Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) wearing a Starfleet uniform is long-deserved but Star Trek: Picard season 3 must address how and why the reclaimed Borg was finally allowed to join Starfleet. Star Trek: Picard season 3 will be the final mission reuniting Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Worf (Michael Dorn), and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). Brent Spiner will also return as a new character. Seven and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) are the only holdovers from Star Trek: Picard's original cast.
Star Trek: Picard season 3's trailer wasted no time to confirm that Seven of Nine is now Starfleet Commander "Seven Hansen," a blend of her Borg designation and her human name, Annika Hansen. But Picard season 3 has to explain why Starfleet allowed Seven to finally join. As she regretfully told Raffi in Star Trek: Picard season 2, Seven tried to join Starfleet after the USS Voyager returned to Earth, but she was met with rampant xenophobia because she is a former Borg. Seven's visible Borg implants, and the fear that they could activate and cause her to assimilate others, kept Seven from being accepted by Starfleet. Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) threatened to resign in protest of Starfleet's decision, but the dejected Seven of Nine opted instead to leave Earth and join the Fenris Rangers. So what has changed in Starfleet between Voyager's return to Earth in 2379 and Star Trek: Picard season 3's early 25th-century timeframe?
How Seven of Nine Has Changed In Star Trek: Picard
When Seven joined Jean-Luc's motley crew in Star Trek: Picard season 1, she was a member of the Fenris Rangers dispensing frontier justice beyond the Romulan Neutral Zone. Seven was also miserable; she was eking out an existence in a self-imposed exile from the United Federation of Planets and separated from the friends she made aboard the USS Voyager. But Seven gained a found family and a romance with Raffi when she joined up with Picard. At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2, Seven of Nine took over the USS Stargazer's Captain's chair after Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) elected to remain in the 21st century. Picard and Seven led the Stargazer's team up with the Borg Queen (Alison Pill) to stop an anomaly that threatened the galaxy. Seven commanding a Starfleet ship was a sight for sore eyes, and it signaled a new direction for her in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Why Seven of Nine Was Finally Allowed To Join Starfleet
Starfleet in Star Trek: Picard's timeframe doesn't seem markedly different from how the organization was run when Seven of Nine's application to join was rejected. However, by the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2, Seven had some new factors working in her favor. Admiral Picard must have encouraged and supported Seven in joining Starfleet, but the fact that Seven was instrumental, along with Picard, in saving the Alpha Quadrant from the destructive anomaly likely benefited her. The Agnes Jurati version of the Borg Queen also forged a new alliance with the Federation, and this working relationship probably diffused decades of fear and mistrust between the Borg and Starfleet. In addition, the Federation also now has a greater understanding of Borg technology thanks to Picard season 1's Borg Cube Artifact. This meant that there was no longer reason for Starfleet to worry about Seven's Borg implants.
Between Admirals Picard and Janeway, presuming Kathryn is still serving in Starfleet, and her significant other, Commander Musiker, Seven of Nine certainly had influential friends in her corner supporting her commission in Starfleet. There's also no doubt about the quality of Seven of Nine's character. Still, it's important that Star Trek: Picard season 3 defines how Seven of Nine became Commander Hansen because it will move her character forward to her next phase, which will hopefully also result in Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker getting their own Star Trek spinoff.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premieres February 16, 2023, on Paramount+.