Summary
- Admiral Janeway meets Dr. Beverly Crusher for the first time in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, bridging Voyager and TNG timelines.
- Janeway seeks insight into Crusher's son, Wesley, while Beverly keeps her younger son Jack a secret from Picard.
- A heartwarming reunion between Wesley and Beverly, with the introduction of Jack, connects Prodigy to Star Trek: Picard.
Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 features the first meeting between Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Star Trek: Voyager premiered 29 years ago in 1995, introducing the world to Captain Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager. After being stranded in the distant Delta Quadrant for seven years, Voyager returned to Earth, where Janeway was quickly promoted to Vice Admiral. Janeway popped up briefly in Star Trek: Nemesis to give Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) orders to travel to Romulus, but she never interacted with Dr. Crusher.
Dr. Beverly Crusher spent much of her Starfleet career as the Chief Medical Officer on the USS Enterprise-D and USS Enterprise-E under the command of Captain Picard. Beverly and her teenage son, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), lived together on the Enterprise-D for several years before Wes left, first to study at Starfleet Academy, and then to join the Travelers. As revealed in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Beverly left the Enterprise-E sometime after Star Trek: Nemesis to secretly raise her son with Picard, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) while offering medical aid to those in need. In Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, Admiral Janeway reaches out to Dr. Crusher to learn more about her Traveler son, Wesley.
Admiral Janeway Finally Meets Dr. Beverly Crusher In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2
Two iconic Starfleet women meet for the first time in Prodigy season 2, episode 12, “Last Flight of the Protostar, Part II."
After Admiral Janeway encountered Wesley Crusher and allowed the Protostar kids to travel through his portal, she reached out to Dr. Beverly Crusher for insight into her son. Dr. Crusher was "surprisingly hard to track down," but Counselor Noum (Jason Alexander) pulled a few strings with Starfleet Medical. Janeway greets Crusher with a reference to the "Shinzon incident" depicted in Star Trek: Nemesis before asking about Admiral Picard. A bit flustered by the question, Beverly responds that she hasn't seen Jean-Luc in a while, meaning she no longer serves on the Enterprise.
Admiral Janeway meeting Dr. Beverly Crusher, with Kate Mulgrew and Gates McFadden voicing their characters, is a historic moment crossing over Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as a face-to-face with two of Star Trek 's most iconic women.
Admiral Janeway apparently hasn't spoken to Admiral Picard since Star Trek: Nemesis or kept up with the whereabouts of the USS Enterprise-E's crew, although that's not particularly surprising as an Admiral with myriad responsibilities, including her own starship missions. Dr. Crusher quickly moves the subject away from Picard, asking about her son, Wesley. Janeway tells Beverly that Wesley saved their lives, but "seemed erratic." Janeway is clearly worried about the cadets, but Beverly reveals that she hasn't spoken to her son in years. Still, Beverly assures Janeway that Wes is "a good son with a good heart" and that he must know what he's doing.
Although not revealed in this particular scene, Beverly had her younger son, Jack Crusher, at home. As he would have been a couple of years old at this point, Beverly has already made the decision to keep him a secret from his father, Jean-Luc Picard.
Wesley & Beverly Crusher Finally Reunite In Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2
Wesley visits his mom in the Prodigy season 2 finale, "Ouroboros, Part II."
After Wesley Crusher helps the Protostar kids save the universe and fix the timeline, he finally visits his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher. Wes reveals that he doesn't know how long he can stay in this universe, but Beverly is glad to get whatever time she can with him. In a brief, but heartwarming scene, Beverly hugs her son before introducing him to his younger brother, Jack Crusher. This scene further connects Star Trek: Prodigy with the rest of the Star Trek timeline, bridging some of the gap between the TNG era and Star Trek: Picard.
There are still many years before the timeline of Star Trek: Prodigy catches up with that of Star Trek: Picard, and it remains unknown how Wesley spends the rest of that time. Maybe he visits his mom more throughout the intervening years, in between hopping universes and traveling in time. With the proposed Picard spin-off Star Trek: Legacy a no-go at this point, it remains up in the air whether Beverly and Wes will ever reunite in live-action. But even if they don't, Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 provided a lovely moment between Beverly and Wesley, her cosmic traveler son, as well as the historic first meeting between Dr. Crusher and Admiral Janeway.
