Patrick Stewart Returning To His Most Infamous Star Trek Role? Fans Have Cracked The Code

A quickly spreading fan theory states that in Star Trek: Picard, the Changelings are trying to revive Locutus of Borg in hopes of curing them

By Michileen Martin | Updated

A lot of fans are starting to think that by the end of Star Trek: Picard, Patrick Stewart will once again be taking on the role of Locutus of Borg. Den of Geek reports that the theory, starting on Reddit and gaining traction, is that the Changelings of Picard‘s final season still suffer from the disease that almost killed them in the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and they believe Locutus has it within his power to heal them. We’re pretty sure they’re completely wrong, but let’s look at the theory first.

The theory goes like this: the Changelings featured in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard left the Great Link before Odo (Rene Auberjonois) delivered the cure to the illness that Starfleet inflicted upon them. In the most recent episode of Picard, Patrick Stewart‘s hero learns they’ve stolen his human corpse. This fan theory states the Changelings stole Picard’s corpse in the hopes of reviving Locutus of Borg, who, they believe, like the Borg Queen, will have the ability to heal them.

star trek borg changelings
Amanda Plummer as the Changeling Vadic in Star Trek: Picard

There are a couple of big issues with this Locutus of Borg theory, the first being that it makes a pretty big assumption about the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that doesn’t seem to be supported by what we know. Namely, it assumes that Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and the other Changelings left the Great Link before Odo delivered the cure. But Worf (Michael Dorn) tells Patrick Stewart and the rest, it was Odo who contacted him to tell him some of the Changelings had left the Great Link.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Odo couldn’t have learned about the schism after the fact, but it’s still a huge leap to think the Changelings of Star Trek: Picard left before Odo’s arrival, especially when you remember they left specifically in response to the Dominion’s peace with the Federation. The Female Changeling (Salome Jens) was the only Dominion Founder in the Alpha Quadrant at the end of the Dominion War, and she was imprisoned by Starfleet, meaning the only Changeling who could have informed the Great Link about the peace was Odo. So they wouldn’t seem to have any need of Patrick Stewart’s Locutus of Borg.

Odo returns to the Great Link in the series finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

If the fan theory is nevertheless correct, it would raise some big questions in our minds about what the Star Trek writers have been smoking. If all the Changelings want is to be cured, why bother with Patrick Stewart’s Locutus of Borg? Why not just return to the Great Link; sneaking their way back through the Bajoran Wormhole would seem a lot easier than hatching a decades-long scheme involving infiltrating the highest echelons of Starfleet.

If they want the regenerative powers of a Borg Queen, why are they targeting Patrick Stewart’s Locutus of Borg when the previous season of Star Trek: Picard gave us a brand new Borg Queen? Allison Pill’s new Borg Queen might not be the easiest person to get to but again, easier than the crazy complicated business they’re doing now.

Not to mention we’re pretty sure these fan theorists are misunderstanding the Borg Queen. The Queen doesn’t heal herself — she is essentially formless and creates and inhabits new bodies. She doesn’t have a Wolverine-esque healing factor that she can dole out to others; at least not from what the movies and shows have revealed.