Terry Matalas has one particular regret from the second season of "Star Trek: Picard": the moment Dr. Soong runs down Jean-Luc Picard with a car. The showrunner discussed the scene on the "Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny" podcast, where he appeared alongside Brent Spiner, who played both Data and Adam Soong, and Jonathan Frakes, who directed the season's sixth episode, "Two of One."
Spiner recalled Matalas questioning the logic of the sequence, asking how a character played by Spiner could hit Picard with a car. When Frakes asked him to elaborate, Matalas said the scene "violated my sense of decent storytelling and character," and placed it against the franchise's most famous beats. "Think about it: What are the great 'Star Trek' moments? There's Kirk and 'Khaaaaan!' There's the Borg. And then there is when Brent Spiner hit Patrick Stewart with a car," he said. Spiner, by contrast, was pleased with it, saying the request was his own: "Well, it's the only note I gave: 'I would like to hit Patrick with a car while wearing a tuxedo.'"
In the episode, the attack takes place at the gala for the Europa Mission, shortly after Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) reassures his ancestor Renée Picard (Penelope Mitchell), who is wrestling with doubts about her expedition. Picard spots an oncoming car, pushes Renée out of the way and absorbs the impact himself. Dr. Soong had agreed to Q's (John de Lancie) scheme to keep Renée from joining the Europa mission in exchange for a cure for his ailing daughter.
Matalas did not spell out his specific objections, but complaints raised by viewers point to possible weak spots. One Reddit user observed that Renée's reaction to the attack was never meaningfully explored, given the tender exchange she had just shared with Picard, and noted that her story for the remainder of the season is tied to Tallinn, the Romulan supervisor who saves her from Soong's poisoning attempt in the finale. Another user focused on the murder plan itself, describing Q's scheme as notably weak, since having Soong try to run Renée down during a crowded event would be both conspicuous and reckless for a character presented as intelligent.
Sources: TVLine.