Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3Star Trek: Picard season 3 completely ignored the Khan tease at the end of season 2. A thrilling reunion of Star Trek: The Next Generation's beloved cast that also introduced a plethora of new characters who quickly became fan favorites, Star Trek: Picard season 3 brought the TNG story to a rousing and satisfying end. Fueled by nostalgia for TNG, Picard season 3 was far better received than the previous seasons, which also had their own callbacks to The Next Generation and the greater Star Trek franchise.
Watching Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2 wasn't required to enjoy season 3, but the final season did build upon what was previously established. iral Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) evolution and acceptance of fatherhood were possible because he was able to face his past trauma and issues with his own father, Maurice Picard (James Callis), in season 2. Picard's second season also seemingly concluded the story of Q (John de Lancie) and his mercurial relationship with Jean-Luc, which gave a greater impact to Q's shocking return in Star Trek: Picard season 3's end-credits scene. However, many characters and aspects of Star Trek: Picard season 2 were dropped entirely, including the finale's bizarre Khan Easter egg,
Picard Season 2's Project Khan Was Completely Ignored In Season 3
At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2, man geneticist and would-be world savior Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) was left defeated after he was betrayed by his daughter, Kore Soong (Isa Briones). The dejected Adam then pulled out a dossier labeled "Project Khan." Star Trek: Picard's time travel story was set in 2024, and "Project Khan" teased that Adam Soong had a hand in the creation of Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), the genetically-engineered warlord who ruled over much of Earth before he was overthrown by the Eugenics Wars and fled Earth with his followers aboard the SS Botany Bay in 1996.
"Project Khan" was such an oddball name-drop that it seemed unthinkable that Star Trek: Picard season 3, which was produced by Terry Matalas, Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and many of the same creatives behind season 2, wouldn't follow up on it, but that's exactly what happened. Fan theories that the villainous Vadic (Amanda Plummer) was genetically engineered and tied to Project Khan were rendered null and void when she was unveiled as one of the Changelings, who were Picard season 3's villains along with the Borg. As such, "Project Khan" remains an unsolved mystery and strange unfinished business in the overall Star Trek: Picard saga.
Which Star Trek TV Show Or Movie Can Resolve Project Khan?
"Project Khan" may not be abandoned entirely in spite of Star Trek: Picard ending. Other Star Trek projects, current or , could conceivably resolve "Project Khan," even though it originated in Star Trek: Picard. One possibility is Nicholas Meyer's announced Star Trek: Khan: Ceti Alpha V podcast, which will tell the story of how Khan survived on the doomed planet Ceti Alpha V in the years before Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds could also potentially address "Project Khan" through his descendant, Lt. La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong), even though the series is set years before Khan is revived in Star Trek: The Original Series.
The animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks or Star Trek: Prodigy might reference "Project Khan" and so could the Star Trek: Section 31 movie starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou. Section 31 deals Starfleet's black ops division and "Project Khan could be part of Georgiou and the movie's story. Further, if Star Trek: Picard's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, happens, "Project Khan" could be followed up there, which might be the best outcome. Whatever "Project Khan" ultimately means after Star Trek: Picard season 2 introduced it, a resolution rather than "Project Khan" being ignored like season 3 did would be appreciated.
Star Trek: Picard is available to stream on Paramount+.