Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 1 - "The Star Gazer"
The Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) finally won in Star Trek: Picard season 2's premiere by exploiting the United Federation of Planets' weakness. Although the Borg's ruler was robbed of her ultimate victory over Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) by Q (John de Lancie), who saved "mon capitaine" by changing the timeline, the cybernetic beings overwhelmed Starfleet with shocking ease. The Borg Queen beat her adversaries by preying on the Federation's trust while also turning the technology Starfleet took from the Borg against them.
Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-D and E foiled two of the Borg's attempts to assimilate Earth and the Federation. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picard was assimilated and turned into Locutus, later revealed to be the intended counterpart of the Borg Queen. However, the crew of the Enterprise was able to save and reclaim Picard, who showed them how to deactivate the drones within the Borg Cube. In Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) revealed herself for the first time and masterminded a gambit for the Borg to assimilate Earth in the 21st century. Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) teamed up to stop the Borg Queen's plan and save history. Although the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) later became the foe of Star Trek: Voyager and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), she bears a special enmity for Picard.
In Star Trek: Picard season 2's premiere, the Borg Queen completely outsmarted Starfleet. Emerging from a spatial anomaly, the Borg arrived in a new ship, unlike their previous Cubes and Spheres. This made the Borg appear to be a new species that claimed they wanted to join the Federation. Further, the Borg's message, beamed in multiple languages, asked for Jean-Luc Picard. The Borg Queen must have been aware that the new USS Stargazer was built with Borg technology Starfleet harvested from the Borg Cube Artifact in Star Trek: Picard season 1. This is likely why the Borg arrived in a sector patrolled by the Stargazer. Once the Queen beamed onto the Stargazer's bridge, Starfleet was helpless to stop her from assimilating the ship via its Borg technology. All Picard could do was activate the self-destruct, destroying every ship in range.
The Borg Queen knew that neither Starfleet nor Picard could resist an invitation asking for him by name, and sure enough, the Admiral came to investigate. Even after the Stargazer confirmed it was the Borg making the unbelievable request to join the Federation, Picard and the crew still debated whether it was true. Despite the vehement (and correct) argument by Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) that the Borg can't be trusted, and in spite of his own experience with the Borg, Picard still held to the Federation's principles of trusting that the cybernetic race could actually be sincere. Of course, it was all a rus. The Borg Queen's attack was intended to assimilate Starfleet but she still managed to finally destroy Jean-Luc Picard, eradicating an entire Starfleet armada for good measure.
Had Q not intervened, the Borg Queen would have achieved her ultimate victory by assimilating the Federation. Picard blowing the Queen up wouldn't have mattered to her since she can regenerate in different forms. Star Trek: Picard's season 2 premiere curiously didn't show her face so it's even possible the Borg Queen sent an avatar and didn't personally beam aboard the Stargazer. Regardless, the loss of a Borg ship and countless drones doesn't matter to the Borg Queen. After all of her previous encounters with Starfleet and Picard ended in defeat, the Borg Queen learned the right lessons. She knew exactly to exploit the Federation's trusting nature as its greatest weakness, and she finally won (however briefly) in Star Trek: Picard season 2.
Star Trek: Picard season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.