Unveiling the Secrets: Star Trek: Picard Season 3's Mind-Blowing Encounter with the Changeling Boss & Borg Queen

Summary

The Borg Queen, assisted by Captain Vadic and the Changelings, plot to destroy the Federation, but their plan is foiled by Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D.

Vadic, previously believed to be a Changeling, is actually under the command of the Borg Queen, who manipulates her to capture Jack Crusher and assimilate Starfleet officers.

Manipulating Jack through implanted Borg DNA, the Borg Queen's objective is to assimilate young Starfleet officers. However, Picard manages to sever Jack's connection with the Borg Queen and ultimately annihilates her vessel.

In Star Trek: Picard season 3, the main antagonist, Captain Vadic (played by Amanda Plummer), was under the command of a mysterious entity known as The Face (played by Garth Kemp). Despite some confusion among fans, it is revealed that The Face is actually the Borg Queen (portrayed by Alice Krige). The Changelings and the Borg, two notable villains from the Star Trek universe, join forces in season 3 of Picard to confront the United Federation of Planets. However, the true role of the Borg remains a secret until the last two episodes. In episode 4, titled "No Win Scenario," it is disclosed that Vadic serves as a subordinate to a presumed Changeling antagonist. The Face instructs Vadic to capture Jack Crusher, the son of Dr. Beverly Crusher (played by Gates McFadden) and Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart). Vadic carries out this order by attacking the USS Titan and demanding Admiral Picard's surrender of his son. Naturally, Picard refuses to hand over his child, but he and the crew of the Titan observe Vadic's desperation. Unbeknownst to them and the viewers at that moment, Vadic herself is a Changeling and is also taking orders from the Borg Queen. The combined efforts of the Borg and Changelings almost succeed in destroying the Federation, but Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D manage to intervene just in time, foiling their plans.

Vadic’s Boss In Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Was Always The Borg Queen

In episode 4, "No Win Scenario," of Star Trek: Picard season 3, Vadic, a Changeling, shocks everyone by severing her own hand. This revelation exposes her true identity and the goo transforms into a distorted Face. The Face, belonging to the Borg Queen, reminds Vadic that she and her ship are expendable and instructs her to capture Jack Crusher by any means necessary. Though the identity of Vadic's boss is initially undisclosed, it is later revealed that she had been working under the Borg Queen, confirmed by showrunner Terry Matalas and the special features on the Star Trek: Picard season 3 Blu-ray release. Following the devastating blow to the Borg in the finale of Star Trek: Voyager, the Borg Queen had been left weakened and disfigured. This not only clarifies her reliance on the Changelings' assistance, but also explains her altered appearance.

Despite the initial vagueness of Vadic's communications with her superior, it becomes apparent that she and the Changelings had always been aligned with the Borg and under the Borg Queen's command. While Vadic had her own motivations for wanting to bring down the Federation, her alliance with the Borg Queen provided her with the necessary power and technology to achieve her goals. Both the Borg Queen and the Changelings felt slighted by the Federation, leading them to forge a united front in seeking revenge. Having individually experienced struggles against Starfleet, the Borg and Changelings realized they were too weakened to challenge the might of the Federation on their own. However, together, their plan came perilously close to succeeding.

The Borg Queen’s Picard Season 3 Alliance With Vadic & Changelings Explained

The Borg Queen devised a plan that hinged on obtaining the deceased bodies of Jean-Luc Picard and Jack Crusher, with assistance from Vadic's Changelings. Even after Picard's time as Locutus, traces of Borg DNA remained in his brain, unknowingly passed on to his son, Jack. The Changelings cunningly stole Picard's body from Daystrom Station and utilized the Borg DNA to manipulate the transporters on Starfleet ships, enabling the Borg Queen to assimilate any Starfleet officer under the age of 25. Exploiting the Borg DNA within Jack's brain, the Borg Queen contacted him, causing him to transform into Vox, the signal transmitter that facilitated the assimilation of Starfleet ships during the Frontier Day festivities.

Though Jack found solace in being a part of the Borg Collective, Picard managed to establish a connection with his son and sever his ties with the Borg Queen. The reassembled TNG crew then employed the unassimilated USS Enterprise-D to obliterate the Borg Queen and her vessel, effectively saving the galaxy once more. Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard proved to be a nostalgic triumph for numerous reasons, culminating in the long-awaited resolution of the original Borg Collective's menace to the Federation and Jean-Luc Picard for over three decades.