Why does Admiral Picard get the blame for the Locutus’ actions?

Star Trek: Picard’s most recent episide “No Win Scenario” once again referenced Locutus of Borg, the time during which Admiral Picard was assimilated.

This post contains spoilers from Star Trek: Picard season three, episode four “No Win Scenario.” 

When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine debuted with the powerful episode “Emissary,” , then Commander Benjamin Sisko had to meet with then Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and Sisko’s animosity was palpable as his wife had died in the battle at Wolf 359. Then, in the most recent episode of Star Trek: Picard, we learn that Captain Shaw was one of ten survivors of a Federation ship that was at the battle. And Shaw had a lot to say about Locutus.

Locutus of Borg wasn’t Jean-Luc PIcard, though. He had the then captain’s memories, but Picard became a part of the Hive collective through no fault of his own. It wasn’t like Picard chose to be assimiliated or to perform any of the heinous acts he committed as part of the Borg. Essentially, Picard disappeared to be replaced by a drone whose thoughts were not his own.

Admiral Picard shouldn’t continue to suffer because he didn’t choose to participate in any of the atrocities the Borg inflicted about the Federation.

In “No Win Scenario,” Captain Shaw says that Locutus was the only Borg so deadly he was given a name, but Picard was given that designation for a means of communication between the Borg and the Enterprise. Commander Riker couldn’t talk to the entire collective at one time so Picard was named as the spokesperson for the Borg essentially. And nothing he said or did was by his choice. It was much like when Seven of Nine was designated to speak to Captain Janeway.

Seven of Nine is no more guilty of all of the Borg’s crimes than Admiral Picard is, and while she might get treated negatively at times, for the most part, she is not blamed for those crimes they committed while she was a part of them.  Yet Picard continues to bear the brunt of the fury from those who had been affected by the Borg.

Captain Shaw got so furious with Picard because of the many lives that were lost at Wolf 359, but his anger should have been directed at the Borg as a whole. Picard did not control the Borg; they controlled him. And it isn’t just that Picard is still considered an enemy because of an assimilation he never wanted.

While the scene with Shaw and Picard in the holodeck version of Ten Forward was expertly written and acted, I couldn’t help but be irritated that, yet again, Picard was being blamed for one of the actions of one of the most powerful villains the Federation has ever encountered. Enough is enough.