Star Trek: Picard: Easter Eggs and References in Episode 7 “Nepenthe”

A new episode of Star Trek: Picard debuted today on CBS All Access, bringing with it new Easter eggs and references to Star Trek: The Next Generation and other corners of the Star Trek universe. Here we’ve gathered up those nods with some background information about what they mean and where they come from. Keep reading to see what we noticed and why it matters. SPOILERS for the new episode follow.

The seventh episode of Star Trek: Picard is titled “Nepenthe.” It sees Picard reunited with two crew members from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Are you excited to see more Star Trek Easter eggs in Star Trek: Picard? Let us know in the comments.

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard become available to stream Thursdays on CBS All Access.

Mind Meld

This episode gives Star Trek: Picard its first-ever Vulcan mind-meld. This technique was first seen administered by Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Dagger of the Mind.”

The technique allows two individuals to share thoughts. Commodore Oh uses her mind meld to show Jurati what will happen if synthetic life continues to thrive. 

Kestra

This episode introduces Will Riker and Deanna Troi’s daughter, Kestra Troi-Riker. Kestra greets Picard and Soji when they arrive on Nepenthe.

Kestra is named after Kestra Troi, Deanna’s sister who drowned in a lake when Deanna was still and infant. Her mother, Lwaxana Troi, repressed her memories and hid away anything that reminded her of her daughter, even making her husband swear never to mention the child again. Because of this, Deanna didn’t learn about Kestra’s existence until the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Dark Page.”

Deanna Troi

The episode sees Star Trek: The Next Generation star Marina Sirtis reprising her role as Deanna Troi. Troi was the ship’s counselor aboard the USS Enterprise.

In Star Trek: Nemesis, Troi married Will Riker. They both left the Enterprise to take new positions aboard the USS Titan.

Will Riker

Jonathan Frakes returns as William T. Riker, a character he originated in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Frakes was Picard’s first officer aboard the Enterprise.

Frakes left the Enterprise to take command of the USS Titan. He is married to Deanna Troi.

Thaddius Riker

Riker and Troi had a son named Thaddius, born before Kestra. He may be named after a distant relative of Will’s, a Colonel Thaddius Riker, who fought for the Union during the American Civil War.

In the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Death Wish,” we learn that Thaddius Riker’s life was saved by a member of the Q Continuum calling himself Quinn. The issue comes up during a trial for Quinn’s life in which this deed is noted for allowing Will Riker to be born and to stop the Borg advance in “The Best of Both Worlds.”

Kzinti

During the episode, Riker mentions that they’ve had some recent trouble with the Kzinti. The Kzinti are a species of aggressive, feline humanoids from the planet Kzin.

The Kzinti appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series, “The Time Trap” and “The Slaver Weapon.” This is the latest example of modern Star Trek incorporated elements from The Animated Series, which was once considered non-canonical.

Bunnycorn

While this episode is the first appearance of a bunnycorn in Star Trek, this feels like a reference to the horned dog-like creature that appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “The Enemy Within.”

The episode never names the dog’s species. It is a resident of the planet Alfa 177.

Data Plays Violin

Kestra asks Soji a lot of questions about herself. Most have to do with how she may resemble data.

For example, she asks if Soji plays the violin. Data played violin in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Sherlock Holmes

Kestra also asks Soji if she likes Sherlock Holmes. This is another reference to Data.

Data played the role of Sherlock in a holodeck program, with Geordi La Forge as Dr. Watson. This was first seen in the episode “Elementary, Dear Data.”

Data Learning to Tell a Joke

Kestra mentions that Data always wanted to learn how to tell a joke. He attempts to learn humor in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Outrageous Okanna.”

Data Learns to Dance

Kestra also mentions that Data wanted to learn to dance. Dr. Beverly Crusher tried to teach Data how to dance ahead of Chief O’Brien and Keiko’s wedding in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Data’s Day.”

Gormagander

A gormagander is a whale-like creature that traverses the vacuum of space. One appears in the Star Trek: Discovery episode “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.”

Gormaganders were considered an endangered species. Despite this, some species consume gormagander meat. Harry Mudd in a gormagander to board the Discovery.

Head Tilt

Riker is able to tell that Soji is descended from Data by the way she tilts her head. Data would often tilt his head in the same way when he was considering or thinking about something or confused by human behavior.

Imzadi

Riker refers to Troi as “Imzadi” on a couple of occasions during this episode. Imzadi is a Betazed term of endearment that loosely translates to “beloved.”

Imzadi could be used for platonic or romantic love, or for one’s first physical love, but it primarily reserved for the first to touch someone’s soul. Troi first uses the term when she greets Riker aboard the Enterprise in the Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint.”

Tyken’s Rift

The region known as Tyken’s Rift is mentioned in the episode. The region appears in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Night Terrors.”

In the episode, the Enterprise became trapped in the rift, which is a massive rupture in space that absorbs energy. The crew’s minds were affected by a telepathic alien trapped on the other side of the rift, and Troi had to help determine what the being wanted.