“I thought [Data’s Picard goodbye] was pretty great,” he said. “It was an unbelievably beautifully written scene — [showrunner] Michael Chabon at his finest. Both Patrick and I were both like, ‘This is fantastic,’ and we were both really moved by it. It was just wonderfully written, and I think the intent was to soften the blow of Nemesis and give Data a gentler exit than he had in that film.”
Though Data is finally gone for good, it doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Spiner in Star Trek. The established lineage of Dr Soong means he’d “absolutely” be happy to come back as Alton for season 2 of Picard. “I love working with all of the people on the show. The new cast is fantastic. Obviously, to still be working with Patrick is a dream. Now there’s a character that could conceivably go on and continue, so of course I’d love to.”
But having now died twice in Trek over the last two decades, Spiner says he won’t return as the iconic android on screen, and appreciates that Data was able to pass on his own terms this time, instead of sacrificing himself for his friends.
“I mean, there was just a finite amount of time that I can actually play Data, no matter what anyone says. So many people were like, “Oh, you can do it. You’re not too old,” and then I do it and they go, “You’re too old. Why’d you do it?” I think we did it in such brief sequences that it was fine to do it, and I felt good about it. But I wouldn’t really entertain the idea of doing it again because I just don’t think it would be realistic. So it seemed right to me to give him this more gentle sendoff, and it seemed right to me in the context of the entire season of Picard and what Picard himself had been experiencing because of the loss of Data. I think it allows him to feel okay about it too. So it seemed like the right thing to do.”
You can read more about Picard season 2 right here.