Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 9 Will Reveal Something Shocking About Jack’s Red Door

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

With only two episodes to go before the series finale, Star Trek: Picard seems ready to wrap up its big storylines. In “Surrender,” season 3 antagonist Vadic finally met her demise, thanks to a very clever maneuver by Jean-Luc and company, closing one of the many arcs introduced this season. But there’s still plenty the Next Generation team and the crew of the USS Titan need to solve before this story can truly wrap up.

For one thing, our heroes still need to figure out how to stop the elusive Changeling plot that’s set to unfold during Starfleet’s big Frontier Day celebration. Whatever they have planned, it’s clear these shapeshifting terrorists intend to change the Star Trek universe as we know it. But there’s yet one other mystery the group needs to solve before it can truly turn its attention to Frontier Day: what’s going on with Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and what do the Changelings want with him?

Over the last eight episodes, we’ve watched Jean-Luc’s surprise son with Dr. Beverly Crusher go through some big changes. From a smart-talking scoundrel on the run from bounty hunters to some sort of mutant who can control other people with his mind, Jack’s life seems all over the place at the moment. His strange abilities and visions of a vine-covered Red Door (and the voices calling out to him from the other side) have made it clear that he isn’t just the offspring of two of our favorite TNG characters but something more. While season 3 has been happy to drag out the big reveal about what Jack really is, it seems like next week’s penultimate episode, which is called “Vox,” will finally give us the answers we’ve been waiting for.

Paramount+ was nice enough to drop a new clip at the end of this week’s The Ready Room after show that picks up where the final scene of “Surrender” left off. Check it out below at 29:34:

In the clip, Deanna Troi is using her telepathic abilities to delve into Jack’s darkest thoughts in order to finally open the mysterious Red Door that’s been haunting Jean-Luc’s son. But when she finally turns the knob and opens that door, Deanna is terrified by what she sees inside, so much so that she immediately pulls out of Jack’s mind and warps the hell out of the room. What did the veteran counselor of the USS Enterprise see that scared her so much? When Jack asks what she saw, he receives no answer from Deanna as she rushes off, presumably to deal with the aftershocks of the revelation. End scene.

Yes, this is yet another tease for an admittedly way-too-drawn-out mystery, but hopefully it’s the last after “Surrender” promised but didn’t deliver the answers. Surely “Vox” will finally reveal what’s what? There are plenty of fan theories concerning Jack, including the obvious Borg suspicions as well as the much more interesting Pah-wraith allegations, which would provide another way Picard season 3 ties into Deep Space Nine. There’s certainly some very captivating evidence connecting him to the latter, including the red eyes and his ability to possess others…

Star Trek: Picard season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.