The origin of the beautiful symmetry between Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and his synthetic daughter Soji (Isa Briones) in Star Trek: Picard can be found in Star Trek: Insurrection. Data received the closure he and Star Trek fans had waited almost 20 years for in Star Trek: Picard, which followed up the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and revealed that Data's consciousness continued to live on even after his violent death. However, the true thematic resonance between Data and Soji is rooted in Data's story in Star Trek: Insurrection, not in his demise in Nemesis.
The third Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, and the second directed by Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: Insurrection was about Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) defending a race called the Ba'ku from being forcibly relocated by an alliance between Starfleet and the Son'a. At stake was a region of space called the Briar Patch, which had regenerative properties akin to being a "fountain of youth". Data had a pivotal role in Star Trek: Insurrection and, during the Picard-led rebellion, the golden android struck up a friendship with Artim (Michael Welch), a 12-year-old Ba'ku boy. Initially suspicious of technology, Artim soon warmed up to the gentle synthetic Starfleet Officer and he was naturally curious about what it must be like to be Data. Artim peppered Data with amusing questions and learned that the android envies the things a little boy takes for granted, like having a bedtime and getting to grow up. For his part, Artim taught Data how to play - they even hid in haystacks together - and the boy advised his android friend to take time out every day to have some fun.
The moments between Artim and Data are among the most touching in Star Trek: Insurrection and they are intriguingly echoed in Star Trek: Picard episode 7, "Nepenthe", when Jean-Luc and Soji sought help from Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and his wife Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). On Nepenthe, Soji met the Troi-Rikers' young daughter Kestra (Lulu Wilson), who immediately took a shine to Data's daughter. Soji had just escaped the Borg Cube Artifact after learning the truth that she's an android, which gave her serious trust issues. However, Kestra broke through Soji's walls and they eventually bonded. Naturally, Kestra was fascinated by Soji being a palpably human-like android and she gave Soji crucial details about her father, Data, who Soji never met. Almost beat-for-beat, the sweet relationship between Soji and Kestra echoed the friendship that formed between Data and Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection.
If anything, Kestra was even more enamored with Soji than Artim was of Data. The youngest Riker, who tragically lost her older brother Thad, grew up on starships and heard all about the beloved and miraculous android who served with her parents aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and E. Kestra knew that Data was a kind person, but as an android, he possessed awesome abilities like being able to "run super-fast, jump really high, and bend steel with [his] bare hands" - all things Soji can do as well. While Soji can't play the violin like Data and she's indifferent to Sherlock Holmes (which Data loved), she can can sweat, bleed, and cry - all things her android father was unable to do.
Thanks to Kestra, Soji was able to work through her trust issues and started to accept the benefits of being synthetic. In this way, Star Trek: Picard completes what began with Data and Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection. Artim also had similar questions about Data's physical abilities - the android confessed he doesn't tire because his batteries constantly recharge - but the boy was even more interested in Data as a person. By the time Data said goodbye to Artim at the conclusion of the film, he had gained some valuable new insight thanks to seeing himself through the eyes of a child. It's just like Soji and Kestra, although their hug and farewell were even more heartwarming since a genuine friendship had formed between Riker's daughter and Data's daughter.
Star Trek: Insurrection is generally regarded as one of the weaker Star Trek movies but it contains arguably the best character moments that favorably harken back to the TNG's finest episodes. This includes Data's singing, which he did first in Insurrection, although the android's performance of "Blue Skies" in Nemesis became the thematic bookends for Star Trek: Picard - especially since Isa Briones sang the Irving Berlin classic in Picard's season 1 finale. Data's demise in Star Trek: Nemesis was certainly the unfinished business Star Trek: Picard season 1 neatly wrapped up but, in terms of the characters of Data and Soji, Star Trek: Insurrection worth a rewatch to see the roots of how the android father and daughter compellingly mirror each other (by design).
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