[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

It's pretty interesting that we're almost halfway through the season and I don't even have a basic idea of the villain's motive so far. I mean, it's clear that Beverly is still withholding significant information about the miraculous conception involved here... but what would changelings want with Picard's son who has never met him and no one knows he's actually Picard's son?

Also, is Vadic not a changeling? She cut off a piece of her clothes to communicate with the changelings (I think, lighting was very poor, and I suppose it's uncertain she was communicating with changelings) so is she just wearing a changeling suit? Is it controlling her like a meat puppet? Why did she seem to have alterior motivations? Is her only purpose to involve plummer's daughter as a brooding captain as another one of these surreal homages they're trying to cram in every nook and cranny of this thing?

I don't understand the reason for this conflict at all, and I can't even work out anything that makes sense.

My current guess is that Lore is pulling the strings, the link-orphan changelings are taking the role that hugh and the orphan borg previously took rather than being self motivated, and that vadic is thus controlled by this changeling suit. Why she's necessary at all is beyond me. Moriarty would then be reactivated to fight lore after lore almost fully defeats the crew- I'm also throwing out a vague guess that if Riker isn't a changeling, then he most certainly is going to die heroically in the initial Lore struggle. Say end of ep 8.

We haven't found out what the "Red Door" and branches in Jack's visions is about. Normally I hate these JJ Lost mystery box types of things in Star Trek like the stupid Red Angel of Discovery but the showrunner did 12 Monkeys and I think he has a good handle on how to make it work.

I have heard two theories that make sense to me (major spoilers if true - some of it was reportedly leaked from the subtitles in the UK and Switzerland so don't click if you don't want to be spoiled):

Spoiler!

1. They are Pah-Wraiths who have promised the renegade changelings access to the lost Dominion Fleet who were not destroyed in the wormhole but only time shifted. The renegade changlings are trying to get to Jack because somehow he's able to channel something since his half-brother also had the ability to become a traveler

2. Starfleet removed all of Picards implants but did not know about microscopic Borg nano remnants in his body. Jack, being the biological son inherited these Borg traces and he is being called to by something in one of the Borg collectives - not the Jurati collective as the show runner said they are not involved this season. There are reports the subtitles in some regions actually allude to the Borg Queen being the "find me" voice.