Trae Patton/CBS Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard of the the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: PICARD
The first season of “Star Trek: Picard” showed fans how Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s life played out after the last TNG movie, “Star Trek: Nemesis.” At the beginning of the season, he lived in his family’s chateau with two Romulan refugees and didn’t seem to have any familial or romantic relationships.
Though Picard had several romantic relationships over the years, “Picard” confirmed that he never settled down with anyone. And, as far as fans know right now, he never had any children.
However, a new rumor indicates that an upcoming season of “Picard” will introduce a son Picard never knew he had.
A Secret Son
The entertainment site The Illuminerdi, which often publishes rumors about upcoming television shows and movies, claims that the third season of “Picard” will introduce a new recurring character, Picard’s son. The site didn’t include information about their sources, claiming that this was an exclusive. However, the details they included about the character are the kind of details that are commonly found on casting sheets.
“The character breakdown indicates that his son is named Henry and is in his early 20’s… Henry is described as having either an American or British accent, he’s headstrong, independent, and charming. He can be reckless and has a ‘take from the rich, give to the poor’ sense of morality. He’s confident, adventurous, and ready to fight for and help people in need. He’ll find himself in the middle of a conspiracy that spans the galaxy and forces him to reevaluate his ideas about not only the universe and its heroes, but also, himself.”
The Illuminerdi reported that “Picard’s” second season would deal with time travel months before the second trailer confirmed the suspicions aroused by the first teaser. So, it’s possible this rumor is credible as well. However, it’s nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor right now.
Who’s the Mom?
Assuming the Illuminerdi’s character breakdown is accurate, there are a few women who could be Henry’s mother. The breakdown stated that Henry was in his “early twenties” at the time of Picard’s third season. Since the first season of “Picard” took place in 2399, the third season will likely take place within a few years of that date. Unless, of course, there’s a major time jump in the second or third season.
If the third season takes place around 2400 or 2401, that would mean that Henry was probably born between 2375 and 2378. The events depicted in “Star Trek: First Contact” took place in 2373. The events depicted in “Star Trek: Insurrection” took place in 2375, right around the time when Henry might have been conceived.
In “Insurrection,” Picard was romantically involved with a Ba’Ku woman named Anij. Their only onscreen liaisons happened during the mission. However, Picard told Anij before he left Ba’Ku that he had vacation time saved up and implied that he planned to use it to see her. So, it’s possible that Picard did, in fact, visit Anij on Ba’Ku and that they conceived Henry while he was there.
Another possibility is that Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher finally got together in the time after the events of “Insurrection.” Picard and Crusher’s “will they, won’t they” relationship lasted through all seven seasons of TNG. The series finale revealed that they’d gotten married and then divorced in an alternate timeline. However, they never got together in the Prime Timeline. Unless they did and fans just don’t know it yet. This would provide an awesome opportunity for Gates McFadden to reprise Crusher.
As of right now though, that doesn’t seem very likely. Season three of “Picard” is already in production. The cast and crew are filming seasons two and three back to back. McFadden recently revealed to Heavy’s Eric Pesola that she hasn’t yet been asked to appear in “Picard.” It’s possible that’s changed since Pesola spoke to her, but seeing Crusher in season three doesn’t seem likely as of right now.
Picard’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Vash could also be Henry’s mother. Though Vash and Picard parted ways in the episode “Qpid,” it’s always possible that she popped back into his life. Given Vash’s ambiguous relationship to the truth, she’s also the most likely of Picard’s lovers to hide a son from him.
Another Fake Son?
Though Picard doesn’t have any children that he knows about, he did think that he had a son for a few days. In the seventh season episode “Bloodlines,” a Ferengi revealed that he’d tracked down Picard’s secret son and threatened to kill him. The Ferengi wanted to avenge his son’s death at the hands of Picard by murdering Picard’s son.
The man the Ferengi claimed was Picard’s son, Jason Vigo, came aboard the Enterprise so the crew could protect him while they figured out what was going on. When Jason told Picard who his mother was, Picard admitted that the timing did make sense. Though Picard tried to connect him, Jason had no interest in forming a bond with him.
DNA testing initially showed that Picard was Jason’s father. However, a closer look revealed that Jason’s DNA had been manipulated so it looked like he was Picard’s son, even though he wasn’t.
If season three of “Picard” really is introducing Picard’s son, it could be another part of another elaborate ruse.
Of course, this is all speculation for now. Fans will have to wait quite a while before they find out if Picard really does have a secret son.
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