The final season of Star Trek: Picard was a great-big The Next Generation reunion, effectively a movie trilogy's worth of story. Still, limitations on budget and time meant not every character producers wanted could be included. For example, Kathryn Janeway could've been present for Seven of Nine's promotion. However, the return of Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren was the most surprising, and the character's death was the show's most tragic. Though, like Admiral Shelby, who took two phaser bolts to the chest, she might actually be okay.
Ro Laren wasn't in Star Trek: The Next Generation's early seasons. The formerly imprisoned Starfleet officer arrived on the show in Season 5. She proved herself to Captain Picard, who offered her a place on the Enterprise and became her mentor. The penultimate episode of The Next Generation brought Ro Laren back, only for her to defect from Starfleet. She left them to fight for the Maquis, Bajoran rebels fighting against Cardassian colonists. Ensign Ro was a character who felt like a major part of the back half of The Next Generation but only appeared in a handful of episodes. The fallout from her defection on Picard, both professionally and emotionally, were two of the biggest dangling story threads. What makes her Picard return even sweeter is how it was germane to the story being told. She reconciled with Picard and then met a surprisingly emotional end. The tragedy goes beyond her reconnection with her mentor. Her life was defined by being caught in-between other people's conflicts.
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Ro Laren Remains a Unique Star Trek Character From Upbringing to Attitude
When Ensigns Boimler and Mariner found themselves on the Enterprise in the Strange New Worlds crossover episode, they were delighted. When Ensign Ro found herself on the Enterprise in The Next Generation, she was not happy about it. Ro bears similarities to Una Chin-Riley, though the Bajoran officer lost her court-martial. Still, she was from a culture that faced real oppression in the utopian future of Star Trek. She wasn't all "Ad Astra per Aspera," serving on the Enterprise was "better than prison." Not only that, she was being used by a corrupt Admiral who represented the worst of Starfleet.
From her first appearance on The Next Generation, she taught Picard and company about how hard life was for Bajorans compared to other Federation peoples. Unlike Number One, she resented Starfleet for ignoring her people's plight in order to keep the peace with an alien military empire. Ro Laren never became a believer in Starfleet, but she did want to be the kind of person who impressed Picard. In an episode where she was invisible to the rest of the crew, she said an emotional "goodbye" to him. But not before noting that he still intimidated her, even though he couldn't see her. After the war in Deep Space Nine was over, Ro Laren did what she thought Picard would do. She turned herself in and faced the consequences.
Again, sentenced to a Starfleet prison, Ro Laren was drafted by Starfleet intelligence to spy on and combat other terrorist organizations. This put Vadic and the Changeling conspiracy on her sensors. When unable to even trust her fellow officers, the only person Ro Laren would believably turn to is Picard. Only this last time, he wasn't able to protect her or offer her a second chance. Instead, she gave him the opportunity to save the Federation. She never sought out Starfleet and wasn't a big believer in the cause. Nonetheless, she gave her life to protect it. Or did she?
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The Death of Ro Laren on Picard Was Fitting, but It Could Be Undone
Both Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager dealt with the politics of the Maquis and Federation animosity at length. Picard smartly kept the focus on the personal dynamics between (now) Commander Ro and the fugitive retired admiral. Even if a viewer wasn't a fan of The Next Generation, the emotional interplay between the characters is more gripping than the spycraft plot. Just like in the previous show, Ro Laren's contribution to the emotional narrative in Picard feels far more significant than how long she's actually on the screen.
Moments before her death, Jean-Luc pleads with her to forgive him for "only now" seeing the totality of her character. Specifically, the parts of Ro Laren built from what Picard gave her. Ensign Ro was brash, abrasive and unafraid to speak her mind. She didn't mind being disagreeable, only opening up at all because Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan insisted. Her final The Next Generation episode began with her promotion to Lieutenant, something that happened in large part because of Picard greasing Starfleet's political wheels. So, when she left Starfleet for the Maquis, the betrayal wasn't one of duty for Jean-Luc. It was deeply personal.
Picard, Jack Crusher and Starfleet only survived because of her quick-thinking and relentless effort to do the "right" thing. It is a powerful story made more tragic by her death, but she may live again. Showrunner Terry Matalas told ScreenRant his original Picard finale draft featured a scene where Starfleet rescued the Changeling's prisoners, including a very-much-alive Ro Laren. If Star Trek: Legacy happens, perhaps he can finally shoot it. Until then, Ro Laren is a tragic hero who was not appreciated until it was too late.
