Picard: The Real Reason The Borg Queen Assimilated Agnes
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 5 - "Fly Me To The Moon"
There's a deeper reason why the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) assimilated Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) in Star Trek: Picard season 2 and it ties into the personal needs of the cybernetic tyrant. Agnes allowed the Borg Queen to assimilate her in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 3, "Assimilation," but it was a ruse so that Jurati could "steal a bunch of s***" from the Queen's mind. This included the location of the Watcher, who turned out to be Tallinn (Orla Brady), a Supervisor linked to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Assignment: Earth." Yet the Borg Queen was so impressed by Agnes' deceit that she desired to assimilate Jurati fully, and the Queen fulfilled her need in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 5, "Fly Me To The Moon."
The Borg Queen (Alice Krige) was introduced in Star Trek: First Contact as the ruler of the Borg but she has always sought a counterpart. Star Trek: First Contact retconned the reason by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was captured by the Borg and turned into Locutus. In Star Trek: The Next Generation's classic two-parter, "The Best of Both Worlds," Picard was assimilated to become a mouthpiece for the Borg when they attempted to assimilate Earth. But Picard in Star Trek: First Contact realized that the Borg Queen actually wanted a "mate" or a "counterpart," which is why she attempted to seduce the android, Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Even though she is the focal point of the billions of Borg voices in the Collective, the Borg Queen also lives a lonely existence. The Queen desires the company of a being equal to herself, and she's tried to create one a few times.
In Star Trek: Picard season 2, the Borg Queen assimilated Agnes Jurati both out of loneliness and the desire for a counterpart. After Q (John de Lancie) altered the timeline, the Confederation of Earth massacred the Borg, leaving the Queen as the cybernetic race's lone survivor. Cut off from the voices of the Collective, the Borg Queen's mental state fractured. Yet when she assimilated Jurati, who she mocked and underestimated, the Borg Queen was impressed that Agnes was stronger, more devious, and "crueler" than she thought. This excited the Borg Queen and she decided that she had to assimilate Dr. Jurati, which is why the Queen concocted a ruse to force Agnes to shoot and "kill" her cybernetic body. In reality, Borg Queen seduced Agnes and left her mutilated cyborg frame behind to enter and share Agnes' mind and body.
Instead of turning Agnes into a cyborg, the Borg Queen simply infiltrated Jurati and assimilated her from within so she can live inside of the brilliant cyberneticist. This is a new spin on assimilation by the Borg Queen because she didn't wipe out Agnes' personality to turn her into a drone. Rather the Borg Queen is sharing Jurati's mind and body. This also allows the Queen to manipulate Agnes with Picard and his friends none the wiser that the Borg Queen is now part of their motley crew. Yet for the Borg Queen, who is the ultimate survivor, assimilating Agnes isn't entirely about control. In a twisted way, the Queen has gained the "counterpart" she has always wanted in Agnes. Now that she's in Jurati's mind, and vice versa, the Borg Queen and Agnes have formed a bizarre and dangerous co-dependent relationship.
The ramifications of the Borg Queen assimilating Agnes into a symbiotic relationship are far-reaching. There's no way the Queen will be satisfied with this arrangement as is and she is doubtlessly playing the long game to set new plans into motion. In Agnes, the Borg Queen has breached the mind and heart of one of the galaxy's most brilliant minds when it comes to cybernetics. Dr. Jurati is the ideal person to help the Borg Queen resurrect the Borg Collective, possibly in a brand new form that's more powerful than before. Instead of Starfleet Captain or even an android, the Borg Queen snagged a prize even greater in Dr. Agnes Jurati, and assimilating her could lead to the return of the Borg to full power in Star Trek: Picard season 2.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.