WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 2, "Disengage."Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has finally become a father in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but he was previously faced with this opportunity in the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The conclusion of Picard season 3, episode 2, "Disengage" confirmed what viewers had been suspecting all along, that Jack Crusher (Ed Speelers) is the son of Jean-Luc and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Picard's issues with family and fatherhood have been well documented in Star Trek, from as far back as the season 4 episode "Family".
Star Trek: Picard season 2 built upon revelations of Jean-Luc's difficult relationship with his father, Maurice Picard (James Callis), and Jean-Luc's repressed memories of his mother, Yvette's (Madeline Wise), suicide when he was a boy. Jean-Luc's career in Starfleet was a way for him to avoid confronting his own childhood trauma. Having finally faced his family issues late in life, it now makes sense for Picard season 3 to present Jean-Luc with his 'next generation,' in the form of the son he never knew. However, TNG had previously told a similar story in "Bloodlines", the 22nd episode of its seventh and final season.
