“We all are in each other’s lives. We are close friends.”

Star Trek: Picard, Season 3 Episode 8, “Surrender,” finally delivered the long-awaited reunion of the full ensemble cast of The Next Generation. Reuniting Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) with the family that she had not seen in over 20 years. Though the pacing of the plot demands that the show move on pretty quickly, it’s a stunning scene, and it’s guaranteed to warm the hearts of every Next Generation fan. While they may not be able to get into the nitty-gritty details of the past two decades in this moment, there are some pretty sweet reunions in this scene including Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Data (Brent Spiner), Deanna (Marina Sirtis) and Beverly, and Beverly and well…everyone!

Recently, Collider’s own Samantha Coley sat down with Star Trek actress Gates McFadden to discuss the latest season of her podcast InvestiGates, as well as the new episodes of Picard. During their conversation, McFadden spoke about what it was like to come back together for this moment. While it’s been quite some time since Beverly Crusher has seen her dear friends, McFadden has stayed in touch with the TNG cast. She told Collider: “Well, it was what you would imagine it was. But you see, we all are in each other’s lives. We are close friends. We’re in a group text. We know what’s basically going on in each other’s lives.”

Much more nostalgia-inducing for McFadden was shooting the scene around the observation lounge table and how the physicality of filming such a scene has evolved in the last 20 years. She explained,

“What was a trip is to go back to this big observation lounge table. That was a trip. But it reminded us of how long those shooting days used to be. Because when we were around the observation lounge in the original show in the Enterprise D, it would take the whole day to just go around the table, even if you had one line because they had to do closeups and medium shots, and then the master shot. Now, they shoot things much faster because they have so many cameras going at the same time. It still does take a long time though, when you have a group of people at a table. But it was pretty cool, I have to say…It was tremendous to have the chance for all of us to be there acting together. I love them all. They’re an amazing group of human beings, and they’re wonderful actors.”

McFadden went on to say that the real “oh we’re really doing this” moment for her was back in those first few episodes when she steps onto the bridge of the Titan with her co-stars Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, who plays Will Riker. She said:

“I think for me, the moment that really got to me though was when I was on the Titan bridge the first time with Patrick and Jonathan and I was like, “Oh my gosh, we’re on a bridge of a ship and we’re doing this and we’re in costumes.” It was something about the spaceship. It’s an amazing set.”

What to Expect From the Final Episodes of Star Trek: Picard

While McFadden remained tight-lipped about the plot of the final two episodes of Season 3, she was able to tease that fans are certainly in for a wild ride. She told Collider, “All I will say is it is such a ride. Oh my gosh, the pace quickens and the plot thickens, and look out.” With the ultimate big bad of the season yet to be revealed, we can look forward to an action-packed ending for the series.