Ro Laren /ˈroʊˈlærən/ is a fictional character appearing on a recurring basis in the fifth, sixth and seventh seasons of the American science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The character returned for the third season of Star Trek: Picard. Portrayed by Michelle Forbes, she is a member of the Bajoran species who joins the crew of the USS Enterprise-D over the fervent objection of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), who cited her previous court-martial. Ro, too, was against joining the Enterprise crew but said, "It is better than prison." The character was intended both to be at odds with the series regulars and to replace Wesley Crusher in the conn officer post on the bridge. Forbes was cast to portray Ro after previously appearing in the series as Dara in the episode "Half a Life".
The character first appears in the fifth-season episode "Ensign Ro", which reveals elements of Ro's backstory. She continues to appear throughout that season, and makes a further appearance in both the sixth and seventh seasons. Starfleet sought her aid to help the Cardassians apprehend a Bajoran terrorist. After joining the Enterprise crew, she wants to abandon the engineering section of the vessel following a series of power failures in "Disaster". Alongside Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), she is affected by a Romulan experiment in "The Next Phase", and must help prevent the aliens from destroying the Enterprise. In "Rascals", she is among the crew who are transformed into children and helps prevent a Ferengi plot. When making her final appearance in "Preemptive Strike", she is tasked by Starfleet to infiltrate the Maquis, eventually defecting and joining them permanently.
Ro was also planned to be a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. However, Forbes turned down the role, so Kira Nerys was created to replace her. Reviewers discussed Ro's religious views, comparing them to those of Kira. Ro was received positively by both critics and fans alike. Critics have praised Forbes's performance and Ro's interaction with the existing characters. She has been placed in several polls listing the most popular characters, with Jordan Hoffman calling her the second-strongest supporting female character in the franchise.[1]
Ro, again played by Forbes, returned for the third season of Picard in the episode "Imposters", serving as a commander for Starfleet Intelligence.
During the course of planning out the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the producers were looking to add a recurring character who could conflict with the regular cast at times, as well as a new conn officer to replace Wesley Crusher.[2][3] With that in mind, the episode "Ensign Ro" was written by Michael Piller, from a story idea created in conjunction with Rick Berman, to specifically introduce the character of Ensign Ro Laren.[2] The episode was designed to show a backstory for the character, who would be at odds with series creator Gene Roddenberry's ideal that Starfleet officers should all work together seamlessly. One of her major character traits was that she would be a member of an oppressed people, whose homeworld had been conquered by another.[4] Supervising producer Jeri Taylor explained that they had sought to add some "fresh life" using a darker character.[5]