The driving force of Star Trek: Picard‘s first season has been the extremist Romulans’ hatred of synthetic lifeforms. We’ve witnessed the secret terrorist group Zhat Vash infiltrating the Borg Reclamation Project – situated on an ex-Borg Cube – in order to sabotage the good-natured program to de-assimilate former Borg Drones, called xBs, and help them adjust to being individuals again. As with everything in Picard, though, the latest episode of the show revealed that the situation is a lot more grey than it seemed.
Episode 8, “Broken Pieces,” revealed the truth about a character who creates a surprising connection between both the Romulans and the Borg. Back in episode 6, “Absolute Candor,” Soji consulted with Ramdha, a rare Romulan xB, who was once a professor of mythology but was now mentally unstable after her de-assimilation. Even in this state, Ramdha recognized Soji as the fabled “Destroyer.” She grabbed a blaster and attempted to shoot Soji, before turning the weapon on herself. Her suicide attempt was thwarted, but she was left in a coma.
This week, we learned who Ramdha really is. She’s none other than the aunt of both Narissa and Narek of the Zhat Vash, who raised them after their parents died. She and Narissa were the only survivors of “The Admonition,” a powerful psychic vision of the dark future that would unfurl if synthetic beings were allowed to evolve. As a Zhat Vash zealot herself, it was Ramdha’s horror and despair as she was assimilated by the Borg that overwhelmed the Cube, causing it to be cut off from the Borg Collective.
In the present, Ramdha curiously remains in her coma, though there’s no medical reason why she shouldn’t be conscious. Whatever the explanation for this, her status as a Romulan synthetic-hater and yet also now partially-synthetic herself surely situates her as the key to end this conflict. It’s possible that when she wakes up she’ll switch sides and decide to stop her two adopted children’s plans.
There are only two episodes left of Star Trek: Picard season 1, and the first half of the two-part finale, “Et Tu In Arcadia Ego, Part 1” airs next Thursday on CBS All Access.
