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Who is icheb star trek: picard’s surprise voyager return explained.

Episode 5 of Star Trek: Picard features a returning character from Star Trek: Voyager in Icheb. Who is he, and how is he connected to Seven of Nine?

Star Trek: Picard has brought another  Voyager character back in the shape of Icheb, here's what the former Borg's brief return means for the new series.  Star Trek: Picard has featured appearances from an array of legacy characters thus far, and there's still plenty more to come. Aside from Patrick Stewart's long-awaited reprisal of Jean-Luc Picard, the audience has been reintroduced to Brent Spiner's Data , Hugh Borg and Bruce Maddox from  The Next Generation , while Jeri Ryan once again plays Seven of Nine from  Voyager . Scenes featuring Riker and Troi are yet to come, and the remaining 5 episodes could hold further character surprises.

In this week's "Stardust City Rag," Picard's makeshift new crew happen across Seven of Nine, and their paths to the planet of Freecloud converge for a time. While Picard wants to visit the Las Vegas of the Alpha Doradus system in order to track down Bruce Maddox, the man who made Dahj and Soji, Seven of Nine 's has nothing other than revenge on her mind. In an earlier flashback scene, it's revealed that Seven attempted and failed to rescue another ex-Borg character called Icheb from being brutally dissected. The duo clearly shared a strong mother-and-son-esque bond and now Seven is desperately hunting down the figure behind Icheb's capture and death - a harvester of Borg components by the name Bjayzl.

Related:  Star Trek: Picard's Riker Appearance Breaks a Star Trek Actor Record

Introduced in  Voyager season 6's "Collective," Icheb was originally a Brunali living in the Delta Quadrant, whose planet was a frequently attacked by the Borg. Icheb's parents genetically engineered their son to be a weapon against the Collective and, sure enough, his assimilation killed off many Borg on board his cube. After maturing, he assumed control of the ship and attacked the Voyager, only to lose and be captured along with a select number of other young drones. As they had done previously with Seven of Nine, the Voyager crew attempted to remove their prisoners' Borg implants, and it was Icheb who showed the most progress.

Seven acted as a mentor to Icheb , aiding him in his transition back to humanity. The duo's relationship was frosty at first, largely due to Seven's overly-strict leadership style, but her maternal instincts began to kick in when the Voyager returned Icheb to his Brunali family. Seven rightly suspected that Icheb's parents weren't what they appeared to be, and she helped rescue him from being used against as a Borg battering ram for a second time. From here, Icheb grew into a valued member of the Voyager crew; not always understanding human intricacies but vastly intelligent and deeply interested in bettering himself, particularly via the teachings of one James Tiberius Kirk.

After the events of  Voyager , it appears Icheb continued his goal of becoming a Starfleet officer, but remained loyal to Seven of Nine when she joined the Fenris Rangers, and this is no surprise given the pair's close ties. After initially clashing, Icheb and Seven developed a student and mentor relationship that eventually evolved into a more parent and child dynamic. This closeness was solidified when Icheb risked his life to save Seven's by donating his cortical node as a replacement for Seven's malfunctioning one. Although Icheb's tenure on  Star Trek: Picard was shockingly short, Seven of Nine did tutor other reclaimed Borg youngsters on the Voyager, and although she wasn't as close to the others, it wouldn't be surprising to see them also make a modern-day return.

These events cast the latest episode of  Star Trek: Picard in a brand new light. Icheb put his life on the line in order to ensure Seven lived, and thanks to his scientific brilliance, he succeeded. Seven would attempt the same when she recklessly attacked Bjayzl's lab to rescue her adopted son but, unlike Icheb's organ transplant, Seven was unsuccessful, and she was forced into choosing between watching her child suffer or shooting him herself. Seven's familial connection to Icheb, despite not being his birth mother, is an extremely apt storyline for  Star Trek: Picard to revisit, given that the central story revolves around Data and his off not-entirely-biological offspring, and therefore continues to humanize the synthetic characters of the  Star Trek universe.

More:  Star Trek: Picard Subtly Reused Voyager’s Theme Tune Perfectly

Star Trek: Picard continues with "The Impossible Box" February 27th on CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video the following day.

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If every franchise needs a kid, at least Star Trek: Picard does it well

But does heroism have to be a family business?

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Sequels and remakes have ruled Hollywood for ages, but for the past decade, film and television have been dominated by long-running franchises with uninterrupted continuity. This has given rise to the “ legacyquel ” or “ requel ,” works that revive dormant properties using a mixture of new and familiar characters. New characters, usually played by much younger (and less expensive) actors, serve as an on-ramp for new viewers as well as a potential off-ramp for the “legacy” characters, who are present to attract nostalgic fans and reassure them that their version of the franchise hasn’t been discarded. It’s an opportunity for the leads or even creators of a popular intellectual property to pass the torch to a new generation and ensure its longevity. Or, less charitably, it’s the tip of the spear in studios’ efforts to minimize the importance of movie stars in the marketability of films in favor of making brands themselves — things they own — the real selling point.

More than that, however, the proliferation of the legacyquel has given birth to another Hollywood trend: We are seeing a lot of movies and TV shows about the children of famous characters.

This isn’t automatically a bad idea, and many of the better examples find ways to twist or subvert the basic formula of “the same story, but with the next generation.” Creed (still the best legacyquel) is an inverted Rocky , the saga of a born somebody who wants to make it as a nobody . Star Wars: The Force Awakens casts the child of two iconic characters as its villain, while Cobra Kai and 2022’s Scream have protagonists who are descended from the villains of their source works. In the realm of superheroes, it’s more of a mixed bag. Alongside new faces like Shang-Chi , Ms. Marvel , and Moon Knight , Marvel’s Multiverse Saga has introduced us to a slew of familial heirs to vacant Avengers titles. ( Ant-Man’s daughter has a shrinky-suit now, Hulk’s got a big green cousin and a big green son , Thor has an adopted daughter portrayed by Chris Hemsworth’s real-life daughter, etc.) In what might be the most uncomfortable example in a modern franchise, the eerie CGI ghost of deceased actor Harold Ramis was trod out to endorse his character’s grandchildren in Ghostbusters: Afterlife , a film directed by the son of original director Ivan Reitman.

“So what?” you might be asking. After all, movie and TV characters having kids is just a consequence of their open-ended stories documenting the next phase in their lives. Should superheroes and spacemen be prohibited from growing up and procreating? Of course not. I’m not Joe Quesada . In fact, it’s terrific that long-form live-action media forces storytellers and audiences alike to acknowledge the passage of time. My concern is that this crop of on-screen offspring is being created in order to create and sustain fictional dynasties. During an era in which the growing chasm between haves and have-nots has further crowded our screens with actors, models, and musicians whose family connections have given them a huge advantage over other aspiring artists , the narratives currently offered by corporate media reinforce the idea that today’s most important people are the children of yesterday’s most important people.

I don’t mean to suggest that this is some sort of massive conspiracy by rich media elites to manufacture our consent for the coming techno-feudalist hellscape. (Though it probably won’t hurt.) It’s a consequence of the same lazy, cautious approach upon which Hollywood has repeatedly doubled down over the past three decades. When deciding which projects to invest tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in, the safest bet will always be a known quantity. And, since today’s most vocal audiences are the sorts who demand to be rewarded for the time they’ve invested in these fictional universes, simply repurposing the title or premise of a popular product from years past will no longer cut it. Everything must count . Even recasting a beloved role is often sacrilege.

But, since Harrison Ford isn’t getting any younger , studios need to establish new characters who can sustain the value of these intellectual properties after the original star has moved on either professionally or mortally. Having your protagonists’ offspring inherit the franchise is the avenue that requires the least thought or explanation, and therefore has become the most common. It’s the narrative equivalent of hiring someone’s nephew because it’s easier than interviewing a bunch of new job candidates. It’s not an outright evil practice, but it is how wealth and power perpetuate themselves.

One storied franchise, however, has managed to prosper for half a century without ever resorting to this particular trick: Star Trek. When Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 1987, it featured a new cast of characters with no direct connection to the famous crew led by Kirk, Spock, and McCoy . In fact, the show’s writers’ bible expressly forbade pitches featuring the descendants of established characters from The Original Series , in order to ensure that the audience’s attention was on the new crew rather than in the rearview mirror. Even after another 30 years’ worth of spinoffs, each series has almost exclusively introduced new characters without family ties or familiar last names, with the only exceptions being Discovery ’s Michael Burnham ( Spock’s foster sister ), Picard ’s Soji Asha (Data’s daughter, sort of), and La’an Noonien-Singh of Strange New Worlds (descended from the infamous Khan). It’s not that family legacy isn’t a thing in the world of Star Trek, or that its post-capitalist utopia has completely negated the advantages of inherited status. (We’re looking at you, Jonathan Archer.) Rather, it reinforces that, at least since 1987, Star Trek is not the story of a particular group of people but of the future in which they live. The heroes of Starfleet come from anywhere and everywhere , and in the eyes of the audience, they’re all starting from zero.

That is, until the latest episode of Picard officially confirmed the implication of last week’s cliffhanger: New character Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) is the estranged son of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, and for the first time since the death of Kirk’s son David in Star Trek III , there is a patrilineal successor to the throne of Star Trek.

This, in itself, is not a bad thing, and Speleers’ performance as the roguish son of Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher calls to mind Chris Pine’s take on James T. Kirk more than Gates McFadden or Sir Patrick Stewart — save for that accent, because Paramount wouldn’t dream of casting a non-Brit as Picard Jr. even if it doesn’t make sense for the character’s backstory. (The incongruity is at least hand-waved in dialogue.) The storyline is actually quite engaging, following Picard’s struggle to connect with an adult son he never knew, one with a different set of values and a criminal record. I may find the discovery of a long-lost Picard son to be a hackneyed device in theory (particularly given this dynamic was rehearsed almost to a note in the middling TNG episode “Bloodlines”), the execution is smooth enough to justify Jack’s presence on the show.

Jack passes the most important test of a character with inherited clout: “Would I be interested in him if he were not Beverly and Jean-Luc’s kid?” He is, mercifully, a puzzle for our main character to solve, rather than a mere sequel to two beloved heroes. Like his parents, Jack is an adventurer with a desire to help others and to do good, but unlike Jean-Luc, who is Mr. Civility, Jack couldn’t care less about the rule of law. If his goal is to get medicine to civilians in a warzone and the only way to deliver it is to bribe both sides of the conflict with weapons, then that’s what he’s going to do. It’s an ethos that, understandably, mirrors that of the mother who raised him, a doctor who’s unconcerned with the political ramifications of healing the sick. She’s a doctor, and doctors heal; let the politicians do the politics.

This conflict has played out between Starfleet captains and doctors since Kirk and McCoy, only Jack doesn’t actually answer to anyone. Add to that a chip on his shoulder from growing up without a father and operating outside the warmth and comfort of the Federation, and you’ve got the makings of an interesting protagonist, with or without a famous parentage.

What frustrates me is the seeming inevitability of a Jack Crusher spinoff, and the suspicion that this, more than anything, is the impetus behind his creation. In the season premiere, Jean-Luc tells us that “[he is] not a man who needs a legacy,” a sentiment that is consistent with his development over the course of the past 35 years. Though upcoming episodes of the season make a point of interrogating that assertion and the effect it might have on his relationship with his son, I cannot escape the feeling that Picard now has a legacy because giving him one might extend the life of Star Trek as an intellectual property. When I see Jack Crusher meet the USS Titan’s Ensign Sidney La Forge, daughter of TNG ’s famous Geordi La Forge , I can only imagine a Paramount executive standing just off screen like a royal vizier arranging a politically expedient marriage. “This will keep us afloat for another 30 years,” he says to himself, hands tented. “Bring on the Next Next Next Generation. ”

While I’m sure Jack and Sidney’s babies will be brilliant and beautiful, Star Trek has never required such contrivances to sustain itself. There are no Star Trek dynasties, on screen or behind the scenes. And, given how much our immediate future seems to belong to the same people who own the present, this adds an additional layer of hopeful fantasy to the Star Trek universe. In the 25th century, our immediate investment in a celebrity couple’s kid will not be assumed. If only the same were true in 2023.

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'Star Trek' shocker: Patrick Stewart's Picard discovers his secret son with Dr. Beverly Crusher

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.'"

Patrick Stewart: On 'Star Trek: Picard,' and how 'Trek' creator 'was never comfortable with me'

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."

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Who is Data’s Daughter on ‘Star Trek: Picard’: All About Dahj, Lal, and Soji

Where to Stream:

• Star Trek: Picard

CBS All Access’s Star Trek: Picard focuses on an unusually emotional mystery for Star Trek . Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) is struggling with grief and angst in his advanced age. His only comforts are his few surviving friends, his dog, and his wine. However, Picard gets a jolt to his system when an unusual young woman named Dahj ( Isa Briones ) shows up at his vineyard in desperate need of help. It seems that she might not be who she thinks she is. She might be an android.

All this begs the question for Picard: Did Data (Brent Spiner) leave behind a daughter?

** STAR TREK: PICARD EPISODE 1 SPOILERS AHEAD**

The idea that an android like Data could be a daddy isn’t so wild. After all, Data was a father in the Season 3 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation , “The Offspring.” Her name is Lal. Now, however, Picard has evidence to believe that Dahj is Data’s daughter…and what of Dahj’s twin sister, Soji?

Here’s your guide to Data’s daughter from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lal, as well as the two women who may carry Data’s legacy within them: new synthetic humans Dahj and Soji.

Who Is Lal? Data's Daughter From 'Star Trek: TNG'?

Data became a daddy all the way back in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Season 3, Episode 16, “The Offspring.” Data decided to create a child, named Lal (Hallie Todd), without the knowledge of anyone else on the ship. Interestingly, Data let Lal choose their own species and gender, and Lal decided to become a human female.

At first, Picard was furious with Data for creating artificial life without looping in the Federation, but when another admiral tried to force Lal to leave the Enterprise (and Data’s safekeeping), Picard defended Data’s right to be a parent. Lal eventually superseded her creator, managing to use contractions and to feel emotions. However, feeling emotions resulted in a system collapse. Data honored his daughter by copying her memories to his neural system.

In Star Trek: Picard , Jean-Luc Picard realizes that Dahj looks identical to a figure in a painting that Data made entitled “Daughter.” He believes Dahj is somehow Data’s daughter.

PS: Yes, Data’s daughter was indeed played by Lizzie McGuire’s mother. Same actress! Hallie Todd!

Where to stream Star Trek: The Next Generation

Who is Dahj? The Mysterious Synthetic Girl in 'Star Trek: Picard'?

Star Trek: Picard ‘s first episode introduces Isa Briones’s Dahj. She’s a sweet nerd who we learn lives in “Greater Boston” and has a nice boyfriend. However, that falls apart when a group of mysterious assassins transport into her apartment, slay the nice boyfriend, and throw a bag over her head. Suddenly, Dahj’s AI programming kicks in and she kills the intruders. Shocked, she leaves and looks for the one man she can see in her mind’s eye: Picard.

It doesn’t take Picard too long to piece together that Dahj is an android and that she has some sort of connection to Data. However, as soon as Picard can swear himself to her cause, she is murdered by assassins.

Undeterred, Picard travels to the Daystrom Institute in Okinawa, a center for AI research. There Picard meets Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), a stymied expert on androids. She reveals that if her mentor Bruce Maddox managed to create AI life, he would have done so copying at least one of Data’s neurons…and there would have been twins.

At the end of Star Trek: Picard’s first episode, we learn that Dahj’s twin sister is named Soji…

Who is Soji, Dahj's Twin Sister?

As of yet, we don’t know too much about Soji except that she exists, she lives, and she is on some sort of science mission on a former Borg cube that has since been dubbed a “Romulan Reclamation Zone.” At the very end of the first episode of Star Trek: Picard, she flirts with a handsome Romulan played by Harry Treadaway.

Dahj might be dead, but Soji lives…and it’s likely that Jean-Luc Picard will be on a mission to find her and her connection to Data over the course of the first season of Star Trek: Picard.

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Star Trek: Picard Gives Data’s Daughter a New Significance

Star Trek: Picard actively confronts Data's legacy, and it casts the android's last experience with parenthood in a whole new light.

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "Remembrance," the series premiere of Star Trek: Picard , now streaming on CBS All Access.

Despite his death in Star Trek: Nemesis, Data's returned was seemingly teased in the lead-up to Star Trek: Picard.  While Picard 's premiere confirmed that the character was dead and his initial appearances were all part of dream sequences, Data’s demise and legacy are a big part of the new series.  Picard is first spurred to action by learning of the existence of androids derived from Data that are in essence, his daughters . The threat to their lives is enough to rouse the reclusive captain out hiding.

Throughout The Next Generation , the relationship between Picard and Data was one of the show's most compelling arcs, with Picard gaining profound respect for the android. It seemed very appropriate that in addition to his guilt over the deaths on Mars that the loss of Data would be as significant a burden on his heart.

The notion of Data having a daughter may seem far-fetched or cheap fan service, but the concept of Data’s parenthood is well-founded. Data’s main arc was his desire to become more like the humans who made him. Despite the many advantages he was constructed with that made him far superior to his human crewmates, he was completely incapable of feeling emotion. Data found this to be a hindrance and a design flaw that confounded him.

Throughout the series, he continually made attempts to engage with his biological crewmates on an emotional level, to varying degrees of success. He attempted romance more than once, acted, painted, danced, played violin and relaxed alongside his fellow crewmates.

But in the season 4 episode, “The Offspring” Data took a radical step forward in his attempts to become more human. Data deduces that a key aspect of all biological life is the imperative to procreate and ensure the survival of their species. To Picard’s concern and surprise, Data decided to become a father. Since he was the only one of his kind and completely organic, his only choice was to build a child from scratch.

The trick was replicating his miraculous positronic brain, a feat, not even his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, was able to perfect again. But from the outset, Data’s efforts appeared to be a success, resulting in the creation of his child, Lal. As attention from Starfleet grew, Picard grappled with the significance of Lal, trying to dissuade the notion that Data could have a child. He merely considered Lal an extraordinary invention.

RELATED: Star Trek: Picard Theory - The Romulans Are Behind the Mars Attack

To the amazement of everyone, Data proved to be a diligent and caring father. He built Lal in an androgynous, featureless form, opting to allow them to choose their gender and appearance. Lal eventually decides to appear as a human female, thus becoming Data’s daughter.

She shows early promise, asking questions that Data cannot answer, such as her purpose in life, but he encourages this behavior as it shows signs of her developing sentience. However, like Data her interpersonal skills proved to be woefully deficient. Lal struggled with being different and grappled with the knowledge that like her father, she would never be able to feel emotion.

Things became complicated when an Admiral from Starfleet visited the ship to observe Lal. Ultimately deciding that Data was unfit to properly train Lal, he decided to have her transferred to his care. Data argued that she was his child and his responsibility, he hoped that she would one day follow in his footsteps and join Starfleet voluntarily, as he did. At this point Captain Picard had acknowledged Data and Lal’s relationship and told Data to disregard the Admiral's orders, rebuking his superior “Order a man to hand his child over to the state? Not while I’m his captain.”

RELATED: Who is Bruce Maddox? Star Trek PIcard's Surprise Return Character

Picard was prepared to take this fight to the highest levels of Starfleet, but tragically his commitment proved to be in vain. Inexplicably, Lal begins to display emotions to Counselor Troi, irritated and clearly frightened at the prospect of being taken away from her father. When Data is informed of this development, he begins diagnostics, as Lal shouldn’t be capable of the emotions she was feeling.

He discovers that his daughter’s positronic brain is suffering from a cascade failure and her emotions are a side effect of her imminent death. Seeing Data’s concern, the Admiral who came to take Lal away instead offers his considerable skill in robotics and joins Data in his attempt to save her life. He helps Data for hours, but the Admiral is unable to continue. Exhausted, he informs Picard that Lal’s death is inevitable.

Despite this, Data never ceases. He tries all he can, only admitting in Lal’s final moments that he cannot correct the failure and that she is about to die. Her final complete thought was to thank her father for the life she was given. Her consciousness quickly fades thereafter, with Data shutting her down after complete neural failure.

Despite lacking emotions, the death of Lal had a profound effect on Data. In an attempt to preserve who she was, Data downloaded Lal’s memory into his mind and was grateful for the entire experience. For his part, Picard carried immense sorrow over the death of Lal, feeling the loss of a child that Data could not.

Picard had his own issues with wanting a family he’d never be able to have. Witnessing Data try his hardest to be a good parent only to lose his child regardless, was an experience that haunted Picard for the rest of his life. One can only imagine how much it compounded the guilt Picard feels in the aftermath of Data’s sacrifice to save Jean-Luc.

The experience does indeed seem to have stuck with Data, as he composed a painting entitled “Daughter,” which cyberneticist Bruce Maddox purposefully used as the appearance for Dahj and Soji, the androids derived from Data’s tech. The fact that Dahj’s appearance on the chateau was enough to spur Picard into action speaks volumes of his friendship with Data.

RELATED: Star Trek: How Picard Reprograms Robotics in the Star Trek Universe

The creators of Picard are well-versed in the lore and the choice of making Data’s offspring a daughter was a deliberate call back to “The Offspring” designed to prod Jean-Luc out of his slump. Having witnessed Lal’s death, and then failing to save Dahj in Picard ’s premiere, there is ample justification for Picard’s investment in the safety of Soji.

If what Dr. Jurati told Picard is true, then the essence of Data is in Soji and she truly could be considered Data’s daughter. Dahj’s instinctual visions of Picard certainly lend credence to the veracity of Dr. Jurati’s hypothesis. As Picard is far too old to ever fulfill his dream of having a family, ensuring his departed friend’s child well-being is the closest he will ever get to being a father himself. Whether he will succeed, and what Soji’s existence means for Star Trek is unclear, but this new spark of hope is enough to spring the former captain back into action.

Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway. New episodes of the series premiere every Thursday on CBS All Access.

KEEP READING: How Picard Makes the 2009 Star Trek Reboot Relevant All Over Again

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Star Trek: Picard Boss Breaks Down That Devastating Jean-Luc and Beverly Scene: ‘It Should Feel Uncomfortable to Watch Your Space Parents Fight’

Dave nemetz, west coast bureau chief.

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Warning: This post contains spoilers from Thursday’s Star Trek: Picard .

It was a scene twenty years in the making — and it was “the hardest scene I’ve ever worked on,” Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas tells TVLine.

Early on in this week’s episode, the reality of Jean-Luc fathering a son he never knew with Beverly Crusher began to set in, and the two friends and former lovers stepped aside to have a frank conversation about why Beverly kept Jack’s existence a secret for so long. (Beverly insisted Jean-Luc was too dedicated to Starfleet and she didn’t want to endanger her child, while Jean-Luc wished he’d been given a chance to get to know his son.) It was raw and emotional, even difficult to watch at times… and it wasn’t any easier to write and film, either.

“It took two months to really hone and craft that scene, with many different writers,” Matalas reveals. “All of us contributed to it, including Patrick [Stewart] and Gates [McFadden] and Jonathan [Frakes, who directed the episode]. We rehearsed it many times. It was the most difficult scene of the season to get right.”

It did get “emotional” on the set while filming the scene as well, Matalas recalls: “Both Patrick and Gates have strong feelings about their characters, and it’s not a traditional Star Trek: The Next Generation scene.” He says it’s “probably closer to something” Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer “would explore… It should feel uncomfortable to watch your space parents fight. But at the same time, you still want to love them and understand them and take them to new dramatic territory.” Matalas admits “we were sweating that out all the way through the edit,” but “once it came together in the editing room… we felt like it worked.”

Oh, and just for the record: When did this love connection actually happen in the Next Generation timeline? (Beverly said Jack was conceived during a shore leave visit to an idyllic waterfall planet a few months before she left the Enterprise .) “The way we timed it out was shortly after [the 2002 Star Trek film] Nemesis ,” Matalas said. “There was some time on the Enterprise in which Beverly was still a doctor, and they gave their on-again, off-again romance a chance, and that’s the result.”

Drop your thoughts on that Jean-Luc and Beverly scene and Picard ‘s final season so far in the comments.

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Jack must be the wrinkliest 20 year old in history.

This storyline is such absolute nonsense.

Would make much more since if it was when Pulaski replaced her in 1988

It wouldn’t make sense because the Beverly in season 7 didn’t even new Picard had feelings for her.

I found the scene between Riker and Picard on the bridge more uncomfortable than the scene between Beverly and Picard. I enjoyed the episode, but it didn’t feel as tight as the first two. I love these characters and I was surprised by the return of the -redacted- as the potential enemy. I loved Worf’s nod to -redacted- from DS9 too. So far the enemy seems impossible to beat so let’s see what they can come up with in the next episode. Seven better find her way back to the bridge, too.

Um how was it hard to write? You basically just used the same plot line from Star Trek 2 with Kirk Carol Marcud and David (or was thar a coincidence u brought up Nicholas Meyer?) 😂

Except Kirk knew of David where as Picard knew nothing of Jack. Picard figured it out in the previous episode but not before that. Kirk knew he had a son, he had just never seen/spent time with him or hadn’t since birth (or so it would appear)

tell me you don’t know star trek without telling me you don’t know star trek lol.

So there were no 20 year old actors available to play their son??

Yeah, that really bothers me. Because it would make everything just more believable.

Did Beverly say that Wesley died? We just saw him last season.

She said she lost him and her family to the same stars that own Picard. Not that Wesley died, but I took it as she lost him to live his life as a traveler, meaning she rarely if ever saw him again.

How amazing is Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher for us to suspend belief that this guy in his mid-30s is playing a 20-year old.

Not even from his first appearance did i think he was 20 years old.

Overall I like Jack Crusher so far. He seems like an interesting 30 year old guy.

He looks mid-30’s, not at all in his 20’s and his acting doesn’t seem 20’s either.

There is so much wrong with this I was struggling to fathom how the writers room let it air. Beverly is sooo terrified of people finding out that Jack is a Picard that she disappears for 20 years, yet she sends him to school in London? Did she even bother living under an assumed name? Why couldn’t she tell JLP and no one else? What about the Picard genetic condition that killed both Clone and original Picard? What about after JLP retired from star fleet. Season one picks up years after he retired to the villa. Worse, she named JLP’s son after her dead husband, which is never even addressed (and feels really gross to be honest.) Using the idea that JLP didn’t want to be a father as an excuse for never telling him he is one is also way below Beverly. Finally, she raised him in exile (after the London schooling,) as an apprentice doctor, yet she didn’t stop him from becoming a con artist and criminal. She thought she could protect him from JLP’s legacy, yet she put him in extreme danger while JLP is chilling in a French vineyard waiting for Sochi (unbeknownst to him,) to come and shake him out of his quiet and peaceful life. The twist destroys Beverly’s character and lacks any kind of reasonable explanation.

Yes, I completely agree here! You’ve said basically everything I have thought since I watched the episode. It was a fine episode, but they did a crap job of crafting that story.

Best episode of the season so far.

Gotta side with Captain Cranky Pants on this one. Potentially risking the lives of 500 crew members vs saving one person of questionable character… even if he is Picard’s son. Was sorry to see him cave at the end.

While I like Star Trek: SNW, I’m not much of a fan of Star Trek in general. In general, it’s seemed flat, a lot of talented people playing it safe to preserve the franchise. ST: Picard has taken the gloves off, and everybody has their hearts in it, and a lot of the results have been good. Still, it’s hard to watch it without being constantly aware that there’s a writer’s room behind it. It’s just feels too planned out. . As science fiction, it’s a little soft. For example, Star Trek has a weird trope of how nebulas are magic places where our guys can always go to hide. It comes up often enough that you wince when somebody does it again. Does anyone on the show know what a nebula actually is? Even a quick look at Wikipedia would tell them that in general they’re harder vacuums than anything ever created on Earth. . You also wonder if they knew exactly what a gravity well is when they spoke of falling into the gravity well of a nebula, but I assume that that got in because they’re about to introduce some cosmic deus ex machina. Hard to see how our heroes are getting out of this one otherwise. . Riker and Picard are all over the map when it comes to command decisions, aren’t they? Having Riker yell at Picard that they’re all going to die, and it’s all Picard’s fault, ignores his own responsibility in the matter. In any case, it’s a bizarre thing to say in front of his crew.

Riker gave the command to fire, and in the end, it’s his responsibility. It was very disappointing that he yelled at Picard and told him that he’d just killed everyone on board. As ship’s captain, he’s the final authority and the buck should stop there.

I’ve been enjoying STP, but this season I’m seeing a lot of out-of-character behavior.

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Ed Speleers Talks Joining the ‘Picard’ Family, His Future With ‘Star Trek’ and His ‘Liberating’ Role on ‘You’

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses plot points on Season 3, Episode 2 of “ Star Trek: Picard ” (currently streaming on Paramount+) as well as the first half of the fourth season of “ You ” (currently streaming on Netflix).

When Ed Speleers was growing up in the UK, he remembers coming home from school, turning on BBC Two, and tuning into “Star Trek: The Next Generation” at 6:30pm — but he never quite considered himself a Trekkie. So when “Star Trek: Picard” showrunner Terry Matalas cast Speleers for the third season of the Paramount+ series, he told the actor he needed to go to “Star Trek University.”

Popular on Variety

It’s a gargantuan revelation for Picard — and for “Star Trek” fans. Since the series premiere of “TNG” in 1987, Picard’s attitude about children has been prickly at best, and his singular dedication to his role as a Starfleet officer has always precluded him from starting a family. Suddenly, Picard is confronted with a grown child he never knew existed, from a relationship with Dr. Crusher that — on “TNG,” at least — had remained steadfastly unconsummated.

Jack Crusher could be a pivotal role for Speleers, as well. Cast as an unknown teenager in the lead role of the 2006 fantasy adaptation “Eragon,” Speleers has spent the rest of his career in smaller, supporting roles in UK-based productions like “Downton Abbey,” “Wolf Hall” and “Outlander.” Jack, by contrast, feels very much like a leading man in training — someone who could very well headline a next, next generation of the “Trek” universe.

Speleers spoke with Variety about what it means to play Picard’s son, whether he would want to continue in the role, what he makes of his 10-year age gap with the character — and what it was like to start production on shooting “You” just 10 days after finishing shooting “Picard.”

After going to Trek University, how much did you appreciate what it would mean for fans to learn that Jean-Luc Picard had a son?

I did start to understand it. It filled me with some trepidation, because “Trek” fans are so dedicated and passionate to the universe that they love, that I feel that there’ll be some questions about him having a son. It prepared me for trying to flesh out this character, and ingrain him into the world that we were creating.

How much did you want to draw from Picard and from Dr. Crusher in building your performance as their son?

I think with Beverly, she is a very strong-willed woman who, in order to protect her son, took him away from everything that she knew. Her qualities of sensitivity, of wanting to help or better understand people, filter into Jack’s way of being. He gets a real forthright energy from his old man. I know that people look at Jack thinking that he’s not necessarily in the Picard mold — maybe he’s more roguish. I think he is, but he still has this underpinned characteristic that I think he shares with Picard — to always be fearless, and do the best you possibly can for the benefit of others.

Did you look at Patrick Stewart’s or Gates McFadden’s mannerisms or physicality? Did you want to incorporate any of them?

It was something that was discussed. I definitely looked at it. There are some things that happen later on in the season that I did want to explore that were were akin to what was happening with Picard’s character. But I talked about this with Terry quite a lot. I felt that there was a chance to make him his own. And even if he is more full of bravado, there are nods to how they are similar. Mannerisms might have crept into it here and there, but I didn’t actively go out of my way. Also, Jack wasn’t brought up by his father, so I felt I could step away from Picard.

What was the first day like when you met Patrick and Gates?

Patrick took me for a lovely lunch down in Beverly Hills, and we talked about all things Yorkshire, all things football, and all things drama and life. I had a great first encounter with Gates; we talked all things theater. Both of them have a huge passion for theater, which I think spills through into their work. They don’t just want to turn up; they want to know exactly what the scene is about. They are a great scene partners and I felt very supported by both of them.

As a lifelong “Trek” fan myself, I would feel overwhelmed by acting across from them. What was it like for you?

So can I ask, how how old is Jack supposed to be?

23, 24, I think we’ve discussed in the in the series.

And you’re 34?

Not to put too fine a point on this, and you’re very youthful, but did that age gap give you any pause? 

It was something that was discussed. I certainly felt a challenge to play down a bit. I know that happens in TV and cinema quite a lot anyway — quite often actors have to play down in age. I definitely tried to bring some youthfulness to the role, I think. But the gap, I mean, I come from a big age gap between me and my folks. My mom hates me saying that, but anyway — it’s something that I can relate to. I know that it might be an ongoing question. However, I believe that if we get the story told in the right way, and if these characters are believed, then the relationships will be believed — and I think the numbers and the age differences will become superfluous.

Are you prepared to be playing this character beyond this season of “Picard”?

If it happens, and I really hope it does — at the moment, there’s no indication of that being the case. This is going to be driven — I really, really believe this — by how it’s received and what “Trek” fans feel about it. If it comes, genuinely, this whole experience has meant so much to me, both for me and for my family, that I would love to play for years to come. Really, really, really — if it turned out that way that I was able to play Jack for the next 5, 10, 15 years, I would welcome it with open arms.

To shift gears, you also have a pivotal role on the fourth season of “You.” Knowing that the first five episodes have already streamed on Netflix, what is a non-spoiler-y insight you have about your character?

That was a role that allowed me to play with the shackles off, I suppose. It was a very liberating part. I started shooting it almost 10 days after finishing “Picard.” I relished it, because it just filled me with the confidence in my ability to have a lot of fun. The character, he’s there to poke and prod and needle and question Joe’s sheer existence.

What’s Penn Badgley like as a scene partner?

Incredible. He’s a wonderful human being. He is so gracious. He is so welcoming. He’s such a calm individual. And he’s fiercely intelligent, and he just welcomes the space you want to work in. That’s a guy who I think personally should have been given far more accolades for that role than maybe he has, because the detail he puts into his performance, and the physicality he puts in on a day to day basis, is something to behold. And as a partner, he just encourages you to give more and more and more. I can’t speak for him, but I feel we really struck a great understanding of one another, and how one another wanted to operate. We allowed each other space, but I think there was a real trust.

This interview has been edited and condensed .

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Star Trek: Picard - A Portrait of the Picard Family

A closer look at the Picard family

A deep dive into how this season of Star Trek: Picard recontextualizes everything we've seen about his family over the years.

Star Trek: Picard streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed concurrently by Paramount Global Content Distribution on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3, Episode 8 Recap: Consequences Abound

Jean-Luc breaks Data in case of emergency. Vadic makes a move.

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By Sopan Deb

Season 3, Episode 8: ‘Surrender’

Much of this season of “Picard” revolves around familial relationships, particularly parenting. There’s how we choose to do it (Beverly). The consequences of avoiding it entirely (Jean-Luc). The weight of keeping our children safe (Geordi). How we grieve (Riker and Troi.)

It takes being captured on a brutal enemy’s ship for Riker and Troi to finally have an impactful conversation about their marriage and the loss of Thad, their child. Riker wanted to bathe in his grief as his lone remaining connection to Thad. Troi wanted to protect Riker from that pain using her Betazoid abilities, which has the unintended effect of pushing a wedge between them. Riker wanted to cocoon himself, which was unacceptable to Troi.

In their prison cell, they are honest with each other, as married couples should be. It turns out their grief is a prison unto itself. They disagree on how to grieve, but it shows the strength of the foundation of their relationship that they can finally talk like this. (Another indication: We learn that a changeling came to Riker and Troi’s home pretending to be Riker, which Troi snuffed out right away.)

“You can’t skip to the end of healing,” Troi says.

And then she embraces him, as a loving spouse would, rather than as the ship’s counselor we’ve come to know for decades. Troi also informs Riker that she doesn’t like their move to the intergalactic suburbs. Fair enough. Been there.

This was just about the only scene that worked for me the entire episode in a season that has otherwise been great. When Worf shows up to rescue Riker and Troi, he gives a campy, borderline romantic speech about how he is now sensitive to Troi, which Riker notes is “inappropriate.” He’s right! It was weird!

When things seem bleakest for the Titan, Jack has a deus ex machina at the ready: He is a living Professor X with Cerebro capabilities. He can control others’ movements, read their minds and see through them — although we don’t know why. It’s a handy tool when your ship has been overtaken. (Parenting looms over small moments of the season, too, as when Jack quips to Vadic that Beverly taught him “better manners than that.”)

But it’s hard to separate this from the fact that none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for another disastrous planned hatched by Jean-Luc in last week’s episode , which caused the crew to lose control of the Titan to begin with. Captured on the bridge, Shaw lectures Seven about the consequences of our actions. Jean-Luc placed the ship and its crew — once again — in great danger with a foolhardy plan to bait Vadic in last week’s episode. Now we see the consequences: T’Veen (Stephanie Czajkowski) is executed, a crew member that 100 percent died in a needless way.

Speaking of Shaw: The writing of his character this season has been all over the place. It undermines his character, despite a strong performance from Todd Stashwick. When Vadic moves to execute one of his crew members, Seven tries to intervene and sacrifice herself. Shaw, the captain, holds her back, telling her there’s nothing she can do. This seemed out of character compared with the Shaw we saw earlier in the season — the rule-following captain who prioritizes the safety of his crew.

Shaw strikes me as the type of person who would have offered to sacrifice himself, rather than interrupting Seven’s attempt to do so. Just moments before, Shaw upbraids Seven for not blowing up the turbolift with him inside to keep Vadic from taking over the ship. When T’Veen is executed, Shaw barely reacts. Given his emotiveness throughout the season, that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Even so, this episode seemingly brings an end to Vadic, who is sucked out into space, and the Shrike, which is blown up by the newly emboldened Titan crew. As Vadic, Amanda Plummer played an excellent villain, but she deserved a better death — assuming it is a death — than to be so easily outsmarted by Jack. (Not to mention: What was Jack’s plan exactly? What if Vadic hadn’t moved the rest of the crew to another room?)

Vadic also leaves with a secret: What’s the deal with Jack? Why is he Professor X? What’s up with the red door?

I don’t have a great theory. But Troi says that there’s a “darkness” around Jack and a voice inside him that is “ancient and weak.” “Ancient” is an interesting hint. The Pah-wraiths perhaps? They would have had good reason to link up with changelings after what happened in “Deep Space Nine.”

Odds and Ends

I lied. One other part of the episode worked for me: seeing the original cast back together in one room for the first time all season. While the episode seemed rushed, this was the moment we’d all been waiting for as we head into the final episodes of the season.

Data co-opts Lore’s brotherly resentment and uses it against his evil twin. Historically, Data has often had difficulty reading the room . But in this case, he diagnoses Lore’s jealousy and uses it to mold a whole new version of himself. It’s arguably the most human Data has ever been. Data seems to revel in Lore’s misery when he says, “We are me.” It’s possible that our favorite android has developed the ability to experience schadenfreude. (Also, some fun fan service when Data offers up his memories to Lore, such a Tasha Yar sighting.)

Some of the behavior of this new contraction-using Data seemed silly to me, particularly when he “greets” the Titan and calls himself a “friendly positronic pissed-off security system.” If New Data is a combination of Data, Lore, B-4 and Lal, where would that language even come from? It seemed forced, just to get a laugh from the audience. But Data also seems to have a new purpose now: Instead of trying to find out what it means to be human, he’ll now contend with how to handle aging. (Data’s old friends should probably be more suspicious about Data than they seem. Lore has repeatedly shown up in their lives, and he seemed within seconds of taking over the android body entirely. How do they know that Data isn’t actually Lore taking advantage of their need to have their old friend back?)

A commenter last week asked a question for which I don’t have an answer: A big part of the plot seems to concern what the changelings will do with the corpse of Jean-Luc, given that he is slated to speak at Frontier Day. But why would Jean-Luc still speak at a big Starfleet celebration when he is a fugitive?

The Titan blows up the Shrike. I’m sure there’s no strategic advantage to examining a superior changeling ship’s technology when many of them have taken over Starfleet, but we digress.

Vadic orders members of her crew to go find Jack. She has control over a good portion of the Titan. No one thinks to look for a doctor in sickbay? According to Beverly, Vadic didn’t have control of bridge consoles, so how did she have control of the ship? Why wouldn’t she spend her time trying to take command of the most essential section of the Titan?

Sopan Deb is a basketball writer and a contributor to the Culture section. Before joining The Times, he covered Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for CBS News. More about Sopan Deb

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'Star Trek: Picard' Season 3: Ed Speleers on Bringing Jack Crusher to Life and Donning the Starfleet Uniform

He also spoke about what it was like acting opposite Sir Patrick Stewart and the dynamic between Seven of Nine and Jack.

Over the course of forty-odd years, two series, and a handful of movies, Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) has been through a lot, but the final season of Star Trek: Picard introduced one scenario that he had never experienced before. Fatherhood. In the second episode , Picard learns that he and Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) had a son, and that son is Jack Crusher ( Ed Speleers ). Due to very reasonable rationale, Beverly decided not to tell Picard about their child, but fate threw a wrench in those plans twenty years later when a dire situation led to Beverly calling upon Picard for help.

The first five episodes of Season 3 have truly showcased how perfectly cast Speleers is as the child of Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard , and watching him go toe-to-toe with Stewart while exploring the complex relationship that the two characters are forging, is something truly magical. Jack Crusher is, without a doubt, one of the best characters to be introduced in this new era of Star Trek on Paramount+, and brings a lot of hope for the next generation of The Next Generation .

Ahead of the premiere of Star Trek: Picard Season 3—before the world knew just how pivotal Ed Speleer's role would be on the very fabric of the Star Trek universe, Collider had the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with Speleers about Jack Crusher, working with Patrick Stewart, the songs that helped him get into the role, and what it was like to interact with iconic sets and costumes. Now that Episode 5 has passed , we can finally share the spoiler-filled portion of our interview, but be sure to check out the first half which delved into his role on You . Be sure to check back in when the series comes to a close in a few weeks to read another fun tidbit from this interview.

COLLIDER: You have played in a few different iconic series like Downton Abbey and Outlander , but I really think that Star Trek is probably the biggest.

ED SPELEERS: Yeah. I mean, I would not want to do a disservice to other shows I've been a part of, but yeah. I mean, this thing has been going since, I want to say 1964, but that might just be in my head. It's such an honor. I mean, the whole thing was so surreal to be a part of it and to be given the role that I was given. Yeah, it's been a privilege from start to finish and so surreal within that because you cannot escape without knowing... It's impossible growing up anywhere and not [having] a subtle understanding of what Star Trek is and then what it might mean to so many people globally.

I remember when it originally leaked that you were going to be part of Picard , and I was like, "Oh, that's really cool. That's a huge TV series to be part of.” But I don't think I could have guessed just how big your role would be. So I want to know, what was the casting process like?

SPELEERS: I mean, I really want to say that it was incredibly extensive, and I did round after round after round and had screen tests galore, but it wasn't. The thing that took the longest was me actually finding myself, plucking myself the courage to do the tape. It took my girlfriend really... Not [persuading] me, because I love the thing. When it came in, I was like, "Oh my God, this is great. This ticks all the boxes. This is exactly the sort of challenge I'm looking for." But I struggled to tape. I was like, "Oh no, this isn't working."

I was almost in tears. I just couldn't quite work out how to do it, and I nearly gave it up. I nearly was like, "No, I'm not doing this. I can't. I'm not going to do it." I was very dramatic. It was very actor-y behavior. It took my girlfriend to sit me down, have a cup of tea, tell me to grow up, pull myself together, and we shot it, and we did a late-night tape, and we sent it off. And two weeks later, I found out that they wanted to maybe test me with Patrick [Stewart]. And then very quickly, they changed their mind on that and said, "No, actually we want to offer you the role." And I was like, "Oh, okay. This is kind of serious." I mean, it very quickly meant a lot to me, really.

Were you already a Trekkie or a fan of Star Trek ?

SPELEERS: I wouldn't say I was a Trekkie per se. I have nostalgic memories of coming home from school and [ Star Trek: The Next Generation ] being on and me sitting by the fire, and there only being a few things you could possibly watch, Next Gen being the best thing. I did remember lapping it up. My dad was quite into the original Star Trek from the '60s.

Once I had this part, I talked at length to—who's now my good friend—Terry Matalas, our showrunner, [whose] knowledge of Star Trek is encyclopedic. As a result, he was like, "Right." I felt that in order to take this role on, because of this huge passionate fan base, I couldn't do it unless I knew everything I needed to know. “I need as much backstory as possible. I need all the nitty gritty. I need the nooks and crannies. Give it to me.”

And he was like, "Right, okay, I'm going to send you to Star Trek University." He gave me this extensive list of Star Trek films to watch, First Contact being very prevalent. He was like, "This is very important to what you are doing." And he gave me quite a long list of episodes that he thought would be worthwhile from the Next Gen series. And I went to town, and it was amazing. When I first got to LA, getting ready for the role, I would be working on the role in the day and then in the evening I would watch a Star Trek movie. I mean, it was pretty special really.

It has to be so cool to step into such an established franchise. Obviously, there are shows that have run for a couple of seasons, but this is something that most of this cast has been part of for the better part of their lives. So, what was it like getting to join such an established cast in a role that is the physical embodiment of a relationship that meant a lot to Star Trek fans?

SPELEERS: I mean, I can't tell you how much of an honor it is and was. It's something that I will hold—no matter what happens from this point forward, if I never work again—I can hold my head up high and hold very dearly to my heart that I was a part of this and part of this special group of people, and special group of creatives who have worked tirelessly over decades to create these characters. To be given the opportunity to play this role that is so pivotal in the final season, or the penciled final season, for Picard , I get… I mean, I'll be honest, Maggie, I get very emotional talking about it because the whole thing meant so much to me from start to finish.

As I said, it was the sort of role I have been craving and looking for, for such a long time. And to be given it on this level, surrounded by those people who were so supportive of me, I cannot thank Paramount CBS enough to give me the opportunity. I feel very honored and humbled, and I still find it very surreal just talking about it, to say I'm part of such a juggernaut of a franchise.

You do so well in the role. There are so many moments that I wish I could just be like, "Let's talk about this moment." But something I really enjoyed was the rapport between Jack and Seven. I thought the last two seasons of Picard that Seven very much felt like a pseudo-child to Picard, the way that she looks up to him. Can you talk a little bit about their dynamic in this final season?

SPELEERS: Yeah, I think that's a really interesting angle to be looking at because I think it's maybe one that could go under the radar, but I think it's kind of pivotal as well. Obviously, because of Seven's own background of who she is and what she represents, [there are] huge links there that we don't really understand until much later on. But there is a kindred spirit between them because they're both, if anything, the two that would push Starfleet away. Of course, Seven over time has been completely embraced by Starfleet. But if anything, Jack doesn't want anything to do with it. He wants to find his own two feet, do things his own way. But I feel that actually, there is a connection. They have a, dare I say, a worldliness, an ability to maybe look at things from a different angle, which obviously they can relate to.

I feel that there's a lot more to give with their dynamic actually that I think we've only sort of scratched the surface. But I love getting a chance to work with Jeri [Ryan]. She's an icon of the Star Trek universe, and she is a wonderful actor. She knows exactly what she's doing in this world in terms of how to do the jargon, how to do the action. But also, she's just a great human. So she allows a fun, safe space to work and to play. And I feel that the dynamic between those two is a very playful one, and it could be really exciting to explore that further.

Absolutely. Jack gets to wear a Starfleet uniform for a little bit. What was it like the first time you got to put that uniform on, and was that a moment where you're like, "Oh my God, I am in Star Trek "?

SPELEERS: I mean, to be honest, I'm still having those moments just chatting to you about it. I'm having the moments of almost, "God, I'm in Star Trek ." But yeah, I mean, putting the uniform on and having the phaser in hand whilst in the Starfleet uniform was, of course, it's a moment, and it feels ... I guess I felt like I was welcomed in at that point.

I suppose it was already happening. Michael Crow, who did the costumes, has done an amazing job. I love those Starfleet leather jackets that come in later on in the season. I think that those are wonderful, and how each character had their own sort of different take on that was so nuanced and so brilliantly thought out. Yeah, I mean, it's a pinch-yourself moment wearing that stuff. It really is.

I feel like bridging off of that a little bit. You also got to be on some really cool amazing Star Trek sets. You got the bridge, the brig, the bar. What was it like to just stand there and take in all of this incredible technology and design that they put into the sets on the show?

SPELEERS: Yeah. I mean, [David] Blass, the production designer, he has gone another ... I mean, the beauty of working on this season was there were so many people creatively behind the scenes who are Trekkies, who are absolutely nuts for Star Trek , and in particular Next Gen , which just allowed this passion to come through in their creativity, which then feeds into yourself. As an actor, if you're surrounded by it, it makes your job so much more enjoyable, so much easier when you're surrounded by people like that, but also who have created this world that is so visceral to be in. I didn't want to get overly bogged down in, "Oh my God, I'm here and this is what's going on." Because if you do that too much, then it can actually become suffocating. But rather to relish and enjoy the fact that you're standing on this amazingly orchestrated set, like the Titan for example, when you've got those screens that are actually operating.

There's a whole team of people led by Larry, who's making sure that these screens work to perfection. They're working on cue. They know when certain camera angles are happening, when certain shots are happening, when certain people were talking to respond in a certain way. I mean, the whole thing is such a huge well-oiled machine. And again, to be part of that, it's a really special thing for me.

Genuinely, I cannot tell you how much the last 18 months, having been a part of that thing, has meant to me, and having been able to stand in these really cool sets and be sparring with Sir Patrick Stewart in a bar situation in Ten Forward, which is a place that's held to Picard's heart so very dearly. To be having these moments, and these great long scenes, these complex family scenes, trying to understand each other, [and] trying to understand relationships. I mean, it was a real dream for me. It was amazing.

Well, that perfectly lines with my next question. What was it like getting to act opposite a heavyweight actor like Sir Patrick Stewart?

SPELEERS: It was incredible. It really was. I feel that Patrick and I—we hit it off very quickly. When you go into bat with someone like that, you kind of feel you've got to bring it. You got to bring your A-game, I suppose, and you have to be on point. He's a very smart, astute man who doesn't let things slip, and he wants the best. He wants you to bring your best, he wants himself to bring the best. I think we pushed each other, and I think we relished that.

I've got a great deal of respect for him and a lot of love for him as well. He really was supportive of me, got behind me, and we had a lot of fun as well. We had some wonderful scenes together, and I feel very, very lucky to have ever been able to play with him and talk about... I feel very lucky that we've been able to form a bond, I think. It was a special moment. It's a special storyline because nothing like this has happened to his character before. So I feel he felt that as well.

It's definitely a very fun storyline to watch play out after seeing so much of Picard's life and then having him finally get to be a father is just so fun to watch. I feel like music is such an intrinsic part of Jean-Luc Picard's character. Did you have a song that you gravitated towards for Jack, or maybe a playlist you created?

SPELEERS: I do. I've got a whole playlist! There's certain things that did get played a lot. I'm going to have to just quickly find it. It should just come to the top of my head.

I'm very curious to know.

SPELEERS: Well, there's different things. Oh my goodness! There's so many things. Listen! Oh, I don't even know where to begin. I'm just looking through it now. Primal Scream's “Loaded” was in there. Going back to my roots, Richie Havens was in there. There's quite a lot of Oasis in there that's popped up before. There was a track that's like 30 minutes long that I just discovered whilst I was out here working. It's about 30 minutes long, it's called “Searching” by Burning Beat.

It's this South African group, and it's amazing, and it's like soul, it's funk, it's everything. It was something that I just discovered whilst I was out here working on Picard , and it just resonated with me, and it stuck with me. I felt that was something that, for whatever reason, the music within that, as I was driving out to work each morning, it would strike a chord with me, and it would get me in some sort of mindset, sometimes just a relaxed mindset, so I could then play the scenes the way I wanted to play them. There's some more emotional music in there, as well, that I listened to, but I don't want to give it all away.

The first five episodes of Star Trek: Picard 's final season is streaming now on Paramount+. You can check out our interview with Speleers from the junket below:

Ella McKenzie

• View history

Ella McKenzie ( born 1 December 2008 ; age 15), also known as Ella Gross , is a Korean-American child model and actress, who portrayed the young version of Soji Asha in the Star Trek: Picard first season episode " The Impossible Box ". She also portrayed the young Dahj Asha in photographs in that same episode, though she only received credit for playing the younger Soji.

Gross made her acting debut in a recurring role as young Betty on the Paramount Network's adaptation of Heathers starring Wallace Langham which in turn was based on the 1989 original film which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in "She's Going to Cry", "Our Love is God" and "Hot Probs" all airing in 2018. Gross's current role is that of Sasha Gossard on Malibu Rescue: The Next Wave .

External links [ ]

• Ella McKenzie at the Internet Movie Database (as Ella Gross)
• Ella McKenzie  at Instagram

• Cast & crew
• User reviews
• Episode aired Oct 31, 1992

An emergency beam out renders four crewmen down to childhood shortly before renegade Ferengi take over the Enterprise and offload the adults. An emergency beam out renders four crewmen down to childhood shortly before renegade Ferengi take over the Enterprise and offload the adults. An emergency beam out renders four crewmen down to childhood shortly before renegade Ferengi take over the Enterprise and offload the adults.

• Gene Roddenberry
• Allison Hock
• Ward Botsford
• Patrick Stewart
• Jonathan Frakes
• LeVar Burton
• 27 User reviews
• 7 Critic reviews

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard

• Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker

• Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge

• Lieutenant Worf

• Doctor Beverly Crusher

• Counselor Deanna Troi

• Lieutenant Commander Data

• Chief Miles O'Brien

• Keiko O'Brien

• Ensign Ro Laren

• Young Jean-Luc Picard
• (as David Tristan Birkin)

• Young Ro Laren

• Young Keiko O'Brien
• Young Guinan
• (as Isis J. Jones)

• DaiMon Lurin

• Alexander Rozhenko
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia This is the first of two "Next Generation" episodes directed by Adam Nimoy , the son of Leonard Nimoy . The other is Timescape (1993) .
• Goofs When the boy Picard sits at the classroom computer devising his plan to retake the ship, he shows to the girl Ro and the girl Guinan the path they need to take to get to Engineering. He shows them that they will have to travel through a Jefferies tube and then cross an open corridor to get to their destination; however, the diagram the computer displays is clearly of a slice of the saucer section, port side. Engineering is in the secondary hull, below the saucer section, some 20-odd decks below where the children are.

[Picard, turned into a child and under the ruse of being Riker's son, accidentally calls him "Number One"]

Young Jean-Luc Picard : He's my number one dad!

• Connections Featured in Top 10 Star Trek Technobabbles (2008)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews 27

• CzyboutFlix
• Nov 2, 2021
• October 31, 1992 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 45 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Star Trek: Voyager's Q Return Forgot TNG's Amanda Rogers

• Q forgot about TNG's Amanda Rogers in his Star Trek: Voyager return.
• Rogers disproves Q's claim that no two Q ever conceived a child before himself and Miss Q.
• However, Q may not have counted Rogers as a true Q offspring due to the unique circumstances surrounding her parents and birth.

Q's (John de Lancie) return to Star Trek: Voyager season 3 forgot about Amanda Rogers (Olivia d'Abo) from Star Trek: The Next Generation . Q is one of the most prolific characters in all the Star Trek TV shows , appearing throughout the franchise's 1990s era and even in more recent series like Star Trek: Lower Decks or Star Trek: Picard . Although Q first made a name for himself on TNG , his appearances on Voyager fleshed out more of his character and provided some never-before-seen backstory for the Q Continuum.

Much of this backstory was seen in Q's first two appearances on Voyager . In particular, season 3, episode 11, "The Q and the Grey" dealt with the consequences of the events of Q's first Voyager cameo in season 2. The episode's premise revolved around Q's attempts to get Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to mate with him to create a child that would stop the Q Civil War. Eventually, Q ended up accomplishing this with Miss Q (Suzie Plakson), but made a mistake when he commented that two Q had never reproduced before .

Star Trek: Voyager Cast & Character Guide

Q forgot about tng’s amanda rogers in his star trek: voyager return, q met rogers on star trek: the next generation.

Amanda Rogers from Star Trek: TNG proves that Q was incorrect about no two Q having a child before "The Q and the Grey." Rogers was a female Q who became an intern on the USS Enterprise-D during TNG season 6, episode 6, "True Q." Initially, Rogers had no idea she was a Q, as she had been raised by human parents and had limited powers. However, it was Q himself who revealed her true parentage and the fact that the Continuum had been keeping an eye on Rogers since her birth.

It seems strange then that Q would forget about Rogers' existence during his appearance on Voyager . Although she was adopted by humans as a baby, Rogers was born to two Q parents, meaning that Q and Miss Q's child wasn't actually the first Continuum member to be conceived from the union of two Q . Q seemed extraordinarily proud of his child by the end of the episode, so it is possible he was simply gloating or exaggerating the baby's importance. However, there are some concrete reasons why Q might not consider Amanda Rogers a real Q child.

Why Q Doesn't Count Amanda Rogers As A Q Offspring

Amanda was a unique case in the q continuum.

Although both of Rogers' parents were fully Q, her backstory in "True Q" revealed that her parents assumed human form to live on Earth, where she was also supposedly conceived under human means. This differs from how two Q in fully Q form conceive a child, as Q and Miss Q demonstrated in "The Q and the Grey." Therefore, it is possible that Q didn't count Amanda Rogers as a child conceived by members of the Continuum because of the circumstances of her birth . Even her upbringing as a human could have excluded her from his consideration.

However, the fact that Rogers not only manifested full Q powers but also eventually chose to join the Continuum undoubtedly made her a Q. Whether Q considered her a true member of his species, he was wrong in his assessment of his son being the first Continuum member conceived by Q parents. Unfortunately, Star Trek: Voyager missed out on the opportunity for a good TNG tie-in by not directly referencing Amanda Rogers during "The Q and the Grey," which is too bad considering she was a fascinating character who might have provided some nuance to the episode.

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

Cast Jennifer Lien, Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo

Release Date May 23, 1995

Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure

Network UPN

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Showrunner Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Rating TV-PG

Where To Watch Paramount+