Jeri Ryan teases Seven's vital role in Picard Season 2
The lost Borg drone has finally come into her own.
Seven of Nine actor Jeri Ryan recently revealed on Twitter that plans to resume filming of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 on February 1 had been pushed back. She also dropped another intriguing morsel in the replies to that tweet, sharing that she enjoyed playing Seven more on Picard than Voyager — no small claim, given that she appeared in four whole seasons of Voyager and only five episodes of Picard.
Ryan's right — Seven's a richer character this time around, and the character's future will only get more interesting from here. Here's what it could all mean for Picard Season 2.
Jeri Ryan responds to fans on Twitter about Picard Season 2 updates.
When Seven of Nine appeared on Picard in Season 1, she was an almost totally different character than we met in Voyager. She grew up as a Borg drone, meaning she learned the concepts of humanity and individuality for the first time with the Voyager crew.
This made Seven a blend of Spock and Data: A character who valued efficiency and logic, but who struggled with the unpredictability of her human side.
These kinds of storylines give Trek its unique identity. Yet these outsider alien characters rarely have the chance to truly reach their personal goals. In Generations, Data got an emotion chip, allowing him to experience human feelings. By First Contact, he could just turn that thing on and off, reverting back to the Data we knew all along: A confused robot who wants to be human.
Seven and Picard undercover in "Stardust City Rag."
Seven of Nine in Picard is the opposite of that, returning to the Trek canon as a totally new person. Instead of being a badass former Borg, the older, wiser Seven is just an adult who has found a way to live with a traumatic past.
Last year, Ryan said co-star Jonathan del Arco pushed her toward a more naturalistic way of playing Seven: "'What if she makes a conscious choice to be as human as possible to survive?" Ryan took this idea and ran with it, making the new Seven a kind of mash-up of Jessica Jones and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica.
Seven and Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager.
In Voyager, Seven never got to change or face her demons. This wasn't Voyager's fault, but TV was different in the late '90s, making it harder for a character like Seven to actually become a more nuanced and layered character.
In Season 1 of Picard, in the episode "Stardust City Rag," Seven and Jean Luc discuss the prospect of regaining their humanity after being assimilated by the Borg. Neither seem completely sure that it's possible.
This scene promises great things for Seven of Nine in Season 2 of Picard. She doesn't tolerate bullshit, even from people who mean well. Unlike the lost, innocent Borg drone on Voyager, Picard's Seven has a clear point of view about how the universe works.
Ryan seems to be doing the best acting of her career in Picard, and there's a lot to look forward to in Season 2. It may not be the Borg anyone expected, but the new Seven of Nine is the Borg we need right now.
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 comes to Paramount+ sometime in 2022.
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