#32: Picard Season 3 – Review and Thoughts as a Neurodivergent

Picard Season 3 aired between February 16 – April 20 in 2023. It is to be the last time we see the crew of the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation together. Here are my review and thoughts watching it as a Neurodivergent who also has Complex PTSD. (WARNING) Spoilers below.

Star Trek

I have been a fan of Star Trek a long time and grew up watching the original series that first aired in 1966. Being Neurodivergent with Complex PTSD, the show was a vision of a better life: peace, amazing technology, space exploration, achievement of human imagination, defined societal structures, and most importantly a sense of togetherness and belonging. A lot of things I never had growing up.

Jack

Jack Crusher, portrayed by Ed Speleers, is introduced as a troubled lost young man. He clearly feels different and people are often afraid of him for being different and hate him. He feels alienation and isolation that is all too common for many Neurodivergents such as myself. Even early on Jack struggles to fit in, connect with people, and has inner conflict. Picard, portrayed by Patrick Stewart, even describes Jack as: “Hungry to connect while needing to keep people distant so they never see the real you.”

In many scenes, Jack is terrified about sharing who he is with people. He often has dreams about secrets and painful memories hidden behind locked doors. The symbolism is very powerful as many with Complex PTSD, including myself experience the same. Locking away trauma and painful memories, all in the hope for peace, happiness, and understanding.

(SPOILER) Near the end, Jack meets the enemy leader and gets lost in a virtual reality world. Picard goes into the VR world to save him but Jack does not want to leave. He says: “There are so many voices. Joyful, welcoming me. Nothing’s broken in here. There’s no suffering. No loneliness. No fear. It’s perfect.”. Those things are heaven and very much desired by many people.

A powerful quote from the enemy leader: “Even if?somehow you survived, you’d be different, changed, broken, alone”. That quote alone will resonate with many. That loneliness and despair is what drives many Neurodivergent people to depression or worse. I should know, I have suffered from depression my entire life. Big reason: because people are often terrified of people who are different and see them as broken. That needs to change.

Seven of Nine

Seven of Nine, portrayed by Jeri Ryan, can be seen in Picard seasons 1-2 as struggling to fit in as a rogue who does not like following rules. Now in season 3, we see her on a starship as a Starfleet officer, and showing many examples of masking, a common way many Neurodivergents such as myself try to fit in. It was very eye opening to see and thought provoking.

(SPOILER) First thing viewers will notice is that her name is different. In order to fit in on a starship, she adopts the name, Annika Hansen. It makes the captain of the starship and the crew feel better and provide a sense of normalcy by erasing the deviation, which was her name. This takes masking up a notch by eliminating something that makes a person a person, their name. It is also a form of racism and discrimination since her preferred name, Seven of Nine, is linked to Starfleet’s greatest enemy in many TV shows and movies, the Borg. The captain even insults her for that in what the modern workplace would describe as harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Yet she has to take the insult and tolerate it since the captain is her commanding officer. I think many women will be angry seeing this.

The other thing is Seven of Nine struggles following the various rules and regulations in Starfleet. The norms so to speak. Which I can imagine is a very long list. Many Neurodivergents such as myself struggle with the same, trying to fit in, when the world is so different. She lived a life as a former enemy, then as a rogue. I can imagine the transition to following different norms to be chaotic as it is for me and other Neurodivergents.

Riker

William Riker, portrayed by Jonathan Frakes, dives into the more emotional elements of the Picard series, pain and sorrow. I do not want to spoil it for folks who have not watched Picard seasons 1-2, but needless to say Riker has major pain and depression from loss. Question arises: what to do with that pain? Do we keep it, forget it, or mask it? Star Trek V: The Final Frontier included pain and trauma as part of the story. William Shatner’s Captain Kirk said in Star Trek V: “You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with the wave of a magic wand! They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away, I need my pain!”

In Picard season 3, what leads Riker to fight with his wife and want to get far away from her is around how they deal with that pain. He did not like how his wife dealt with HIS pain. I am sure when people see that in the show, they would understand. How a person deals with their pain and trauma is a personal choice, but I very much appreciated that the show covers depression, pain, and loss in such powerful emotional detail. Having Complex PTSD, that part of the show did help me to think about it more.

Doctor Crusher

Doctor Crusher, portrayed by Gates McFadden, looks at something that is not often discussed in the workplace, ageism. Ageism is a huge problem in organizations today as organization prefer to hire and retain younger workers. This is an issue many of us in the over 40 crowd will struggle with as many organizations often discriminate against older workers, ignoring the value of experience.

Despite Doctor Crusher’s having decades of experience, her offers to help injured people are dismissed or ignored due to her age, but that changes. In one scene in episode three, the captain is injured and Doctor Crusher determined based on her decades of experience that the captain has internal injuries. The ship’s doctor says that this cannot be since she ran an imaging scan and did not detect it. Doctor Crusher counters from experience: “Imaging doesn’t always pick up delayed bleeding from concussive injuries”. I very much enjoyed this scene because it is a great example that shows how decades of experience beats out technology.

Data

(SPOILER) The android Data is back, portrayed by Brent Spiner. In episode eight, he is not alone, his brother Lore is inside the same body, sort of like a person with multiple personalities. I very much enjoyed seeing how this was depicted because it represents inner conflict that many will know and understand, as do I. This quote in particular was very much reflective of my Complex PTSD where Lore tells Data: “While I was left abandoned, alone, you were showered with all the love and friendship the galaxy could offer”. Many who suffer from Complex PTSD experience abandonment and then resentment. This quote hit me hard.

In another quote. Lore asks Data why Data is giving Lore his things. To which Data replies: “Because you have had nothing while I have had everything”. This quote was also thought provoking, because for many who are Neurodivergent or have Complex PTSD, they can often feel like they have nothing. Food for thought.

Feel-Good

Some critics blast Picard Season 3 because it is not realistic and leaves a lot of plot holes. In my review, it delivers what it promises: a final mission for the crew of the Enterprise-D, a way of saying goodbye, and passing the torch to the next generation of heroes. Most important of all, it is a feel-good TV show that is badly needed in this point in history that is currently full of social unrest, political division, taking away women’s reproductive rights, war in Ukraine, and chaos in general. A TV show that makes us feel good even temporarily is better than feeling constantly depressed by the current state of the world.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.