Jean-Luc Picard quotes from Star Trek: Picard

Have you ever... been a stranger to yourself?

Jean-Luc Picard

Many, many times.

Jean-Luc Picard

The daughter of the man whose death I have been mourning for two decades comes to me for help and assistance. And then she is assassinated in front of my eyes by a Romulan death squad who will then go and try and find and destroy her twin sister. And you want me to sit here worrying what to do about the spittlebugs on the pinots?

Laris

I want you not to die. No one but the Tal Shiar could ever protect you against the Tal Shiar.

She's not wrong. You can't go without us.

Laris

Idiot! He cannot go at all. He's only safe here.

Kirsten Clancy

The Romulans were our enemies, and we tried to help them for as long as we could, but even before the synthetics attacked Mars, fourteen species within the Federation said 'Cut the Romulans loose, or we'll pull out.' It was a choice between allowing the Federation to implode, or letting the Romulans go.

Jean-Luc Picard

The Federation does not get to decide if a species lives or dies.

Kirsten Clancy

Yes we do. We absolutely do. Thousands of other species depend upon us for unity, for cohesion. We didn't have enough ships left. We had to make choices, but the great Captain Picard didn't like his orders.

Jean-Luc Picard

I was standing up for the Federation for what it represents! For what it should STILL represent!

Kirsten Clancy

How dare you lecture me!

You need a crew. Riker. Worf. La Forge.

Jean-Luc Picard

No. I thought about it. And they would do it in a heartbeat, and that's precisely why I cannot ask them. They would put themselves at risk out of loyalty to me, and I do not want to have to go through that again.

Raffi Musiker

There isn't anything you could say that I'd want to hear.

Jean-Luc Picard

Secret Romulan assassins are operating on Earth.

Raffi Musiker

Is that the '86? Goddammit.

Raffi Musiker

There has to be something. Some last, desperate, wild solution, J.L.? That's what you do!

Jean-Luc Picard

My resignation was the last, desperate, wild solution. I never believed that they would accept it.

Raffi Musiker

But you remember what we used to say back then?

Jean-Luc Picard

One impossible thing at a time.

Jean-Luc Picard

What the hell is going on here?

Seven of Nine

I was not entirely candid with you.

Jean-Luc Picard

[Sarcastically] Really?

Elnor

Are we still pretending?

Jean-Luc Picard

No, Elnor. I think everyone has finally stopped.

Seven of Nine

After they brought you back from your time in the Collective...do you honestly feel that you regained your humanity?

Jean-Luc Picard

Yes.

Seven of Nine

All of it?

Jean-Luc Picard

No. But we're both working on it, aren't we?

Seven of Nine

Every damned day of my life.

Agnes Jurati

Maybe [the Borg have] changed.

Jean-Luc Picard

Changed? The Borg? They coolly assimilate entire civilizations, entire systems, in a matter of hours. They don't change! They metastasize.

I take it she's in serious danger.

Jean-Luc Picard

What? Why would you ask that?

A hunch. Something about her. Something about you coming this far to this place. And something about the dashing, young Romulan spy who showed up two weeks ago pretending not to be asking questions about her.

William Riker

That time you were flying off to Romulus, to plan the Great Supernova Rescue. Do you remember what I said?

Jean-Luc Picard

'So you want to be ass-deep in Romulans for the rest of your life?'

William Riker

I believe I also reminded you of Newton's Fourth Law of Thermodynamics.

Jean-Luc Picard

No good deed goes unpunished.

William Riker

Classic Picard arrogance. You get to make the decisions about who gets to take the chances and who doesn't, and who's in the loop and who's out of the loop, and, naturally, it always ends up with you. And that's fine on the bridge of your starship, captain, but now you're dealing with a teenager, more or less. That can be an extremely humbling experience. Frankly, not sure you're up to it.

Jean-Luc Picard

Perhaps I'm not.

William Riker

There you go. Baby steps.

Jean-Luc Picard

Baby steps.

Kirsten Clancy

That's a hell of a report.

Jean-Luc Picard

And you thought I was a desperate old man. Quixotic, paranoid, possibly senile…

Kirsten Clancy

Let's just leave it at quixotic.

Jean-Luc Picard

And now the windmills have turned out to be giants.

Seven of Nine

Keep saving the galaxy, Picard.

Jean-Luc Picard

That's all on you now.