" Penance " is the second episode of the second season of Star Trek: Picard , first airing on on Paramount+ . Directed by Doug Aarniokoski , the episode explores a dark, dystopian alternate reality orchestrated by Picard's longtime nemesis, Q . Plot Summary

Following a cataclysmic event in the season premiere, Jean-Luc Picard awakens in the year 2400 to find the United Federation of Planets replaced by the , a xenophobic, totalitarian empire that has conquered the galaxy. Star Trek: Picard - Rating Every Episode - IMDb