I say supposedly because, as we know, people have come back from the dead on Star Trek so it wouldn’t be unthinkable for Commander Ro Laren to return from the great beyond. Or maybe she didn’t actually perish when her shuttle exploded.
Picard production designer Dave Blass hinted at the possibility that Laren might have been saved by a transporter beam to the USS Schrodinger.
A transporter beam went to this ship… that's all I can say. https://t.co/npvTRZ8rki pic.twitter.com/x0yorBY5EE
— Dave Blass (@DaveBlass) September 26, 2023
And Terry Matalas, the showrunner for Star Trek: Picard, told Screenrant, that there was a scene planned in which the crew discovers Laren is alive iin the dungeons of the Intrepid with Tuvok. They were unable to pull the scene off, most likely for budgetary restraints. So even though we didn’t see her survival onscreen, it’s possible that she was never intended to die, and she could return to either another Star Trek series or pop up in the oft-wished-for new series, Star Trek: Legacy.
Commander Ro Laren remains dead until her death is reversed onscreen
Although some tie-in novels, a list of which you can see at Screenrant, have been classified as canon, comic books have not yet been confirmed as part of canon. So even if Laren were to appear in a comic, there would stll be some doubt.
Another way for her to be revealed as alive would be a simple mention of her name onscreen such as “Commander Laren said the ambassador will arrive today.” But I’d like to think the producers wouldn’t bring back a beloved character in such a passive way. There are ways for her to return onscreen even if Legacy doesn’t come to fruition. Hopefully, Star Trek can make that happen so we know for sure if Laren survived the shuttle explosion.
