Star Trek Guide

Star Trek: Picard showrunner explains why heartbreaking death of classic character had to happen

***Warning: Star Trek: Picard episode 7 spoilers ahead***

Star Trek: Picard fans were left heartbroken in the latest episode, Nepenthe, with the death of a much-loved character from Next Generation.

Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco) said his goodbyes to Sir Patrick Stewart’s Picard in the penultimate episode of the season, falling victim to Narissa (Peyton List) after he was captured by her.

Refusing to give up Picard’s location, the Borg was tortured by forcing him to watch the ex-Borgs (XBs) shot dead in front of him before, in his last attempt at keeping Picard safe, getting a throwing star at his neck.

But showrunner Michael Chabon has revealed that it was a sad inevitability of the character, explaining that it was the ‘most emotionally honest’ thing to happen as they wrote the scripts.

He told Hollywood Reporter: ‘The storyline for the season, as it first emerged, didn’t originally include the character of Hugh,’ he revealed.

‘The initial germ of having Hugh involved, and that he would die, came from the natural discussions of: What does it mean to have been Borg?’

‘So once we sort of committed to a big part of our season being about the lives of former Borg — Ex Bs, as we call them — and exploring how their lives are traumatized [from that experience], how they have or have not dealt with that trauma, and how they remain these objects of fear and hatred even though they were victimized by the Borg, to put Hugh in the centre of that lead to what felt like a dramatic way to service the character’s end.’

Either way, we’re heartbroken, and we’ll miss that ‘hopeless fool’ now he’s no longer on our screens.

Hugh first appeared in Star Trek: Next Generation back in 1992, then known as Third of Five in the episode I, Borg.

The emotional resonance of the character caused him to make multiple returns, with Picard helping liberate his people.

For actor Jonathan, the role became particularly poignant as a memory of his late partner, who had passed away of AIDS before his audition.

On his return, the star told Metro.co.uk: When I originally played the part, I was playing someone else, and when I’m playing the part now I’m playing myself.

‘That’s a big difference. I’m using my own life.’

Star Trek: Picard is available on Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes every Friday in the UK.

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Source: metro.co.uk