Star Trek Picard: Every Easter Egg & Hidden Reference From 'Absolute Candor'

When the La Sirena arrives at Vashti in the present day, things have changed. The planet is guarded by a basic, impenetrable shield of orbital killer drones. But Picard is able to buy his way down to the colony with a cash gift... again not sure about the state of the whole "no money" thing in the Federation here.

Picard beams down wearing a costume that's a lot different from his white safari duds in the flashback. His costume is black and reminiscent of a Starfleet uniform, with the La Sirena mermaid (seen stenciled on cargo containers aboard the ship itself) in place of a combage. You can take the boy out of Starfleet...

Speaking of badges, the surly Romulans hanging out at the Romulan Social Club wear badges that are likely the symbol of the Romulan Rebirth Movement. This is yet another facet of their post-Romulan Star Empire culture, like the Romulan Free State mentioned in "Maps and Legends".

Things aren't great on Vashti now, there's poverty, degradation, ethnic strife, and tables knocked over in the street. The formerly Romulan and English signage is now almost exclusively Romulan. The previously mentioned Romulan Social Club's sign has the English translation scratched out and there are both "Romulans only" and "No Romulans" signs throughout the colony.

When Picard meets back up with Zani, he observes how little she's aged in the intervening 14 years. This is consistent with the Romulans' shared heritage with Vulcans, who age slower and live a lot longer than humans.

Since his arrival, Picard is blowing up on social media on Vashti. But in the bad way...