Summary
- Isa Briones portrayed multiple characters in Star Trek: Picard, including Dahj and Soji, Data's "daughters."
- Briones' characters faced trauma from their creators and played vital roles in saving the galaxy with Jean-Luc Picard.
- Kore Soong, another character played by Briones, was the inspiration for the synthetic beings in the late 24th century.
Isa Briones played multiple characters in Star Trek: Picard, and she was the youngest cast member of the Star Trek series led by Sir Patrick Stewart. Star Trek: Picard picked up the story of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) nearly 20 years after audiences last saw him as Captain of the USS Enterprise-E in Star Trek: Nemesis. In Picard's first two seasons, Jean-Luc's return to saving the galaxy saw him surround himself with a new, motley crew of misfits, with Isa Briones' characters among them.
The immensely talented Isa Briones was just 20 years old when she signed onto Star Trek: Picard after touring as the youngest cast member of Hamilton. Briones was tasked with creating and embodying several different characters tied to the legacy of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). Isa played both heroic and villainous androids, but all of Briones' Star Trek: Picard characters endured and rose above the trauma inflicted on them by their creators from the Soong family of geneticists and cyberneticists. Briones' synthetic characters were also the evolution of androids in Star Trek as the next generation of Data. Here are Isa Briones' 4 characters in Star Trek: Picard:
Related
Star Trek: Picard season 3's cast includes several new characters and the return of some of the biggest names and iconic characters in Star Trek.
Isa Briones Star Trek: Picard Character | Season | Episode Count |
|---|---|---|
Dahj Asha | 1 | 1 |
Soji Asha | 1, 2 | 10 |
Sutra | 1 | 2 |
Kore Soong | 2 | 4 |
5 Dahj Asha
Star Trek: Picard season 1
Dahj was the first of Isa Briones' characters audiences met in Star Trek: Picard, and she is also the most tragic. Unaware she was synthetic, Dahj believed herself to be a student in Boston named Dahj Asha who was accepted to the Daystrom Institute in Okinawa when she was attacked by Romulan Zhat Vash agents. Programmed to seek help from Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Dahj was the impetus for Picard to break his retirement and help the distressed young android. Dahj was murdered by the Romulans led by Narissa (Peyton List) at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1's premiere, "Remembrance." The death of Dahj was the spark that sent Jean-Luc back into space to find and protect her twin sister, Soji Asha.
Essentially, Dahj and Soji were Data's "daughters" and their appearance was modeled after a woman in a painting by Data called 'Daughter.'
Dahj and Soji were synthetic twins created from one of Data's positronic neurons recovered from B-4 (Brent Spiner). They were built by Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales) and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner) on the planet Coppelius in defiance of the United Federation of Planets' ban of synthetic lifeforms. Essentially, Dahj and Soji were Data's "daughters" and their appearance was modeled after a woman in a painting by Data called 'Daughter':
4 Soji Asha
Star Trek: Picard season 1 & 2
Soji is Dahj's twin sister who believed herself to be Dr. Soji Asha, an anthropologist working to reclaim Borg drones for the Romulan Reclamation Project on the Artifact. In Star Trek: Picard season 1, Soji was targeted and seduced by a Romulan operative named Narek (Harry Treadaway). Narek's mission was to learn the location of the synthetics' homeworld of Coppelius, and then kill Soji. The emotionally manipulative Narek became infatuated with Soji, who was eventually rescued by Admiral Picard after she was activated as an android.
Upon her activation, Soji realized she had super strength and the positronic intelligence on par with Data.
Soji's original mission on the Artifact was to learn the truth behind the Attack on Mars orchestrated by the Romulans in 2385 that resulted in the Federation's ban on synthetics. Bringing Admiral Picard and the crew of La Sirena to Coppelius, Soji was then manipulated by her predecessor android, Sutra, to bring forth a race of synthetics from another galaxy to wipe out organic life in the Alpha Quadrant. But Soji made a different choice and helped Picard repel the synthetics, cementing herself as a member of Jean-Luc's new crew.
In Star Trek: Picard season 2, Soji became an ambassador for synthetic life and was last seen negotiating with the Deltans on Raritan IV.
3 Sutra
Star Trek: Picard season 1
Sutra's goal was to summon an ancient race of synthetic lifeforms from another galaxy to wipe out organic life on the Alpha Quadrant.
Sutra and her twin sister Jana were part of an earlier generation of synthetics built by Dr. Bruce Maddox and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong. With her golden skin and eyes, Sutra reflected the model of Soong-type androids like Data and Lore. However, Sutra turned nefarious and distrusted organics. Sutra had knowledge of Vulcan culture and could even perform a mind-meld. Sutra's goal was to summon an ancient race of synthetic lifeforms from another galaxy to wipe out organic life on the Alpha Quadrant. Sutra was deactivated by Dr. Soong at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1.
Sutra's twin, Jana, was part of a delegation of synthetics sent from Coppelius that was murdered by Starfleet under orders of Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita). Although unseen, Jana looked identical to Sutra.
2 Kore Soong
Star Trek: Picard season 2
Kore Soong was the cloned 'daughter' of 21st-century geneticist Dr. Adam Soong (Brent Spiner). The last of a long line of clones, Kore, like her predecessors, was born with a fatal genetic defect. Kore's disorder left her vulnerable to sunlight and air pollution. Kore was kept in isolation and was essentially Adam's prisoner at his Los Angeles home, but Kore eventually learned the truth of who and what she was. After Q (John de Lancie) gave her the means to cure her condition, Kore escaped Adam's clutches and deleted all of his data.
At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 2, Kore was recruited by Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) to join the race of cosmic beings called the Travelers. Crucially, Kore was the forerunner and inspiration for the synthetics Sutra, Jana, Dahj, and Soji, who were all modeled after Kore Soong in the late 24th century.
Isa Briones was among the actors, including Allison Pill, Evan Evagora, and Santiago Cabrera, who were series regulars in Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2 that were not invited back for Star Trek: Picard season 3.
1 Isa Briones' Father Was Also In Star Trek: Picard Season 2
Jon Jon Briones played The Magistrate
Star Trek: Picard was a family affair for Isa Briones as her father, Jon Jon Briones, also played a role in Star Trek: Picard season 2. Jon Jon appeared in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 2, "Penance," and episode 3, "Assimilation," as the Magistrate of the Confederation of Earth. In the dark alternate timeline created by Q, the Magistrate was married to Annika Hansen (Jeri Ryan), the President of the Confederation. The Magistrate grew suspicious of Annika after she was replaced by Seven of Nine, and he murdered Elnor (Evan Evagora) before the Magistrate was killed by Seven. Jon Jon and Isa Briones became one of the rare father-daughter actors to appear in the same Star Trek series in Star Trek: Picard season 2.
Star Trek: Picard is available to stream on Paramount+.
- Cast
- Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , Jeri Ryan , Michelle Hurd , Ed Speleers , Gates McFadden , Todd Stashwick , Michael Dorn , Brent Spiner , LeVar Burton , Marina Sirtis , Amanda Plummer , Isa Briones , Alison Pill , Santiago Cabrera , Evan Evagora , Orla Brady , John de Lancie , Whoopi Goldberg
- Seasons
- 3
- Streaming Service(s)
- Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
- Showrunner
- Michael Chabon , Akiva Goldsman , Terry Matalas
