The death of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation spinoff show introduced the theme of mortality, with Picard's terminal brain condition providing an impetus for the former Enterprise captain to make his final years count. This would have provided a strong thematic link for the spinoffs planned three seasons but strangely, the writing team decided to kill Picard's organic human body in the season 1 finale, replacing it with a synthetic golem, created by Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner).
While Picard's resurrection showed the anti-synth Federation the benefits of synthetic life, it had no real bearing on his continuing story. The family revelations of Picard season 2 fit neatly with the story of a man making peace with his past at the end of his life, which is presumably why the synthetic body was rarely referenced. With Picard due to end with season 3, it remains to be seen if the final episodes will justify Jean-Luc's seemingly pointless death and swift resurrection.
Patrick Stewart Was Already Confirmed For Picard Season 2
Jean-Luc died after saving Altan Inigo Soong's synthetic commune from an attack by the Romulans. The physical exertions of his mission to save Data's daughter Soji (Isa Briones) and, by extension, all synthetic life proved too much for Picard, who was grappling with his fatal irumodic syndrome. However, the impact of Picard's death was lessened by the knowledge that Patrick Stewart was already confirmed to return for Picard season 2.
Therefore, viewers expected some clever workaround to bring Jean-Luc back to life, and the answer lay with the work of Data's human brother Altan Inigo Soong. Using the synthetic golem Soong had created, Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) mapped Picard's entire consciousness on to this new synthetic life form. It felt like a convoluted way to fix a problem that needn't have existed, given that Patrick Stewart had signed on for further seasons as Jean-Luc Picard.
Picard's Android Body Added Little To His Character
The confusion around Picard's synthetic body was emphasized by Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) when he explained his backstory to a fellow prisoner after capture by immigration officials. As captain of the Stargazer, and successor to Jean-Luc Picard's Starfleet legacy, there's added comedy to his description of Picard as "a crusty old iral who, if I understand correctly, is now a flesh and blood robot. I can't be sure, 'cause nobody can explain it to me". This description by Rios feels like an ission of guilt on the part of the writers, who perhaps aren't sure why they put Picard in a synthetic body either.
Worse still, it has very little bearing on Adam Soong's attack on Picard, which lands him in hospital, in a coma, requiring a telepathic intervention by Talinn (Orla Brady) which gives Picard another chance to understand the suicide of his mother. There's an underlying theme of second chances through Picard finding love with Laris (Orla Brady) which could have been driven by his own second chance at life. However, the meddling of Star Trek: Picard's Q (John de Lancie), is the real key to Picard's decision to settle down with Orla Brady's Laris, not his resurrection. In making peace with the traumatic death of his mother, and the role he played in it, Picard feels that he can finally be loved.
So if Picard's android body doesn't impact his character, and the message is that he is ultimately the same man he always was, then there could be another reason for his new synthetic body. The fact that the body was created by a descendant of Data's creator technically makes Picard part of the family. With Data's brother Lore resurrected for Picard season 3, it's possible that Lore's consciousness is stored in a similar synthetic golem. It would give a strong story reason for the fact that Lore looks more like Altan Inigo Soong, covering for Brent Spiner's advancing years. Or perhaps Lore is seeking the secrets of Picard's synthetic body to guarantee his own survival, putting Jean-Luc's new life at risk.
Star Trek Could Have Solved Picard's Illness Another Way
Picard's illness could have been a storyline that carried through all three seasons of the Star Trek spinoff. Mortality has been a key theme of Picard, and having an aging, dying Jean-Luc called back into service to secure his legacy would have had a real emotional punch. Given that Picard season 2 featured an aging and dying Q, Picard having a synthetic body removed a similarity between the two characters that could have made a real impact. In the original Star Trek: TNG finale, Picard sees an alternate future where he's battling irumodic syndrome while attempting to avert a universe-ending catastrophe.
If Jean-Luc's illness had carried from season 1 to season 3, it would have neatly brought the story of the TNG crew full circle. With the whole TNG cast reunited for Star Trek: Picard season 3, it is mirroring "All Good Things", and his illness could have brought Jean-Luc Picard's story to a heroic, but melancholy end, as he sacrificed his life to save the Federation. However, because his resurrection as a synth has never been fully explored, it makes it incredibly difficult to work out what the stakes are as Jean-Luc Picard enters his final chapter.