‘Star Trek: Picard’ Recap – ‘Võx’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 309 of ‘Star Trek: Picard’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that fans of Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek in general… have been anxiously awaiting one thing when it comes to the third and final season of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard’s new adventures through the stars. Specifically… answers. For we’ve all been dying to know why Jack Crusher has those unique abilities and we’ve all been eager to learn exactly who is behind the Frontier Day plot and what exactly they have planned for the Federation and Starfleet and well… at long last, the answers came our way. For ‘Võx’ revealed every truth we’ve been waiting for, and well, this episode was definitely a fine reminder that sometimes we must be careful what we wish for. 
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For the story wasted little time in revisiting that mysterious red door and what Deanna Troi discovered was behind it… was outright terrifying. Because it turned out that Jack Crusher was hearing the symphony of the Borg. Courtesy of leftover genetic changes made to Jean-Luc Picard during his time as Locutus of Borg, which was actually why Jean-Luc’s human body expired and well… that made Jack a potential threat and of course… there were more horrors that our heroes came to learn regarding this awful revelation. In that, the Borg made use of the altered DNA present in the Admiral’s body, to create an assimilation code that would embed itself in anyone who went through a transporter in Starfleet. Meaning that a vast majority of younger fleet personnel could easily be altered into a Borg drone if Jack were to come into contact with the Hive, since his gifts basically made him a Borg signal transmitter. 

Not to mention, that horrible reality, combined with the fact that the entirety of Starfleet was at Earth and now connected via a network like technology, painfully similar to what the Borg Collective made use of… pushed Picard and company to get to Earth post haste to try and stop the networking and save the day. But alas, Jack did indeed escape the Titan and found his place with the Borg Queen and Admiral Elizabeth Shelby was eager to show off the new technology via her flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-F, and that… led to complete and utter disaster. Wherein anyone under the age of 25 was indeed assimilated and where the fleet was transformed into a Borg Collective of sorts. Which forced the former crew of the 1701-D to think fast and get the hell off of the Titan before the Borg eliminated them. An escape that proved costly since only the magnificent seven made it off the ship, leaving Raffi and Seven of Nine behind and with the body of the now late Captain Liam Shaw. Who died saving lives when the drones bore down.

So, in order to save the whole of the Federation, this intrepid crew needed a starship that wasn’t linked to the new Starfleet mainframe network and had the resources to figure out a solution to the problem and harbored enough firepower to hang in a firefight as needed, and it just so happened that Geordi had the right ship for the job. No… he had the perfect vessel in mind to save the Federation. For over the course of the past twenty years… he worked to restore a personal favorite, one whose saucer section was rescued from Veridian III to keep the Prime Directive intact, after being hot dropped on the planet. And through his connections as museum curator, Geordi was able to restore the stardrive section of a Galaxy Class starship that meant so much to him and his friends, and just like that… the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D was put back into service and was ready to fight the Borg once again, setting the stage for an epic series finale. One that will see this ship and its crew face off against their greatest foe.

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Which is of course, about as epic as it gets and well…. this episode was about as epic as it gets and that’s why we are quickly summarizing the key plot points today, because there are a lot of big moments that we need to unpack in this particular tale. Such as the fact that showrunner Terry Matalas gave us perhaps the highest stakes Star Trek episode to ever grace the franchise. Because while the Borg have indeed tested Starfleet and inflicted great pain and lasting damage upon it via the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Battle of Sector 001, they’ve never once been successful in their goals to assimilate Starfleet and bring the Federation to its knees. But thanks to the Queen’s guile and desire for revenge and domination… and Starfleet’s belief that they were safe from the Borg threat… here we are. Facing the bleakest moment in the franchise’s storied history, one far darker than even the visual of those shattered ships in ‘The Best of Both Worlds, Part II’.
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But while that alone could have carried this episode, especially since the La Forge sisters were part of the assimilation nightmare that played out in this tale, it still had so much more to offer. After all, this was an episode littered to the brim with beautiful Easter Eggs and epic surprises. Such as the on-screen arrival of the NCC-1701-F, a vessel that players of Star Trek Online know quite well, and it was just amazing to finally see a new Enterprise on screen. Plus, it was equally as amazing to see Elizabeth Dennehy return to reprise her role and learn that her ambition never left her, as evidenced by those five Admiralty pips adorning her collar and of course, she wasn’t the only amazing cameo present here. Since it was both incredible and chilling to hear Alice Krige reprise her role as the Borg Queen. Plus, the ship lists and deep dives into the history of the franchise was just a real treat and will undoubtedly prompt multiple rewatches of this episode.

However, let’s be honest… the centerpiece of this tale and the moment that has all of us buzzing today, is the return of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. For she remains a greatly beloved ship by the fans, one that didn’t quite get the honorable end she deserved. So, to see her here again, and to see this fine crew stand on her bridge, restored to how it appeared on television, complete with Majel Barrett Roddenberry’s voice as the computer, was just incredible. In fact, it was downright tear jerking for this writer. For the 1701-D is/was… my Enterprise. The one I grew up watching, the one that left me in awe every single week for seven wonderful years of my youth. Which made this a special moment for me and for fans of The Next Generation and was perhaps the perfect way to set up this finale. Since her return can properly bring an end to the TNG era and hopefully position this era of the STU and the characters here… to enjoy new voyages to strange new worlds. 

But all sentimental wonder aside, this really was an incredible episode. One that rivaled the majesty of the film franchises that came before it and left us on the edge of our seats. Courtesy of stunning revelations, epic surprises and deep franchise dives and the chilling return of the darkest foe that Jean-Luc Picard and his brave crew ever faced and well… let’s be honest… we will all be counting down the seconds to next week’s series finale. To see how the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise defeats the Borg once more, with minimal resources at hand and with Starfleet under the control of the collective, and to see how this beautiful love letter to The Next Generation will bring proper closure to a crew that truly deserves a wondrous ending to their adventures through the stars. Until next time.  

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