This article contains Star Trek: Picard spoilers.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Episode 3
But this gets a little more layered when we look at how people treat both Rios and Chekov and the reasons why. In both stories, Rios and Chekov are treated with prejudice and suspicion not because it seems like they’re time travelers, but because of their ethnicity. Chekov is assumed to be a Russian spy, and Rios is targeted by ICE, only because he’s not white. On top of it, Rios does scan as an immigrant without papers.
In another meta-Trek reference, Rios’s predicament is also eerily similar to what happens to Bones in “City on the Edge of Forever,” complete with a humanitarian caretaker. Our new Edith Keeler is a kindly doctor named Teresa (Sol Rodriguez), who is willing to help Rios, regardless of his background. Let’s hope Teresa isn’t destined to die to restore the timeline!
Deep Space Nine and the “Sanctuary District” Connection
Star Trek is often lauded for giving hope and optimism for a better future and a united world. But, because most of Trek takes place in that better future, we tend not to see the work that was required to get humanity to that point.
“Assimilation” also references the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes “Past Tense Parts 1 and 2” because we see Raffi and Seven walking through a “sanctuary district” full of homelessness. This isn’t lingered on very long, but the idea that Raffi and Seven are both kinda unfamiliar with a wealth gap on Earth is jarring. It’s a reminder that the great future forecasted by Star Trek is, in some sad ways, still mostly a dream.
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Star Trek: Picard streams new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.
