While the Borg started out in Star Trek: The Next Generation as cybernetic beings all operating under a hive mind called the Collective without any kind of command hierarchy, the 1997 movie Star Trek: First Contact introduced the Borg Queen, who was established as guiding the Collective. The Borg Queen has been previously been played Alice Krige and Susanna Thompson (Cher was also looked at for the role), and she's now being brought to life in Star Trek: Picard Season 2 by 24 alum Annie Wersching. But there’s something about the character that hasn’t been clarified over the years: is there just the one Borg Queen, or are there multiple characters who hold that position?
As Annie Wersching sees it, the Borg Queen she’s playing in Star Trek: Picard is different from the ones we saw in Star Trek: First Contact, numerous episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and the “I, Excretus” episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. As the actress explained to THR:
In my opinion, she is a different incarnation of the Queen. [My version] is going to have all the information and all the memories that the other two queens have, but she is her own incarnation.
Following Alice Krige’s debut as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact. Susanna Thompson’s version of the character appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager two-parters “Dark Frontier” and “Unimatrix Zero,” and Krige returned to the role for the series’ two-part finale “Endgame.” During that time, it was never officially established if there are several Borg Queens who control different portions of the Borg Collective, or just the same queen we’ve been seeing over and over who’s able to keep cheating death by downloading her consciousness into a new body. It remains to be seen if Star Trek: Picard will provide a definitive answer, but Annie Wersching has made her position on the matter clear.
SPOILERS for the Star Trek: Picard episode “Penance” are ahead!
As the actress noted, because her Borg Queen can access information obtained by her predecessors, this mystery could just be a moot point as far as the Star Trek: Picard storyline goes. Annie Wersching’s Borg Queen also has the benefit of having a “trans-temporal awareness” allowing her to hear echoes of herself across other realities. This is how she was able to realize that time was broken, and she now exists in a reality where she’s the only surviving Borg.
Annie Wersching’s Borg Queen was scheduled to be executed at the hands of Jean-Luc Picard, who’s a ruthless, genocidal general for the Confederation in this reality. However, because of her ability to guide the protagonists into the past (specifically 2024 Los Angeles) so they can fix Q’s alterations to the timeline, she was saved from that fate. Whether this is a new Borg Queen or not, she finds herself cut off from the Collective, so she’s forced to ally with non-assimilated individuals. That’s not to say though that the Borg Queen has intentions she’s keeping to herself, and here’s what Wersching had to say about that:
The Borg Queen is in such a distressed state at this point, which is not a way we are used to seeing her. She is usually so in control. I think a really interesting development that happens through the season is her interest in Agnes [Alison Pill], and what is that exactly. There is something very interesting in their relationship.
While spouting off scientific gibberish about the broken timeline, the Borg Queen referred to Alison Pill’s Agnes Jurati as a “fragile teacup” who was accustomed to a feeling of “un-belonging.” It appears Annie Wersching’s character has taken an interest in Agnes, and however that plays out over the rest of Star Trek: Picard Season 2, it’s reasonable to assume that will cause more trouble than good. At least Wersching’s comments imply we won’t have to worry about seeing numerous Borg Queens together… right?
New episodes of Star Trek: Picard can be accessed with a Paramount+ subscription every Thursday. Be sure to look through the lineup of other Paramount+ shows, and Star Trek fans can also look forward to Strange New Worlds (which premiered its first trailer earlier this week) kicking off its first season on May 5.
