EXCLUSIVE: The Parents Weigh in on Star Trek: Picard’s ‘LaCrush’ Budding Romance

SPOILER WARNING: Discussion for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 7 "Dominion" to follow!

On Star Trek: Picard, in between the threats on the lives of those aboard the U.S.S. Titan-A, two legacy kids have found something, or someone, that has caught their eye.

Both Jack Crusher, the son of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Sidney La Forge, the daughter of Commodore Geordi La Forge, have the weight of the galaxy on their shoulders living in the shadow of their legendary parents. Something they’ve both commiserated together in “The Bounty,” when the young Crusher clocks the less than “warm and cuddly” interaction between the Titan’s helmsman with her father upon her family’s arrival.

In addition to navigating their complicated relationships with their fathers, they’re both grappling with outsider tendencies. Perhaps, that’s why they both find it easiest to connect with Commander Seven, as seen in “Seventeen Seconds” and “The Bounty.” However, Jack and Sidney appear to be open to allowing another person into their guarded lives as they playfully yet awkwardly flirt following their cloaking device heist, testing the waters to see if they would like to “hang out.”

In “Dominion,” Jack inadvertently reads Sidney’s minds as his hand grazes her, reminiscent of when Jean-Luc and Beverly were privy to each other’s thoughts in “Attached” (Star Trek: The Next Generation). The unease grows when Vadic and her crew board the Titan and Jack and Sidney find themselves trapped by a Changeling assailant. In providing Sidney aid, Jack’s newfound powers allow them to access each other’s thoughts as well as allow him to guide her movements as she fights the Changeling. Following the rather invasive but necessary act, Sidney is unsure what to make of Jack.

StarTrek.com had the opportunity to speak with Ed Speleers (Jack Crusher), Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut (Sidney La Forge), Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher), and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) on their thoughts on “LaCrush.”

On building Jack Crusher’s rapport with Sidney La Forge, Ed Speleers lavishes heaps of praise for Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, “What a great, great actor, very committed. Makes it so easy as well as frustrating. I feel like I have to do so much work; I’m sure she does as well but she makes it look so easy. It just comes naturally to her. She’s a wonderful talent and great fun to be around on set. There’s a nice little freestyle building between those two characters, which brings me back to my point that we need to see more!”

Unable to tell StarTrek.com too much at the start of the season, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut offers this nugget of advice on how to navigate a Starfleet romance, “Hypothetically, if there is a romance, you might want to keep it under wraps, especially if your father is on board.

And does the internet-christened “LaCrush” have their parents’ approvals? Gates McFadden, whose Beverly Crusher knows a thing about workplace romances, advises, “You have to go with your instincts, always respect the other person, and always respect your friends. And if you’re having great pheromones, well, you’ve got to do what you got to do.” You know what they say, mothers know best.

How about fathers? When asked how he felt that Sidney La Forge had the eye of one of his friend’s son, LeVar Burton, firmly but jovially, states, “I expressed it as the character I thought pretty clearly, ‘Get the hell away from my daughter!’”

With the ability to hear each other’s thoughts, will Sidney and Jack move closer to a place of understanding and greater intimacy like Jean-Luc and Beverly once did? Will Jack heed the Commodore’s demand? With three more episodes left for the season, tune in and find out!

Christine Dinh (she/her) is the managing editor for StarTrek.com. She’s traded the Multiverse for helming this Federation starship.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+, Star Trek: Picard will also stream on Prime Video outside of the US and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

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