Did Star Trek: Picard season 2 just confirm a major Borg Queen theory that has been bubbling since the premiere? The second season of Jean-Luc Picard's solo series has showcased precious little of Star Trek's Prime timeline, with only the opening episode dipping into that sacred continuity. Those few scenes centered upon the Stargazer - now under the command of Captain Rios - being approached by a Borg vessel supposedly seeking entry into the Federation. The Borg Queen beamed aboard and started "attacking," but her physical appearance was strikingly different compared to part versions. Rather than the usual feminine design, this Queen's face was covered by a mask, and in the final moments before the Stargazer's destruction, she uttered a line that heavily implied her pre-assimilated self knew Picard.
Intense speculation ensued over whom this mysterious Borg Queen might be. One theory suggested Jean-Luc's mother could've been assimilated, or maybe his ancestor, Renée (that one could still happen, actually...). As Star Trek: Picard season 2 progressed, however, Dr. Agnes Jurati quickly became the prime suspect instead. Jurati semi-accidentally merged with the captured Borg Queen from Q's "Confederation" timeline, and her mental resistance proved futile after a rush of endorphins allowed the Borg to seize control of its new host.
Star Trek: Picard season 2's "Hide & Seek" more or less confirms the Borg Queen from episode 1 is Agnes Jurati - or, at least, some futuristic successor inspired by Jurati. The mental tug-of-war between machine and human ends with Agnes and the Borg Queen melding into one entity - a Borg who seeks to assimilate organic life, but not through violent force. Agnes' moral influence inspires this revolutionary Borg Queen to help people, creating a Collective of rescued souls who would've been lost otherwise. "Hide & Seek" then ends with Agnes' brand new Borg Queen jetting off to the Delta Quadrant to fulfill this bold mission.
We now know two things for certain. Firstly, Agnes has become a Borg hybrid capable of making ethical decisions rather than just assimilating any life form she can get her cold, synthetic hands on. Secondly, Agnes definitely isn't returning to her native timeline in Star Trek: Picard's present day, and will officially remain in 2024. These details greatly support the theory that Agnes was behind the Borg Queen's black mask in Star Trek: Picard season 2's opening Stargazer attack. Joining the Federation fits the softer outlook of Borg-Agnes, and asking to deal specifically with Picard makes sense, since the pair are already acquainted. Furthermore, Agnes' Borg implants would feasibly allow her to survive from 2024 to 2401 - taking the long way around to reunite with the friends she left behind.
Agnes Jurati being the masked Borg Queen from Star Trek: Picard's Stargazer incident raises two time travel challenges. If Borg-Agnes was in Star Trek: Picard's Prime timeline all along, that must mean everything currently happening in 2024 already happened. Jean-Luc and the others aren't changing their present, they're creating it. More problematically, you could question whether Borg-Agnes should even exist, because if Picard prevents Q's Confederation timeline coming to pass, the Borg Queen who assimilated Agnes surely vanishes also, and Alison Pill's character reverts to her normal, human self.
Star Trek: Picard might've already teased a workaround for this paradox. The Confederation's Borg Queen could sense history had been unnaturally altered because her mind straddles different realities. Even if Agnes' Borg passenger is erased along with Q's Confederation timeline, the essence of their hybrid could live on in a parallel counterpart, passing down the same desire to create a friendlier kind of Borg, which grows and grows until eventually coming face to face with Jean-Luc Picard on the Stargazer 400 years later.
Star Trek: Picard continues Thursdays on Paramount+.