Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Finale – "The Last Generation"Star Trek: Picard season 3's finale did the impossible and gave Star Trek: The Next Generation a second perfect series finale. Written and directed by Terry Matalas, the final episode of Picard, "The Last Generation," as well as the previous hour, "Vox," were shown as a movie in IMAX theaters across the United States. The riveting, emotional, and immensely satisfying climax to Star Trek: Picard season 3 was, indeed, of cinema quality, and powerfully encapsulated everything fans have loved about TNG for the past 36 years.
Star Trek: The Next Generation already had a perfect series finale, "All Good Things…", which is also one of the greatest final TV episodes ever. TNG's legacy was tarnished somewhat by the up-and-down qualities of the four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, although Star Trek: Picard season 3 wisely based its best homages on the finest TNG film, Star Trek: First Contact. Certainly, Star Trek: Nemesis, which was not intended to be the last adventure of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise, left TNG on a sour note, and the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, which lacked most of the TNG cast, could not satisfy the overwhelming desire to give Picard and his friends a proper sendoff. But Star Trek: Picard season 3 did just that, and, incredibly, "The Last Generation" proved that the lightning of a perfect finale can strike twice for The Next Generation.
