Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, streaming, TV | Tagged: Beverly Crusher, Gates McFadden, jean-luc picard, patrick stewart, star trek, Star Trek Picard, Terry Matalas, The Next Generation

Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Addresses Status of Jean-Luc's Love Life

Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas addresses where Dr. Beverly Crusher & Jean-Luc Picard stand and Jean-Luc's girlfriend, Laris.

Published Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:51:14 -0500

by Tom Chang

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If there was a lingering plot hole that wasn't resolved by the finale of Star Trek: Picard and one that's probably annoyed some fans over the years since The Next Generation is where things stand between the on-and-off again relationship of Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), especially with the latter discovering he's the father of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). While Jean-Luc took that final step in finally embracing his son on the brink of death as the Borg cube is exploding around them, the two are rescued thanks to Deanna Troi's (Marina Sirtis) piloting and Betazoid neurolink to her husband William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Showrunner Terry Matalas shed some light on where Beverly, Jean-Luc, and his girlfriend Laris (Orla Brady) stand.

A New Star Trek Love Triangle?

"I think it's open for interpretation as to how [Beverly and Jean-Luc's relationship turns out.] I think they definitely have become a kind of family," Matalas told Cinema Blend. "However, you define that as open for interpretation, at least right now. I think there are many kinds of family units. There there are divorced family units. There are separated families… I think they are definitely in each other's lives on a regular basis now." The series finale, "The Last Generation," concluded with not only Jack joining Capt. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and first officer Cmdr. Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) on the U.S.S. Titan-A, rechristened the U.S.S. Enterprise-G, but the TNG crew played a last round of poker at Ten Forward as they did in the syndicated series finale "All Good Things…" in 1993.

About never seeing Laris and Beverly meet or having her reunite with Jean-Luc with Brady's only season three appearance in the season premiere, "I think there is a subset of fans who would love to have seen that scene, and I think there's a big group of fans who would much prefer that he stayed with Beverly," Matalas said. "And I think both are valid answers, and I think, you know, the right ending is the one you choose." While it might be perhaps the last definitive adventure of the TNG cast, that doesn't necessarily mean it would be the last we see the last of their characters individually, as each has been open to returning in the future, including Stewart himself. For more, you can check out the interview here.

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