Star Trek: Picard season 3 was perhaps the most lauded of the Star Trek on Paramount+ era. Masterminded by showrunner Terry Matalas, Picard season 3 reunited the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation for one final, rousing adventure to save the galaxy from the Borg. Star Trek: Picard season 3 also introduced the next generation of Star Trek heroes, chief among them Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the son of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden).
Andor's two seasons and Star Trek: Picard season 3 are the most acclaimed recent projects of the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises, respectively. While they are very different stories that accomplish disparate goals, Andor and Picard share a surprising story point in common. But where Andor ends in a surprise and a door that is tragically closed, Star Trek: Picard season 3 uses a similar plot as a jumping off point that delivers what Andor, by design, cannot.
Star Trek: Picard’s Dr. Crusher Already Did Bix’s Ending In Andor
Beverly And Bix Did The Same Thing With Their Babies
Bix left Cassian in Andor season 2, episode 9, "Welcome to the Rebellion," imploring him to remain with the Rebels because she learned his destiny as a 'messenger' from a Force healer. Bix never told Cassian that she was pregnant, and she is raising their child in secret on Mina-Rau. Bix's decision is a stark echo of a similar choice Dr. Beverly Crusher made in the years before Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Like Bix, Dr. Crusher did not tell Picard she was pregnant when she vanished.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 begins with Dr. Crusher signaling Jean-Luc for help, with the gradual reveal that Jack Crusher is Picard's son. As Picard season 3 progresses, Beverly explains she got pregnant during a romantic holiday with Jean-Luc some time after Star Trek: Nemesis. Fearful that Picard's many enemies would hunt their son, Beverly left the USS Enterprise-E and cut off all contact. Like Bix, Dr. Crusher did not tell Picard she was pregnant when she vanished, and Beverly raised Jack in secret until the events of Star Trek: Picard season 3.
How Star Trek: Picard Did Bix’s Andor Ending Differently & Better
Picard Season 3's Story Begins Where Andor's Ends
Andor season 2's ending was fittingly poetic. Bix carrying Cassian's baby and looking to the horizon not only mirrors Star Wars' iconic scenes of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) gazing toward Tatooine's twin suns on the horizon, but it offers solace that Cassian's legacy will continue despite his death in Rogue One. However, it's also a tragic sight as Cassian will never meet his child, who will grow up without a father.
Dr. Beverly Crusher and Jack Crusher allowed Star Trek: Picard to springboard off the fact that Admiral Picard has a son he never knew. Jean-Luc meets Jack, and they learn that the father passed organic Borg DNA to his son. Picard saved Jack from his destiny to become Vox of Borg, proving how much he loves his son. At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, Jack follows his father into Starfleet and is assigned the USS Enterprise-G.
If Star Trek: Picard season 3's continuation, Star Trek: Legacy, happens, Jack Crusher would be a central character who will be tested by Q (John de Lancie) the way his father, Picard, was.
Did Bix’s Andor Ending Steal From Star Trek: Picard?
There's No Evidence Andor Was Influenced By Picard
Andor season 2 was produced in late 2024 while Star Trek: Picard season 3 aired its final episode in May 2023. Still, there's no evidence Tony Gilroy and his writers were influenced by or took a story element from Picard season 3. The story of a mother raising her child alone to protect it from her father's enemies - or in Andor's case, to spur Cassian on to his destiny as a Rebel hero - is not uncommon. It's a pleasant coincidence that Bix Caleen made a choice in Andor that is similar to Dr. Beverly Crusher's in Star Trek: Picard.
Andor did not define the name or gender of Cassian Andor's child with Bix Caleen, which is something Star Wars will have to determine in future stories.
The best thing about Bix in Andor's ending being similar to Dr. Beverly Crusher's choice in Star Trek: Picard season 3 is that both convey hope for the future. The best part of Cassian will live on through his child with Bix. In Star Trek: Picard, Jack Crusher inherited the intelligence and heroism of both of his parents. But that's where Star Trek: Picard one-ups Andor: Jack Crusher will continue with the love and support of his parents, and his destiny can be modeled on the bold adventures of his parents on the Starship Enterprise.
