Star Trek: Picard helped ruin the Borg but is there for the once great alien threat?
When it comes to Star Trek villains, The Borg was often thought of to be the best. By best, we mean terrifying. They’re among the most vicious creatures that the franchise has ever created to battle its heroes and for a long time, they were the best Trek had to offer as far as a species of villains go.
One of the biggest criticism of the alien race of hive-minded, techno-zombies, is that they’ve become overused. Sure, Voyager featured them a lot, but most of their encounters were really well done. Enterprise brought them in for an episode, and that worked pretty well.
Yet, for 20 years, the brand has put the Borg on the back burner until Star Trek: Picard brought them back. They had used the Borg Queen, a once terrifying creature that embodied the Borg collective, and eventually found a way to humanize her, and then later, turn her into a good guy.
The greatest threat in the history of Star Trek is now being slowly nerfed because writers want to subvert expectations instead of giving fans what they want. Ruining the Borg for selfish reasons. Great concept. Picard is just an awful and needlessly confusing show. Its damage to Trek is profound. But can it be undone?
Can Star Trek: Prodigy make The Borg intimidating again?
Now, I haven’t seen the Star Trek: Prodigy episode that features The Borg just yet. So when I do, I’ll further expand on how they did with bringing them back to the forefront of villainy. That said, I have complete fate that Prodigy will do the Borg justice.
Unlike Picard, Prodigy has made its entire show about respecting Star Trek and its philosophy. they’ve used past characters, past alien races, and past concepts to great success. Whether it was using the likes of Spock, bringing back the Denobulians or starting the show in the Delta Quadrant, the show knows how to give Trek fans something to sink their teeth into.
Hopefully, after watching the 12th episode of Prodigy, “Let Sleeping Borgs Lie”, we get to see the Borg more of what they are intended to be and less of what the Picard writers want them to be.