Just when you thought that Patrick Stewart’s iconic USS Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard couldn’t have any more surprises from his glorious “Star Trek” past, the latest episode of Paramount+‘s “Star Trek: Picard.” (now streaming) reveals another one.
The now-retired admiral has a grown son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers).
Even Picard was shocked to find out that he had the offspring from an affair with “The Next Generation” shipmate Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), who sent out a distress signal to Picard in the spinoff’s opening episode after losing contact for two decades.
And Picard was angry. “When I learn that she is bringing up this child, who is now a young man, who is my son, it’s enraging,” Stewart tells USA TODAY. “The fury that she would hide this fact from me. The scene was so powerful, it was one of the great highlights of shooting ‘Picard.'”
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Dr. Crusher had her reasons for keeping the child a secret from the perpetually galaxy-saving Picard, but needs his help to save her destroyed medical ship and their son.
The drama provides a boon for “Star Trek” fans, and for Speleers, the 34-year-old British actor (“Outlander,” “Downton Abbey”) currently starring as Rhys Montrose in Netflix’s season 4 of “You.”
“Looking at this beloved, revered franchise and suddenly to be thrust into being the son of one of their most iconic characters is, well, it’s a big deal,” says Speleers. “It’s something that has been on my mind since the moment I was cast and it’s coming full circle. This is such an exciting thing. Because in the sci-fi world, this is really a thing.”
The meeting is also a big thing for Jack Crusher, who is miffed not to have had his famous father in his life. But he’s doing well supporting his mother on the medical ship, even if it means flouting a few laws to grease the wheels.
“It’s like your dad being one of the most famous people in the world – a sports or Hollywood star – and knowing that person hasn’t been in your life. But Jack is wanting to make his own mark and his own way,” says Speleers “It’s about him trying to figure out who he really is, what his purpose in life is.”
While Picard and his re-assembled “Next Generation” crew – including Dr. Crusher, Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Worf (Michael Dorn) – try to save the universe, Picard and his newly discovered son will try to develop a less-than-fraught relationship in the final season of “Picard.”
“At its core, this show is about relationships and, in this case, the huge thing of this father and son grappling with theirs,” says Speleers. “All while the gravest of circumstances surround them.”
Speleers and Stewart instantly bonded over their beloved British soccer teams. “We’ve had many great conversations about football,” says Speleers. And somehow Jack Crusher has a British accent just like his “Star Trek” dad, despite being raised by an American mother. “It was easily justifiable for him because of the way that his mum was traveling around the world and the galaxy, and he was schooled in London,” explains Speleers
Even with the similarities, don’t expect screen dad and son to just hug it out. “Things are going to get spicy,” says Speleers. “This is going to be a fun adventure.”
