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Brent Spiner has previously appeared in the Star Trek franchise not only as Android Data, but also as its human builder, Dr. Noonian Soong and other members of the Soong family can be seen. And that is now also the case with “ Star Trek: Picard ”. After Spiner already embodied Noonian Soong’s son Altan in season 1, he now plays with the geneticist Adam Soong in season 2 an ancestor of the well-known Soongs many years in the past.
But for Spiner himself, the mere relationship is not the only connection that can be drawn from his latest «Star Trek» role to the sci-fi cult series » Starship Enterprise: The Next Century » aka «Star Trek: The Next Generation», where Data and Co. once made their debut…
Adam Soong as the origin of lore
As Brent Spiner explained in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter , the character Adam Soong provides further insight into the brilliant and complicated Soong family, which flips for good and dark over generations: «[Adam Soong] is much more complex than he’d first like us to believe,» Spiner told THR . «He’s denying who he really is, a classic narcissist. I think it’s his DNA that led to the dark side of the Soong family, right down to Lore. The light side, on the other hand, is later embodied by Noonian. Data is that bright side.”
So for Brent Spiner, this spans a large arc of character traits spanning several centuries, and in a way explains why Data’s android twin brother, Lore, has turned out so vicious and feels superior to humans. Though Lore was also built by Noonian Soong (and endowed with emotions, unlike Data), he has inherited the idiosyncrasies and memories of a long line of Soongs. His sinister nature is therefore deeply rooted in the history and the ambivalent nature of the Soong family, possibly beginning with Adam Soong.
» «Star Trek: Picard» Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video *
As the current sixth episode of the second «Picard» season shows, Adam is apparently less the worried father he was perceived to be in episode 5. Instead, his (possibly cloned?) daughter Kore ( Isa Briones ) seems to be more of an important experiment for him, which, after many failed attempts, he now wants to lead to success at any price, even if he has to stop at nothing to do it.
We may find out more about Kore’s true identity and the background to Adam Soong’s questionable machinations next week: The seventh episode of the second season «Star Trek: Picard» will be released on April 15, 2022 between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Amazon Prime Video .
Star Trek: Picard — Season 2 Trailer DF
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