WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 1, "The Next Generation."Star Trek: Picard's new character Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) is a somewhat abrasive man, but the worst thing about him in the premiere episode is his deadnaming of Seven Of Nine (Jeri Ryan). After the events of Star Trek: Voyager, Seven was denied entry to Starfleet Academy due to her years spent as a Borg drone in the Delta Quadrant. Seven instead signed up with the Fenris Rangers, an organization that aimed to help people on worlds the Federation had left behind.
In the Star Trek: Picard season 2 finale "Farewell," Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) granted Seven a field commission to command the USS Stargazer during a complicated Borg encounter. This seemingly paved the way for Seven to officially join Starfleet, as she holds the rank of Commander and serves as the USS Titan-A's First Officer. However, what should be a triumph for Seven has become something of a nightmare under Shaw.
The Worst Thing About Captain Shaw Is His Deadnaming Seven Of Nine
In Star Trek: Picard season 3's first episode "The Next Generation," Admiral Picard and Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) come up with a scheme to rescue Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) via the Titan-A, which was Riker's old command. The pair is greeted by Seven, but when Picard begins to introduce her to Riker, she reluctantly corrects Picard, stating that Captain Shaw prefers she goes by her birth name, Annika Hansen, a name she is clearly no longer comfortable with.
Shaw is intentionally rude and dismissive toward Picard and Riker when they share dinner together, immediately seeing through their ruse and denying them use of the Titan. But Shaw's worst transgression is his insistence on deadnaming Seven. It seems likely Shaw takes offense at Seven's Borg history, as he sneers that she and Picard, who was once assimilated in the TNG episode "The Best Of Both Worlds," are old Borg pals. It goes beyond rudeness and into the realm of offensive.
Why Seven Of Nine Is No Longer Annika Hansen
Seven has had a complicated journey since she was removed from the Borg Collective by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Star Trek: Voyager season 4. Her Voyager colleagues, particularly Janeway and the holographic EMH known as the Doctor (Robert Picardo), became the closest thing she had to a family since she was assimilated as a young girl. Her rejection by Starfleet clearly wounded her, and led her to further reinvent herself in the intervening years.
In the Star Trek: Picard season 1 episode "Stardust City Rag," Seven admits to Jean-Luc that she doesn't feel she's fully regained her humanity after all these years, existing as something between human and Borg. It's understandable that she'd want to leave her human name behind after that internal struggle, establishing her new life as Seven Of Nine. It's a deeply personal choice, and one that Shaw should be sympathetic enough to respect. The fact that he doesn't brings into question his moral code and basic values, which could certainly have huge ramifications down the line in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.