Ed Speleers has explained the surprising bond between Ensign Jack Crusher and Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in Star Trek: Picard season 3. The two characters were one of Picard season 3’s most endearing team-ups, and Jack and Seven had each other’s backs during the battle between the USS Titan-A and Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer). There’s a mutual understanding between Jack and Seven that explains his assignment aboard the USS Enterprise-G as Special Counselor to the Captain.
Ed Speleers spoke to StarTrek.com about Jack Crusher’s journey from roguish scoundrel to Starfleet officer in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Speleers provided some fascinating insight into Jack’s motivations, and his feelings toward his absent father, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). He was also asked about Jack’s relationship with Seven of Nine, and Ed Speleers discussed the similarities between both characters. Read his quote below:
“There’s a recognition of being an outsider and living on the edge and then trying to find their way into confirming with society, in this case Starfleet. They understand one another; there’s a rogue streak to them. I love that scene when they’re looking at the starships. It’s a love sort of, quite a tender moment, but it’s full of humor and it’s in the middle of everything’s that going on in Jack’s head at the point where he’s in complete shambles. To have this moment of levity with Seven, it just inflates it. It comes down to the wonderful writing.”
Jack Crusher And Seven Of Nine Have Similar Star Trek Backstories
Ed Speleers recognizes that Jack Crusher and Seven of Nine were both outsiders who wouldn’t traditionally fit in with Starfleet’s values. This is the connection that bonds both characters, but the similarities between Jack and Seven run deeper than this. Seven spent her childhood as Annika Hansen in relative isolation, living aboard the USS Raven as her parents researched the Borg Collective. This is similar to how Jack Crusher spent his own childhood on the frontier with Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), who was determined to protect her son from what she called “Jean-Luc Picard-sized enemies“.
Jack Crusher’s Borg destiny also bears comparison with the young Annika Hansen. Jack was born with Borg DNA, and therefore had a connection to the Borg Collective from an early age. Meanwhile, Annika Hansen became Seven of Nine when she was very young. For a long time, life within the Borg Collective was all that Seven knew and, like Jack, she never felt like she fit into society after she left the Collective. Now that Seven of Nine has earned the center seat in Star Trek: Picard season 3, her shared background with Jack Crusher should provide a unique dynamic if they return for Star Trek: Legacy. Star Trek: Picard season 3 is available to stream on Paramount+. Source: StarTrek.com
