Previously on “Star Trek: Picard” Season 3, Episode 8, the audience saw that Data, who was once a pawn in his evil brother’s twisted game, had broken free from the partition that had clouded his judgment and regained control of the ship’s systems. Data managed to outmaneuver Vedic, whose overconfidence proved to be her undoing, eventually sending her hurtling into the unforgiving vacuum of space. Deanne also decides to help Jack confront his worst nightmare and accompanies him into his subconscious to uncover the secret of the “Red Door.” And now the story continues.
Spoilers Ahead
The Unexpected Revelation
Jack’s mind was a swirling whirlpool of memories, each one pulling him deeper into the sea of emotions. He struggled to make sense of the situation; his thoughts scattered like fragments of a broken puzzle. Deannne’s hand trembled as she reached for the enigmatic red door, but as soon as the door creaked open, a forceful surge of energy threw her out of Jack’s subconscious like a ragdoll. Deanne’s mind reeled, and her facial expression painted a horrid picture of sheer terror, suggesting to the audience that whatever lurked behind the red door was much more sinister than just a bad dream. But what did Deanee see that shook her to the core? In reality, Deanne saw that Jack was also a part of the Borg Collective. The news shook everyone, as Jack Crusher, unlike his father, had never been assimilated. For the uninitiated, the Borg are a super-intelligent alien species that are controlled by a hive mind dubbed “The Collective.” At one point in the series, Picard was assimilated with the Borg after he was captured by the alien species and became part of the hive mind, aka “Locutos of Borg.” And now everyone suspects that Picard has passed these Borgs on to his son, Jack Crusher. Although Picard’s connection was cut, it seems that some remnant remained dormant in his mind and was finally passed onto Jack, making him a threat to everyone.
Picard fears for Jack’s and everyone’s safety and decides to send Jack to Keslovar, a research academy on the planet Vulkan, so the Borg can be extracted from his mind. The Borg stripped him of his humanity, leaving behind a hollow shell of a man devoid of emotion and empathy. Under the relentless torment of the Borg, Picard was forced to commit unspeakable acts. He was made to slaughter millions, including his closest friends and most cherished allies.
Unfortunately, Jack commandeers a shuttle and heads toward an unknown planet to confront the hive queen for some much-needed answers.
The Trouble At Frontier Day
At the lab, Georgi’s revelation hit Picard and the team like a thunderbolt. He explained that all Borg were genetically altered to communicate with their cybernetic components, but Picard’s alterations were much more advanced and had gone undetected for 35 years. The anomaly detected by Dr. Seong during the transfer of Picard’s consciousness into a synthetic body was, in fact, dormant Borg adaptations. It became clear that the shape-shifters and the Borg had been colluding all along, with the goal of laying waste to Starfleet and having their collective revenge on “Frontiers Day.” But that’s not all; the Borgs have also been using the changelings to infiltrate starships and add the Borg DNA to everyone who uses a transporter, meaning they’ve been slowly assimilating the entire fleet this whole time.
On the other hand, the entire Starfleet has gathered at the Sol system to demonstrate their newest achievement, “Fleet Formation,” a technology that allows every Starfleet ship to operate as one, making them an impenetrable armada. Meanwhile, Jack manages to find the Borg Queen but is eventually incapacitated and taken into control.
How Did The Borg Manage To Assimilate The Starfleet?
The Titan raced through the vastness of space, arriving at the Sol System with an urgent warning. But it was already too late, for the Borg had already unleashed their insidious plan. A signal, transmitted with ruthless efficiency, had reached its target: the youngest members of Starfleet, those under the age of 25, were now under the control of the Borg, transformed into unwitting pawns in their nefarious scheme. Now the Borg orders everyone under its control to eliminate all the unassimilated. Seven ONine, Captain Shaw, Picard, William Riker, Geordi, and others were spared because the Borg genetic material doesn’t propagate in species past a certain age.
With the Borg now in control of the entire fleet, their impenetrable armada grew exponentially. Picard and the remaining unassimilated members of the Titan crew gathered in the maintenance deck, desperate to find a way to stop the Borg’s relentless advance. Their last hope lay in hijacking a shuttle and making their way to the fleet museum, where the decommissioned “Enterprise D” awaited them. Despite their grief over the heroic deaths of Captain Shaw, Picard, and his team, they pressed on, driven by the urgency of the situation. They knew that “The Enterprise D” was not fully integrated with the new technology, making it a potential weapon against the Borg. Enterprise D was Picard’s last ship, which was destroyed during a Klingon invasion; however, Georgi managed to salvage the vessel and has been working to restore it ever since. This scene sent shivers down the spines of every fan, evoking memories of past adventures and creating a nostalgic moment for both the audience and our heroes.
In conclusion, we see Picard and his crew, fueled by unwavering courage and indomitable motivations, standing by his side, ready for the imminent battle against the nefarious Borgs.