Star Trek: Picard Recap: The Needs of the Many

When Vadic died at the end of “Surrender,” I breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, things were bad, but they were about to get better. How naive and innocent I was, how childlike and trusting! Shit really hits the fan in “Vox,” and I am very worried about the fate of my beloved crew.

We finally get the answer to the question we’ve been asking all season: What’s the deal with Jack Crusher? Apparently, he’s part Borg. To the point where the Borg Queen thinks of him as her son. Ew.

Dr. Crusher diagnosed Jean-Luc with Irumodic Syndrome at the end of The Next Generation, but organic technology within his body was what allowed him to operate as a communicator with the Borg. This answers a question I’ve had for years: Why, in Star Trek: First Contact, could Picard still hear the Borg’s voices despite not having any Borg tech in his body? He then passed that ability on to Jack, who thought he was hearing the voice of his mother in his mind. Now we know it was the Borg Queen whispering to him. His love of order and ability to control people are all Borg.

Jean-Luc, a man who has no grasp of his or anyone else’s emotions, unsurprisingly does not handle this news well. It’s clear that Jack is scared and looking for answers, but instead of offering comfort, Jean-Luc can barely look at his son as he breaks the dire news. Instead of love, he offers a Vulcan institution and “the needs of the many.” It isn’t his finest moment. Jean-Luc could have handled this better, but he let his fear control him. He has passed much more than Locutus on to his son, but he can’t see past his guilt right now.

And it drives Jack straight into the arms (er … tendrils? Hoses?) of the person who has been pursuing him the entire time: the Borg Queen. It’s not the smartest decision, but it’s an understandable emotional one to go where you’re most likely to get answers. Jack doesn’t understand the power of the Borg Queen (Jean-Luc does all too well, which is why he reacted the way he did). He underestimates her, and he pays the price.

The Borg are back, and the Borg Queen has Jack (and named him Vox), and the Changelings have managed to work an assimilation protocol into Starfleet’s transporter systems so everyone under a certain age is now basically a Borg. Of course, I’m worried about Jack and Alandra and Sidney. They’re all in trouble. I care. Really. I really do care a lot!!!

That said, the problem with mixing legacy characters and new ones is that your heart is always with the people you’ve known for most of your life. I reveled in every joke, glance, and smile between these characters. And when they revealed the final cast member for this legacy reunion, something I hoped would happen after Alandra’s Hangar Bay 12 reference in the episode “The Bounty,” I fully lost my shit. I couldn’t care about anything or anyone else.

Yes, Starfleet is in trouble, and things look really bad, but the Enterprise-D is back and I got to watch my cast walk onto the bridge. It’s funny. This is a plot-heavy episode with a ton of big reveals — uncovering the Borg connection, the beginning of Frontier Day, all the young people becoming Borg, Shaw dying (oh no), Raffi staying behind to support Seven (oh yes) — yet it’s hard to focus on any of it because our ship is back and she’s perfect. (Did you hear that, Worf? SHE IS PERFECT.)

The big moments of this episode are rooted in nostalgia, especially the closing reveal. That’s not a bad thing (I absolutely loved it), but it makes it hard to talk about this episode rationally. It’s not about the plot or what happened; it’s how it made me feel. That’s what I care about here. Despite the dire circumstances (don’t destroy Spacedock!! Starfleet is Borg now?) and having only one episode to wrap up a huge story, it feels good because we’re home. This is a family, and when they’re together, everything will be okay.

Captain’s Log

• The Enterprise-F! It’s being decommissioned! Maybe we’ll see a new Enterprise at the end of this.

• Haven’t we learned by now not to network the ships? Come on, Starfleet! Admiral Shelby, shame!

• I was starting to get worried that we wouldn’t have any Raffi-and-Seven moments, but now they’re stuck on the Titan together and I have hope!

• But the sad thing is that Shaw is gone and the internet will be very mad.

• The Borg Queen sounded a whole lot like Alice Krige, who played her in Star Trek: First Contact. So creepy, so well done. (According to the credits, it is, in fact, Alice Krige!)

• Seven calling Data “the robot” made me laugh so hard I cried.

• Data finally has a grasp of humor, and I love it. His humor with the emotion chip felt so artificial, but this is natural and funny!!

• There’s something extra-moving about Geordi being back at the conn, which is where he started!!

• My heart is not ready for this show to end.

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