This is the first time that Jean-Luc Picard indicates that he considers Q a friend. In Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Jean-Luc Picard always viewed Q as an annoyance and a nuisance who is always testing humanity via the USS Enterprise D Crew, mostly for his own amusement, as if the USS Enterprise D and her crew are his own personal crew, before moving on to the USS Voyager for Star Trek: Voyager (1995).