Rewatch the mid credit scene. I think there is a picture of 2 people from what looked like a wedding.Almost like they left it open for the shippers whether Picard followed up with Laris or got back together with Crusher.
No, Data was still at the helm and they still aren't going to let Deanna drive the D again. What she did was locate them based on her emotional bond to Riker. But it seemed very deliberate that everyone got a chance to shine and especially Deanna and Crusher weren't flopping around helpless in a crisis like TNG sometimes did to them.
I loved the President Anton Chekov speech! So awesome and I was shocked as all get out that they got him to come back for that cameo.
Shaw's recorded review of her was great, and that was before we even started this season.
I suppose we don't know for sure that they didn't.So, say, if the Borg plan had worked, would they and the Changelings have gone their separate ways? I wasn't sure what the endgame was for Vadic's faction. Also, wouldn't it have been smarter to play the long game and run similar infiltration missions through all of the major Alpha Quadrant powers?
I suppose we don't know for sure that they didn't.
But item #1 on the bad Starfleet's agenda was killing everyone on Earth and I think they'd have gone to another planet and another.
Tangent time: What would the in-universe explanation be for the "super generic male bad guy voice" she used to communicate with Vadic? I mean, from a production standpoint, it was to maintain an element of surprise to the viewer, but seems odd within the show itself. Pretty sure everyone knew who was who.
I am pretty sure Walter Koenig was playing Anton Chekhov's son. He specifically name drops his father.