10 Star Trek Moments That Broke Our Hearts

Commander Ro Laren's story is one of anger, tenacity, redemption, retribution, and ultimately honour. Her rise from Ensign, responsible for the deaths of several crew members on an away mission, to earning back her commission and the respect of Captain Picard is now legendary. So, too, is the betrayal that he felt when she chose to side with the Maquis, leaving Starfleet and taking the fight to the Cardassians, which itself could have been a candidate for this list. 

However, time has given context to that decision. The Bajoran people struggled against Cardassian occupation for fifty years, much of which was explored in Deep Space Nine. There is an alternate universe that would have seen Ro serving aboard the station, though Colonel Kira offered enough Bajoran history through her own story. This retroactively made Ro's decision far easier to understand, while it dulled Picard's position a little. Still - audiences clamoured for that reunion, one that we finally received thanks to Star Trek: Picard's third season episode Imposters.

Here, we learned that Ro had left the Maquis before they had been destroyed by the Dominion. She had been arrested and served her sentence in a Federation Penal Colony, before being recruited to Starfleet Intelligence. She achieved the rank of Commander, and it was in this capacity that she boarded the Titan-A, facing off against her former commanding officer. Though Captain Riker attempted to keep things amiable, this was all about Ro and Picard. 

While their scenes may have been all too brief, they certainly satisfied. The understanding that passed between them on the holodeck was everything that we wanted. This was no Changeling ruse - this was two old colleagues and, at one time, friends - even with the bitterness that had grown between them. The present threat marshalled and forced their hands, grabbing onto our hearts. 

'I just wanted you to see me,' Ro chokes to Picard, before she leaves on her shuttle.

'Ro. I do see you,' a clearly devastated Picard cries, knowing this will be the last chance he will get to say it. 

While no-body, no-death is beating a drum in this writer's head, the odds are that this will be the last time we get to see Commander Ro Laren. If that is the case, then Ro and Picard have a new, utterly heart-breaking, final scene together.