It’s time for another Star Trek: Picard update, but this time it’s a clarification on a major plot point from season two. Executive producer Terry Matalas is clearing something up regarding how the season fits in with what we know of the Borg that might have been confusing to fans.
Borgati’s “off-shoot”
The final two episodes of Star Trek: Picard season two saw Agnes Jurati become a Borg Queen. She initially merged with the queen from the 25th-century Confederation timeline, then the two were given La Sirena back in 2024 to leave and form a new type of Borg collective based on cooperation and consent instead of domination and subjugation. When the crew returned to the 25th century, it was revealed that this was the masked Queen who had taken over the USS Stargazer at the beginning of the season; however, her intentions were good and she was trying to get Starfleet to help prevent a galactic disaster.
Alison Pill as Borg Queen
This revelation of the “Borgati” Queen in the Prime Universe of the 25th century raises a big question: What exactly had she been up to since 2024? Did she, with the advanced tech of La Sirena, transform the Borg Collective, effectively rewriting everything we know about the Borg from Star Trek history? According to season two co-showrunner Terry Matalas, the answer is no. Jurati’s Borg were an “off-shoot” of the Borg Collective that “stayed out of history’s way.” He revealed this in a Twitter reply to a fan who asked how Jurati’s Borg impact the Borg we know.
They’re an off-shoot from an alternate timeline that have stayed out of history’s way. They are not the the Borg. I’d imagine the real Borg are licking their wounds still in the Delta Quadrant after Alt Admiral Janeway poisoned them.
— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) May 31, 2022
Matalas added he expected the traditional Borg are “licking their wounds still in the Delta Quadrant after Alt Admiral Janeway poisoned them.” This refers to the Star Trek: Voyager series finale, which had a future Admiral Janeway come back in time to help Captain Janeway get the USS Voyager home more quickly using the Borg conduit network. Admiral Janeway stayed behind, sacrificing herself to be assimilated, but in so doing she infected the Borg with a “neurolytic pathogen,” breaking the Queen’s control over the Collective.
Borg Queen (Alice Krige) infected by Admiral Janeway in “Endgame”
Matalas also revealed that an earlier draft had Starfleet give Jurati’s collective a different name to differentiate them from the other Borg, calling them “the Jurati.”
In one of the earlier drafts of the finale, Starfleet recognized them as the Jurati.
— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) May 31, 2022
No Borgati in season 3
Alison Pill has already confirmed she will not be in season three of Star Trek: Picard. Matalas also confirmed that season three will not be dealing with the Borg v Borg conflict, but he expects someone else to pick up that story.
I’m sure someone will write something like that, but it’s not the focus of Season 3.
— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) June 1, 2022
Alternate Borg ship
In other Borg news, production designer Dave Blass revealed that there was an alternate way for the Borg Queen to get on board the USS Stargazer; they designed a small Borg shuttle for the Queen that would have penetrated the Stargazer’s shields before she beamed onto the bridge. He shared the early artwork for the design by John Eaves, James Chung and Doug Drexler on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Star Trek Picard season 2 is available to stream now. There is no word yet on when the third season of Star Trek: Picardwill debut.
