Star Trek: First Contact‘s events almost stopped the Borg from appearing in Star Trek: Voyager, but luckily, the show was still able to use the Borg in later seasons. First Contact premiered during the airing of Voyager season 3 and was one of the more well-received movies focusing on the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The film heavily centered on the Borg, focusing on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and crew traveling back in time to the birth of the Federation and introducing the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) into Star Trek lore.

Although the Borg Queen was one of First Contact‘s more controversial additions, she also served as a great singular film villain where the Borg as a whole might have fallen flat. Her interactions with both Captain Picard and Data (Brent Spiner) during First Contact produced some of the most memorable scenes from all the Star Trek movies, and her defeat at the end of the film was a satisfying climactic moment. However, Picard and Data killing the Borg Queen in First Contact nearly had devastating consequences for Voyager.

Star Trek: First Contact’s Borg Queen Death Almost Ruined The Borg On Voyager

The Borg question after First Contact divided Star Trek’s creative team

Voyager‘s creative team had planned to introduce the Borg as a major enemy in later seasons, but the death of the Queen in First Contact nearly stopped the Borg from ever appearing in the franchise again. Because First Contact established the Queen as the Borg’s great unifier, killing her sparked debate about whether the Borg would cease to exist once she was gone. Some of Star Trek‘s writers and producers, including Ronald D. Moore, felt that the Borg Queen’s death should be the end of any more Borg involvement in the franchise.

Moore’s argument makes sense logically, but it was eventually decided that the Queen’s death wouldn’t preclude the possibility of more Borg somewhere, especially in the Delta Quadrant where Voyager took place. Voyager ended up establishing much more history for the Borg Queen, including that the Borg could create a new Queen when the old one died. The show’s series finale even implied that there could even be multiple Queens at a time. It was ultimately a good thing that Voyager was able to incorporate the Borg into later seasons, given how important they came to be on the show.

Star Trek: Voyager Season 4-7 Would Have Been Worse Without The Borg

Voyager without the Borg wouldn’t have made sense

Star Trek: Voyager‘s later seasons would have been unequivocally worse without the Borg involved. In its early seasons, Voyager struggled to create good Star Trek villains for the crew to face off against, but bringing in the Borg alleviated this probably completely. Voyager‘s setting in the Delta Quadrant allowed the crew to meet the Borg on their home turf, and the show added so much to the Borg’s backstory and lore, thanks to the inclusion of a new Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) and the introduction of a significant character in season 4.

Along with becoming the series’ main villain, the Borg enabled the character of Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) to be added to Voyager‘s main cast. Although she was initially brought on for sex appeal, Seven’s characterization and story arcs allowed her to become one of Voyager‘s most beloved characters, and she has gone on to play a major role in other parts of the franchise like Star Trek: Picard. Given her continued importance, losing the possibility of ever introducing Seven would have been a devastating blow for the franchise if Star Trek: Voyager hadn’t been allowed to use the Borg.

Source: Star Trek Monthly issue 24, Cinefantastique vol. 29

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: First Contact is available to stream on Max.