Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2's Finale - "Farewell"
In spite of being turned back into a Borg, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) had an ideal Renée Picard's (Penelope Mitchell) destiny assured, Star Trek's future is back on track thanks to Picard and his motley crew.
As much as Star Trek: Picard season 2 set out to answer pivotal questions about Jean-Luc Picard, it also placed a great deal of provocative focus on Seven of Nine. Of all of Picard's crew, Seven had the biggest shock when she awoke in the alternate timeline created by Q (John de Lancie). In this reality, Seven never became a Borg and she was Annika Hansen, the President of the Confederation of Planets. Free of her Borg implants for the first time since she was a child, Seven was surprised how much she enjoyed being human, especially when Picard's crew time-traveled back to 2024 Los Angeles. Seven discovered she had an innate talent for reading people and, because she didn't look like a cyborg, people had an easy time trusting her. Oddly, Seven found a new kind of happiness in her own skin in spite of the temporal crisis they were in the midst of. However, Seven was mortally wounded in battle with the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) but Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) pleading for her friend's life resulted in the Queen restoring Seven back to being part-Borg.
Among the numerous surprises in Star Trek: Picard's season 2 finale, "Farewell," one of the best is Seven of Nine finally becoming a part of Starfleet. After Q returned Picard and his crew to their Borg crisis in 2401, Jean-Luc used his authority as a Starfleet iral to give Seven a field commission. Earlier in Star Trek: Picard season 2, Seven confessed to Raffi that after the USS Voyager returned to Earth, Seven was rejected from Starfleet because she was a Borg. iral Janeway stood up for Seven and nearly quit in protest but Seven chose, instead, to leave Earth and become a Fenris Ranger. But thanks to iral Picard, Seven's potential as a Starfleet Officer has been fulfilled, at last. Even better, Seven briefly Captained the USS Stargazer and she helped lead Starfleet's team up with the Borg Queen to save the quadrant from a galactic incursion that created a new transwarp conduit.
Of course, Seven suddenly becoming a Starfleet Officer leads to intriguing questions. Jean-Luc didn't specify what rank Seven is; although she immediately assumed the Captain's chair on the Stargazer (and Commander Raffi Musiker slid neatly into a First Officer role for her), there's no telling yet whether Starfleet will actually give Seven of Nine command of the Stargazer, or any Federation starship. Amusingly, Seven taking over the Stargazer in Captain Rios' absence continued her habit of inheriting Chris' starships since Seven did the same to La Sirena when Rios returned to Starfleet.
But even more important than Seven becoming a Starfleet Officer, at last, is the profound change for the better the reclaimed Borg has undergone in Star Trek: Picard season 2. Seven's life after Voyager returned to Earth was difficult, and she was alone and unhappy for decades. After Starfleet rejected her, Seven spent years seeing the worst the galaxy had to offer with the Fenris Rangers. But ing Picard's found "family" has been a boon to Seven, especially because she found love with Raffi.
By the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2's finale, it was a joy to see Seven happy surrounded by her loved ones while drinking at 10 Forward, which was the culmination of the many new ways Jeri Ryan evolved her iconic character. Seven is also, at last, comfortable with being part Borg. No doubt, this buoyant new Seven is a sight iral Janeway would have loved to see. Thankfully, Jeri Ryan is returning as Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Picard season 3, which should answer the lingering questions about Seven of Nine's future in Starfleet.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is streaming on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.