I heard a long time ago that the character of Picard was basically one half of James T. Kirk. They split that character in two. Riker got all the womanizer bits and Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) got all the caring and leadership ability (as well as a good dose of wisdom). Now that the first episode of season 3 of Picard have landed on Paramount +, I think I believe this more than I ever have before (spoiler alert).
In the first episode, we are introduced to Jack Crusher, Beverly Crusher's son that she had with Jean-Luc and kept secret for several decades. At least that's what I've figured out thus far. Honestly, I don't really care too much about this character yet. But I do think it is odd that there's this tradition of sons popping up for male Star Trek captains, and never a daughter. It's almost like there is a preferred "sex" to the offspring for a story being written starring alpha male captains.
Additionally these male captains are "too busy" to warrant being told about such things. Is it a tired trope that the "alpha man" wants a son and not a daughter? Honestly, if I'd been born straight and had a child I'd have wanted a daughter. They are more compassionate and caring for older folks (an observation I've had for a very long time). So, the chances I'd have a daughter who would care for me in my old age as opposed to a son who said, "eff off...I gotta go live my life" is much higher. Not saying it's a guaranteed thing...but just something I've observed.
Anyway, we saw this same thing happen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In that story, James Kirk (alpha male) finds out that he has a son named Marcus and that the mom, Dr. Carol Marcus, kept it secret "all these years." Then that kid ends up getting killed by a Klingon which kind of cements Kirk's hatred of the race in general. Picard rehashing the same kind of plot does seem to be a reinforcement of the idea that "Picard's personality flows directly from Kirk." I don't know if that's exactly what Michael Chabon intended, but it is what it is. I guess in the end I'm glad that Picard is ending with this season. The entirety of its run has not created anything new at all, which has been kind of surprising since every other series breaks new ground and forages ahead in unexpected ways.
There is one question I do have though that will probably get answered: Does Wesley know about his half brother? He probably does since he's a super being now (the Traveler). But it would be fun to get some acknowledgment of that. Anyone else watching Picard?
I did watch the first episode and had the same thoughts you had in regards to Beverly's son. I'm not sure how old he's supposed to be so at what point in the Trek timeline she had him. I mean they say she cut everyone off 20 years ago but I thought that dude looked older than 20. Maybe he's 30 something and Beverly just hid him in a Jeffries tube?
ReplyDeleteIs Chabon even still working on the show? I didn't see his name in the credits for writing or producing the first episode. Showrunning is pretty strenuous, especially when you don't have any experience, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had someone else doing this season.
I double-checked IMDB and Chabon is only listed in the "created by" section for the first 2 episodes of season 3. It's kind of confusing because it includes him in the "writing" section so unless you drill down you'd think he actually wrote the episode along with Gene Roddenberry, who's been dead for over 30 years.
DeleteIt seems like he'll be Picard's, but we don't know that yet for sure. Riker has a daughter...
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