Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Picard’s Academy #2A Star Trek comic just expanded upon a random comment Jean-Luc Picard makes in Star Trek: The Next Generation by transforming it into the reason why he joined Starfleet Academy when he was still young. Fans may recall that Picard never wanted to inherit his family vineyard and naturally gravitated toward the stars instead. But a conversation between a young Picard and Spock in the comics reveals that he was actually motivated by the death of his grandfather.

Star Trek: Picard’s Academy #2 by writer Sam Maggs, artist Ornella Greco, colorist Charlie Kirchoff and letterer Jeff Eckleberry takes place when Picard is still enrolled at Starfleet Academy. The young cadet informs Spock that seeing his grandfather deteriorate while he was stuck on the Picard family vineyard in France put him face to face with his mortality and caused him to rethink his life choices.

From that moment on, Picard was driven to get off the farm as quickly as possible so that he could make his mark on the galaxy. Of course, this life decision is what led him to Starfleet Academy.

Picard’s Grandfather Was a Big Influence on Him

Picard’s Academy is undoubtedly drawing from words that Picard tells Data during the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Night Terrors.” When the Enterprise-D’s crew is afflicted by terrifying hallucinations, Picard first tells Data that they might have to depend on him for their very survival. He then confides in the android, telling him that he once saw his grandfather “deteriorate from a powerful, intelligent figure to a frail wisp of a man, who could barely make his own way home.” However, he stops there, as Picard is more preoccupied with the thought of losing one’s mind like his grandfather had.

It’s quite stunning that Picard’s Academy is able to take this one offhand comment that the show just used to illustrate Picard’s fears and turn it into the main motivating factor behind why he became the revered and respected Starfleet officer everyone knows. In the comic, Picard uses the memory of his grandfather to illustrate why he’s so driven to finish the Academy as quickly as possible without having to worry about making friends or going to meaningless parties.

Picard’s Academy Also Connects To A Recent Star Trek: Picard Episode

During the same flashback in the comic, Picard’s interesting choice of words to describe his mother is a clear reference to a Star Trek: Picard retcon. Picard just says, “My mother was…gone.” This could be a reference to the events from Star Trek: Picard‘s “Hide and Seek.” In the episode, viewers learn that Picard’s mother had a mental breakdown when they were playing hide-and-seek in the tunnels of his family vineyard before she unfortunately ended her life. While one might think that Picard would recall what happened to his mother during the events of TNG‘s “Night Terrors,” rather than talking about his grandfather, it makes sense since the Star Trek: Picard episode was not written until decades later. While his mother’s death was a defining tragedy in young Jean-Luc Picard‘s life, it was still his grandfather who inspired him to join Starfleet and change Star Trek history forever.