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| Isa Briones, left and middle, play the twin daughters of android Data in Star Trek: Picard. |
More than halfway through the 10-episode season, it is evident that Filipino American actress Isa Briones won't be returning to Star Trek: Picard. Or, are fans being set up?
Trekkers: Stay with me, now.
The last time we saw Briones' Star Trek character, Soji, in season 2, she was being whisked away to become a Supervisor for the mysterious race of Travelers, who can manipulate time and space.
Her time on the iconic Star Trek universe came to an end after only two seasons after writers who apparently ran out of ideas how to advance her storyline as an android searching for her identity.
One of the reasons for getting rid of the Soji story was to open up the ultimate storyline of what could possibly the last we see of the steely-eyed Picard played by British thespian Patrick Stewart. Whatever the fate of Star Fleet Admiral Picard, the TV series will end after this so-far deeply satisfying season, which ties up a lot of loose ends from the characters from Star Trek: Next Generation, which has its own loyal fan base separate from the other Trekkers who follow the whole franchise.
We're sorry to see Soji go. Briones was the only FIlipino American (that we know of) who became part of the Star Trek universe, which from the original Star Trek, was a groundbreaking series featuring a diverse cast of crew, something that creator Gene Roddenberry did intentionally.
One of the hallmarks of Roddenberry's unwritten casting rules was to always have at least one Asian playing major recurring roles in the subsequent Star Trek iterations. This tradition started with the original Star Trek which featured the iconic helmsman Hikaru Sulu, played by George Takei, to Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim) in Star Trek: Voyager, Alexander Siddiq (Julian Bashir) in Deep Space Nine, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Captain Philippa Georgiou) in Star Trek: Discovery and Christina Chong (La'an Noonien-Singh) on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. That tradition appears to be missing in Picard's third season.
In an earlier interview, Briones confirmed that she was not resigned for Season 3 and that seems to have been the final word.
But (stay with me, now), is that the last we see of Soji?
SPOILERS AHEAD: Stop here if you haven't seen Episode 6 of Star Trek: Picard.
One of the hallmarks of Season 3, is the introduction of the children of the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Thus far, we have met the two daughters of Geordi La Forge and the son of former chief medical officer Beverly Crusher and Jean Luc-Picard. (Apparentely, we are learning that the Captain is human and might very well have children across the galaxy.) We also know that Captain William Riker (formerly No. 1) and empath Deanna Troi, have a child.
Now we have the return of the android Data (who has met his end twice, already), or at least a new and improved version of Data, who retains all the memories of the original.
Soji and her twin sister, Dahj, were secretly built by Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales) in 2396. The synthetic twins were made through a miraculous process called "neuronic fractal cloning" from one of the disassembled Data's salvaged positronic neurons. So in essence, they are Data's daughters.
With the reintroduction of Worf, (Michael Dorn), the Next Generation's crew is all present and accounted for. That also includes Ro Laren, played by Michelle Forbes, who was one of the Federation officers sent to upbraid Jean-Luc and Riker for their antics.
Laren returns in Ep. 5 and apparently has been forgiven by the Federation after she betrayed Picard and the Federation by joining a rebel group way back in the Next Generation storyline. In her return, Picard and Laren confessed that their hearts were broken, hinting that their relationship was deeper than platonic (again, Picard, that rascal, may have broken a few Federation rules).
Laren demonstrates her love/loyalty to Picard by sacrificing herself to save the Next Generation crew.
Season 3 also allows us to see the end of "Q," that mysterious impish character who loved to bedevil Picard and his crew with his powers over time and matter.
Data's return might signal another passing of the torch to the "next generation" which in Data's case, would be his remaining daughter Soji. After introducing the children of La Forge and Picard's son, it sets the stage for a possible spinoff.
The original Data depended on La Forge for any repairs to the android creating a bond between the two.
It would be a shame if Data doesn't get to share a heartwarming moment by meeting his own offspring and introducing his best friend's daughters to his own daughter, thus continuing the underlying "passing-of-the-torch" theme.
Soji, who by this time, has gained new powers over time and space as a Supervisor and she might be needed to rescue the old gang.
The "Next Generation" crew seems to be in a heap of trouble by Ep. 6 and it will take a miraculous event (ie. Soji's return) to set the universe right.
Do you think Briones' earlier interviews were a "red herring" so we couldn't guess what the "Final Season" mean for Picard, the series and the iconic character?
WATCH: "Star Trek: Picard" streams on Paramount Plus with new episodes every Thursday.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.
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