Star Trek: Insurrectionmissed an opportunity to rekindle Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) greatest romance. After the action-packedStar Trek: First Contact, Insurrectiontold a smaller story that sentThe Next Generation’s Captain Picard and his Enterprise crewto the unique planet of Ba’ku. TheUnited Federation of Planetshad allied with the enemies of the Ba’ku, the Son’a, and sought to forcibly relocate the Ba’ku. The planet of Ba’ku had special regenerative properties that the Son’a (and the Federation) desperately wanted.
When Captain Picard and his crew visited Ba’ku, the planet’s regenerative properties affected them all in different ways. Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) went through the Klingon’s version of puberty, Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) gained his eyesight, andCommander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis)rekindled their romance. Meanwhile,Picard developed feelings for a Ba’ku villager named Anij (Donna Murphy),and while their love story was sweet,Star Trek: Insurrectionshould have paired Jean-Luc with Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).
Star Trek: Insurrection Should’ve Given Picard & Dr. Crusher Their Star Trek Romance
Beverly Crusher Did Not Even Get A Significant Subplot In Insurrection
The regenerative properties of the Ba’ku planet reignited feelings in Riker and Troi, butStar Trek: Insurrectioncompletely ignored the potential for sparks between Picard and Crusher.Star Trek: The Next Generationestablished that there was something going onbetween Jean-Luc and Beverlyin the show’s first season and teased their feelings for one another throughout the show’s entire run. Even when they finally confessed their feelings inTNGseason 7, episode 8, “Attached,” they still did not officially become a couple.
All fourStar Trek: The Next Generationfilms appeared to forget about the feelings Picard and Crusher once had for one another. While Jean-Luc had more important things to worry about inStar Trek GenerationsandStar Trek: First Contact,Insurrectionwould have been the perfect movie to explore his relationship with Beverly. Plus,the nature of the Ba’ku planet would have given Picard and Crusher the perfect excuse not to continue their romanceafter the events of the film, if that’s what the writers wanted.
Star Trek: Insurrection Ending Explained: What Happened To Picard’s Romance & The Fountain Of Youth
Star Trek: Insurrection was an underwhelming addition to the Trek film franchise, with a story that would’ve worked better as a TNG episode.
Star Trek: Insurrectioneven has a scene that hints at what could’ve been. Early in the film, Picard attends a diplomatic dinner where he will be expected to dance with the alien leader. Dr. Crusher suggests the mambo, commenting that"the Captain used to cut quite a rug.“Later, after Picard begins feeling the effects of the Ba’ku planet, he orders the Enterprise computer to play a mambo as he performs a few dance steps alone.This could have been a cute moment between Jean-Luc and Beverlythat revealed their lingering feelings for one another.
The Star Trek: TNG Films Underused Dr. Beverly Crusher
Dr. Crusher Deserved Better
Dr. Crusher barely had anything to do inStar Trek: Insurrection, or any of the otherTNGfilms, for that matter. As the Chief Medical Officer on the USS Enterprise-D, Crusher may not have always gotten the best stories onTNG,but she stayed relatively busy.She proved herself to be an intelligent scientist and a dedicated doctorseveral times over and was one of the few people willing to challenge Captain Picard. Beverly’s profound compassion meant that she would always fight for others, even when it went against Starfleet’s Prime Directive.
5 Ways Dr. Crusher Deserved Better On Star Trek: TNG
Despite being an interesting and popular character, Gates McFadden’s Dr. Beverly Crusher was often sidelined on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher had a complicated history— Picard had been best friends with Beverly’s husband, Jack Crusher (Doug Wert), who was killed on an away mission under Picard’s command. TheTNGfilms (andStar Trek: Insurrection,in particular)could have continued to explore their complex dynamic,as they tried to resist their obvious feelings for one another. Aside from a few scenes, Crusher played a relatively small role in theTNGfilms, despite being a fascinating character who deserved more screen time.
Captain Picard & Dr. Crusher Never Officially Became A Couple On Screen
Picard & Crusher Have A Son Now & Have Still Never Been Seen As A True Couple
Although Picard and Crusher metaphorically dance around one another throughoutStar Trek: The Next Generation,even confessing their true feelings, they never officially became a couple on screen. Even in the alternate future seen inTNG’sseries finale, “All Good Things…,“Picard and Crusher had already divorced.Beverly Crusher returned inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, which revealed another part of her love story with Jean-Luc that viewers never saw. Sometime after the events ofStar Trek: Nemesis,Picard and Crusher had a romantic encounter that resulted in the birth of Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers).
Gates McFadden has spoken in interviews about how much she enjoyed portraying a more complex version of Dr. Crusher inStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Jean-Luc did not learn about his son until over twenty years later when Beverly came crashing back into his life at the beginning ofPicardseason 3. This led to an intense (and beautifully acted) conversation between Jean-Luc and Beverly inPicardseason 3, episode 3, “Seventeen Seconds.” Picard and Crusher have a child together, but viewers have still never seen them as an actual couple.Star Trekmissed the perfect opportunity to explore Jean-Luc and Beverly’s romance inStar Trek: Insurrection, robbing fans of the chance to finally see them get together on screen.
