with Jörg Hillebrand

The first season of Star Trek: Picard has concluded, and now that the dust has settled, our Canon Connections series is back to take a walk through all ten episodes of the first year’s adventure to find all the callbacks, references, and sly winks to Star Trek‘s past.

We continue our journey back through the just-concluded season, moving now into episodes six and seven — “The Impossible Box” and “Nepenthe” — as the story takes Jean-Luc Picard to the place from which his greatest fears arise to one of ultimate safety and comfort, reuniting with several old friends along the journey.

Slideshows of the Past

“The Impossible Box” – In his holographic office aboard La Sirena, Picard activates the LCARS display system on his desk to review data about the Borg and the Artifact.

Included in a series of library stills are images from the Battle of Sector 001 (a screenshot from ‘Star Trek: First Contact’), the Continuing Committee of the Romulan Senate (“Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”), Third of Five (“I, Borg”), the Office of the President of the United Federation of Planets (“Homefront”), and most memorably and affectingly a still of Locutus of Borg (“The Best of Both World, Part I”).

The Neutral Zone

“The Impossible Box” – La Sirena crosses into Romulan space through the “former” Neutral Zone. During previous 24th century Star Trek, the Neutral Zone had been an important political barrier between the Federation and the Romulan Empire that kept the peace between the two races for several generations.

It appears the Neutral Zone went away following the destruction of Romulus and the severe upheaval experienced by the Romulan Empire — just as foretold in “All Good Things….”

The Adventures of Flotter

“The Impossible Box” – While taking apart her quarters to quantum date the age of her possessions, Soji pulls a lunch box out of storage.

The image on the front of the lunchbox is of “The Adventures of Flotter,” a popular children’s character in the 24th century. Flotter was first introduced in “Once Upon a Time,” and referenced a number of times in subsequent episodes of ‘Voyager’ as a favorite of Naomi Wildman.

Unhappy Memories

“The impossible Box” – After beaming aboard the Borg Cube, the first time stepping foot on a Borg vessel since his assimilation, Picard experiences some traumatic flashbacks to his interactions with the Borg.

Many of these are short clips of footage from the assimilation of the crew of the USS Enterprise in ‘Star Trek: First Contact.’

Spatial Trajector

“The Impossible Box” – After accessing the Queen’s Cell, Hugh reveals that the Cube has a spatial trajector installed, a technology acquired by the Borg after assimilating a group of Sikarians. The USS Voyager encountered the hedonistic race with technology to transport people up to 40,000 lightyears in the first season episode “Prime Factors.”

I do not imagine that the Sikarian assimilation was terribly… pleasurable.

Hirogen Hunter

“Nepenthe” – One of Hugh’s xB crew, executed by Narissa, is a Delta Quadrant native: a Hirogen, the hunter race introduced in ‘Voyager’ Season 4, and the first Delta Quadrant alien to be seen since the conclusion of ‘Voyager.’

Heart of Metal

“Nepenthe” – Confronted by Kestra Troi-Riker’s bow and arrow, Picard impishly implies that if she really wants to injure him, she should aim the arrow for his head and not his heart.

“My heart is solid duritanium,” Picard says, referring to the fact that he has an artificial heart, as previously illustrated in “Samaritan Snare” and “Tapestry.”

“Slaver Weapon” Shout-Out

“Nepenthe” – Riker tells Picard that they had a household shield system installed because the planet had been having some issues with the Kzinti.

The race were introduced in the ‘Animated Series’ episode “The Slaver Weapon.” This is the Kzinti’s first reference in live-action ‘Star Trek.’

The Legend of Lt. Commander Data

“Nepenthe” – “Do you play the violin?” “Do you like Sherlock Holmes?” “Can you run super fast and jump really high, and bend steel with your hands?” are among the questions that Kestra asks Soji, comparing her to her “father” Data, who played violin, was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and possessed abilities beyond that of a human.

“He was always trying to be more human. He could do all these amazing things, but all he really wanted to do was have dreams, tell jokes, and learn how to ballroom dance.”

Troi-Riker Family Names

“Nepenthe” – The Rikers’ children, Thad and Kestra Troi-Riker, are both named for relatives of their respective families. Will Riker had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War named Thaddius Riker, nicknamed “Old Iron Boots,” (“Death Wish”) while Kestra is named for Troi’s older sister who died at a young age. (“Dark Page”).

From the picture’s background, the photo of Admiral Picard and a young Thad was taken in the observation lounge of the Enterprise-E.

Silicon-Based Virus

“Nepenthe” – It is revealed that Thad Troi-Riker died from a silicon-based virus, mendaxic neurosclerosis. Starfleet previously encountered another silicon-based virus in the ‘Enterprise’ episode “Observer Effect.”

Bringing Back ‘Beloved’

“Nepenthe” – While doling out (far too few) slices of pizza, Riker refers to Troi as ‘Imzadi,’ a Betazoid word which means “Beloved.”

The affectionate name shared between the two characters dates back to the ‘Next Generation’ pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint.”

Captain Crandall’s Adventures

“Nepenthe” – The mysterious Captain Crandall is said to have traveled from Qo’nos, the Klingon homeworld, to Tyken’s Rift, a spatial anomaly that was encountered by Bela Tyken.

The Enterprise-D encountered a version of Tyken’s Rift in The Next Generation episode “Night Terrors.”

All That Jazz

“Nepenthe” – Will Riker’s longstanding love of jazz music continues in this episode, as we first encounter him listening to that music as he works in his home kitchen before Picard’s arrival.

In addition, his trombone is on display in a corner of the Troi-Riker home, an instrument Riker’s been seen playing since the early days of ‘The Next Generation.’

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