Star Trek: PICARD- Every Easter Egg in Episode 3 + Breakdown & Analysis

#StarTrek #Picard episode 3 was filled with #EasterEggs and references...as well as some big clues about the show's endgame. We break down all the references to #TNG and other Trek shows, and throw out a few #Theories about where this is all going.

#Hugh the former #Borg returns, and there's definitely something connection to this #Romulan prophecy about #synthetics.

[ScreenCrush]

What did you think of the episode? Was it just filler?

[rogercyr]

I'm loving every moment of "Picard"...it's like slowly reading a favourite book and enjoying the details.

[GodfreyMann]

Four big clues in this episode allow a theory: (1) We just got a glimpse of the Soji’s real purpose on the Borg cube - she’s there to investigate the Cube’s submatrix collapse potentially being caused by the assimilation of Ramdha’s crew of Romulans into the collective.

The question is who benefits from this research?

Clearly, this would expose an existential Borg weakness, which could be exploited to destroy them. This would benefit the Federation, Romulans, and ironically the Borg Queen (as she could use this information to fix the weakness and strengthen the Borg). But the latter means Dahj and Soji were made by the Borg and this fits with clue (2) that when Soji rang her mother she went into what could be described as a Borg regeneration cycle. Perhaps that communicator is Borg technology allowing her to connect with the collective.

Don’t forget that in First Contact, Data & the Queen spent a lot of time together and she gave him flesh - the Borg have the technology to integrate flesh with technology. Thus, she may have gathered enough information to allow her to create a pair of flesh and blood datas.

But everyone’s been assuming Dahj and Soji were built by Maddox, so to what end would he send Soji into the Cube? Seems odd as he’s interested in making sentient synthetics - not destroying the Borg - unless there’s a connection between his failed experiments on B4’s (and therefore Data’s) submatrix and the collapse of the Borg submatrix. Perhaps by understanding the collapse of the Borg cube’s submatrix it gives him another data point to understand the collapse of the submatrix in his experiments to create sentient artificial life.

The problem with Maddox as the creator is his experiments to create a sentient robot failed, and clearly the ability to create a flesh and blood host to an artificial brain is even more advanced technology and therefore beyond him. If he created the twins, then he must have help...perhaps he went to the Borg for help or they captured him because although they can integrate flesh with technology they cannot not replicate the matrix of his brain without Maddox?

Returning to the Federation as a beneficiary: this seems unlikely as it seems clueless about the existence of Dahj and Soji, because otherwise it would have had eyes on Dahj and protected her on its home turf. Therefore, although the Federation benefits, it would seem that they aren’t behind Dahj and Soji’s research.

As for the Romulans, they understand there’s a bigger threat with Soji’s research, but they are keeping their enemy close in order to win the bigger prize of discovering her creator’s lair. But consider that Ramdha was talking about her memories as “news” and having seen Soji “tomorrow” and combine this with the ideas that (a) the Borg have time travel technology and (b) the Queen told Picard in First Contact that he was small because he could not conceive of her existing in different times and space (when he thought her blown up on the other ship). Therefore, perhaps the twins were made by the Borg with Maddox’s help, and the assimilated Romulans glimpsed the future when connected and passed this information into the past telepathically or mind-meld (creating the whole anti-synth mythology).

Clue 3 is curious: upon learning that Soji was the Destroyer, Ramdha’s immediate impulse was to kill herself. Was this to prevent the Borg from gaining the secret to how Romulan assimilation brought down a cube? Perhaps it led to a cascade of submatrix collapses within the Borg empire (like a virus) and the future or current Borg realise they need to sent a ‘Terminator’ to learn the secret? that ‘Terminator’ being Soji.

But if this is true, then what’s with Dahj being sent to work at the Daystrom Institute? Perhaps it was to get access to B4 in order to resurrect Data? But, this just doesn’t fit with my ideas on Soji...they seem like opposites.

Clue 4 is when Soji’s badge lights up when she hold’s Ramdha’s hand - I think it indicates the activation of Borg technology as Soji was getting quite carried away during the interrogation.

If the Romulans represent a threat to the Borg, then this explains the attack on Mars as an attempt to wipe them out. And it being on First Contact Day is poignant as it was the same day the Borg lost their Queen.

The great thing is we have no idea which side Soji is on. Perhaps she’s the Destroyer, but of the Borg or the Federation? We don’t know.

[simonkerr]

Picard's first officer in the Titan?? That was Riker's ship. The Varity is the ship Picard commands

[darinfoat]

Rios actually has two holographic crew members on his ship. The one that tends his injury is obviously an EMH like Voyager’s Doctor. The one he talks to in his quarters is an ENH - a Navigational hologram. They even have different accents. English for the Doctor and Irish for the Navigator.

[GodfreyMann]

Short answer: Soji was created by the Borg to infiltrate the cube to find out how the assimilated Romulans brought down the submatrix, because this is an existential threat to the Borg.

Evidence that Soji is Borg:

(1) she goes into a regeneration cycle when contacting her mother (presumably the communicator connects her to the hive);

(2) Soji’s badge briefly lights up after she touches Ramdha’s hand (which I think indicates the activation of Borg technology.). I think she was accessing Borg info on Ramdha’s history, but she didn’t activate fully.

(3) Maddox could not stabilise the quantum matrix in his robots, yet Dahj & Soji are flesh & blood with working android brains? This is 2nd generation and Maddox could only have created them with Borg help.

(4) From First Contact, we know the Borg can integrate flesh with machine as they did this with Data, but perhaps they needed Maddox’s help to create a sentient android mind.

(5) Ramdha seems to know that she can’t kill Soji with a pistol, so instead tries to kill herself. Is this to stop the information of how the Romulans brought down the cube getting into Borg hands?

So what was Dahj’s role? Perhaps to infiltrate the Daystrom to retrieve B4 in order to recreate Data, after all the Queen did have a penchant for him.

[BattlestarZenobia]

Did everyone else say ‘engage’ in unison with Jean Luc like I did?

[cpt.walker]

Did I miss someone saying Hugh's name? How was I supposed to know that that was Hugh? I totally missed it and I am more than a casual Star Trek fan. That would have been a great reveal during the episode.

[J_PIK]

I’ve loved all three episodes so far. And I really enjoy your Easter egg videos on all three. Thank you so much.

[Jamaicafunk]

Is it OK to admit that a tear actually came to my eye when he finally said.... that word?

[jaimec]

The ship she served on as his first officer was the Verity.

[MrMoorkey]

"YOU ARE THE DESTROYER!!!"

Being Data's progeny, and having residual memories of the collective, wouldn't the memories of the Borg Queen recognise Data as the one who destroyed her in the future/past?

[susanbowers]

I am enjoying the show. I love the subtle hints of the past. I also like that they are taking things slow and allowing the characters to develop and grow.

[jamespease]

There was an Easter egg he missed in the Spock episode data doesn't know how to use the disrupter and says he doesn't know if its on stun, when Sela replies "it doesn't have a stun setting", which is echoed by the romulan on the vineyard

[WrestlingWithGaming]

This was a great synopsis, breakdown and analysis. I'm a lifelong Star Trek fan and didn't make some of these connections. Really nice presentation and the host was great. Look forward to more.

[darkalman]

At least Hugh said "That I'm aware of" when referring to Romulan's being assimilated
As we've previously seen an assimilated Romulan named Orum in Voyager

[kiplingmartin]

A billion nerds just shouted for joy!!! He said the line!!!

[sbels]

easter egg within an easter egg the northern and southern romulan thing is a callback to something said about why the Klingons changed between TOS and the movies I think it was Gene Roddenberry himself who said "maybe there are northern and southern Klingons" granted the reason for the change has been placed into canon but it is a cute egg within an egg

[susieok]

Best moment for me was when they're in the meeting area of the Cube and there's a sign that says "This facility has had (number) days without an assimilation"
I laughed for two minutes straight and had to rewind the scene to catch the dialogue again 🤣

[chrisn]

Commodore Oh's ears are way too exaggerated. It was obviously done to maintain that hairstyle, but it ends up looking more Yoda-like than a Vulcan.