Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Corrected A Plot Hole That's Been Around Since First Contact
The Borg. The very mention of the name causes fear across the universe of "Star Trek." Known for their ability to assimilate living beings into their collective hive-mind forcibly, the victims that become Borg have their personalities stripped away, and their thoughts and bodies become bio-mechanical extensions of the fearsome species. One of the most shocking moments involving the Borg comes from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" when Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) becomes assimilated and rebranded as Locutus of Borg.
Luckily, Picard doesn't spend much time as a Borg, and he is soon cured of the condition. However, during the movie "Star Trek: First Contact," Picard mentions that he can hear the thoughts and commands of the Borg, despite no longer showing outward signs of Borg assimilation. This created a rather glaring plothole for long-time fans of the series, but it seems as if "Star Trek: Picard" has finally provided an answer as to why Picard is still able to hear and feel the Borg. In Season 3 of "Picard," specifically the episode titled "Vox," it is revealed that Picard's time as a Borg permanently altered his DNA and that he is a "receiver" that is capable of perceiving the subspace hive mind of the Borg.
Picard's genetic alterations is key to the Borg's plans to defeat Starfleet
Even though Jean-Luc Picard hasn't been part of the Borg collective for many years, the brief window of time where he was left permanent alterations to his very being. This is the reason why Picard's physiology is so important — his genetic information holds countless secrets and is one of the keys to understanding the rather alien technology of the Borg. In addition to Picard being able to hear the thoughts of Borg, his original body (since he currently inhabits a synthetic one) is also exceptionally important to the Borg's plan to infiltrate the Federation from within.
The fulcrum of the Borg's plan revolves around utilizing the changes to Picard's biology and his modified genetic structure to help sabotage the teleporters of Starfleet. Considering that a body is essentially broken down and reconstituted in another location in a fraction of an instant with transporters, this allows the Borg and Changelings to implant the latent Borg commands in those that travel with transporter technology — though this only works on the very youngest of Starfleet members. However, this still proves to be an exceptionally dangerous aspect of "Star Trek: Picard," but at least fans now have the answers as to why Picard was able to hear the Borg during the events of "Star Trek: First Contact."