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The season one finale of “Star Trek: Picard” hinted at a new romance between two of the show’s core characters. In one of the final scenes of “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2,” Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) sat at a table together on Rios’ ship, La Sirena. They looked at each other affectionately, then reached across the table and interlocked their fingers.
The scene was very subtle, but it caused a stir in the fandom. While many were happy that Trek finally seemed ready to introduce a lesbian couple to the franchise, some were confused by the lack of story leading up to the presumed relationship. Others, Kaila Hale-Stern at The Mary Sue, worried that season two of “Picard” wouldn’t confirm the relationship or give it the screen time it deserves.
However, new details from Hurd herself seem to indicate that the relationship will continue in season two, and perhaps beyond.
Hurd Shares New Details About Raffi’s Romance With Seven
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During a VIP-only panel at the official “Star Trek” convention in Las Vegas earlier in August, Hurd gave some new, exclusive details about her relationship with Seven in season two. Trek news outlet TrekMovie was at the panel and shared some of Hurd’s reveals.
Hurd said that Raffi falling in love with Seven felt very natural to her and that she was excited to explore their relationship further.
“For Raffi, for her to witness this woman who is powerful and strong and confident and bold and brave, and just fearless. I mean, I don’t know how everybody doesn’t just sort of want to fall in love with Seven of Nine? And Jeri Ryan is such a phenomenal person and actress and intelligent being and we get along so well. So you know, to, to explore that is, is a really cool thing. That’s all I’m gonna say.”
Hurd went on to say that she felt like Raffi and Seven found each other in the midst of their loneliness, and it was very important to both actresses to represent that authentically. The scene where they took each other’s hands was literally, them finding each other.
Hurd’s comments confirm that Raffi is, in fact, falling in love with Seven. They also suggest that the relationship will be further explored in season two.
Will ‘Picard’ Really Go There?
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Season one showrunner Michael Chabon has been clear that both Seven and Raffi are bisexual and their relationship will continue in the upcoming season. In an interview with Queerty in March of 2020, he said that he intends to portray the “fluidity” of sexuality in the 24th century.
“You know, when we talked about our characters and their sexualities I think the assumption was that if we’re talking about the ‘Star Trek’ vision of the future, which is rooted in diversity and tolerance and openness and freedom, inevitably that would lead to total freedom to be who you are. One of the things I see looking around at people who are in their teens and 20s, is people exploring their identities and trying to figure out who they are in terms of their gender and sexual identity.”
Chabon continued, saying that when the writers envisioned Raffi and reimagined Seven, they pictured both of them having very diverse romantic pasts.
With a character like Raffi, to the extend we imagined her history in a fair amount of detail, her history included all kinds of sexual partners… She’s had relationships with all kind of people… Same thing with Seven of Nine… If you think about that, it almost seems unnatural that she wouldn’t have had partners of other genders. It seems clear she would have… Years have passed. In that time, she’s continued to explore the spectrum of human relationships in a broader way. So in our show, there are echos and implications of that.”
He went on to say that he wasn’t sure that he made their relationship clear enough with the scene, and remarked that he wanted to be more clear with season two.
However, Chabon will not be the showrunner for season two. In an interview with SyFy Wire in March 2020, he revealed that he would be writing a few episodes, but not serving as “Picard’s” showrunner. So, it’s up to the new showrunners to decide where the Seven and Raffi relationship will go.
In an interview with Inverse in October of 2020, Hurd didn’t confirm whether or not her character would be romantically linked to Seven in season two. However, she did say she’d be excited to see that happen.
“I’d love to see a fluidity to their relationship. It’s about connection — seeing someone, hearing someone, allowing those people to affect us — and acting upon that without judgment, without labels, without stigma. I have no idea exactly what will be happening in the future for Raffi and Seven. But I really have faith in the in the writers and their vision. I would really love to see that relationship taken to a place where that love is explored and embraced and celebrated.”
Ryan has stayed quiet about the potential relationship. However, she did confirm that Seven is canonically bisexual on Twitter.
Does Raffi Have Something to do With Seven’s Wedding Ring?
In the very last scene of the trailer for “Picard’s” second season, Seven looks in the mirror and realizes that she doesn’t have her Borg implants anymore. She raises her left hand to her face and touches the area where her implants used to be.
Though it’s only visible for a second or two, Seven clearly has a wedding band on her left ring finger. The show’s second season is centered on manipulating timelines, so the wedding band may be part of an alternate timeline. However, it’s also totally possible that Raffi and Seven are married in season two.
Unfortunately, we won’t find out for sure where their relationship is going until 2022.
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