With all the new and exciting details that came out of the Picard season three trailer, the appearance of a well-dressed figure bathed in blue light might not have meant much for casual fans of the franchise. However, to longtime viewers, his identity was clear (and exciting) straight away. While it may seem odd, this is the returning figure of Professor James Moriarty (played by Daniel Davis), Sherlock Holmes’ arch nemesis. But how is this possible?
The Moriarty that appears in The Next Generation is not flesh and blood. Rather, he is a holographic representation of him from a hold-novel fleshed out by none other than Data. He was first introduced in season 2, during the aptly named episode “Elementary Dear Data,” as a holodeck character programmed to give Data and Geordi La Forge a challenge while they played Sherlock and Watson as part of a Sherlock Holo-novel in their downtime. The program for Moriarty was upgraded in order to become a worthy opponent to Data, who could easily see through any mystery. The holographic Moriarty was designed to pose a real challenge for him, but as an unfortunate side effect of his newfound genius, he quickly became self-aware, realizing he was not entirely real. His sentience and nefarious nature would lead him to try and take over the ship not only once, but twice.
Moriarty's story ends with Picard acknowledging his sentience, and forgiving him for trying to take control of the ship. He realizes that all Moriarty wants is to explore the universe, alongside his love interest Countess Regina Bartholomew, another holographic character. His solution to the unusual predicament is not to delete the program, unable to do so as it would break with his belief that the sentient holograms are living beings. Instead, he places the two characters inside an endless holodeck program where they are able to live out eternity exploring a holographic universe.
While this might sound like a great solution at first, forever is a long time. After a while, Moriarty's fabricated reality would most likely become boring and repetitive. What's more, knowing that it was just a simulation would take a lot of the joy out of it. Audiences are never told what happens to him and his countess. Many assumed that the program was lost with the destruction of the iconic Enterprise D in Star Trek Generations, but with his appearance in Picard's season 3 trailer, it's clear that he survived.
Moriarty's role within the new season is still somewhat of a mystery. It's not even certain whether he will be playing a good guy or a villain. It’s clear that he is the same entity from before, not just another version of the professor. He utters "Greetings, old friends," suggesting he knows those in front of him, most likely members of the original TNG crew. This said, however, actor Daniel Davis has said that the Picard Moriarty is not entirely the same Moriarty from TNG. He is still the same, but different in a way that viewers can only discover watching the show. What this means is unclear. Perhaps he has returned as an android/synthetic, a theme that Picard seems very keen on exploring. Or maybe his personality or character is different. It might suggest that this version of the villain is not villain at all, and instead will help the protagonists in some way.
Davis has revealed a little more about his role, however. He reported that his appearance is more like a cameo than a large role. His appearance in the trailer is more likely fan service than it is vitally important, trying to pack in as many gasps and cries of joy from older Trekkies as they see more and more returning characters. He states that he only appears in one episode, and that rather than focusing on his own episodes from TNG, his presence is more related to another old episode, a callback to the first meeting between Data and commander Riker. This was in the pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint,” the episode that also first introduced Q and the Borg. It will be interesting to see how this works, as this was well before the character was introduced.
Whatever form the old professor will take, it’s certain to be impactful. The character has been an important player in the ongoing quest for the recognition of synthetics as living, sentient beings. His presence, combined with that of Lore, will hopefully take this question further, taking another look at what it means to be alive. All audiences can do now is avidly await for the show to release in early 2023, and see the seemingly dramatic end to Captain Picard’s story.