Star Trek: Picard - 17 Huge Details Everyone Missed In Trailer 2

15. The Painting Matters

Painting has popped up before for Picard and Data's relationship, of course. In "A Matter Of Perspective," Picard attends an art class, along with two other crew members, where they paint a nude model. Data turns art critic and savagely criticises Picard's work in a hilarious exchange from before Picard's edges were softened a little more...

Perhaps this is an anxiety dream based on that moment? Picard could perhaps be reliving moments that challenged his ideas of himself, which fits with him having to reassess his relationship with the Borg. The reason this moment is so loaded in The Next Generation and why its evocation here is interesting is that the subtext to it is that Data cannot understand the nuances of art because he's not human and yet Picard is upset because he treats his criticism as if he IS human.

That blurred distinction is going to matter A LOT in Picard.

As for what the painting means - there are a couple of interesting things to note. First, the obscured face, which Data invites Picard to complete, suggests Jean-Luc is wrestling with concepts of identity, which makes sense given his isolation and distance from Starfleet. It also fits in with Data's journey to being more human that played such a big part of his arc and in particularly were important parts of two key The Next Generation storylines where the new show is concerned - 'Descent' and 'The Measure Of A Man.'

And on top of that, there may be more. The figure beckoning towards the sea suggests a siren - a seductive mythical creature who lured sailors to their deaths. If this isn't a foreshadowing of someone in Picard's crew - or even on a grander scale - hiding their true destructive motives, then I don't know art criticism very well.