Excuse me for nerding out: Isa Briones dropped from final season of "Star Trek: Picard"

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.

'Star Trek: Picard' debuts today; it's takes place in the future but its really about today

COURTESY ISA BRIONES

Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart and Isa Briones at ComicCon.

Star Trek: Picard, the newest spinoff of the Star Trek franchise, takes place in the 24th century but it is really about today's world.

Filipina American actress Isa Briones wasn't even born when Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its 7-season run in 1994. Debuting today (Thursday, Jan. 23) the Star Trek: Picard TV series stars Briones as the mysterioius Dahj along side Patrick Stewart, who reprises his role as Jean Luc Picard, who captained the USS Enterprise in The Next Generation.

In the almost two decades between TNG and Picard, the world has changed, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, says Stewart, emphasizing that his new show will not be in the same tenor as his original show.

"Our world has undergone such a transformation. There is no reason why that shouldn’t have happened to the world of ‘Star Trek,’ too," says Steward. "The Federation is no longer the Federation that it was—reliable, trustworthy, dedicated to the prime directive. Starfleet is no longer that, too. 

“Then of course, there was the whole massive refugee problem. The world that we’re in in ‘Star Trek: Picard’ is a different world from ‘Next Generation.’ And that ought to say enough.”

"One of the big things for me that's been exciting is seeing the Asian American community coming out, because I'm Filipino and Swedish and Irish," the actress told The Hollywood Reporter at the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Guild Awards this month.

"Getting to see how me being in Star Trek has connected with them and how they've really appreciated seeing someone who looks like them on screen... that will always be my favorite about the show, especially because it's such a progressive show."

Like the other iterations of creator Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, Picard has a diverse cast reflecting the real world and adding to the richness of the characters. Like George Takei who played Helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek, and John Chu who played the young Sulu in the Star Trek prequels, Briones is keenly aware of representing Asian Americans.

"We're telling stories about the future and we're saying, 'Hey, in the future, we're still going to be here. What you see now in the world is still going to be here in 2339.' We're all here and we all deserve to be represented. I feel so honored that we get to portray that and... keep pushing that narrative forward."

When asked why "Star Trek" has such staying power after multiple franchises and more than 50 years on the air, Stewart's answer was simple: "Hope. It resonates positive feelings about the future that things can be better."

Briones agreed. "(That's) a sentiment we need more than ever."

"You speak truth," Stewart said to Briones. "We have to be positive about the difficult situations that we find ourselves in."

Star Trek: Picard is now streaming airs on CBS All Access. The network is offering a one week free trial so you can watch the first episode.

Filipina American debuts in 'Star Trek; Picard' in pivotal role

Jean Luc Picard meets the mysterioius Dahj, played by Isa Briones.

The big reveal that Marvel picked Simu Liu to play Shang-Chi, wasn't the only news coming out of ComicCon last week that AAPI fans should be excited about.

Last Spring, when it was announced that Isa Briones would be cast in CBS-All Access' Star Trek: Picard, we didn't know what kind of role she would play. It could have been one of the crew members who always linger in the background or a Red-Shirt but after seeing the trailer for the new show, it turns out that the Filipina American's role is a pretty significant one.

We still don't know what her relationship is with Jean Luc Picard, a role from Star Trek: Next Generation reprised by Sir Patrick Stewart, but it appears she's the McGuffin, the instigator, the one who gets the story going, the reason Picard is going to give up his retirement at Chateau Picard. Her character, Dahj, apparently needs to be protected and she found Picard, someone she's had history with and who she could trust.

So, who is Dahj? A lot of interesting theories have arisen among Trekkers about the identity of Dahj: from being the daughter of Data (the android who gave up his existence to save Picard) to being a reincarnation of the Borg Queen.

In the first trailer debuted at ComicCon, she shows up at Picard's idyllic vineyard 20 years after he retired from Star Fleet.

“Everything inside of me says that I’m safe with you,” she tells him.

Before he can answer her, the camera cuts away leaving fans with questions.

Later on in the trailer, she shows she has some serious (superhuman?) fighting skills as she effortlessly takes out a group of attackers while Picard watches on.

Picard quickly grasps the significance of helping this young woman and is well aware of the dangers she faces if she is captured by the wrong people.

Picard calls on Starfleet for its help but he’s ignored. “If she is who I think she is, she’s in serious danger,” he warns someone.

The mysterious Dahj is a major player. I wonder if she speaks Tagalog?

The director of the upcoming The Eternals, Chloe Zhao, has assembled a powerful and diverse cast to star in the Marvel flick about a race with superhuman powers. The brightest star to join the Marvel universe is Angelina Jolie. The film, set to debut in Nov. of 2020, will also star a buffed up Kumail Nanjiani as one of the 3,500-years -old Eternals.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros, the studio that drew raves in past ComicCons was missing this year! So we didn't get to see anything the new Wonderwoman 1984, Aquaman 2 or The Birds of Prey, the latter of which will introduce Cassandra Cain, AKA Batgirl, played by Filipina American Ella Jay Basco.

Agents of SHIELD included Chloe Bennett, middle and Ming-Na Wen, right,

It was an emotional farewell to Agents of SHIELD which is currently filming the finale for its final season. Chloe Bennett and Ming-Na Wen, who play bad-ass agents, proved you can have more than one Asian American in a cast, a rarity when the show debuted seven years ago. 

________________________________________________________________________