super synths – Trekking with Dennis

Star Trek: Picard bonus Season 3 theory: The “Ancient Evil”

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-3. Spoilers are also present for the following Star Trek productions: The Wrath of Khan, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Discovery.

Toward the end of the episode Surrender, Deanna Troi told us something very interesting about Jack Crusher: there’s an “ancient and weak” voice that surrounds him, a voice that isn’t his own. This voice has also been described as a “darkness,” and something “evil.” Today, I want to consider a few possibilities for who and what this “ancient evil” could be.

There are, at least as I see it, two candidates that are more likely than any others – at least based on the narrative elements that have already come into play. I covered the Borg Queen in my most recent theory update, but it’s also worth considering the Founders themselves, and how an ancient changeling or changeling leader could be a likely possibility. Finally, we have to contend with the idea that the “ancient evil” will be a character or faction that we’ve never met before – as this is something that’s happened in these types of stories consistently in modern Star Trek!

Let’s try to peek through the keyhole of Jack’s red door…

I’ve heard several fan theories that seem completely implausible to me, and I’ll also cover a handful of the more popular ones and why I think they wouldn’t make sense or wouldn’t work narratively. If I try to shoot down a theory you’re personally invested in, I hope you won’t take that as some kind of attack! I’ll try to explain my reasons as gently as possible.

It also goes without saying that I have no “insider information!” I’m not trying to claim that any of the ideas we’re going to discuss today can, will, or must be part of Picard Season 3. It’s possible that I’ve completely misunderstood what Troi was saying, or that Jack’s hallucinatory red door will lead to something completely unexpected, unpredictable, or even a completely different kind of storyline altogether. All of this is also just the subjective opinion of one person.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!

“Ancient Evil” #1:
The Borg Queen.

As I explained in my recent theory update, the Borg Queen is the candidate I feel is most likely to be the “ancient evil.” The voice Jack has occasionally heard has a feminine quality, there have been multiple references to the Borg and to Picard’s assimilation experience, and the idea of Jack “inheriting” some kind of Borg nanites or Borg DNA from Picard would connect with themes of family, parentage, and inheritance that have been present in different ways all season long.

The Borg Queen hasn’t been explicitly mentioned, but right now, the myriad references to Locutus, the Battle of Wolf-359, and Picard’s connection to the Borg haven’t had any kind of narrative payoff. Bringing the Borg Queen into the story at this particularly late stage is a risk, but it’s also something that has been set up across the entire season – so it wouldn’t feel like a total bolt from the blue.

“Ancient Evil” #2:
The Season 1 super-synths.

Should we abandon all hope of the unnamed “alliance of synthetic life” from the end of Season 1 ever making a return to Star Trek? Well… probably! But of all the “ancient” factions we know of in Star Trek, few are older – and potentially more malevolent – than the super-synths that were introduced in Season 1.

Millions of years before the events of the story, this synthetic faction literally moved the stars in the Milky Way and created a beacon, promising to ride to the aid of any synthetic life-forms that needed their help. Whether that offer was genuine or an elaborate trap, well… I’m still not sure! But these super-synths may not have given up on their aim of returning to the Milky Way just because Picard convinced Soji to close the portal to their realm.

“Ancient Evil” #3:
The Female Changeling from Deep Space Nine.

The Female Changeling who led the Dominion’s war effort against the Federation alliance seemed to be one of the most senior Founders. With the changelings featuring heavily in this story, perhaps she is once again trying to lead the charge against the Federation, using Vadic and her evolved allies to get revenge.

Earlier in the season, Vadic cited revenge against Starfleet and the Federation as one of her motives – though she didn’t really elaborate on what that meant. Floaty McFloatface – the unnamed character who seems to have been Vadic’s boss – also mentioned vengeance, so could the changelings be seeking to avenge their defeat in the Dominion War? Vadic knew the details of Jack’s hallucinations, including the existence of the red door – how could she have possibly known that if the changelings aren’t involved?

“Ancient Evil” #4:
Locutus of Borg (or a clone of Locutus).

As above, Season 3 has made multiple references to Picard’s assimilation experience and time as Locutus. Could the rogue changelings have stolen Picard’s corpse as part of a plan to resurrect Locutus? Or could the Borg Collective itself have recreated or cloned Locutus based on Picard’s genetic material? Perhaps Floaty McFloatface is a representative of the Borg – and wants Jack Crusher to become the new Locutus.

The idea of Picard having to come face-to-face with Locutus would surely be his worst nightmare. Locutus would literally know Picard inside and out – and could be very difficult to outmanoeuvre and defeat as a result.

“Ancient Evil” #5:
Someone entirely new.

In earlier seasons – and in other modern Star Trek productions, too – the franchise’s past didn’t provide the answers to mysteries like this one! So it has to be considered plausible or even downright likely that a brand-new character or faction is the “ancient evil” that we’re looking for. This could come in the form of a new character from a familiar faction – a new Borg or changeling leader, perhaps. Or it could be an entirely new creation that doesn’t connect to Star Trek’s past at all.

There is a danger in this approach, and part of the reason why creations like the super-synths and Species 10-C didn’t excite fans as much as they could’ve is that, after a season-long tease, expectations have been raised! But at the same time, writers should feel free to create new elements to add to Star Trek instead of being constrained by what has come before. A new character or faction could absolutely stick the landing – if it was handled well.

So those are the candidates I consider to be most plausible.

Up next, we’ll take a look at a few others that I’ve heard suggested by fans on forums and on social media. For reasons that I’ll try to explain, none of these feel likely to me… so feel free to come back at the end of the season and laugh at how wrong I was if any of them prove to be the true “ancient evil!”

Not the “Ancient Evil” #1:
The Pah-Wraiths.

I don’t know who originated this idea, but it seems to have spread like wildfire in some quarters of the fan community! For my money, there’s no way the “ancient evil” could be the Pah-Wraiths, though – even though the faction is undoubtedly both ancient and evil! Firstly, despite references and connections to Deep Space Nine, there have been no mentions of Bajor, the wormhole, the Prophets, or the Pah-Wraiths all season long – so any last-second inclusion would be a complete deus ex machina.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the return of the Pah-Wraiths would hugely undermine the ending of Deep Space Nine, and Captain Sisko’s arc in particular. Sisko sacrificed his life to prevent the Pah-Wraiths from escaping their confinement in the Fire Caves, fulfilling his duty as the Emissary of the Prophets. For a new story to say that the Pah-Wraiths escaped anyway, a mere twenty-something years later, would seriously damage that story and undermine Sisko’s arc and characterisation. Finally, the Pah-Wraiths have no connection to Picard or to the Crusher family.

Not the “Ancient Evil” #2:
Armus.

C’mon everyone… it isn’t Armus, okay? It just isn’t. Not only has Armus not been mentioned since Season 1 of The Next Generation, but the evil puddle of printer ink has no real connection to Picard, to the Crusher family, or to anyone else involved in Season 3. As a villain who only appeared once in what was, let’s be blunt here, not one of The Next Generation’s best stories, Armus would also be underwhelming in the extreme.

Had the story of Season 3 revisited the planet of Vagra II, or if Tasha Yar had been mentioned in the story somehow (aside from a minute cameo as part of Data’s memories) then maybe we could consider this theory more favourably. But Armus would also be a complete bolt from the blue – and one that I don’t believe could possibly be strong enough to carry the ending not only of Season 3, but of the entire series.

Not the “Ancient Evil” #3:
The Romulans/Zhat Vash.

Zhat Vash initiates as seen in Season 1.

Although it would be cyclical in a way if the end of Season 3 were to return to the Romulans in some form, I don’t believe that the story will go in this direction. There have been no Romulans included in the story all season long, and no mentions of the Zhat Vash or their conspiracy, either. The Romulans were also a faction that fought against the changelings during the Dominion War – and there probably isn’t enough time left to sufficiently explain how they might have been persuaded to switch sides.

Finally, although Elnor continues to exist in the Picard timeline, he hasn’t been part of the story of this season – despite opportunities to include him. Elnor is a Romulan, and if there was to be any kind of Romulan connection to the story, I’d have expected him to take part in it.

Not the “Ancient Evil” #4:
Q and/or the Q Continuum.

We got our Q story – for better or for worse – in Season 2. While it would be thematically interesting in a way if the end of Jean-Luc Picard’s story were connected to the very first episode in which he appeared, the death of Q last year combined with the total absence of any discussion of Q and the Q Continuum this time make it feel very unlikely at this juncture.

There’s also the question of motivation – something that also tripped up Q’s story in Season 2! Why would Q, or another member of the Continuum, have allied with a faction of rogue changelings to attack Starfleet? If the Q wanted the Federation weakened or destroyed… all it would take is a snap of the fingers. Why go to all this trouble? And why would the Q Continuum hate Starfleet anyway? The Q Continuum is ancient… but is it evil? I don’t think so.

Not the “Ancient Evil” #5:
Khan.

Genetic engineering and augmentation were discussed in Season 2, and there was even a reference to something called “Project Khan” at the end of the season. But not only is Khan dead, he has no connection to Picard and the Crushers. Although Season 2 has leaned heavily into the legacy of The Wrath of Khan in more ways than one… I just don’t see how the story bringing him back could possibly be made to work.

Star Trek Into Darkness was a riff on the Khan story, and it worked pretty well – at least in my view. But Khan is a character that we don’t really need to see more of… which is part of the reason why I was always sceptical about the Ceti Alpha V pitch! Bringing Khan and his augments into Picard wouldn’t work.

Not the “Ancient Evil” #6:
The Abronians, the Kelvan Empire, the Voth… and more!

Hanar, a representative of the Kelvan Empire.

There are a number of ancient races in Star Trek – and a number of villainous ones, too. But many of these made only a single appearance or a handful of appearances in stories that most viewers would struggle to recall decades later, and while some of them might nominally fulfil some of our criteria – such as by having a tangential connection to Jean-Luc Picard or Dr Crusher – the fact that they haven’t been so much as hinted at all season long should be enough to rule out all of them.

At this late stage in the season, and with the only named villain having already been killed off, it’s already a storytelling challenge to make whatever’s behind Jack’s red door and whomever has been directing the conspiracy not feel like a deus ex machina. If this character or faction is ultimately revealed to be something or someone that we’ve had no mention of through the entire story… I fear that would be too high a narrative hurdle to successfully clear.

So that’s it!

The Shrike’s destruction in *Surrender*.

We’ve considered a few possibilities for who the “ancient evil” could be. This “ancient and weak” voice that Jack has heard seems to have somehow latched onto him – and is giving him superpowers. Deanna Troi (and everyone else involved in the story) seems to believe that this is directly tied to the rogue changelings and their plans to attack Frontier Day, so one way or another this “ancient evil” has been driving the story all season long.

The death of Vadic has, for me at least, thrown a cloud over this story. Even if the “ancient evil” is the Borg Queen, another Borg representative, or a changeling, it will still be difficult to pull off this storyline successfully and explain everything sufficiently with just two episodes left. I feel echoes of the Season 1 problem, in which the two-part finale dumped new characters, factions, and storylines into the plot but didn’t have anywhere near enough time to pay them off successfully. But we’ll have to wait to see if Season 3 will fare any better!

Jack will explore this “ancient evil” alongside Deanna Troi.

I hope that this was a bit of fun. I tried to consider some seemingly-plausible ideas for the “ancient evil,” as well as explain why I feel that some popular theories are unlikely. If you put me under duress and forced me to pick only one candidate, right now I’m inclined to say that the Borg Queen feels the most likely. There have been multiple Borg references this season, there’s a solid connection to Picard, there’s a narratively coherent way in which Jack could have inherited Borg DNA or nanites from Picard which would also tie in thematically to the ideas of parent-child relationships and inheritance, and the voice that Jack has periodically heard sounds feminine in tone. So that would be my guess – if I absolutely had to choose!

As a final note: I always like to end these theory lists by saying that I do this just for fun. I enjoy writing, I enjoy Star Trek, and spending more time in this world is an escape and an enjoyable distraction for me. But for some folks, fan theories can become frustrating or unenjoyable, especially if they get very attached to a plausible-sounding theory that ultimately doesn’t pan out. I have no “insider information” and I’m not trying to claim that anything suggested above can, will, or must be part of Picard Season 3. The story will almost certainly take an unpredictable path!

Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1-3 are available to stream now on Paramount+ in the United States and other countries and territories where the service is available, and on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and around the world. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties discussed above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.

Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1, 2, and 3 theory: the super-synths

Sun 29.05.22Dennis

Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Picard Seasons 1 and 2, as well as the teaser trailer and casting announcements for Season 3. Further spoilers are present for Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and other iterations of the Star Trek franchise.

Even as we continue to wind down from Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, my thoughts have already turned to Season 3! Although the new season is still in production and is probably a year away, I wanted to get one of my big pre-season theories written down ahead of time. This one ties together events in all three seasons of the show – and I think that could make it a satisfying story if it were to unfold.

There are some legitimate concerns about Picard Season 3, at least from where I’m sitting. The fact that most of the new cast members have been unceremoniously dumped in order to make way for the returning characters from The Next Generation really stings, and I’m truly disappointed that we won’t get to spend more time with the likes of Elnor and Soji next time around. I wanted to acknowledge that before we proceed with the theory, because both the cutting of characters and the fact that several of them have disappeared without a proper goodbye is poor form from Picard’s producers and creative team.

Most of the *Picard* cast are not returning for Season 3.

So let’s talk about this theory, then! In short, what I’ve come up with connects events in both Seasons 1 and 2 with what has been teased about Season 3, potentially meaning that Picard will turn out to be one long connected story after all. We’re taking the mysterious anomaly encountered at the end of Season 2 as a starting point and asking “who could have created something like that?” The Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid believed it was artificial in nature and had the potential to wipe out all life in an entire sector of space. That seems like the first phase of an invasion or attack – so who can we think of in Star Trek who could create a weapon on that scale?

We could absolutely pick on factions like the Dominion, Enterprise’s Sphere-Builders, or Species 8472. All of those – and many more – were potential suspects when it came to another mysterious anomaly in Discovery’s fourth season, too, and for good reason! But when we consider the elements that have already been introduced in Star Trek: Picard in particular, one faction more than any other appears to stand out: the super-synths from Season 1.

The super-synths as glimpsed in Season 1.

To briefly recap if it’s been a while since you watched Et in Arcadia Ego: the super-synths claimed to be “an alliance of synthetic life,” and it was implied that they resided far beyond the Milky Way galaxy. I nicknamed them the “Mass Effect Reapers” for their similarities to that video game faction! The super-synths literally moved stars to point to a beacon that they’d left behind on the planet of Aia, and in a vision that seemed jumbled and terrifying to organic minds they promised to come to the aid of any synths who requested their help.

The super-synths believed that all organics would eventually attack and destroy their synthetic creations; that war between synthetic and organic life was inevitable. The plans they left behind could open a portal to their home in dark space, allowing the super-synths to show up anywhere in the galaxy at a moment’s notice. It was left ambiguous as to whether their offer to help synths in their fight against organics was actually genuine or whether it was some kind of elaborate trap.

The super-synths’ portal over Coppelius.

Although Admiral Picard was able to convince Soji to close the portal she had opened before the super-synths could arrive at the planet of Coppelius, the portal was open for a significant amount of time. In that time the super-synths would’ve seen a civilisation of synthetics on Coppelius asking for their help, and two massive fleets of starships engaged in a stand-off over the planet. Whatever their intentions may have been, Soji and Sutra’s actions have ensured that the super-synths are now aware of the Milky Way, the Federation, the Romulans, and the Coppelius synths.

The super-synths then disappeared from the plot and weren’t mentioned again. It isn’t clear what happened to them, what their goals may have been, nor how they would have reacted to the portal being closed at the last moment. What we do know is that the super-synths possess powerful technology – technology that seems to allow them to hop from one part of the universe to another in an instant.

The super-synths left a beacon on the planet of Aia.

This brings us to the anomaly encountered by the Borg and the Federation at the end of Season 2. The strange anomaly was described by Seven of Nine as being akin to a “transwarp conduit.” The Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid was unsure of who created it, but considered them to be “a threat” requiring close observation. The anomaly was also described as being one piece of a larger puzzle – something that could tie in with a theory like this one!

Given what we know of the super-synths based on their appearance in Season 1, creating something on this scale seems well within their capabilities. They left behind instructions on how to create a portal to their domain, and what is a transwarp conduit if not a portal between two points in spacetime? Then there’s the scale of the attack: the initial outpouring of energy was enough to destroy an entire sector of space, something that hardly seems impossible for a faction that can literally move entire stars.

A joint Federation-Borg fleet defends against the anomaly at the end of Season 2.

So I think we have enough evidence based on what we saw on screen in the Season 2 finale to make the case that the anomaly may have been created by the same faction of super-synths that very nearly arrived at Coppelius in Season 1. But what of Season 3?

Not much has been officially teased so far about Picard’s upcoming third season – but we have a little to go on. Besides the announcement of returning cast members, we heard a few new lines of dialogue and caught a glimpse of both Admiral Picard and Captain Riker in a teaser trailer released to mark First Contact Day last month, and nothing there contradicts anything I’ve suggested above.

In fact, we could try to build a case for the Season 3 teaser hinting at this theory!

Firstly, the clips we saw of Admiral Picard and Captain Riker showed them readying themselves for combat, wielding some kind of phaser pistol (possibly the kind seen briefly in Seasons 1 and 2). At least part of the season, then, is going to involve a fight of some kind against a hitherto-unseen enemy! That’s hardly conclusive, of course, but it doesn’t contradict the idea that the main enemy is the super-synths.

Secondly, we have a handful of lines heard in voiceover. Geordi talked about “rushing into danger” during his time aboard the Enterprise. Worf speaks, saying that “sacrifice is required.” Dr Crusher spoke directly to Picard, telling him that “the galaxy comes calling.” In typical understated style, Riker talked about a “good old-fashioned road trip,” before Troi rounded things out by letting Picard know that he “will not be alone.” Again, nothing conclusive there – but also nothing contradictory. All the characters seem to be talking about gearing up for a big mission or battle.

Admiral Picard with a phaser pistol in the Season 3 teaser.

But the most interesting line in the trailer – and one that could perhaps be pointing to some kind of connection to synthetic life – came from Brent Spiner’s currently-unknown character. Spiner’s inflection sounded very emotive, definitely not like Data or B4. My first thought was that he could be portraying Lore (Data’s “evil twin” from The Next Generation), but he could also be portraying Dr Altan Inigo Soong – the son of Data’s creator who was a major character at the end of Season 1.

The line that stood out to me was this: “Evolution is not an act of preservation; it’s addition.” That line is ambiguous, naturally, but if we assume that Spiner’s character has something to do with synthetic life and synthetic research, he could very well be talking about the creation of new synths or the search for new synthetic life. He could also be talking about some kind of fusion between organic and synthetic life – perhaps Borg assimilation.

Will Brent Spiner’s Dr Altan Inigo Soong be a villain next season?

We don’t know what goals or objectives the super-synths might have, but if they view organic life as a threat it’s possible that they plan some kind of assimilation-like process to forcibly convert organics to become partially synthetic. That could be what Dr Soong is referring to – and he could be the super-synths’ advocate if they arrive in force and broadcast their intentions. Akin to someone who has been “indoctrinated” by the Reapers in the Mass Effect series, Dr Soong may be doing the super-synths’ bidding. That could set up Brent Spiner’s character to be one of the season’s main villains (again).

Am I clutching at straws? Well, that’s possible. But because of how deliberately coy the writers and producers of Picard have been about several key aspects of the storylines of both Seasons 1 and 2, I think this idea is a solid possibility. We don’t know what the super-synths wanted, but we do know they’re technologically very powerful and more than capable of creating portals and anomalies. We don’t know where the mysterious anomaly in Season 2 came from, nor why the Dr Jurati-Borg Queen hybrid considered it and its creators to be a threat. There’s enough ambiguity in those two points alone to reasonably connect them.

Ever since Season 1 came to a rather unspectacular conclusion, I’ve been hoping that Star Trek will do something more with this faction of super-synths. I suggested that they could be involved with the main storylines in both Seasons 3 and 4 of Discovery, as they seemed to be a faction with the technological power to do something like the Burn or to create something like the DMA. Those theories didn’t pan out, of course, but it’s possible that things will come full-circle and we’ll see them again before Picard comes to an end.

What we’d get, if this theory were to pan out, would be a transformation in the way Star Trek: Picard has operated. Rather than being three essentially standalone seasons with three distinct, separate stories, everything would be connected. What happened on Mars that sent Picard into a decade-long depression would be connected to the final fight against the super-synths; they’d be responsible for all of it. It would bring together the stories of Seasons 1, 2, and 3 in a neat way. The first two seasons could still be enjoyed as standalone affairs; nothing in Season 3 would overwrite any of that. But for fans who want to see a broader connection, this theory would deliver it!

Setting this theory aside for a moment, one of the concerns I have about Season 3 is that the events of Seasons 1 and 2 will be ignored. The fact that most main cast members aren’t returning has really ramped up the sense that Picard Season 3 may try to ignore everything that’s just happened – or relegate it to a couple of short scenes at the beginning of episode 1 – and rush ahead to become The Next Generation Season 8.

In particular, the mysterious anomaly that was shown off at the end of the season could be ignored as part of this push to get to a new story. I truly believe that would be a mistake; not only was the anomaly massively important to the plot of Season 2, but it was also very deliberately unexplained. Who could create something like that? Why would someone do that? Was it meant to be an attack against the Federation? How did the Borg know it was coming? There are many questions like this that Season 2 chose not to answer; if Season 3 ignores them as well then it’ll be very disappointing.

Will the dangling story threads of the anomaly and the Borg be concluded in Season 3?

Regular readers may recall from my Picard Season 2 reviews and commentary that I wasn’t wild about many of the storytelling decisions made last time. This new season is an opportunity to build on what came before; to make some of the first two seasons’ underwhelming events matter in a way that they currently don’t. If the Season 2 anomaly, for example, was just a naked plot device to give the Borg Queen-Dr Jurati hybrid something to do then it’ll remain a disappointing element of an already underwhelming season. But if it turns out that Season 3 revisits it in a big way and builds on what we saw last time, it has the potential to transform this aspect of Season 2 and make it matter.

So I think that’s all there is to say this time. To briefly recap my theory: the super-synths from Season 1 were responsible for creating the mysterious anomaly that almost destroyed an entire sector of space at the end of Season 2. They will use this anomaly – and perhaps others like it – to travel to the Milky Way galaxy, where they will become one of the main villains of Season 3.

The beacon used to summon the super-synths.

I quite like this idea of bringing the story of Star Trek: Picard full circle, as well as bringing together the seemingly disconnected events of Seasons 1 and 2 in a natural, understandable way. Nothing we’ve seen on screen would prevent the Season 1 super-synths from also creating the dangerous anomaly in Season 2 – so if Season 3 ignores both of those things to go in a different direction… well, this might just have to become my own personal head-canon!

It’s always worth saying that no fan theory, no matter how fun or plausible it may seem, is worth getting too worked up over. This is an idea that I came up with to bind together events in Star Trek: Picard that may ultimately be unrelated. This theory may go nowhere – and that’s okay! I like it when Star Trek can surprise me and take me to different and unexpected places, so I always like to caveat my theories by saying that I have no “insider information,” I’m not trying to claim that anything we’ve talked about today will ever be seen on screen, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming the story of Season 3 – whatever direction it ultimately goes.

Having touched on this theory briefly the other day I wanted to give it a full write-up here on the website. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more Star Trek content in the weeks and months ahead – including a look at any major news or trailers for Picard Season 3. Until next time!

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 will stream on Paramount+ in the United States and on Amazon Prime Video around the world some time next year. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now and are also available on DVD and Blu-ray. The Star Trek franchise – including Picard and all other properties mentioned above – is the copyright of Paramount Global. This article contains the thoughts and opinions of one person only and is not intended to cause any offence.