[Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Episode 9, "Võx."]Episode 9 of Star Trek: Picard, titled "Võx," finally revealed who the real villain of the season is. The episode picks up moments after the previous one ended with Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) helping Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) figure out what dark secret has been haunting his subconscious all this time. When she ultimately opens that red door in Jack's mind and sees a massive Borg Cube, it strikes fear into both her and Jack, as well as the audience. Running on nothing but bravado and the desperate need to prove himself, Jack takes off in a shuttlecraft with every intention to find the Borg Queen and kill her himself. Unfortunately, things are never that easy when it comes to the Borg, and Jack is seduced by the Queen and turned into a weapon of mass destruction.
Collider's own Maggie Lovitt recently sat down with Star Trek: Picard Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas to discuss this equally epic and inevitable twist, along with the rest of Episode 9. During the episode, we never see the face of the Borg Queen, however, the credits do confirm that she's voiced by Alice Krige. Krige originated the role in Star Trek: First Contact and reprised it for an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Krige is far from the only person who has played the Borg Queen, with Susanna Thompson having taken up the mantle in three episodes of Voyager; the late AnnieWersching delivered a phenomenal take on the role in Picard Season 2, which concluded with Allison Pill taking over and creating a transwarp conduit within Federation space.
Speaking on why we do not see her face in this episode, Matalas told Collider, "It is Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. You will see in the finale, though, it is voiced by Alice Krige, but the Borg Queen does not look good when you see her. Janeway did a number on them the last time we saw them, and there's a reason she needs Jack." In Star Trek: Voyager, an alternate future version of Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) delivered a brutal blow to the Borg, keeping them relatively at bay until this moment. Given that she needs to rely on the Changelings and now Jack to enact her plan, this may give Picard and company a weakness that they can exploit to save humanity in the upcoming finale. Season 2's Borg plot differs a bit from their modus operandi in Season 3, Matalas explained, saying "that the Borg Conduit, from Season 2, was a bit of a distraction so that they could open the real one where they are, which you'll discover in the finale."
US Fans Will Get to See the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Finale in IMAX
With so much at stake, Star Trek fans are waiting with bated breath to see the Picard series finale next week. It was recently announced that the final two episodes would be shown in IMAX in select locations throughout the US. The lucky fans in attendance will receive complimentary concessions as well as a finale poster. Tickets were made available earlier this week, and they were all scooped up almost immediately. A live Q&A will take place at the LA screening with Patrick Stewart, MichaelDorn, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, GatesMcFadden, BrentSpiner, and JeriRyan, along with executive producers Matalas and AlexKurtzman in attendance, and it will be broadcast to the other participating theaters.
Don't worry though, if you didn't get a ticket to one of the IMAX screenings you'll still be able to watch the finale on Paramount+ on April 19. Be sure to check out the rest of our conversation with Matalas when it goes live, and in the meantime check out our recent conversation with Ryan and Todd Stashwick down below.
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