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Star Trek: Picard: Stashwick Reveals Shaw Twist on Seven Promotion

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 breakout star Todd Stashwick dropped a bombshell about Liam Shaw's recommendation to promote Seven of Nine.

Published Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:37:10 -0600

by Tom Chang

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Article Summary

Star Trek: Picard star Todd Stashwick's Liam Shaw authorized Seven's promotion before his death.
Shaw's recommendation for Seven as captain was revealed in the season finale's emotional twist.
The recorded message underscores Shaw’s hidden respect for Seven of Nine’s leadership abilities.
Despite Shaw's contentious relationship with Seven, his final act helps redeem his character.

It's hard to argue who was Star Trek: Picard season three's biggest, unexpected fan favorite and unsung hero was Todd Stashwick's Liam Shaw of the U.S.S. Titan-A. He was serving as captain of the Federation vessel with Cmdr. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) serving as his XO, the relationship was contentious, with the first officer often biting her tongue in reluctance and annoyance. In Picard's penultimate episode "Vox," Shaw dies in the crossfire declaring, "You have the comm…Seven of Nine" in a final act and show of respect. The finale, "The Last Generation," reveals the handoff wasn't just an unofficial passing of the torch as Shaw recorded his recommendation for Seven to become captain. Fans wondered when Shaw had the time to make the recording and recommendation to become captain, and Stashwick revealed that to Star Trek: Explorer magazine (via Screen Rant).

Star Trek: Stashwick on When Shaw Recommended Seven's Promotion

"In episode 10, there was a beautiful moment when he appeared again as a hologram and told those that needed to hear it that she is captain material," Stashwick said. "They wrote a beautiful goodbye as I'm literally dying in Seven's arms. It was him acknowledging that it's no longer his ship. She has the comm. The hologram… He actually recorded the message before Riker [Jonathan Frakes] and Picard ever came on. What's revealed to her is that he always believed in her. It's this great insight into who he was. Even though his external presentation was gruff, caustic, and acerbic, inside, he was thoughtful and saw her for who she was."

Seven's former shipmate and chief security officer on Voyager, Captain Tuvok (Tim Russ) reveals among Shaw's personnel effects was the recording as Seven was ready to resign her commission to Starfleet. Following his boastful words, Tuvok "declined" Seven's request to coincide with her surprise. The Titan was the vessel Seven was assigned to upon accepting her commission into Starfleet, earning her rank with two of the Federation's biggest names in admirals, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), vouching for her. Unfortunately, we learned that life has been hell for her as she's largely put off by his rigid by-the-book nature and thinly-veiled racism against Borg which includes deadnaming her original human name, Annika Hansen.

The news of Shaw's intentions with Seven before Riker and Picard's visit certainly shines new light on the character despite his Borg prejudice surfacing several times in their time together, reaching a boiling point as the Changeling conspiracy unraveled and hope was fleeting among the Titan crew. For more information, you can check the interview here.

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