Speaking with Creation Entertainment co-CEO Adam Malin on Creation TV's podcast, Jonathan Frakes delved into how the marital problems Riker and Troi faced in Star Trek: Picard season 3 stemmed from real problems parents encounter after the loss of a child. Star Trek: Picard season 1 revealed that Will and Deanna's son, Thad, died of mendaxic neurosclerosis. Star Trek: Picard season 3 smartly followed up with the grieving Troi-Rikers and put their marriage to its ultimate test. Read Frakes' quote and watch the video below:

Well, I thought it was very smart of… the writers. The story was that Riker and Troi’s son had died of some mysterious disease, and we had moved to Nepenthe, which was a planet that was supposed to save him, and it didn’t. Then we didn’t see them for a couple of years. And when Riker s Picard, he’s estranged from Troi. And as it turns out, by the end of the season, we find out it’s because something about her Betazed empathy had prevented Riker from grieving properly.

Having done a little bit of research - I was a psychiatry major at one point, so I’m fascinated by this - I guess parents who lose a child often struggle and get divorced. And that was the element of what was happening with Riker and Troi. That event had really strained their marriage in a way. And by the end, [Riker] was able to say, ‘You didn’t allow me to grieve properly,’ and you could feel that they were going to sort of live happily ever after.

So it was, again, back to the writing. If it ain’t on the page. Terry Matalas, our hero.

Why Troi's Powers Wouldn't Let Riker Grieve In Star Trek: Picard Season 3

Deanna & Will Faced Their Greatest Challenge As A Couple

Captain Will Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi spent the first half of Star Trek: Picard season 3 apart, but they were reunited when both were held prisoner by Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) aboard her starship, the Shrike. Deanna confronted Will about how he had shut down and become distant after Thad's death. Still, Frakes further illuminates that Troi's empathic powers as a Betazoid affected Will and didn't allow him to grieve properly, praising Picard season 3's showrunner, Terry Matalas, for that sensitive insight and clever writing.

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