Star Trek: 10 WORST Things Captain Picard Has Ever Done
He may be Star Trek's top diplomat, but Captain Picard has a fair few skeletons in his closet - we're here to set them free
As fans of a property, and especially a property such as Star Trek, we are used to seeing the best sides of the heroic characters. These are the people who guide us through the world of space exploration, political intrigue, military tactics, and the great beyond of the mind. We invest rather a lot in them, gambling that they won’t let us down.
When does a hero lose their status?
Captain, later Admiral, Jean-Luc Picard is often held as an example of how to manage everything correctly, while still running a starship. He commanded the Stargazer, the Enterprises D and E, and would command the entire Romulan evacuation programme, usually with a deft hand. There were mistakes along the way of course. No commander alive has ever been truly perfect and those who claim that they are are lying.
What qualifies for a list of ‘worst things’ for Captain Picard? Are they overt actions of nefarious intent? Or do they hit a little bit different for the consummate diplomat? Picard is a name that commands respect, but what of those times that it doesn’t? When does following orders become a hollow excuse for inaction? And what of those officers under him that faced his wrath or, worse, his indifference?
10. Let A Planet Die
Boraal II was facing an extinction level event by the seventh season episode of The Next Generation, Homeward. As Captain of the Enterprise-D, Picard was tasked with monitoring the event. Monitoring, but not interfering. Boraal II contained a pre-warp civilisation, fully sentient and intelligent, save for their lack of space travel capability.
For this ‘crime’, they fell under the boot of the Prime Directive.
Officially, Starfleet could intervene to save them, but they chose not to. Then-Lt. Worf’s brother, Nickolai, was on the planet’s surface as the disaster approached. He was working undercover, so as not to arouse suspicions, and came to deeply care for these people. Upon meeting with Picard, he pled with the man to help save these people, whatever the cost. Picard, stalwart to duty, refused.
Though Nickolai’s actions following this refusal led to the salvation of that race, Picard’s decision to uphold the Prime Directive would haunt him for years to come. It is fair to say that his decision to help the Baku stemmed directly from this incident, and perhaps the guilt of knowing he had chosen to save Sarjenka years before.