“Star Trek: Picard” has had no shortage of guest appearances, from Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) in Episode 5 to Tuvok (Tim Russ) in Episode 7.
Episode 9, titled “Vox,” featured another blast from the past and a voiceover that will send chills down any Trek fan’s spine.
But be warned. Major, major spoilers lie ahead. Do NOT proceed unless you want to be spoiled.
Episode 8 left off with Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Jack Crusher at the precipice of the red door he’s been seeing in visions. Along with the visions, a female voice beckoned him to “find me.”
Troi assures Jack he is not alone as she approaches the door. She opens it, discovers who is calling out to Jack, and runs to immediately see Beverly and Picard, Jack’s parents.
Final spoiler alert!
It turns out the cybernetic race known as The Borg have been calling out to Jack. They are the masterminds behind the infiltration of Starfleet, not the Changelings. Jack commandeers a shuttle and pilots it toward the Borg.
The reason The Borg wanted Picard’s body was to extract the genetic code they implanted when they assimilated him 35 years ago during the events of the “Next Generation” episodes “The Best of Both Worlds Part 1” and “Part II.”
The “dormant generic Borg adaptations,” as Data described them, were passed onto Jack. Whereas assimilated Borg become “receivers” of instructions from the collective, Jack is a “transmitter.”
During their hunt for Jack, the Borg used Changelings to infiltrate the fleet, secretly adding Picard’s Borg DNA code to the transporter system. Anytime anyone uses the transporters, their DNA is rewritten with Picard’s. In essence, they get assimilated when they use the transporter. It only works up until a certain age — about 25 years in human years.
This all ties back to the two guest appearances in this episode.
Frontier Day kicks off above Earth, and it’s revealed the new Enterprise — the U.S.S. Enterprise F — is leading the celebration.
Leading the Enterprise is former commander, now admiral, Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy). Shelby came aboard the Enterprise in “The Best of Both Worlds” as a Borg specialist. When Picard was kidnapped and turned into the Borg called Locutus, Riker (Jonathan Frakes) took command and Shelby became the first officer.
Although her confidence and ambition rubbed many of the crew the wrong way, she was instrumental in the rescue of Picard and the destruction of the Borg cube 35 years prior. Watch Shelby lead an away team that encounters Locutus below:
So it’s somewhat ironic that she is sitting in the captain’s chair of the new Enterprise, a position she coveted.
Even more ironic is her demonstration of the new technology dubbed Fleet Formation, which allows every Starfleet vessel to act as one. Picard event notes, “The irony of her endorsing something so … Borg-like.”
Of course, Frontier Day and Fleet Formation end up backfiring. With the entire fleet in one location, the Borg implement their plan.
Or specifically, the Borg Queen’s plan. Alice Krige returns to voice the Trek villainess, who first appeared in “Star Trek: First Contact” and made memorable appearances in “Star Trek: Voyager.” She is the one voice among the many, the queen of the hive — and the one who called out to Jack.
With Jack captured, the Queen is able to transmit her signal through him, taking over all the younger crew in Starfleet, including the two La Forge girls, Titan tactical officer Mura and communications officer Esmar.
Shelby’s crew is also compromised, and the final image we see of her is being fatally shot in the chest by two ensigns.
We only hear Krige’s voice in the episode and only see her back from a reverse shot, so Krige may make a physical appearance in Episode 10 titled “The Last Generation.” The episode will also serve as the Picard series finale.
IMAX is holding a special double screening of Episodes 9 and 10 on Wednesday, April 19. You can learn more about them here, though all dates are sold out and waiting list only.
New episodes of “Star Trek: Picard” air Thursdays on Paramount+.
