Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard came to an end last week, and while plot details about Season 2 are being kept under wraps, it looks like the sophomore run of the series will somewhat delve into the new romance between Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd).
In the concluding moments of the show’s Season 1 finale, Seven and Raffi clasped hands while staring at each other, suggesting that two characters have entered into a romantic relationship. Though it’s not clear whether Raffi and Seven are already a couple, both Ryan and Hurd confirmed that their characters are queer.
Ryan confirmed that Seven is a member of the LGBTQ+ community by replying rainbow flags to Trekkies on Twitter.
Ha! ✊????????️????
— Jeri Ryan (@JeriLRyan) March 26, 2020
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— Jeri Ryan (@JeriLRyan) March 28, 2020
Hurd, meanwhile, shared how the queer pairing started in a lengthy interview with Entertainment Tonight. Though Hurd didn’t mention whether Seven and Raffi are gay or bisexual, the actress did say that she would love to see Star Trek: Picard “be able to … effortlessly reveal a non-labeling sexuality for everyone.” “Wouldn’t it be lovely?” she continued. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow really bring that into these stories, embrace it and not label it, not make it taboo, but empower it? Make it almost fluid.”
Since Seven and Raffi didn’t share too many scenes in Season 1, some fans were shocked by the seemingly out-of-nowhere romance revelation. While the pairing does seem rushed, there were actually some hints earlier in the season that both characters are queer despite having relationships with heterosexual males before.
In Stardust City Rag (Season 1, episode 5), it was strongly hinted that Seven and Bjayzl (Necar Zadegan) had a relationship prior to Icheb’s (Casey King) death. Seven had so much trust in Bjayzl, and that’s why Seven hated her so much when she found that she’s the one who killed her surrogate son, Icheb.
Meanwhile, though Raffi was revealed to have an ex-husband and an estranged son, some fans believe that she had a special relationship with her old female friend that secured Picard (Patrick Stewart) diplomatic access to the Borg artifact mid-way into the season.
Star Trek: Picard Season 1 is available to stream on CBS All Access in the U.S. and internationally on Amazon Prime Video.