Star Trek: Picard Brings Back the Greatest Villains of the Next Generation Era

Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 3 brought back the Federation’s most dangerous enemies: the Changelings. SPOILERS follow for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 3, “17 Seconds.” Thus far, Star Trek: Picard‘s third season has been a game of cat and mouse between Vadic (played by Amand Plummer) and whatever ship Beverly and Jack Crusher have been on, be that the Eleos or the Titan. Vadic’s origin remains a mystery, but it seems there’s something much bigger going on based on revelations in “17 Seconds,” as the Changelings are discovered to be active and involved in at least two different places.

The first hint is when Jack Crusher fights a member of the Titan crew whose face morphs after Jack lands a punch. He realizes that there’s a Changeling saboteur onboard. Later in the episode, a drug peddler on M’Talas Prime that Worf and Raffi have taken into custody for interrogation begins to react violently in ways that suggest something more than withdrawal is happening. That’s when Worf asks, “How long have you been away from the Great Link?”

Who are the Changelings in Star Trek: Picard Season 3?

Star Trek: The Next Generation fans coming to Star Trek: Picard may be confused about what’s happening. The Changelings debuted in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. They were also called the Founders, leaders of an interstellar state known as the Dominion in the Delta Quadrant. Their most notable physical trait is that they are shapeshifters whose natural form is liquid. They must revert to every 16-18 hours, which is why the drug dealer began reacting how he did on M’Talas Prime.

After the Federation made contact with the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant via the stable wormhole that opened near Bajor, the Dominion attempted to invade and occupy the Alpha and Beta Quadrants in a conflict known as the Dominion War. Despite this conflict raging across the galaxy during the time of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, the USS Enterprise never became involved in the war, instead embarking on diplomatic missions in safe space.

The History of the Changelings

The first Changeling introduced in Star Trek was Odo, played by the late René Auberjonois. The Changelings sent him to explore, but he became stranded near Bajor. A Bajoran scientist discovered and studied him, eventually coaxing him into a solid form. Odo had no recollection of his origin, only learning about other Changelings when he felt called to their homeworld during a trip to the Gamma Quadrant. On that planet in the Omarion Nebula, the Changelings exist in the Great Links, one large pool of intermingling Changelings in the liquid state. The shared communion is something few “solids,” as they call non-shapechangers, could understand. 

The Changelings, at first, only sought to explore the galaxy. However, the people they encountered were suspicious of them because of their shapeshifting abilities and often terrorized and persecuted them. The Changelings became hostile toward solids. Believing they need not fear what they could control, they began building the Dominion, a kind of ant-Federation of planets forced into their government. Dominion members included the cloned diplomats called the Vorta, who viewed the Founders as gods, and the Jem’Hadar, fierce warriors whom the Founders kept under their control through addiction to a drug called ketracel-white.

What are the Changelings doing in Star Trek: Picard Season 3?

It might feel like the Changelings showing up in Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is crossing two Star Trek streams since Jean-Luc Picard has not encountered them previously onscreen. However, it’s important to remember that the Dominion War was a galaxy-altering event that forced enemies to become allies and Starfleet’s best to make morally questionable choices. Star Trek: Picard.

The war ended when Starfleet used a biological weapon created by Section 31 to poison the Great Link, forcing the Founders to surrender. The Changeling’s current goal is unknown, but it wouldn’t be shocking if they were looking for revenge or to start a second Dominion War. What that has to do with Jean-Luc Picard and his son is unclear.

How to watch Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+. Star Trek: Picard‘s first two seasons are already streaming on Paramount+, as are all seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.