Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Images Tease the Return of Imzadi

Several images from Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 8, “Surrender,” were released on Monday, April 3, 2023, and they tease the return of Imzadi, aka the relationship between William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). The images seem to show Riker and Troi embracing one another aboard the Shrike, the ship belonging to the monologue-loving Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). While neither Riker nor Troi appeared in the seventh episode of Picard season 3, these images tease their return, and teases that the duo will share a set for the first time this season in the upcoming episode.

Check out Star Trek: Picard episode 8 images below:

Related: Star Trek: Picard Reveals Captain Kirk Is Still Around… Sort Of

What Does “Imzadi” Mean?

“Imzadi” is a word in the Betazed language. When translated to English, its closest analogue is the term of endearment “beloved.” Given her heritage as a Betazoid-human hybrid, Deanna is the one to bring the word into play. Its first appearance takes place in the very first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint.” In this episode, Deanna telepathically calls Riker “Imzadi” when they are reunited on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D.

Over the course of TNG’s seven seasons, Riker and Deanna had an on-again off-again romantic entanglement. However, their relationship was given new certitude in the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis, which is currently the final big-screen outing for the TNG crew. That movie opened with Riker and Deanna’s wedding reception.

After their wedding in Nemesis, Riker and Deanna are rarely separated. This is confirmed by the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1 finale, “No Small Parts.” In this episode, it is confirmed that both Riker and Deanna are assigned to the U.S.S. Titan in the years immediately following Nemesis. In Picard seasons 1 and 3, it is further confirmed that Riker and Deanna’s first child, Thaddeus, is born aboard this second Titan.

In Picard season 1, an older version of the couple reappears in the episode “Nepenthe.” This episode reveals that the couple relocated to Nepenthe because the planet’s natural resources might counteract an affliction faced by Thad. Unfortunately, their efforts are in vain, and Thad subsequently passes away.

Picard season 3 has seen the return of both Riker and Troi. But so far, Riker has had more screen time than Deanna, and the couple has mostly only shared the screen when speaking with one another over subspace communications. However, in the conclusive scene of episode 6, “The Bounty,” Riker and Troi are reunited… albeit as the prisoners of Vadic.