La Forge Meets Hugh Again Star Trek the Next Generation
Here's Why 'Star Trek: Picard' Brought Back "I, Borg" Standout Hugh
Photos: CBS ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
From the get go, CBS All Access's Star Trek: Picard has promised to bring back some fan favorites, but one name may have surprised even the most hardcore Trekkie. Star Trek: Picard Episode 3 reintroduces us to Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco), the sensitive drone-turned-fierce individual from Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episode 23, "I, Borg."
The character's compelling story, depth of soul, and friendship with Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) challenged our understanding of the Borg. Hugh was so popular that Star Trek: The Next Generation even brought him back for the Season 7 premiere, "Descent, Part 2." The slightly older Hugh is embittered by his experience with Starfleet and only reluctantly aids Commander Riker and Liet. Commander Worf because he wants to save Geordi.
However, Star Trek fans never learned what happened to Hugh after that episode as he never showed up in Star Trek: The Next Generation or the films again. Finally, though, we have some clues as to what happened to Hugh after he took leadership of his own mini Borg tribe. In fact, Hugh's own story and The Next Gen episodes he showed up in may even help clarify what's going on in Star Trek: Picard.
Here's everything you need to know about Hugh the Borg's history with Star Trek and what his appearance in Star Trek: Picard means for the future of Star Trek, the Borg, and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
WHO IS HUGH THE BORG? WHAT HAPPENED TO HUGH IN STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, "I, BORG?" AND LATER IN "DESCENT, PART 2?"
Jonathan Del Arco's Hugh first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5, Episode 23, "I, Borg." The episode's plot revolved around the Enterprise responding to a distress signal, only to realize that it was sent by a crashed Borg vessel. One young Borg drone was still alive, and against popular opinion, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) insisted that he be brought aboard.
Separated from the Borg Collective, young "Third of Five" found himself forced to think for himself for once. Over time, Geordi La Forge and Dr. Crusher managed to dub him Hugh. In fact, Hugh soon became super attached to Geordi, and opted to return to the Collective if only because if he didn't, he would be hunted, and Geordi would be in danger.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 1, "Descent, Part 2," Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Worf (Michael Dorn) ran into Hugh while battling a splinter cell of individualistic Borg working under the command of Data's maniacal brother Lore (Brent Spiner). Hugh explained that after he introduced the concept of individuality to the Collective, a few other drones struggled to accept orders or even find purpose. Left adrift, they were going insane until Lore found them and took over as their leader. Hugh, however, was soon part of a rebel group that didn't want to follow Lore, as his attempts to convert Borg to fully synthetic lifeforms left the Borg comatose or dead.
Hugh eventually aided officers from the Enterprise in their attempts to save shipmates Picard, Georgi, Data (Brent Spiner), and Troi (Marina Sirtis)…but mainly because he wanted to help Geordi. With Lore defeated, Hugh became the natural leader of the remaining Borg. And that was the last we saw him…until Star Trek: Picard.
WHAT IS HUGH THE BORG DOING IN STAR TREK: PICARD EPISODE 3 "THE END IS THE BEGINNING?"
While Star Trek: Picard has yet to fill in the blanks in Hugh's life between his last Next Gen appearance and now — a time span of roughly 30 years! — we can ascertain that he has fully de-assimilated from the Borg. That is, he no longer requires exo-plating or the vast majority of his artificial Borg appendages. There is some scarring and a few visible implants on his face, but by and large, Hugh looks human again.
In Star Trek: Picard, Hugh is working on the Romulan's reclamation project. He seems to be a, if not the, project manager that Soji Asha (Isa Briones) reports to and he seems to be a great champion of Soji's work. He is the one who sets up her strange interview with Romulan "ex-B" Ramda. (It's worth noting that Hugh also refers to himself as an "ex-B," and sadly remarks that he and his kind are only seen as "property to be exploited" or a "hazard to be warehoused."
So Hugh is no longer a Borg and he is devoted to helping other former drones acclimate to "ex-B" life.
WHY IS HUGH IN STAR TREK: PICARD? WHAT DOES HUGH'S STORY TELL US ABOUT WHERE STAR TREK: PICARD MIGHT BE GOING?
Star Trek: Picard's showrunners had hundreds of Star Trek: The Next Generation guest stars to invite back to the Star Trek universe, but they obviously singled out Hugh for some reason. It doesn't hurt that besides Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), he's one of the only examples of a deprogrammed Borg thriving outside of the Collective. However, his appearances tie to Soji and Dahj's storyline in a big way.
Hugh's very existence not only forced the crew of the Enterprise to reappraise its virulent hatred of the Borg, but he also featured heavily in a Data-centric storyline, the two-part "Descent." In his first appearance, he showed how therapy and empathy can build a bridge between races. In his second, he explained how Lore (and later Data) argued that the next stage for Borg civilization was to go full synthetic.
A huge part of Star Trek: Picard is devoted to the Romulans' hatred of synthetic life, and the danger that Soji Asha is in thanks to her secret status as an android. Thematically, the fact that Hugh is already Soji's mentor suggests that she might have to prove to Romulans (like Narek) that she's not a mythic destroyer. Secondly, the realization that some Borg might be trying to become more synthetic could cast suspicion on why the Romulans are conducting experiments on a Borg cube in the first place.
Now we just have to wonder if Hugh will get to be reunited with his good friend, Geordi!!!!
Star Trek: Picard Episode 3 is now streaming on CBS All Access.
Where to stream Star Trek: Picard
Source: https://decider.com/2020/02/06/star-trek-picard-hugh-the-borg-i-borg/
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