Why Seven of Nine never asked questions aboard Voyager

When Star Trek: Voyager brought Jeri Ryan onboard to portray a Borg drone, it created a new dynamic aboard the ship, one in which perfection played a large part. When Seven of Nine was a member of the Borg collective, her entire focus, her entire being was based on their need for perfection. When she was disconnected from the hive mind, she was distraught because that need had not gone away.

The Borg viewed themselves as perfect, superior to any and all other beings. They assimilated other species along with their biological and technological distinctiveness thereby enhancing their level of perfection. So it’s understandable that Seven of Nine, after spending eighteen years connected to the Borg would see herself as superior. And even though she was no longer connected to them, the knowledge she had acquired led her to believe that all other beings were inferior to her. And she saw herself much like a lone member of the Borg tolerating the mere mortals beneath her…at first.

Brannon Braga wanted to drive home Seven of Nine’s authoritarian beliefs so, as he mentioned in Star Trek: Voyager A Celebration, he made sure that she would never ask questions because she was much too imperious for that. Instead, she demanded answers.

"There was never a line of dialogue with a question mark in it. Everything had to be declarative. ‘State your demand.’ ‘Explain.’ Seven doesn’t ask questions; she demands answers."

This trait set Seven of Nine apart from even the Borg Queen who would ask questions even though she, too, considered herself superior. For four seasons, Seven of Nine sought her humanity while battling with her beliefs in her own level of excellence. Now, on Star Trek: Picard, it’s clear that she has become more comfortable with being a human as she does ask questions. But the air of superiority remains…even in a vigilante.