Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 2 – "Disengage"Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) is conspicuous by his absence in Star Trek: Picard season 3, and it's something that needs to be addressed, given the revelations about Jack Crusher (Ed Speeler). At the end of Picard season 3, episode 2, "Disengage", Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) wordlessly confirmed to Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) what he already knew – that Jack was his son. The reveal raises several questions about the timeline of Beverly and Jean-Luc's aborted romantic relationship, and also the question of how Wesley Crusher, Beverly's eldest son, feels about it.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation was originally conceived, the "will-they-won't-they" romantic relationship between Beverly and Jean-Luc was intended to be a bigger part of the ongoing story. As such, Beverly's son, Wesley Crusher would look up to Picard as a surrogate father. Much of this remained in the final version of TNG, with Picard becoming an inspiration to Wesley during his trajectory from aspiring Starfleet cadet to space and time-transcending Traveler. By introducing Jack Crusher, Star Trek: Picard has created a fascinating dynamic that's worth exploring, especially as Wesley had Jean-Luc as a father figure, so to continue ignoring Wesley's existence would be a huge mistake.
