[Editors Note: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 4, "No Win Scenario."]This week's episode of Star Trek: Picard sees the titular retired admiral (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the Titan thrown into dire straits as they free fall into a gravity well after being cornered by Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and her ship full of changelings. It's another incredibly emotional episode in a stand-out season for Picard. "No Win Scenario" does an excellent job of balancing high-tension action moments with Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in the captain's chair, with weighty character conversations as Picard faces the possibility of losing his son as quickly as he found him. With such strong emotional stakes comes some strong language, including having Picard say the F word.

Collider's own Maggie Lovitt recently sat down with Picard Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas to unpack all of the juicy details in "No Win Scenario," including the unscripted f-bomb from one of Star Trek's most beloved captains. It may surprise you to learn that the source of this particular Trek swear is none other than Patrick Stewart himself. Matalas told Collider: "That moment actually wasn't scripted that way, Jonathan, Ed (Speleers), and Patrick had created this incredibly intimate moment between a father and son, they were rehearsing and what they had crafted was so genuine and so intense, that came out in the moment. Patrick said it and felt it, and it was real, a couple of times."

Swearing isn't unheard of in Star Trek—one of the most beloved phrases from The Original Series is Bones' "Dammit, Jim!" However, in recent years it's become a controversial topic given the streaming age's new allowance for words deemed too mature for network television. Don't worry, Trek's F-bombs are still few and far between, and they achieve exactly what they're supposed to when they show up. As Matalas puts it, "it throws you," and this is an emotional moment, and it's okay if you have strong feelings about it, you're supposed to. Matalas explained:

"I wasn't there on the set that day, so I had not seen it. When I got the director's cut, I was so taken aback by it, but it was so real, and everything you do as artists, as writers and actors, even as editors is authenticity, that's the thing you want to feel. I was really torn because hearing that word come from your childhood hero, Captain Picard, it throws you. But wow, is it powerful, and it's a moment between a father and son."

Patrick Stewart and Ed Speleers in Star Trek PIcard Season 3 Episode 4
Image via Paramount+

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Picard': Ed Speleers on His Character's Voyage & Season 3 as A "Stand-Alone Moment"

Star Trek Is an Exploration of Humanity and The Human Heart

This moment didn't come easily, and Matalas questioned whether they should even go there with Picard, saying: "At first, I said we should look for an alt, and everyone talked me out of it. Everyone said, 'no, no, no, no, no.' So then you start to go back and ask yourself, 'Is Gene Roddenberry rolling over in his grave at this moment?' 'Are you going to get the backlash to the first time that word was used in Season 1, which did not go over well?' and yes, probably."

Roddenberry, aka the founding father of Star Trek, created The Original Series to lift up the kind of hope and optimism we should strive for as humans. While the franchise has gone through many iterations in its nearly 60-year run, that is still the core message that Star Trek delivers, even with swear words. Each Star Trek series is a product of its time, and the franchise must evolve as we evolve. As Matalas put it:

"Even though to this day, I am uncertain about it, the conclusion I came to is, yes, Star Trek is about hope and optimism and certainly cursing is not really in that vein, but it is also not just an exploration of the final frontier, but an exploration of humanity and the human heart, and that was such a human moment and real. It had to stay in. I stand by it, and the criticisms will be valid for anyone who doesn't like it, and anyone who does are equally valid."

Picard saying the F word flows beautifully into one of the most heartbreaking moments of the episode as we finally learn about Captain Shaw's (Todd Stashwick) horrific backstory and why he has such strong feelings about Picard and the Borg. It's human to swear, and Picard uses these words to really drive home the intensity of these scenes. "I say you're right to not feel good about it, and you're right to be okay with it, and I think that's the point," Matalas told Collider. "It makes me uncomfortable, and I think that's okay, but really it's about Picard and Jack in that moment, and I think that's part of the art."

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard are available every Thursday on Paramount+. Be sure to check out our full conversation with Matalas for more behind-the-scenes details on "No Win Scenario." Check out our recent conversation with Stewart and Gates McFadden down below.