I have a theory. I think Data will be seen again at the end of the season. He will be revived as a full on synth - which is indistinguishable from a human. He becomes human.
Stewart wanted this show to MEAN something that aligns with his personal values. He hates (the now passed Brexit) hates domestic violence, hates that illegal aliens/undocumented immigrants are held in cages at the border, etc.
That plays with the fact for years in Star Trek it has played with “what does it mean to be human” and Data was and is a huge part of that. Stewart loathes how they are being treated on the border when they reach the USA and feels they are being treated as sub-human.
So we have a show dealing with this in respect to Data, Synths, and Rios with his holograms. How often did the Voyager crew forget the Doctor was a hologram before they caught themselves. A lot. The longer he was with them the more human he became.
Do holograms have the same rights as humans if they are like or more advanced than the Doctor? What about Synths? Reclaimed Borg?
As a result I think the show will play with the ethics regarding reviving Data as a synth. His old body was destroyed. He can only come back as a synth and Maddox creates a way to do this with one of the mystical positronic molecules.
I could see the finale reveal Data to come out of some pod of some sort to Picards shock, only to have his hopes dashed as Data is being controlled by a hidden enemy, perhaps Maddox, Lore, or Commodore Oh.
Corrupted synth Data then goes ahead and revives the Borg Cube to dramatic music as Picard looks in horror. The screen begins to fade out as Corrupted synth Data says “Resistance is futile” to Picard as horrific screams and disruptor shots echo out from the deepest parts of the Borg Cube.
“To be continued in 2020”
Stewart wanted this show to MEAN something that aligns with his personal values. He hates (the now passed Brexit) hates domestic violence, hates that illegal aliens/undocumented immigrants are held in cages at the border, etc.
That plays with the fact for years in Star Trek it has played with “what does it mean to be human” and Data was and is a huge part of that. Stewart loathes how they are being treated on the border when they reach the USA and feels they are being treated as sub-human.
So we have a show dealing with this in respect to Data, Synths, and Rios with his holograms. How often did the Voyager crew forget the Doctor was a hologram before they caught themselves. A lot. The longer he was with them the more human he became.
Do holograms have the same rights as humans if they are like or more advanced than the Doctor? What about Synths? Reclaimed Borg?
As a result I think the show will play with the ethics regarding reviving Data as a synth. His old body was destroyed. He can only come back as a synth and Maddox creates a way to do this with one of the mystical positronic molecules.
I could see the finale reveal Data to come out of some pod of some sort to Picards shock, only to have his hopes dashed as Data is being controlled by a hidden enemy, perhaps Maddox, Lore, or Commodore Oh.
Corrupted synth Data then goes ahead and revives the Borg Cube to dramatic music as Picard looks in horror. The screen begins to fade out as Corrupted synth Data says “Resistance is futile” to Picard as horrific screams and disruptor shots echo out from the deepest parts of the Borg Cube.
“To be continued in 2020”