On Star Trek: Picard, Dr. Beverly Crusher finally revealed why she disappeared, and her reason for leaving Starfleet and Jean-Luc behind makes sense.
The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 3, “Seventeen Seconds,” now streaming on Paramount+.
After two episodes, Beverly finally confirmed that Jack Crusher is Jean-Luc Picard’s son. The two not-so-co-parents finally get to have the conversations fans wanted since Picard first said she’d disappeared for 20 years. Whether viewers agree or not, Beverly Crusher’s reason for leaving Picard and hiding Jack makes perfect sense in the Star Trek universe.
In the episode, Beverly talks to Jean-Luc about their last trip together, when they “both” knew it was over. Only, this appeared to be news to Picard. While he eventually admits to foreseeing a break-up, he points out they’d done it often enough before. He’s so hurt that he misses how obvious her reason for running was. The last time viewers saw Dr. Crusher was during a film in which the entire Romulan Empire staked their future on cloning Jean-Luc Picard. He has a name among the Borg. His story began with him, and his crew, attracting the attention of the demi-god Q. Beverly is right that no son of Jean-Luc Picard would ever truly be “safe.” Yet, underneath all this is the real reason she left. She knows Picard well enough to know he would never choose his family over Starfleet.
The Events of the Picard Series Only Strengthen Beverly Crusher’s Reasons for Leaving
Put aside the notion of whether Jean-Luc Picard could ever love anyone more than he loves Starfleet. On the surface, Beverly’s arguments for keeping Jack a secret remain quite sound. Just last season, a dying Q upended the entire timeline just to help his old friend come to terms with his grief and perhaps change the fate of the myriad characters Isa Briones played. During this adventure, he helped to create a new species of Borg that is currently sitting at a hole in spacetime where something bad awaits on the other side.
The season before that, a similar portal heralded the arrival of a synthetic race not friendly to organics. Imagine if Q or those synthetics knew that Jean-Luc had a flesh-and-blood kid out there? That the Romulans placed such high esteem on Picard is not the only reason the events of Nemesis concerned Beverly. There’s always the question of nature versus nurture, but Jack shares half of Shinzon’s DNA, and he turned out to be a near-genocidal despot. Everyone who served with Picard knows he shares a trait with all good captains. There’s a part of him they all fear.
Is Vadic After Jack Crusher Because He’s Picard’s Son?
Despite her fear of him, Beverly knows Jean-Luc is the only one she can call when, suddenly, the entire galaxy is gunning for their son. She tells him that even though she has no evidence to support the claim, she’s certain Vadic is hunting Jack because of who his father is. She seems to have a lot of information in her files about everyone, and some of it may not come from hacking Starfleet. Still, Beverly says this not because it’s true, but because it’s her greatest fear. With her help, Jack’s been out in the galaxy running scams and being an outlaw hero in a galaxy full of rule-followers. There are more reasons he could’ve gotten on Vadic’s radar that stem from his mother’s activities than anything Picard did.
The fallout of this conversation emotionally devastates Picard, compromising his ability to lead. He’s quibbling openly with Riker, instead of working out a strategy worthy of a strong Act Four. At first, Riker was enjoying the irony that of the two of them, Picard has the surprise adult child. By the time he notices it’s not funny anymore, it’s too late. Crusher lives up to her name because her decision turns Picard’s greatest strength into a heel worthy of Achilles. Starfleet, the Federation and the galaxy needed as much of Jean-Luc Picard as they could get. There may even be a part of Beverly who agrees with that idea. It’s why she never even gave him the choice.
If Picard can snap out of it, he might just have a chance to get to know his son. Starfleet legend Doctor Leonard McCoy once said that a great captain can “turn certain death into a fighting chance to live.” Because, at least for now, the Jean-Luc Picard that Jack needs is the one who can save the crew of a Federation starship from a classic no-win scenario.
Star Trek: Picard debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.
