3 things Patrick Stewart's cryptic Picard Season 2 plot tease could mean

The first season of Star Trek: Picard did not end on a cliffhanger. If anything, the series finale was super open-ended, meaning the series could go in almost any direction from here with the established group of characters. Though we're at least a year away from seeing what that looks like, Jean-Luc Picard himself — Sir Patrick Stewart — has given his take on what Season 2 of Picard might look like. Here is what he revealed and three ways to think about it.

Picard Season 1 spoilers ahead.

Closing out all the Star Trek Day festivities, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes were interviewed by Wil Wheaton about Star Trek's past and future. Mostly, these three TNG buddies talked about how much they loved each other, and how important The Next Generation had been to shaping all of their lives. Wheaton told Stewart and Frakes that although his biological family had "failed" him in his youth, the cast of TNG basically "stepped up" and became his real family.

Still, inside of this intergalactic hug, Wheaton did manage to get a little bit of info out of Patrick Stewart about Picard Season 2. Stewart is not only the star of the show, but also an executive producer. As such, he has a big say in the way the stories will go.

"The first four episodes are unlike anything I've read for Star Trek," Stewart said. "[There are] unexpected situations."

This small comment speaks volumes. Why are these episodes unlike anything Trek has done before? What are the unexpected situations? Without getting too ahead of ourselves here are some ways to think about this.

3. Picard Season 2 is going to double-down on Synth rights — Although the plight of Soji and the other Synths was a big part of Picard Season 2, the larger question of how the Federation treats Synths and other artificial life is still unresolved. Even before things went to hell in 2285, we saw androids basically working as slave labor on Mars. Because Soji and Picard are both Synths now, the idea that this season could be about a broader crusade to liberate A.I. doesn't seem out of the question.

2. The status quo will change, again — Picard Season 1 dealt with a more xenophobic and protectionist version of Starfleet. By the end of the season, we learned that most of this was because of manipulation from the Romulan sect, the Zhat Vash, and the secret police known as the Tal Shiar.

Yet the Federation still seemed different, and that's because there's a large section of the Beta Quadrant patrolled by the Fenris Rangers. Therefore, it's possible that the entirety of Picard Season 2 could take place outside of Federation space. If the crew of the La Sirena is operating beyond the jurisdiction of Federation or Starfleet that could explain why what Stewart has read is "unlike anything" Star Trek has done before. Basically, imagine Starfleet never appears in this season.

1. Jean-Luc will change drastically — Jean-Luc is, on some level, a new character going into Season 2. That can't be ignored. The human Jean-Luc Picard died in Season 1. Yes, he's been reborn in a "Golem" body, but that doesn't mean he's necessarily going to act like the same person.

How did dying change him? In the classic Trek films, Spock was markedly different after his death and rebirth in the films The Wrath of Khan and The Search For Spock. What's happened to Picard is a slightly bigger deal. Spock's legit original body was regenerated and his consciousness was dropped back into his wetware. Picard on the other hand, was rebooted. His memories are a copy of the memories of his organic self.

So will he behave differently going forward? Will he lose his mind for a little while? All of these things are possible. The series is called Picard, which means he's still the primary focus. So, if Picard himself goes on a personal journey that is even more intense than Season 1, that could qualify as "unlike anything" Picard or Trek has done before.

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is expected to start filming sometime in 2021.