Star Trek: Top 10 Riker Moments
3. Thad And I Will Be Waiting For You - The Last Generation
The loss of Thaddeus Riker hit Will and Deanna as hard as anyone could expect. In one of Star Trek: Picard's most realistic storylines, the Rikers are revealed to be somewhat distant, with neither truly having been honest with the other in their grief.
Though Deanna tried to help Will through his pain, her empathic abilities only served to numb him to his loss - thus leading to resentment. By the beginning of Picard's third season, both spouses needed a break from each other.
By The Last Generation, they have been thrust into the middle of a Changeling-Borg plot to take over Starfleet. Riker boards the Queen's Cube, ready to fight to free Starfleet's youth from her control. Things go south and for a moment it seems as though he will be consumed in the explosions surrounding him. He takes that moment, not to bemoan his fate, but to send his love to Deanna - promising that wherever he is about to go, he will be waiting for her with their son.
Not a dry eye in the house.