Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) briefly had a clone onStar Trek: The Next Generationlong before Shinzon (Tom Hardy) appeared inStar Trek: Nemesis. The finalTNGfilm saw the crew of the USS Enterprise-E face off against Shinzon after he took control of the Romulan Empire.The Romulans created a clone of Picard to act as a spy within the Federation,but they soon abandoned the project and sent Shinzon to a Reman labor camp. Shinzon later rebelled against the Romulan Empire and made plans to attack the United Federation of Planets.
Despite their shared DNA,Star Trek: Nemesis’villainous Shinzonbears little resemblance to Jean-Luc Picard in everything apart from his appearance. Where Jean-Luc is compassionate, curious, and open-minded, Shinzon is cruel, selfish, and cannot see past his own desire for revenge.Captain Picard had previously encountered duplicate versions of himself twice onStar Trek: The Next Generation.InTNGseason 2, episode 13, “Time Squared,” Picard met a version of himself from six hours in the future, but the more interesting doppelganger came inTNGseason 3, episode 18, “Allegiance.”
Picard’s TNG Clone Shows Why The Real Jean-Luc Is Great
The Real Picard Expertly Takes Control Of His Situation In TNG’s “Allegiance”
InStar Trek: The Next Generation’s “Allegiance,” Captain Picard wakes up in a strange prison cell with four strangers, while a doppelganger takes over his position on the USS Enterprise-D. It doesn’t take long forCommander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and the Enterprisecrew to grow suspicious of this replacement Picard as he begins behaving strangely. The real Picard, however, soon proves why he makes such a great starship captain.Picard immediately assesses his situation, questioning the other prisonersand exploring his surroundings. Picard helps the others stay calm, encouraging these very different people to work together to find a way out of their situation.
Captain Picard Is Just As Badass As Worf In Star Trek: TNG’s First Big Klingon Episode
Captain Picard proved more than capable of standing against Klingons and holding his own in a fight in this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Captain Picard attempts to communicate with his captors to no avail and eventually deduces that one of the prisoners is not who they claim to be.Picard remains calm throughout the ordeal,even after he realizes that the entire set-up has been an experiment. Picard gets the aliens to reveal themselves, and they tell him they captured the prisoners to study the concepts of hierarchy and authority. The aliens then return withPicard to the Enterprise, where he uses nonverbal cues to subtly direct his officers to imprison the aliens. This scene not only shows what an effective captain Picard is, but also demonstrates the trust he and his crew have in one another.
Picard’s Clone Shows Jean-Luc’s Emotional Side Better Than Star Trek: Nemesis' Shinzon
Riker Eventually Convenes A Meeting To Discuss Removing Picard From Command
Because aliens created an exact replica of Captain Picard, including his memories, Jean-Luc’s clone reveals a lot about the way the captain thinks. The clone expresses worry to Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) that his crew will lose faith in him. Picard’s doublejoins the crew for their poker game, leads a rousing musical number in Ten Forward,and expressesromantic feelings for Dr. Beverly Crusher(Gates McFadden). While all of these things are out of character for the real Picard, they are not so far out of character to be impossible. This suggests that Picard has thought about joining the poker game, has contemplated his feelings for Dr. Crusher, and occasionally doubts himself.
InStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 7, Picard does confess his feelings for Beverly, and he later joins the crew’s poker game in the series finale, “All Good Things….”
While Captain Picard’s singing seems the most unlike him, he enjoys performing theater and had a wild streak in his youth, so it’s not that difficult to imagine him thinking about this scenario. The difference is that the real Captain Picard does not act on these thoughts. BecauseStar Trek: Nemesis’Shinzonwas raised completely differently from Picard,he develops into an entirely different person.The real Jean-Luc would never even contemplate doing many of the things that Shinzon does, making the clone inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s"Allegiance" not only more realistic but also much more revealing.
