‘Star Trek: Picard’ Actress Teases Her Feline Connection to ‘The Original Series’

The second season of “Star Trek: Picard” has been a hit on a number of levels. “Star Trek” is known for allegory and using science fiction as a way to convey ideas. Still, this season of “Picard” almost requires 2-3 viewings in order to take in the entire message of each episode.

ATTENTION READER: THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS AND INFORMATION ABOUT “STAR TREK: PICARD” SEASON 2: EPISODE 5 – “FLY ME TO THE MOON”

First is the storyline, where Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his team find themselves in the past. Picard must solve the riddle of why Q (John de Lancie) transported them back to 2024 and for what purpose. Now that they’ve discovered his ancestor, Renee Picard (actress Penelope Mitchell), and learned that Q himself is trying to stop her from going into space, the team might be able to move closer to figuring out how to prevent the dark future from happening.

But secondly, showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Terry Matalas have embedded seemingly hundreds of references, Easter Eggs, and call-backs to earlier eras of “Star Trek.” Some of these nods are very easy to figure out. Among these are Floyd’s Barbershop window (seen initially in “City on the Edge of Forever”); the punk rocker (Kirk Thatcher, who appeared in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”); and one of the members of the scientific board evaluating Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) was named Dr. Vasiliy Rozhenko. That name is the same as Worf’s human parents in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” 

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‘Fly Me To The Moon’

But perhaps the most significant reference to the past was the reveal of “the Watcher.” This individual was the person who was living in 2024 who could potentially help Picard. This information came from the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching). 

When Picard finally reached the Watcher, it turned out to be Laris (Orla Brady), or rather a human who looked just like Picard’s Romulan housekeeper and potential love interest. It turns out that Picard met a Watcher named Tallinn, not Laris. And Tallinn is part of the same organization that Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) worked for in the classic TOS episode “Assignment: Earth.” 

That episode, as most fans know, was called a “backdoor pilot,” or a way for NBC to test the premise of a new series without creating an entirely new pilot episode.

In “Assignment: Earth,” Seven carried around a cat named Isis, who was actually a shape-shifter. In human form, Isis was played by actress and contortionist April Tatro.

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Orla the Cat?

Now, Brady has tweeted something which might mean that her character will also be able to turn into a cat, like Isis, from the original episode. In her message to fans, Brady posted a photo of herself from the episode “Fly Me to the Moon” with the following statement:

“That faraway look of a woman trying to remember if she was a cat once, or if she just dreamed she was….”

This could mean that Brady plays three characters on “Picard,” Laris, Tallinn, and a cat character. It could also be an April Fools joke, as she posted the Tweet on April 1. When asked if fans would see Laris again, Brady would not say exactly.

“I would say, do you think that we would leave it right there, with Laris?” Brady told Jamie Lovett of ComicBook.com. 

“I think I’m allowed to say we’re likely to see her again,” said Brady. “She’s too good a character to just disappear completely at the beginning, isn’t she? I think so. I’m biased, but I love her. I think she’s gorgeous, and everyone needs a Romulan around.”

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