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Star Trek: Why Picard Is So Afraid Of The Borg
Star Trek: Picard's Jean-Luc Picard has a long and complicated history with the Borg that has sometimes seen the levelheaded captain act in uncharacteristic ways. In Star Trek: Picard episode 6, "The Impossible Box," Picard must once again face his own demons and venture into the belly of the beast - the Artifact, also known as the captured Borg Cube under Romulan control. The Romulans have been harvesting the Borg cube of its technology to sell to the highest bidder, and seemingly to rebuild their own broken empire in the face of Romulus' destruction.
Picard is forced to travel to the Artifact to find Soji Asha, the young woman who is slowly realizing she's a synthetic life form, created by Bruce Maddox from pieces of the late Lieutenant Commander Data. Picard has already failed to save Maddox as well as Soji's sister, Dahj, but he's determined to rescue Soji before the Romulans can use her to find a den of synths, seemingly created by Maddox. The Romulans despise artificial life, and the secret cabal called the Zhat Vash believe Soji to be a prophesied destroyer of their race.
But Picard doesn't fear Romulan secret police or superpowered androids - he fears the Borg. Long held up as the virtuous, prototypical Starfleet officer, Picard can never quite shake what happened to him at the hands of the Borg, nor should he be expected to - what they did to him was a horrific violation that would have utterly broken most people. Picard has been able to move on for most of his life, but on the rare occasions when the Borg rear their heads, fans are given a glimpse of a very different Picard. To understand why, we have to go back to the beginning.
The Borg Assimilated Picard
The Borg were introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, specifically in the episode "Q Who," as the titular trickster threw the Enterprise into the far away Delta Quadrant. There they would meet the Borg, zombie-like cyborgs intent on assimilating all life into their collective. The Enterprise narrowly escaped the Borg the first time; they wouldn't be so lucky in the second encounter, "The Best of Both Worlds." That epic two-parter saw the Borg reach the Alpha Quadrant, with their sights set on assimilating Earth. The Enterprise attempted to stop the oncoming Borg cube, but they were forced to withdraw, and Picard was taken prisoner.
The Borg assimilated Picard into the collective, calling him Locutus of Borg. He was to be the Borg's spokesperson in their oncoming assimilation of humanity. The Borg would use Picard's knowledge of Starfleet strategy to utterly decimate a fleet of Starfleet ships at the Battle of Wolf 359 - including the wife of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Commander Benjamin Sisko - resulting in thousands of deaths. A daring plan by the newly-promoted Captain Riker would manage to save Earth, destroy the cube, and rescue Picard. Picard's Borg implants were removed, but the scars ran much deeper. Picard would be haunted by his assimilation for years, becoming uncharacteristically agitated, even violent when confronted with the cybernetic monsters.
(Almost) Making Peace With The Borg
Picard's perspective on the Borg would be changed in the fifth season episode "I, Borg," in which the Enterprise responded to a distress signal only to find a Borg scout ship with one survivor, designated Third of Five. He'd eventually be given the name Hugh by Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge, while Picard and Starfleet Command plotted to use him as a weapon against the collective. Hugh would eventually begin to reassert his individuality, to the surprise of the Enterprise crew, though Picard refused to stop his plan or talk to the young Borg drone. When he eventually relented, Picard saw Hugh for the individual he had become, and offered to let him stay on the Enterprise. Hugh knew the Borg would never stop trying to track him down, so he returned to the collective, hoping his individuality would survive.
It did, and then some. Hugh's individuality spread throughout the collective, creating a subset of Borg who felt as if they were malfunctioning. After being duped into following Data's evil brother Lore, the newly freed Borg went on to follow Hugh, seemingly with a bright future ahead of them. But Picard would be back to rage and violence in his next Borg encounter in Star Trek: First Contact, the second TNG film. Picard nearly lets his fury at his transgressors destroy his ship and crew before coming back from the brink. It was a decisive victory for Picard and the Enterprise, but his trauma only deepened.
Star Trek: Picard has chosen to explore a new kind of Borg, cosmetically restored former Borg drones, called exBs. The exBs are overseen by Hugh - now much more flesh than machine - the director of the Borg Reclamation Project. Even knowing he was heading in the direction of a friend, and that the cube was now populated by scientists and Romulan officers, Picard can't help but become emotionally volatile with his new crew at the thought of entering a Borg vessel again. Even once Picard is warmly greeted by Hugh, and acknowledges all the good work he's done with the exBs, the good captain is still slightly off his game while being surrounded by former Borg drones. After showing Picard his efforts, Hugh hopes that Picard could become an important voice in the fight to restore the rights of the exBs, who are now among the universe's most reviled people.
Jean-Luc Picard may never fully make peace with the Borg on Star Trek: Picard. The assault he suffered at their hands was a pivotal moment in his life, one that he admitted to Seven of Nine that he still hasn't fully recovered from over three decades later. But just as he told Seven, he works on restoring his own humanity in some small way every day of his life. If he can get past his own demons and advocate for those who were violated by the Borg in the same way he was, perhaps his years of trauma will have been worth it.
