Star Trek: Picard – Where Have Worf, LaForge, and Crusher Been?

At the start of Picard season one, the disgraced Admiral begins assembling a team to help him investigate his old shipmate Data. But when his new crew included Captain Rios and former Starfleet officer Raffi, both the characters in the show and its fans had a question: Why not bring back the old crew? Over the course of season one and season two, members of that crew slowly came back together, starting with his number one Will Riker and counselor Dianna Troi, and continuing to Data and Guinan. 

For the show’s third and final season, the remaining members of the Enterprise crew will finally rejoin their erstwhile captain. According to Variety, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, and Levar Burton have been added to the cast of the upcoming season. Give or take a Wesley Crusher, Miles O’Brien, or Tasha Yar, and these additions complete the main cast of The Next Generation. As we’ve already seen Riker, Troi, and the others, much has changed since that group was last seen together in 2002’s Nemesis. So what have the returning characters been doing for the past twenty years? 

In Nemesis deleted scenes, Dr. Crusher returns to her post as the head of Starfleet Medical. Presumably, she resolved whatever issue caused her to leave that position before the start of The Next Generation season three, when she reclaimed her job as Chief Medical Officer from Dr. Pulaski. If aspects of the future glimpsed in “All Good Things…” remains in place, Crusher is on her way to a marriage (and divorce) from Picard, and preparing to captain her own ship, The Pasteur.  

“All Good Things…” also revealed matrimony in Geordi La Forge’s future, as he has started a family with Dr. Leah Brahms in that timeline. Another possible future, as seen in the Voyager episode “Timeless” finds La Forge serving as captain of the USS Challenger. But the most in-canon look we’ve seen of La Forge occurs in the Picard prequel comic book Countdown. There, Commander La Forge works at the shipyards on Utopia Planatia, helping create a new fleet to aid the evacuation of Romulus.  

Of the three returning characters, fans have seen the most of Worf, thanks to his service on the starbase Deep Space Nine. Worf left DS9 to become the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, working closely with Chancellor Martok. In “All Good Things…” Worf remained among the Klingons, eventually becoming Governor of H’atoria. But in Star Trek novels, Worf returns to the Enterprise-E as First Officer, replacing Riker after he becomes Captain of the Titan. When Picard leaves the Enterprise to take the rank of Admiral, Worf becomes Captain, the first Klingon in Federation history to hold that rank. 

While the time shenanigans of season two can change any of these plot points, modern Trek has been glad to incorporate aspects from novels and comics. In the same way that Riker’s captaincy on the Titan has become a common part of the mainline Trek canon, the histories of these characters may be realized in full during the last season of Picard.