Why Star Trek Picard Season 2 Finale Didn't Suck (Or Did It?)

The ending of Picard's first season hinted at the beginning of a relationship between Raffi and Seven, which was then expanded upon via the audio drama No Man's Land. So, as the second season began, they seemed to be on something of a break, with Raffi serving aboard the Excelsior, and Seven returning to the Fenris Rangers.

The season then walked a very fine line with these characters. Queer Baiting refers to the trope of teasing a homosexual relationship between characters in an attempt to win over the LGBTQIA+ audience, while never actually delivering on it. Picard's second season truly flirted with this as the season went on. The pair were shown in several situations that certainly depicted them as a couple, yet it was very rarely addressed.

Then, in the finale, they finally embraced. The scene wasn't perfect. There was in fact a chance of it being too little, too late. However, it was treated with such heart, and both performers gave the scene their all, that it snatched this storyline from a worse review. Star Trek has been doing far better in terms of representation in recent years - Star Trek Discovery being the best example of this - so Picard was a little disappointing in how it handled Seven and Raffi, though it just about managed to stick the landing.