Warning! Spoilers for Star Trek Picard Season 2 Episode 9
Star Trek: Picard star Jeri Ryan talks about the future of the relationship between her character Seven of Nine and Raffi (Michelle Hurd.) Ryan reprises her role after originally appearing on Star Trek: Voyager for four seasons, along with other Star Trek alums like Patrick Stewart and Brett Spiner. Star Trek: Picard is set to release its season 2 finale on May 5th, and has already been renewed for a third and final season.
Picard follows Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, the protagonist of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as he's called out of retirement to once again travel the galaxy. Among his new crew is Hurd's Raffi, a former Starfleet intelligence officer who handles communications. Later on, in the first season finale, Seven of Nine joins the crew, reappearing more than 20 years after being rescued from the Borg collective in Voyager, and she and Raffi form a relationship that's explored in Star Trek: Picard's second season.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan talks about how the characters' relationship can work in the final episodes. She explains how she and Hurd would talk to the producers about wanting a mature, adult relationship, one that's impacted by their careers and their traumas. She goes on to say how that's symbolic of any relationship, where the people in it must decide how much they're willing to give to the other person. Read her quote below:
There is definitely love there between the characters. They’re growing more understanding of each, their flaws and their struggle and their broken parts. Michelle and I, when talking to the producers, said we wanted a realistic portrayal of these two women who are very mature and very driven and very independent. They’ve had lives and careers. And that it wasn’t going to be “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy,” they’re in a relationship with a white picket fence, because that is not who these women are. So, we wanted that relationship struggle. They do love each other. They do care for each other. They respect each other. But can they entwine their lives completely without losing who they are and what their lives have been? And that’s any relationship: How much are you willing to change and sacrifice and give up for the benefits of that relationship? And are they even built to do that? How much can they heal together and heal each other? That remains to be seen.
The relationship between the two will face some real hurdles in the final season, with the penultimate episode of season 2 seeing Seven being forced back into the Borg collective to save her from a life-threatening injury. Seven having to relive the trauma that defined her character back in Star Trek: Voyager will likely heavily impact her established relationships, including Raffi. Ryan has since confirmed that she will return for the final episodes, hopefully giving closure to the character's story.
Star Trek has always had an uneven way of portraying relationships, with most relegated to one-episode arcs that end in heartbreak and/or tragedy. Seven and Raffi's relationship represents a continuing growth for the franchise, that shows it can depict the complexities of an adult relationship within the context of a high genre setting. Though fans will have to wait and see if Seven and Raffi will end up together, Star Trek: Picard is sure to answer all those questions when it returns for its final episodes.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter