A new clip released from new clip from Picard season 3 shows Jean-Luc receiving a subspace message on his old TNG comm badge, which was likely sent by Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).
Star Trek: Picard season 2 was chiefly concerned with exploring Jean-Luc's psyche and uncovering the hidden trauma from his childhood that prevented him from forming a lasting romantic relationship. But in Star Trek: Picard season 1, Jean-Luc was dying from irumodic syndrome. Picard actually perished at the end of season 1, but Jean-Luc was resurrected in a new, synthetic body - the golem designed by Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner) and Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales). iral Picard currently has an android body that looks and feels like his human one in every way. But if Jean-Luc is now physically synthetic, why does he still need reading glasses?
The Reason Picard Needs Reading Glasses In Season 3
The most likely reason that Picard wears reading glasses in season 3 is that he actually does need them in spite of his synthetic body. As Soong, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Allison Pill), and Soji (Isa Briones) explained to Jean-Luc in Star Trek: Picard season 1's finale, his new android body had no augmentations or superpowers, and they designed a cellular homeostasis algorithm that would let Picard live his natural lifespan. Soong said he took care to make sure Picard's synthetic body was identical to his original body. But in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Jean-Luc is about 96 years old, and his vision is likely failing as a result of old age.
Dr. Altan Inigo Soong promised Picard that "everything works" with his new synthetic body, and the only real fix they made was to eliminate his brain abnormality to cure him of his irumodic syndrome. As such, Picard's synthetic body is naturally aging the way his biological body would have, and that includes his deteriorating eyesight. Further, Picard is a man who relishes the old-fashioned, such as reading physical books, so he would logically embrace wearing reading glasses, which add to his dignified appearance.
Kirk Also Needed Reading Glasses In The Star Trek Movies
Reading glasses is something else that irals who were once Captain of the Enterprise have in common. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, iral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) turned 50, and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) gifted him with reading glasses. Kirk notably donned his spectacles several times in Star Trek II, which conveyed how the formerly dashing young ex-Captain had aged. Amusingly, Kirk sold his glasses when he time-traveled to 1986 in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, knowing that it would cause a paradox where McCoy would still give them to him in the 23rd century.
Star Trek has never evaded the fact that its legacy heroes age; rather, the franchise embraces aging as part of nature, growth, and experience. iral Jean-Luc Picard may be in his mid-90s now, but Star Trek: Picard is about the fact that the Starfleet legend can still contribute his wisdom to help save the galaxy. Star Trek: Picard season 3 is about The Next Generation heroes in their old age, and Jean-Luc has always been the most senior member of their Enterprise crew. With reading glasses, Picard simply looks his age.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres February 16, 2023, on Paramount+.