‘Star Trek’ Villain Royalty Returns for ‘Picard’s Farewell
Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 9, “Vox,” officially brought back the Borg Queen as this season’s big bad. As the Borgs always say, “Resistance is futile” when it comes to these unstoppable and terrifying antagonists in the Star Trek franchise. Few are surprised that the Borg are back again, just in time for Star Trek: Picard‘s season 3 finale. Also, given that the Borg first made their debut in Star Trek: The Next Generation, it is fitting that Star Trek: Picard would close its TNG reunion with the Borg, as well.
What are the Borg?
The Borg are an alien race made up of cyborgs who share a hive mind. Given that they are cyborgs, their bodies are partially mechanical and partially biological. Most are fitted with ocular implants and prostheses with unique tools to increase their threat level. Meanwhile, their hive mind is referred to as the “Collective.” Every single Borg shares intelligence and consciousness with the Collective, meaning they operate as if they were a single entity. However, they have spent countless years “assimilating” every being they can find into their hive. There are estimated to be billions or even trillions of Borgs in the Collective, with more always being assimilated.
In Star Trek: Picard season 3, it is not just the Borg who have returned, but the Borg Queen as well. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) contended with an alternate version of the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) in season 2 before she was replaced by Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), who ambitiously planned to build a new Borg Collective that wasn’t as oppressive as the old one. However, it seems the original Borg are back and have some nefarious plans for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). Even more exciting, though, is that the original Borg Queen has also returned.
Who is the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Picard?
In “Vox,” the Borg Queen is not shown on screen, with only her voice being heard. However, long-time fans of Star Trek will recognize the voice of Alice Krige, the woman who originated the role of the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact in 1996. Her return is confirmed in the credits, as well. Picard‘s co-showrunner, Terry Matalas, has teased that there’s a reason we don’t actually see Krige in the episode. He told Collider, “It is Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. You will see in the finale, though, it is voiced by Alice Krige, but the Borg Queen does not look good when you see her. Janeway did a number on them the last time we saw them, and there’s a reason she needs Jack.”
As Matalas mentioned, the Borg were nearly destroyed and the Borg Queen was presumed dead after Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) succeeded in infecting the Collective in Star Trek: Voyager. This is why, when the Borg Queen returned in Star Trek: Picard season 2, it wasn’t Krige’s Borg Queen, but a Borg Queen from an alternate timeline portrayed by Wersching. However, Picard season 3 has now officially confirmed that the Borg Queen is alive and has been masterminding the Changeling’s threat the whole time. Though she’s back, she seems noticeably weakened, demonstrating her need for Jack and the Changelings to orchestrate her plan.
Over the years, the Borg Queen has remained one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Borg. This is because, for many years, the Borg were believed to function as one, with no hierarchy or overarching leader. At times she’s more of an organizer and director, like the queen of a beehive, while other times she does seem to have superior control of the Collective. Additionally, she is the only Borg that can think independently and have an identity.
There is also more than one Borg Queen, as a new one simply arises whenever the current one dies, taking on the collective conscious of all the Borg Queens before. As a result, it’s difficult to determine how many Borg Queens there have even been and what they’ve been building up to for all these years.
(featured image: Paramount+)
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