Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Explains Why a Classic Character Was Killed Off

The seventh episode of Star Trek: Picard featured an unexpected turn when a classic character met his unfortunate fate. Fans certainly didn't see that part coming, and although it is truly heartbreaking, unfortunately, it was inevitable.

This article contains SPOILERS for episode seven of Star Trek: Picard.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Michael Chabon revealed why Jonathan Del Arco's Borg Hugh died in the hands of Romulan Narissa Rizzo. "I wouldn't say this was always the plan for the character," he said. "But when we started fleshing out and shaping Hugh's arc, it felt like the best — most emotionally honest — way to go."

Chabon admits that it "felt very sad" to write that scene but he did point out that the first season's storyline didn't originally include Hugh's character. "The initial germ of having Hugh involved," Chabon added, "and that he would die came from the natural discussions of, what does it mean to have been Borg?" He revealed that putting Hugh in the center of all the traumatizing experiences of being a Borg and how they dealt with it "felt like a dramatic way to service the character's end."

Hugh was also about to lead another Borg uprising, which gives the character "a certain trajectory." Chabon thinks this arc would lend even more resonance to his death for fans who have been invested in Hugh's storyline ever since he was introduced in the fifth season of The Next Generation back in 1992.

It's unfortunate that Hugh didn't survive all the way in Picard but having his exit from the show was far better than having no exit at all. Both Del Arco and the fans are happy for the character to just even have another story to tell.

Star Trek: Picard airs Thursdays on CBS All Access.

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