Spoilers Would you consider the things that Matalas wanted to happen as canon?

[The Wormhole]

Now everyone 25 or under is an XB, maybe the stigma on them will lift a bit.

They'll still have to deal with the discrimination of being under 25. And then when they get older future generations will mock them for being the generation which nearly turned the Federation over to the Borg on a silver platter.

 

[Yistaan]

Captain Sidney La Forge: I'm sorry do I know you? Why won't you let my away team beam down and conduct their investigation?

Dip Shaw: You killed my father, so as governor of Freecloud the answer is no.

 

[F. King Daniel]

IIRC, with the final destruction of the cube, all remaining Borg tech simply disappeared from the assimilated crew, as if it was never there. So technically speaking they are not xBs.

And it seems that they (judging from the Titan’s crew) were none the worse for their experience. Even Jack seemed to recover fully.

Remember when Picard was Locutus and it scarred him for life? And then Janeway and friends were assimilated and it was never spoken of again. Now Jack and most of Starfleet is assimilated (Jack identically to Locutus, no less!) and it's like getting your ear pierced in a mall but with less lasting damage.

 

[Yistaan]

Remember when Picard was Locutus and it scarred him for life? And then Janeway and friends were assimilated and it was never spoken of again. Now Jack and most of Starfleet is assimilated (Jack identically to Locutus, no less!) and it's like getting your ear pierced in a mall but with less lasting damage.

That's why I was adamant against reusing the Borg as the villain in Picard, and insisted that if they did so it would lead to a terrible story. I stand by that, but the nostalgia high (I guess 20 years does wonders considering the same nostalgia couldn't keep Nemesis afloat) brought in the money and viewers (to the point even I'm conceding if I were CBS I'd cancel Academy in favor of Legacy).

But I suspect as the novelty of Picard Season 3 wears off, people will be more critical of its characterization and storyline as time goes on. We'll see. Everyone was raving about the Avengers and Age of Ultron films when they came out. After subsequent stories about director Joss Whedon, suddenly people felt comfortable saying they actually thought those films were terrible.

 

[The Wormhole]

That's why I was adamant against reusing the Borg as the villain in Picard, and insisted that if they did so it would lead to a terrible story. I stand by that, but the nostalgia high

It's not just nostalgia. The Borg are Picard's white whale, the enemy he has a personal connection with. It was always a foregone conclusion that this series would feature the Borg in a prominent way.

Everyone was raving about the Avengers and Age of Ultron films when they came out. After subsequent stories about director Joss Whedon, suddenly people felt comfortable saying they actually thought those films were terrible.

Age of Ultron was always criticized, even before knowledge of Whedon's unpleasant side was made public.

 

[Nerys Myk]

There were Borg in Picard? I hadn’t noticed.

 

[Avro Arrow]

The Federation has the absolute right to defend itself. That’s all they were ever doing. Neither the Borg nor the Dominion have the right to be outraged at this.

War crimes are war crimes, and I'm pretty sure that torturing and experimenting on your prisoners of war qualifies as such. So the Federation wasn't just "defending itself", and Vadic's anger was not unjustified.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Oh, right, I forgot about Vadic.

Sucks what happened to her, but it doesn’t make her subsequent actions RIGHT.

 

[Sci]

IIRC, with the final destruction of the cube, all remaining Borg tech simply disappeared from the assimilated crew, as if it was never there. So technically speaking they are not xBs.

Nah, they're XBs. Just a different kind of XB.

Hopefully the experience of so many thousands upon thousands -- if not millions -- of young people being assimilated will help de-stigmatize the other XBs in the Federation.

And it seems that they (judging from the Titan’s crew) were none the worse for their experience. Even Jack seemed to recover fully.

I don't think there's any evidence of that. Just because we saw Sidney and Jack on a nice day a year later doesn't mean they weren't both deeply traumatized by what happened. Picard had nice days in S4 of TNG, but he was clearly haunted by his assimilation for the rest of his life.

Also it seems that none of the assimilated personnel even remember what happened. The ones that reached the Titan’s bridge were totally unaware of how they’d got there.

There's no line indicating this though. We see them all "wake up" in the sense of their individual personalities re-asserting themselves, but there's no indication that they didn't remember what had happened or what being assimilated had felt like.

Remember when Picard was Locutus and it scarred him for life? And then Janeway and friends were assimilated and it was never spoken of again.

Easily the worst part of "Unimatrix Zero."

But I suspect as the novelty of Picard Season 3 wears off, people will be more critical of its characterization and storyline as time goes on.

Yeah, probably. There's always a counter-reaction.

We'll see. Everyone was raving about the Avengers and Age of Ultron films when they came out. After subsequent stories about director Joss Whedon, suddenly people felt comfortable saying they actually thought those films were terrible.

I mean, there was an immediate backlash to Avengers: Age of Ultron, particularly over Natasha and her relationship to Bruce.

Oh, right, I forgot about Vadic.

Sucks what happened to her, but it doesn’t make her subsequent actions RIGHT.

Sure, but no one said it did. And Vadic is right to be furious the Federation has never taken responsibility for the war crimes she and other Dominion citizens suffered.

 

[valkyrie013]

Well.. It depends if the crew were conscious during there Borgification. ..
If they were aware, and just couldn't control there body, they would have memories of KILLING alot of people. So yeah.. they would be severely scared. and most would be in some sort of therapy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Vadic is right to be furious the Federation has never taken responsibility for the war crimes she and other Dominion citizens suffered.

Ah yes, the same Dominion who exterminated the population of Cardassia.

Don’t suppose they’d care to take responsibility for THAT?

 

[fireproof78]

Ah yes, the same Dominion who exterminated the population of Cardassia.

Don’t suppose they’d care to take responsibility for THAT?

So nice to see "eye for an eye" being preached so adamantly.

 

[Sci]

Ah yes, the same Dominion who exterminated the population of Cardassia.

Don’t suppose they’d care to take responsibility for THAT?

Doesn't justify Federation war crimes or the Federation's refusal to take responsibility for its war crimes.

 

[The Wormhole]

Ah yes, the same Dominion who exterminated the population of Cardassia.

Don’t suppose they’d care to take responsibility for THAT?

The Female Changeling did surrender to the Federation immediately afterwards, ended the war and agreed to stand trial for war crimes. What's that if not taking responsibility?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The Female Changeling did surrender to the Federation immediately afterwards, ended the war and agreed to stand trial for war crimes. What's that if not taking responsibility?

Uh huh.

So now the Federation has to give somebody up (even though the thing with Vadic was Section 31)? Who’s that gonna be?

And while I think it’s safe to assume that the Female Changeling will, as a POW, be treated fairly….I doubt the reverse is true. We’ve seen how the Dominion treats ITS prisoners…

 

[fireproof78]

So now the Federation has to give somebody up (even though the thing with Vadic was Section 31)? Who’s that gonna be?

Preferably the Federation Councilmember (or members) who greenlit that particular op.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Preferably the Federation Councilmember (or members) who greenlit that particular op.

Assuming there are any. Section 31, remember. And I might add, Vadic’s captor is DEAD…

And as I said, who knows what kind of torture the Dominion might subject to any POW turned over to them? We KNOW that’s what they do.

 

[fireproof78]

Assuming there are any. Section 31, remember.

And as I said, who knows what kind of torture the Dominion might subject to any POW turned over to them? We KNOW that’s what they do.

So what? Everyone else doing it is not a moral justification. The fallout of the Dominion War was the erosion of Federation principles to combat enemies or shadows of enemies.

Section 31 may have been acting independently. If so, then what is the Council doing to eradicate it and demonstrate trust can be had again in these institutions?

 

[diankra]

Outrage? Really? The Borg and the Dominion are not entitled to “outrage”.

The Borg assimilate everyone, and the Dominion (via the Jem’Hadar) enslave everyone. And they have the gall to be outraged at the Federation?

The Federation has the absolute right to defend itself. That’s all they were ever doing. Neither the Borg nor the Dominion have the right to be outraged at this.

Simply put, the Federation are the good guys here. Outrage, if any exists, is THEIR right, and theirs alone.

Just because your cause is not just doesn't mean you can't believe in it and feel outrage when it's thwarted.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

So what? Everyone else doing it is not a moral justification.

I’m not trying to “justify” anything. I’m just wondering why the Federation would ever turn over a POW to the Dominion, knowing the horrors that would await them. The Dominion’s treatment of prisoners is well known, and it ain’t good.