Jean-Luc Picard is primarily remembered as the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise, but he was also a diplomat, archaeologist, writer, historian, and philanthropist. Originally written as a Frenchman by Gene Roddenberry, it was the casting of English acting legend Sir Patrick Stewart that arguably made Picard one of the franchise’s best commanders and characters. Across The Next Generation, the films, and his later return in Picard, he’s been Star Trek’s philosopher.
Picking the seven “best” Picard episodes feels like a Kobayashi Maru scenario, but the chapters on this list are the ones that fans often return to because they reveal who Picard is at his core. Rather than the most famous or most quoted, these are the character’s defining episodes. In the best Picard hours, great writing and great performance combine to crack something open about man himself.
7) “Darmok” | The Next Generation
The USS Enterprise-D attempts to form diplomatic relations with the Children of Tama, a species that communicates via metaphor. To force cooperation, the Tamarian captain Dathon transports himself and Picard to the planet El-Adrel, where they face a dangerous creature while trying to understand one another. The episode becomes a survival story in which Picard must decode the Tamarian language, as told through references like “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra,” before Dathon is fatally wounded in the fight.
“Darmok” depicts Picard doing what he does best, which is building bridges. In the conversation with Dathon around the campfire, he pieces together Tamarian myth. “Temba, his arms wide,” “Shaka, when the walls fell,” and eventually, “Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel.” The moment he delivers the Tamarian eulogy back on the bridge is profound.
6) “Family” | The Next Generation
Set immediately after “The Best of Both Worlds” (which would be on this list except it’s not technically a Picard episode), “Family” follows Picard’s return to his vineyard in La Barre, France. Shaken from his assimilation by the Borg, Picard reunites with his brother, who forces him to face what he’s been bottling up. The beautiful, raw episode is a study on memory and healing, with a distinct lack of starships or phasers.
Picard’s breakdown in the vineyard mud is one of Patrick Stewart’s most potent performance moments in Trek. When he admits, “They took everything I was,” it reminds us that he is human. The episode also fleshes out his relationship with his nephew and sets the stage for later stories like Star Trek: Picard’s exploration of his childhood and what became of his family.
5) “The Last Generation” | Picard
The Star Trek: Picard finale is Jean-Luc’s final chapter, which culminates in a final mission. Picard returns to the Borg Collective to rescue his son, Jack, who’s been manipulated into serving as the Borg’s transmitter for a new assimilation protocol. The episode borrows imagery from First Contact, and probes the series’ ongoing theme of generational trauma. A seemingly impossible task, it ultimately resolves Picard’s lifelong fear of fatherhood and his conflicted history with the Borg in one excellent hour that actually does the character justice.
The poker game, which is a callback to another great TNG episode, “All Good Things,” becomes a sort of thesis statement. In “The Last Generation,” Picard finally embraces his family, chosen and biological. His conversation with Jack, his reunion with Seven and Raffi, and the Enterprise-D crew’s last moment around the card table are enough to make any Trekkie tear up. If “The Inner Light” shows a life Picard might have lived, “The Last Generation” is him finally embracing the life he has actually built.
4) “Chain of Command, Part II” | The Next Generation
Picard is captured by the Cardassians during a secret mission in the second installment of the “Chain of Command” two-parter. Then he’s subjected to brutal interrogation by Gul Madred. The episode strips Picard of his rank and power, forcing him into a psychological battle where Madred attempts to break his sense of reality with torture tactics involving the question: “How many lights do you see?”
This is one of Stewart’s most harrowing performances, and fans love the episode for showing us the furthest ranges of Picard’s discipline and resilience. The scene where he shouts “There are four lights!” is iconic, but it’s the confession afterward that he was just moments away from giving in that makes the episode a masterpiece. The story gives us insight into Cardassian interrogation methods, reveals that Picard does, in fact, have a breaking point, and reaffirms the strength of his integrity.
3) “The Drumhead” | The Next Generation
Admiral Satie arrives on the Enterprise to investigate possible sabotage, but the routine inquiry soon escalates into a starship-wide witch hunt. As paranoia spreads in this Jonathan Frakes-directed episode, the crew’s civil liberties are conveniently stripped in the name of so-called security. Picard becomes the lone voice pushing back against Satie’s authoritarian methodology, and the episode culminates in a great courtroom showdown. It’s a timeless and powerful political allegory that still rings true today.
Fans treasure this episode for many things, but the main reason is how it puts Picard in philosopher mode. It’s maybe the best example of the captain reminding Starfleet of its own principles. His quoting of Admiral Satie’s own father, “With the first link, the chain is forged,” is a poignant moment. Ultimately, “The Drumhead” is a top-three pick because it showcases Picard’s ability to stand firm against fear-mongering, refusing to let it divide his crew.
2) “Tapestry” | The Next Generation
After Picard temporarily dies from a phaser injury, Q gives him a chance to revisit his reckless youth and rewrite the mistakes that led to his artificial heart. Picard tries to “fix” his past by avoiding fights and behaving more responsibly, but in the end, he discovers that erasing his mistakes and flaws also erases the bravery, boldness, and other qualities that make him such a great captain.
“Tapestry” is one of the best Picard hours of all time because it offers simple but ingenious character insight. Picard’s bar fight with the Nausicaans and “Heart in your hand!” are incredible moments. We get Q at his most wise and mischievous. Yet it’s ultimately the contrast between the vibrant young Picard and the dull, indecisive ensign he becomes in the alternate timeline that makes the episode an all-timer. It reminds us that our own flaws are part of the fabric that makes us who we are; that our mistakes are not only forgivable, but essential.
1) “The Inner Light” | The Next Generation
Picard is struck by an alien probe’s energy beam and lives an entire lifetime as Kamin, a man on the dying planet of Kataan. He forms a family, learns to play the Ressikan flute, watches his children grow, and bears witness to the collapse of his adopted civilization, only to awaken back on the Enterprise, where mere minutes have passed.
This little trip is widely considered Stewart’s greatest Star Trek performance. The episode tops many best-of lists for both TNG and Trek in general. There is incredible attention to detail in the alternate world, from Picard’s marriage to Eline to teaching his daughter to play music to the reveal of the probe’s true purpose. The flute becomes a meaningful totem throughout TNG, used again in episodes like “Lessons,” and the final shot of Picard clutching it is legendary. Trek at its best, “The Inner Light” reaches for the stars with lofty concepts such as universal spiritual truth, divine guidance, inner wisdom, and shared human experience. The result is nothing short of profound.
What’s the most underrated Picard episode not on this list? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Jean-Luc Picard is primarily remembered as the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise, but he was also a diplomat, archaeologist, writer, historian, and philanthropist. Originally written as a Frenchman by Gene Roddenberry, it was the casting of English acting legend Sir Patrick Stewart that arguably made Picard one of the franchise’s best commanders and characters. Across
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