When they hugged at the end it was the best moment in the star trek universe

[@STho205]

I dunno...maybe the actor only signed on for X episodes, refused to consider more and like Guinan, they want to keep using the character name with a different actor. Maybe he'll regenerate since the writers are borrowing from numerous franchises....maybe he'll regenerate into Jodie Whittaker.

[@TonyGingrich]

I don't know. There's just so much emphasis on Renee Picard's life or death, too much to ignore. From both Q and Picard. But I have been flaunting a theory which is very close to this one. My theory goes a bit further back, to Season 1's finale. When Picard succumbs to his irumodic syndrome, everything from that point until now has been Q's final trial. Data's scene, Picard's consciousness being transferred into the golem...none of that really happened. At present, he's still lying on his deathbed. In short: Picard Season 2 is "Tapestry 2". Q is dying because; of all the trials he's put Picard through, this one is demanding the most of his energy. Unlike TNG's "Tapestry", Q didn't immediately disclose the facts to Picard. Between S1's finale and S2's premiere, Picard had been left to figure this one out on his own. But he wasn't making any headway. He continued to live his life in this new trial, unwittingly. Meanwhile, Q's energy is draining weaker and weaker. So S2 is about Q finally breaking his silence and revealing himself to Picard. He altered the trial to have Borg Queen Jurati enter the story through a temporal anomaly, which would catalyze a repeating loop similar to TNG's "Cause and Effect". Then he hooks in and basically issues an ultimatum to Picard: "Figure out your way through this trial of atonement (and possible forgiveness), or remain forever trapped in this Confederacy alternate reality." In short, Q lit a fire underneath Picard's ass. Why? I struggled with this one a bit. But then it occurred to me: there's a secondary emphasis placed on Tallin as a "watcher". It seems as if the writers are training the audience to have an understanding of what a watcher is, and their devotion to their duty. This would set up a big franchise-wide reveal, that Q is in fact Picard's watcher. Q's "Trial on Humanity" has all been a fiction, fabricated as a passible justification for his repeated interventions throughout Picard's life. Q's commission is to ensure the personal development of Picard. The side plot of Renee is only a ruse to motivate Picard. Q is using her in the trial as a means to provoke Picard and keep him motivated. And throughout Picard's adventures to protect her, he is forced to reconcile with ghosts of his past--which is, in fact, the entire goal of this new trial. Q slapped Picard in episode 2 because when Picard repeated his lack of interest in Q's scheme, he lacked a consideration for Q himself: that he would die if Picard refused to play along. For whatever reason; when a Q trial has begun, only its subject(s) can end it. Not even Q can stop it. So he quite literally does need Picard's cooperation. And fast-forward to the confrontation between Q and Guinan: that's the death Q did not want. One of failure in his responsibilities as Picard's watcher. And finally we get to the original theme of "atonement/forgiveness". Episode 10 will see Picard finally work his way out of this trial. And just like in "Tapestry", he will regain consciousness on a hospital bed. That's when we will see a cameo appearance from Dr. Beverly Crusher, who has been caring for him throughout this entire time. We recall that TNG always teased a relationship between her and Picard, but those ambitions always fell short. Season 2 is his atonement for those failures. And Season 3...well, that's where the forgiveness will likely become a major theme. Crusher will be the one who ushers in Season 3's reunion of TNG's Enterprise senior staff. I cited all of that as if it were fact. But again...that's only my theory. Likely not correct. And if so, much more unlikely to be particularly accurate. But I dug really deep for some way to explain everything that's been happening in this season--with a special emphasis on its "messes" at the heart of so much criticism. This is a theory which could completely salvage all of that, as well as prevent a train-wreck finale, due to so many unresolved threads outstanding.

[@singularity_josh8063]

I hope this is what happens

[@Kooster69]

The end of Picard Season 3 really puts a new spin on how Picard Season 2 ended. Matalas has possibly put a very interesting spin on Q. For reasons that have yet to be explained, the Q that we know decided to bond with Picard. A kind of bonding where Q would be involved in critical moments of Picard's life, or be there to make Picard better. For example, in "Q Who", Q makes Picard aware of the Borg. This gives Starfleet time to prepare for the Borg, despite how badly things turned out at Wolf 359. If Q hadn't done this, Starfleet's first encounter with the Borg would not have happened until the Borg entered the Terran System. Starfleet would have been completely unaware and unprepared on how to battle the Borg. Without Q, Starfleet and the Federation would have been completely assimilated. "Q Who" doesn't break the laws of time by splitting off into an alternate timeline. All this ST:TNG episode does is bring Starfleet's first encounter with the Borg much earlier than expected. In "Qpid", Q knows how destructive Vash will be to Picard. So Q creates a scenario where Picard can see how bad Vash is for him. To help Picard out further in "Qpid", Q takes Vash with him. The times that Q goes to DS9 and Voyager are just times for Q to entertain himself, when there's nothing that Q can help out Picard with. Q being on DS9 was Q's attempt to woo Vash to stay with him. Q could not bring back Vash to the Enterprise-D, or else Q would risk Picard bringing Vash back into his life. Vash had had enough of Q to where he begrudgingly accepts her decision. Even if Q had found Sisko to be as interesting as Picard, Q had already bonded with Picard. Q's times with Voyager focus on Q's attempt to have children, and Q needing help to raise his own child. At this point in time, despite the "Inner Light" episode, Picard hasn't made the jump to want children. Picard would be completely useless to Q in procreating, and raising a kid. Picard's journey in wanting kids starts with "Generations", but it's mainly a regret that Picard isn't continuing the family line. It takes Picard Season 3 for Picard to realize how important kids and family are in his life. NOTE: The following is a huge spoiler, if you have not watched the last episode of Picard Season 3. What Q did in Picard Season 2, more or less, ended Q's bond with Picard. With Q unbonded at the end of Picard Season 2, Q seems to have decided to bond with Jack. If Star Trek: Legacy happens, it will be interesting to see if Q has really bonded with Jack to be involved in Jack's life like how Q was involved in Picard's life. #StarTrekLegacy

[@stevenredpath9332]

There’s a major flaw in this theory as the Borg queen is both from the alternative reality and a member of the crew. Q didn’t bring Picard back from the dead but start the sequence that ends on the bridge of the stargazer. I can go with the penance idea but it’s more likely to be that Q was told that if he does this he will be sacrificing himself as a result. He’s accepted his death as a consequence for doing this final lesson.

[@dennisvanhelden9253]

Interesting theory! However, one thing is missing here! Tapestry: Picard officially died, Q saved him! Hide and Q: Riker(although officially not a member) did revive both Wesly and Worf from the dead!

[@neilfaulkner5117]

In tapestry Picard was mortally injured but we never saw him die. It was Q who said he died. When he awoke in sick bay, none of the crew said that he had died. Riker is not a Q but was a human given their power but not taught all their rules. He can't be held to their standards as a result.

[@chrismarks4277]

You are the only other person who have pointed this out

[@taylormelvin5270]

I don’t think they really died in Q’s fake scenario though.

[@DemonicGoddess]

@@taylormelvin5270 Every "test" every "Lession" no one truely died aside from the blonde chick and a few flight decks BUT that was the borges doing for that one. Aside from these 2 episodes no one ever truely died and were saved or held in a small space as a reward.

[@datsnoiper]

Those are some interesting points... but i side with Demonic Goddess on this one... Q got picard before he was officially declared dead in tapestry... we can see that, we see picard loose conscience... but never declared dead by crusher or the doctors... and Hide and Q was the test... As for the rest.. We really never see Q bring anyone back... And like that episode when he introduced the borg... he could have brought back the crew that died in those decks... Altho he was proving picard a point of never be too ignorant to understand theres nothing in the unknown they are not ready for... why didnt he bring them back? Because it wasnt a test... Maybe at the time no one thought of that and was left as the lesson... But the theory fits the facts pointed out... We never see any Q bring anyone back outside of tests or lessons... Even the final episode was a test. A test to help Picard see beyond the horizon of possibilities...

[@therandommenace3434]

This video is borderline BORG perfect! I love this theory.

[@ThePopcast]

I love you.

[@Donnagata1409]

An incredible theory! It really makes all the sense!

[@gedward1475]

It wasn't mentioned but the large energy distortion that the borg helps stop exploding with the fleets help can be written as Q dieing

[@davemittner5911]

Not impossible but that was pretty clearly described as an enormous transwarp conduit opening from an unknown place. That doesn't necessary preclude Q's death -- and maybe the conduit even goes into the Continuum or something -- but they put in quite a bit of effort to point that in a different direction.

[@the12deel]

If it was "Q" dying, are you suggesting that he saved Picard after he died? Or would that in itself be called a time loop?

[@billtalbert6165]

Wow you absolutely nailed all of this , and it makes perfect sense , seeing Q in a whole different light has been thus far an amazing and exciting journey as I grew up with TNG and currently own all the shows and every movie. You sir are an absolute genius.

[@shdon]

Your theory makes a lot of sense to me, and I hope it will indeed turn out to be the canonical truth. That would also explain JuratiQueen's message to Picard that there's no need for a Borg Slayer... because that's what Picard did in the corrupted timeline, but also in the Prime timeline by destroying the Stargazer. It would add a lot of depth and gravitas to all that has happened in Picard S2. FWIW, I'd hate to see Q or Picard die, but also recognise that De Lancie and Stewart are in their 70s and 80s respectively and it's a treat to still get to see them reprise these roles. Some appearance must be their last and the immeasurable self-sacrifice of Q, teaching Picard and humanity one final lesson that ends up saving the galaxy... that would be one of the best farewells there could be, imho.

[@JB52520]

@@Ono-Lin_Tam I'm not much of a deathist. Data, Picard, and Q are the only characters who could easily have been put into different bodies (actors), but it was chosen instead that Data die and Picard suffer and die from old age while being denied any functional enhancement. As a transhumanist, these outcomes are primitive and brutal, but I understand. Humanity has to embrace death or go mad because there's nothing we can do about it yet.

[@meme9492]

Agreed. If this has to be DeLancie's last appearance as Q, this was a good one. A good sendoff to an excellent foil character for JL Picard.

[@ascelot]

Video to me doesnt make sense at all, the impression is that Q changes the timeline to force Picard back in time to correct the timeline. This is where things to me dont mak sense. First off, the borg Queen is Dr Jurati, if this true, then Picards venture back in time had already occured in prime time and Qs interference with timeline also already took place. The idea that Q saved Picard from death to me is incorrect because if he didnt interfere, the Borg queen couldnt of been Jurati, and if the Dr wasnt queen, then the encounter would never have happened, so Picards venture back in time was a certain as well as Qs involvement and Qs death was not a penance but inevitable for some other reason.

[@meme9492]

@@ascelot You have the same issue many do, especially if you're really a science related person. You're going through a version of something commonly referred to as "The Grandfather Paradox". Summed up, a man goes back in time and meets his grandfather, whereupon he kills him. How could he have been born, and if he wasn't born how could he have killed his grandfather? Since time travel is a staple of science fiction, you just have to suspend it sometimes in order to enjoy the intrigue of it. I mean, think about the entire premise of Klingons, Romulans, the Vorta, Changelings, starships like Enterprise, etc. Time travel just becomes a part of it all.

[@ascelot]

@@meme9492 Sorry, dont agree, time travel is annoying, doesnt make sense and gives "head aches" .

[@CtrlOptDel]

Wouldn't Amanda Rogers still have an interest in humanity, if no other Q?

[@M83v2]

Snatching them the moment before they would have died is not the same as bringing them back to life

[@TheOnilink1230]

I see only one flaw in this theory. The queen at the beginning of the season plays Edith Piaf to try and convince Picard to allow the transfer, meaning this queen indeed has to be the Jurati-queen at this point. Assuming that’s the case then that means this jurati and a copy of the rest of the crew already went back to correct the timeline. This suggests a bootstrap paradox of sorts. Perhaps the cosmic faux pas was not Q saving Picard, but altering the timeline (with consequences) where Picard creates a predestination paradox. When thinking about it, In All Good Thing Q sets the wheels into motion that allowed Picard to create the anomaly in the present and while Picard was jumping from time period to time period it’s suggested that these time periods are what if’s and don’t affect the main timeline and that only if Picard had fails to fix his mistake would Q have solidified the altered timeline. In Picard S2 the jurati-queen suggests that even at the point that the anomaly appeared the timeline had already been altered previously and fixed (or at least the jurati-queen had already been formed)suggesting that unlike the anomaly in AGT the alternations had already solidified even before the crew even time traveled at all.

[@johnwillis4833]

I suspect the entire Q continuum is dying or dead, which is why no other Q responded instantly to the summons in the bar.

[@MisteRRYouTuby]

Or that the particular method was considered sacred and should not be used in the way “Gainan” used it…

[@MrLee-cy1pw]

She said it would summon the local Q. I took that to mean our Q.

[@paradisebreeze1705]

Its a dumster 🔥

[@MrLee-cy1pw]

I was right

[@ebonforce8750]

@@MisteRRYouTuby Q said as much when he finally arrived, but he did communicate with her. I found their interactions extremely interesting after seeing them interact on TNG. :D

[@dansmif]

Q doesn't want to explicitly admit it, but the continuum's very existence depends on humanity. If the Borg queen succeeds in altering the past, then both Picard and Janeway would never have met Q in the future. Without Janeway, the Q civil war might have ended in mutual destruction. Without Picard, the continuum might have ruled against humanity and "denied existence" to humanity, accidentally resulting in the continuum's own demise.

[@shdon]

But the Q civil war only started because of the after effects of Quinn's death... if it hadn't been for Voyager's interference, Quinn would never have been released from his comet prison, nor would he have died (with Q's help). So while Janeway might have brought about the resolution of the Q civil war, it was also her meddling that triggered it in the first place.

[@RadenVijaya]

Make sense...

[@TheBod76]

That Queen and her plan couldn't even exist before the time travel. Sadly this whole plot is a complete paradox.

[@stewartmcgregor6591]

My theory is that the anomaly that appears at the end of a Picard Season 2 is actually caused by Q’s own death. In Voyager during the Q Civil War it was shown that a death of a Q would cause massive cosmic events including stars going super Nova so what if a Q dying naturally caused the anomaly and Q knowing everything knew that the devastation the anomaly would caused could not be avoided unless the Borg and the Federation joined forces to minimize the damage so Q manipulated this entire event.

[@gamefanatics5113]

Thanks for connecting the dots. I was looking around the internet, lots of people apparently know about rule number 6. Do you know if the other 5 rules were mentioned in the voyager book? I've been looking and I can't find them.

[@normanbeaulieu4204]

So there’s a couple problems with this theory. The first problem is Q brought Picard back from the dead before with no consequence. There’s a next generation episode where Picard literally dies on the operating table goes back in time oddly enough learns his lesson and then Q brings him back to life in the van present time with a real heart instead of his fake one. Oddly enough there’s a lot of parallels to that episode that we’re seeing in this episode. But the obvious difference is Q brought Picard back in time in the original next generation episode and in this case he didn’t do anything with time travel Picard made that decision. Let’s just put this in perspective a little bit. We’re looking at Q like he’s the same exact Q we’ve seen before in Star Trek. But he’s not. Remember the queue that we know met the The card that we know. This queue even the way he dresses tells me he’s the one who met the Picard we were introduced to in the alternate timeline timeline. A more hateful xenophobic Picard. And a touch based on why the queue stopped communication with humanity. Well if you think about it Q is the only one that’s had real one on one relations with humanity so if he dies that’s when the continuum would stop communicating. They never wanted to be hands-on with humanity in the first place until Cue came along.

[@tadstar6194]

Not truly dead dead. There was dialog about just about to die and Q just didn't allow the process to continue. It could be argued that the same for the masked Borg queen instance. Further Q can transverse forward and backwards in time. So Q never had to directly resurrect a lifeless body.

[@brettcooper3893]

say that again in English?

[@tadstar6194]

Q plucked Picard before he actually died the first time. And fix him up. Q could have done the same for the masked Borg queen incident. The idea that the resurrection of Picard and crew of this time around is the cause for Q eventual death, doesn't fit

[@tadstar6194]

Umm appeared to pluck Picard from dying. With Q it is not always clear if it happened or just some elaborate scenario Q created to prove a point or something

[@normanbeaulieu4204]

@@brettcooper3893 how’s this for my English 🖕

[@misfit0313]

Shane needs to do a Brawndo The Thirst Mutilator commercial next.

[@bbqunleashed]

That would be a fun one Jer! We need to do a video that reflects some sort of Idiocracy happening in the World... I wonder what could be happening that is idiotic and Stupid 🤔

[@mickjones3374]

I.... hadn't thought of it that way. Thank you

[@kelvinlee8188]

What a great video! Loved this analysis, answers so many questions.

[@jessa1895]

The Q didn’t stop talking to just humans the El-Aurians had a treaty with them and when Guinan tried to summon them nobody came. They stopped talking to the entire federation for 600 years which is insane.

[@sid35gb]

Insane only to mortal humans. 600 years is meaningless to a Q.

[@xVenom1976x]

Q came, he just had to be driven there because he didn’t have any powers to teleport there.

[@lubricustheslippery5028]

For the continuum to not speak with an little puny federation for some millennia is not strange. It's just the Delancy Q that seems to be obsessed with humans.

[@bl8388]

@@xVenom1976x Uber Q, ride-sharing service

[@ebonforce8750]

@@bl8388 LMAO!

[@dixieflatline1189]

Gene Roddenberry famously told John de Lancie 'You make my writing sound better than it is'. In Picard S2, he was beyond amazing - need to see him in bigger and better things.

[@reginaldthornton8197]

I loved this video and how incredibly insightful and imaginative it was, but I think the the reason Q came back that one last time was to make contact with what he came to believe was his truly and only connection in any continuum. And that is and was Picard who in the end was less than a brother to him. The emotional connection that evolved between Q and Picard was something he totally never coming and it totally changed Q and at some point in the time of their friendship Q became aware the humans are just as evolved as the Continuum.

[@tablescissors67]

Was that before during or after he was desperately trying to get his ancestor killed?

[@dasteufelhund]

12:52. Profound and sublime of the realization of one's unrestrained curiosity throttled by his/her own limitation

[@willdwyer6782]

The writers have not only misquoted the Bhagavad Gita, they've also misquoted Robert Oppenheimer. Both Q and Oppenheimer use the quote out of context. In the Bhagavad Gita, the warrior Arjuna is faced with the prospect of having to do battle against friends and family, but ultimately Krishna decides who lives and who dies, and Arjuna is told that he should neither mourn nor rejoice over what fate has in store. Since it has been revealed that Q is a mortal, quoting that verse of the Bhagavad Gita is, to quote Admiral Clancy, "sheer fucking hubris."

[@Scottlp2]

Coming from this group of writers (in 2022) I’m shocked, shocked I say.

[@greghellings]

Oppenheimer might have had a big ego? I'm so surprised. 👀

[@theyshouldhavenevergivenme5439]

Worst writers in the world

[@chucka.3520]

Thank you. This is quite a nice theory.

[@redhed6971]

An excellent assessment of the situation based on what I’ve watched so far.

[@roho10011]

You turned out to be almost 100 percent right. Excellent analysis and incite! Cheers

[@iflifeisaleaf3125]

I think the "evolved Borg" under the leadership of Jurati/Queen will transcend material existence, and become the continuum. That's why it's important to have the Jurati/Queen amalgum.

[@VirtualBilly]

*amalgam.

[@johnsieverssr8288]

When Picard ordered that self-destruct....First thing I thought was it was Cristobal's place as the captain of the Stargazer to make that decision.

[@nittany272]

Picard is technically the ranking bridge officer now that he is recommissioned, though I did find it interesting that it was a unilateral decision here.

[@jasonwestwood7092]

Picard is four ranks above Captain Rios rear Admiral lower half upper half Vice Admiral then full Admiral then maybe if you're exceptional Fleet Admiral Like Clancy.

[@roguephoenix]

he was already dying before the events of season 2. you can tell because his reasons for sending them back was because he wanted picard to forgive himself. you don't suddenly come up with that if you've just become unstable because of what you just did. the anomaly was Q's death. he sent them back so that they can protect themselves from the violent nature of his death, and have one of his favorite people forgive himself so he can love.

[@lar9o485]

I was guessing the same. The anomaly was Q's death, like a supernova if a star dies. That this anomaly appeared out of nothing next to them makes me thinking that Q's last wish was fulfilled - not dying alone.

[@nzcyclone]

I have to say, what you said in this made a lot of sense and not just made sense you backed it up with why you thought that. Very good video and thank you for sharing :). Season 3 of Picard is certainly going to be interesting :). I hope Q is not killed off.

[@jrhawk574]

I watched Season 2 all over again in "Binge Mode". The final two Episodes are extraordinary and so touching with words of wisdom for everyone to heed. Brought on some deep emotions within my own heart and mind. Thank you writers for putting it all together. I've started on the final Picard now.... Knowing it will bring "TNG" to an absolute end is very sad .

[@christianealshut1123]

Couldn't this all be a scenario similar to that one time where Picard expresses regret about that one moment where, as a young officer, picked a fight with the Nausicans and this ended in the accident that got him his artificial heart. He wishes that would never happen, and Q transports him into an "alternative" timeline where it did not happen, resulting in Picard in becoming a less risk-taking individual because he has never experienced that life is finite and therefore precious? That Picard ends up in a lower-rank position somewhere in the science division on a ship and he does not like this kind of "new" life because it is boring and stagnating and because this other Picard is not really "alive" and he asks Q to get him back into his "old" life - that's Tapestry, isn't it? And it turns out in the end that this new alternative life of Picard was all an elaborate set-up or simulation to teach him precisely that lesson? Though one could argue that the new life of Picard became unreal again because he wanted it to, i.e. had learned the lesson that Q had asked him to learn? It's not so much an "alternate timeline" as an alternate timeLOOP connected to the original timeline, couldn't that be the case? Perhaps this timeline, too, will be resolved in a similar way as in Tapestry as soon as Picard has learned whatever lesson he is meant to learn through Q allegedly dying? I.e. Q might not actually be dying but dying only for the purposes of this particular timeline or time loop? And that there may be similar resolution as in Tapestry, with the new reality breaking down again as soon as it has served its purpose with regard to Picard?

[@paradisebreeze1705]

Who cares pucard is a dumster fire

[@paulwhite6745]

I don't honestly think the writers have thought that deeply. I think for the purposes of this season, Q really is dying and really does die in the last episode. That said, future writers could easily reverse this. This is Star Trek. Even humans (or Vulcans) don't necessarily stay dead in Star Trek, so if they can come back from oblivion I'm damn sure Q can.

[@Aleksandar6ix]

Thank you so much for this essay... The meaning of this season got so convoluted in too many story branches that didn't seem to matter, that the whole point was lost on me. However, the temporal continuity is still broken....unless you consider this the first time Trek actually uses branching realities.

[@ArizonaRed]

Truly fascinating. I believe everything you said.

[@annieworroll4373]

Given what Picard could be expected to know at the time, self destructing Stargazer was the right call. The Queen, if her intentions were truly peaceful, could have been clearer about them. Not killing people shooting at her was nice and all, but can she assimilate a corpse? That could be a reason to keep everyone she can alive. If the Collective is short bodies, setting up a trap under a flag of peace is a smart way to get some(albeit a war crime, though I doubt the original Collective cares about such things)

[@cryofpaine]

But she wouldn't exist if Picard hadn't picked up the Queen from the corrupted timeline, and gone back in time. She had to force his hand, so he would force Q's.

[@Gaspard129]

@@cryofpaine Which is the definition of bad writing...

[@cryofpaine]

@@Gaspard129 no, the definition of bad writing is a story that is inconsistent with its internal logic.

[@Gaspard129]

@@cryofpaine Completely circular writing where characters' actions and decisions are only made to satisfy a pre-destined outcome is also bad writing. But since you brought up inconsistent internal logic, the show has plenty of that too.

[@cryofpaine]

@@Gaspard129 no, completely circular writing where the characters' actions and decisions are only made to satisfy a pre-destined outcome is a staple of time travel stories. Not to mention technically any story that starts in media res and backtracks to reveal how you got there. And prequels. Anytime you tell a non-linear story where you see later events and then the events that led up to that. As for inconsistent logic, care to cite examples?

[@alexmaldonado764]

Q is my most favorite character. 😪 and it brings me great sadness to even think that hes dying.

[@amandamatheny3675]

it's interesting that you mention the eternal tied in this because I was thinking exactly before you said it and also for another reason. You mention the angry Q the lights of which we've never seen before, but anyone who has read the eternal tide has seen that Q, the Q who was absolutely furious with his son for sacrificing himself and with Janeway for not stopping him

[@Eotarc]

They need to do a movie/series, short series, on the Q and the Continuum. I've read the books and they are some of the best stories I've read. The Q is probably the best character ever created for Star Trek.

[@gregglesmigregglesmi3633]

It’s a good theory. But I’m still gonna need you to stop. 😂

[@Eagle6Airsoft]

I’m hoping it works it’s self out and doesn’t disappoint but I really didn’t like angry q. I still think q are simply evolved humans at the end of time, at which point they can go back and forth at will. The evolution of star dust he said. I don’t imagine anything as weird as the universe made manifest, but simply an evolved race biologically.

[@cheshirecat6518]

Humans are after all, made of stardust, as I believe everything is. So in that, I believe you are correct.

[@Eagle6Airsoft]

@@cheshirecat6518 “We are star stuff. We are the universe made manifest trying to figure itself out.” Rip 🪦

[@danceswithcomicbooks7733]

No the Q continuim in the second episode of tng basically explained they feared humans would evolve past them. That humans had something they lacked. No they are alien entities not humans.

[@DMSProduktions]

@@Eagle6Airsoft Carl Sagan!

[@japerkins3565]

Incredible Review. Thank you. You understand the nuances of Star Trek.

[@mariepla1370]

I just saw John Delancie this Saturday (8/13/22). Got autographs and Had a photo op with him and Jonathan Frakes and spoke to them for few minutes. I ve met them in the 90's, but it was great to see them again. Love Q.

[@Whitecrowash11]

But Picard and his crew had to go into that alternate timeline to retrieve the borg Queen and travel to the past. So Dr Geraldi can form that bond with the Borg Queen. And be there in the future to begin the time paradox that set those events in motion

[@chrissyclark7836]

I like to believe the reason Q is dying is because he had a son. They introduced birth into the continuum. (Yes TNG had a q child, but her parents were killed for it.) When Q had his son, I believe he had to give something of himself. As his son grew, he diminished. And finally he had to let go for his son to live. Thus bringing birth, brought death. But 'Q's mention of on the verge of unknowable... That means he is at peace. I would love to see Q Junior pop up in discovery to test them as they face a new unknown.

[@johnkingsley7981]

That is a awesome green screen effect at 6:11. It reflects through the guys tattoo (Ghost effect). lol. Loving it.

[@Paulrus10]

Just like to say that I love your content and your theories, I can tell that alot of work and research goes into them. I have a question though, if bringing someone back from the dead is against the rules of the Q continuum and can cause negative effects would this not have been the case in TNG (Hide and Q) when Q allowed Riker to bring Worf and Wesley back to life after being killed by the bayonets? I'm interested on your thoughts on this and also of anyone else in the comments.

[@ThePopcast]

Do you think it's only Q dying or is it the whole Continuum? Do you think Killing Q is a good move? Let's talk about it below! Please SUBSCRIBE and hit the LIKE button for us and check out our new Memberships! We are doing a lot of extra content for our members. Check out our STAR TREK Q inspired graphic design here >> mixedtees.com/apparel/TV-shirts/star-trek-shirts-tv/star-trel-q Use coupon code: THEPOPCAST for 20% off!

[@nicocba2007]

is anyboy still wathcing this crap?

[@MrMarkwill62]

Thinking the same thing, is it just our Q or the whole Continuum

[@jamesbizs]

I think anything that happens in picard, is nonsense

[@ianthegodking]

If he transported them to the corrupted timeline before the explosion then they did not die, he did nopt Res them and he did not break rule 6. What about Wesley and Worf who got stabbed and by the pig creatures they died? Q from the beginning were interested in humanity because of its potential to evolve into beings more powerful then the Q, maybe humanity did and maybe humanity also evolved to be like the corrupted timeline and are killing the Q.

[@andyspark5192]

I pretty much agree with that. Remember school time. Sometimes the is a teacher who is strict and wise. Some students feel unfair treatment, but it's for their own good. And such a teacher will do everything to bring out the best in you. Well that is Q. I can imagine Q rebirth will be his son, seen in one of Voyager episodes. Don't forget Q last words when he left Guinan.

[@jamesbizs]

Q not knowing what happens after death; is absurd.

[@rp338]

do the writers not understand what omnipotence means? 🤔

[@nfarnell1]

perhaps death is a profound change of state, and the only beings who know what happens are the dead.

[@Mukation]

Why would they? They learned humility over the course of TNG and Voyagers run and changed. But them dying is stupid, Q don't need a reason to mess with Picard.

[@neutrino78x]

Why? he's just an advanced alien, a child of God like us, dude. Don't confuse "godlike" with God. Zeus is God, Jupiter (the god) is God, Jehovah and Allah are both God....but Q is just an alien, ok. I'm not sure why an atheist wouldn't understand that. They exist in this universe and depend on the laws of physics to exist. Therefore they are not God.

[@neutrino78x]

@@rp338 "do the writers not understand what omnipotence means?" Q is only omnipotent within the physical plane of existence. Just like everything else in this universe/multiverse created by God, Q has no knowledge of the spiritual plane. God is the only being which is actually per se omnipotent. Or if you don't think there is a God (as a Deist, I THINK there is a God. Not believe. Think.), then simply there is no such thing as per se omnipotence.

[@djr093r5]

Watching this, now being on the far side of finishing Picard S2 a while ago, this video is incredibly prescient. Very impressive. I'm inclined to agree with the far-reaching conclusions posited here as well, ones not specifically dealt with in the show. At least, I hope they're correct. It would definitely wash away some of the tarnish of what appeared to be convoluted, unexplained, and/or nonsensical plot points. In any case, I give this video 10/10, A+ 😊

[@ThePopcast]

Wow, thank you!

[@MaxFrisch84]

WOW! This makes so much sense now! Awesome video!

[@kalel4677]

I forget where I read it from, but in another novel involving Q, the q were all dead until future Janeway went back in time to make the trip home shorter.

[@ThePopcast]

Fascinating.

[@cainabel2009]

I actually don't think Q is dying because he bought back dead considering the Borg can do that too. When Neelix died the crew of voyagers said he was dead but seven of nine said by your standards he was dead but not by Borg standard, she stated that Borg can bring back anyone up to 72 hours so bought Neelix back 17 hours after his death. If the lowly Borg can do it and suffer no consequences the Q can do it too and have.

[@donaldmcdaniel1773]

The Borg do not play by the same rule book. So what is permitted to the Borg may not be allowed by the 'Q'

[@stevenewman1393]

🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and very well informatively explained and executed in every detail and every shape way and form possibly provided indeed 👌.

[@0321Dave]

This was amazing. I am 100% on board with your theory. It’s makes the most sense.

[@andrewscott6660]

I'd like to have seen Q Jr too. Seven could have told him about Icheb's death.

[@furmankevin]

I have to admit season 2 is confusing the hell out of me - I find myself looking for Q in every episode, and how the TNG crew come to the rescue? Will it involve additional cast members from Voyagers (Janeway) or DS9 (Sisko). As much as I hate paying for streaming it is the only way a good story gets completed without worrying about ratings or writers being handcuffed because of censorship.

[@furmankevin]

@@gilbertgodfrey1818 Not really sure what your meaning is "handcuffed" your seeing content you wouldn't normally see on TV/Cable and if you don't like Star Trek: Picard that's on you, for me the story line is good, the development of the character(s) is good and the fact that there is a continuation of Star Trek without always talking about Kirk, Spock or Bones is good.

[@romanbruni]

in an enterview John deLancie points to a new story for Q... sad that Q was under storylined in picard 2nd... your theory is very clever to incorporate all... lets hope the success make it return bigger for Q in season 4. I propose 'the search for picard' theme: Q helps the WIll to travel the galaxy searching for the missing captain. unfortunately there is this idea that ST influences the current politics and so a mighty being became a conditioned mighty being.

[@citizenonpatrol5041]

Interesting theory, but it does not mention anything about the predestination paradox of how Jurrati became the queen. Q didn't bring them back from the dead. He simply(for a Q)snatched them from the timeline because he already had, or the queen wouldn't have been there in the first place. Maybe he learned too much from humanity, and laid down his life to save the unimaginable number of beings from being destroyed by the anomaly. Perhaps in his weakened state he needed help and thought of the one person that was probably the closest thing he had ever had to a friend to help him.

[@akiro9635]

Picard said she had 400 years to change at the end of the episode but even if she did change the borg should of changed some things in Voyager

[@bluemagus2424]

how come no one ever talks about Q's time with Vash, he even said: "when ever I see a nebula all I see is a giant cloud of gas, but with you, i can experience wounder, I'm going to miss that."

[@ebonforce8750]

Yea this was a question for sure. The main problem about an episode driven series is so many unintended cliffhangers. Shacka when the walls fell.

[@aguijohn1321]

Q could have stopped the self-destruct from happening, rather than bringing Picard and team back from the dead. Would be interesting is if what Picard accidentally stopped was the Borg elevating to the level to the level of the Q, stopping their destruction and helping the universe also.

[@ironwarmonger]

That is my theory, but it not the Borg being elevating to the left of he Q, but the Borg becoming the Q. My Theory is when the Borg achieve their perfection, they will elevate, but not into one but two things. The inorganic parts become the being of the Machine Dimension seen in Picard season 1, and the organic into the Q. That is why the Q warned the Federation about the Borg, but are unwilling or unable to stop them, they be erasing there own past.

[@rkmugen]

My theory is that the Q Continuum itself had already decided that the "trial" of Humanity was ultimately a failure, and that they have passed judgment that Humanity should be wiped out completely. But Q had stepped in right at the last moment, in an attempt to buy Picard more time, to both *_try_* to get Picard to undo the mess, and for both Q and Picard to earn 'forgiveness' and ultimately save the day.

[@ebonforce8750]

@@ironwarmonger This is an extremely interesting line of thought :D

[@kanoreese1253]

Excellent analysis.

[@mikemclenison8200]

As much as I love all of the Star Trek's and love the character, "Q," I don't meditate deeply on that type of thing, but glad you brought it up. I'll subscribe.

[@raven4k998]

I love you so much kid

[@TangomanX2008]

Well. If the deatruction of the Star Gazer was a mistake then this messes up atar trek. A good leader makes decisions with only limited information and the risk of a new borg queen who pops out of nowhere and begins to assimilate the ship is an intolerable risk. I dont see why this makes Picard guilty of some moral crime that involves letting down the rest of the universe. While Picard season is intersting and well acted, it seems like what makes the show interesting are plot twists, suspense, and references to previous star trek material, rather than a story that will be interesting after the first time its told

[@paradisebreeze1705]

Would you like help with your spelling?

[@007REAPER007]

Watching this gave me a theory that maybe having offspring kills the parents in the continuum, the kid takes the life force from its parents and maybe thats why the wife is missing but where is baby Q? why isnt he trying to save daddy? Q (our Q) is a big man in the continuum after saving it so why would they kill him for one rule broken that he has broken before? But this theory is very solid, we will see where it goes. Love your videos and theories even if I dont always agree. BTW i'd like to see Tasha and Chief O'brien come back... anything is possible.

[@ThePopcast]

We could see O'Brien but we'll never see Tasha again. Great comment!

[@qweasfvh24er]

this is actually a very good explanation, I hope the story writing of season 3 will not fall behind. Please sent the creators a link.

[@eds8204]

By far the best description of the season. Make a lot of sense

[@AmalgmousProxy]

I think this would be an absolute prefect time for The Traveler and Wesley to be reintroduced to aid Q and help things out. Or is that too much?

[@sulanis8444]

No, because It would make sense that Q would need help from someone. The traveler and Wesley are familiar with the inner workings of the universe and can even on a limited scale manipulate space and time. There is a book series from TNG called "cold Equations in Book 3" where the travelers are leaving our galaxy for bad reason and Q shows up and tells gives Wesley a hint of what is to come. Then never shows up again in the series. In the books the travelers are more powerful than the show, but that's ok.

[@anikun]

If rule 6 says "Dont bring the dead back to life", then saving someone right before their own destruction isnt "bringing them back to life" as they havent yet died. This brings up one of those philosophical questions of at what point is someone truly dead, when their heart stops beating or when a medic is no longer able to -- within reason -- revive the person?

[@kleetus92]

Or when the unique energy within them ceases to exist?

[@skiptindle5976]

@@kleetus92 Energy never ceases to exist it only changes form.

[@SmittnKittn007]

Loved to Q character so much. I only purchased the Star Trek episodes on vhs and later on dvd with him in it.

[@saecula2391]

wow 07:15 this conclusion is phenomenal .. thank you very much