‘Star Trek: Picard’: Wesley Crusher Needs to Come Back
If you watched the Star Trek panels Wednesday night, particularly the Strange New Worlds panel, you know that a lot of legacy characters are being brought back in the upcoming series. Characters like Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett), and more. And that’s on top of Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Leonard Nimoy and Ethan Peck), and Una/Number One (Majel Barrett and Rebecca Romijn), who we already knew would be starring in the series.
But there’s another character who deserves a comeback, and that’s Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). If we are ever to see him on screen again, it would of course make the most sense for him to appear on Star Trek: Picard. Here are a few of the reasons why that would be a good idea.
‘Star Trek’ fans want to know what Wesley Crusher has been up to
Wesley ultimately leaves the Enterprise to go off with the Traveler (Eric Menyuk), an alien who has the ability to warp space and time with his mind. The Traveler’s understanding of reality transcends that of humans, so Wesley is sure to have had some pretty incredible experiences with this guy as his guide. It would be a lot of fun to hear some of those stories.
In addition, it would be gratifying for fans to get some closure on Wesley’s story. After he leaves the ship, we never really hear from him again. He never appears in any of the movies. So having the chance to check in on our old friend would feel like tying up loose ends.
Wesley’s relationship with Picard
Regret and making amends are major themes of the series that come up again and again. And It looks like these themes could be coming to the forefront even more next season. In the first trailer, Q (John de Lancie) says to Picard (Patrick Stewart), “Welcome to the very end of the road not taken.”
While this is still speculative, it sounds like there could be an opportunity for Picard to gain some insight into how things could have played out if he’d made different choices along the way — to see what the road not taken would look like.
Yes, the time travel shenanigans will take them back to the 21st Century. But with Q’s involvement, we can’t rule out the possibility that Picard could somehow get a glimpse into his own past as well, or that events in the 21st Century will affect his history.
Indeed, in the Next Generation episode ‘Tapestry,’ Q does just that. He gives Picard an opportunity to see what his life would have been like if he’d chosen differently in his younger days.
No time like the present
Season 2 would be the perfect time, therefore, for Wesley to come back into the fold. Frankly, Wesley is one of the people Picard needs to make amends to. He has always seen Picard as a father figure, but Picard has never fully reciprocated. This is partially due to his somewhat cold attitude toward children.
But perhaps it also has something to do with the likely reason he never allows himself to pursue a relationship with Beverly, either. He feels like he’d be stepping on Jack’s toes. Either way, Picard could have been a true mentor to Wesley but he drops the ball. So if the next season of the series does tackle regret in new ways, it could provide an opening for Picard to heal his relationship with Wesley.
We’d love to see Captain Crusher
It’s true that Wesley’s ambitions change when he meets the Traveler. By the time he leaves the Enterprise, he feels there is more out there to explore and experience than ascending the ranks of Starfleet.
Nonetheless, during most of his time aboard the ship, we see him looking up to the crew, working to demonstrate his intelligence and abilities, despite his youth. He wants so badly to fit in and to gain their approval. And it would be gratifying to see him finally being given that respect and gaining command of his own ship.
And Wil Wheaton has said on multiple occasions, including during Star Trek Day, that he would gladly reprise the role.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard is set to premiere on Paramount+ in February 2022.
