TNG never visited the Mirror Universe, but Star Trek: Picard revealed that the Confederation of Earth’s Jean-Luc was just as evil as any Terran.

Audiences never met the Mirror Universe version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), but Star Trek: Picard revealed that he had an evil doppelgänger who was just as evil as anyone in the Terran Empire. In Picard season 2, the machinations of Q (John de Lancie) created an alternate timeline in which the United Federation of Planets becomes the Confederation of Earth. This brutal regime was the antithesis of Star Trek’s Federation, drawing comparisons between the Confederation and the Terran Empire.

Both the Confederation and the Terran Empire placed humanity above all other species in the galaxy, leading to a bloody and brutal subjugation of other alien races. As Star Trek: TNG didn’t visit the Mirror Universe, General Picard was the closest that fans got to seeing his evil counterpart. Just like the Mirror Universe version of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), the Confederation’s General Picard was a cruel despot who had conquered countless worlds and killed scores of enemies.

General Picard Of Confederation of Earth Was As Evil As Mirror Universe

Of the many reveals about Star Trek: Picard‘s Confederation, the information about General Picard and his reign of terror was the most chilling. General Picard annihilated the Klingon home world Qo’noS, much like the Mirror Universe’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) did in Star Trek: Discovery. Rather than command the USS Enterprise-D, Picard was in command of the CSS World Razer, a fearsome looking starship of which an oil painting was hung in the General’s study. General Picard’s study was also decorated with the skulls of some notable Star Trek figures, including:

• Borg Sentinel One of Two
• Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn)
• Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo)
• General Martok (J.G. Hertzler)
• Director Sarek (Mark Lenard)

Like his Prime Universe counterpart, General Picard also had a synthetic body, which he had acquired following a battle with Gul Dukat. The General’s chateau was staffed by both Romulan and synthetic slaves, who maintained his home while he was on important business for the Confederation Corps. When Prime Picard arrives in the Confederation reality in Star Trek: Picard season 2, it’s on the eve of Eradication Day, in which the General is scheduled to publicly execute the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching). The Borg Queen’s skull would have joined the others in Picard’s trophy room if Jean-Luc and the La Ceritos crew hadn’t saved her.

Why Star Trek: The Next Generation Never Went To The Mirror Universe

The notion of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode set in the Mirror Universe existed from as early as 1987, when David Gerrold joked about a sequel to “Mirror, Mirror” in Starlog magazine which would have featured Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) and dangerous, carniverous Tribbles. Jerome Bixby, who wrote the original Mirror Universe episode of Star Trek: The Original Series pitched a sequel for TNG that would have featured older versions of the TOS characters. However, this idea was rejected by Paramount, who didn’t want to feature them so heavily in TNG.

A.J. Black’s book Lost Federations: The Unofficial Unmade History of Star Trek suggests that the pulpy idea of a darkest timeline didn’t sit well with “The Next Generation’s cooler, scientific approach to Star Trek, particularly in the Piller era.” Black’s assumption is largely correct, backed up by Michael Piller himself. Piller explained that he “wasn’t interested” in revisiting the Mirror Universe during TNG, despite the multiple “Mirror, Mirror” sequels that were pitched to him. While Piller would eventually acquiesce and produce a “Mirror, Mirror” sequel on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, fans would have to wait until Star Trek: Picard to meet Jean-Luc’s evil alternate.