What role did Ed Speleers play in the Star Trek universe? Details explored

35-year-old English actor Ed Speleers portrayed the pivotal role of Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher's son Jack Crusher in the popular Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard. The third season of the show was released on the streaming platform on February 16, 2023, and the season ended on April 20, 2023, after a total of ten episodes.

Throughout the entire series, Ed Speleers' character Jack was seen going through different character arcs, which concluded on a satisfactory note in the finale of Star Trek: Picard season 3, titled The Last Generation. At the end of the episode, Jack was dubbed by Seven, played by Jeri Ryan, as the "special counselor to the captain".

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Ed Speleers' character Jack Crusher was introduced in the premiere episode of Star Trek: Picard season 3

In episode 1 of the show's third season, the character was first seen accompanying his mother Beverly on several missions to deliver pivotal medical supplies and aids to a number of plants that were beyond the reach of the Federation. However, his true identity was disclosed in the episode titled Disengage. In this episode, Jean-Luc learned that Jack was his son.

Apart from the revelation of his true identity, another major highlight of the character in the series is the undeniable chemistry between Jack and Seven. The last two episodes of Star Trek: Picard season 3 finally went on to reveal why Seven and Jack had such a strong connection from the very beginning, which was invoked by the undeniable familial chemistry between the two actors, Speleers and Ryan.

As Jack was Picard's son, he was like a human-borg hybrid, and forming an instant bond with the collective Seven was a huge part of his own DNA.

Thus, the scene where the two characters were taken to their own bridge right after the crucial sequence of the found family they shared in the sixth episode of the show's third season, gave the audience a full-circle moment.

In a recent interview with Collider's Maggie Lovitt, actor Ed Speleers opened up about his character Jack's intriguing journey throughout the third season of the Paramount Plus show.

The actor said:

"What hasn't been explored yet is whether that is purely just two people, or species, being able to connect and just having an understanding because they're both outsiders? Or is it because it's the actual Borg likeness in them? And that's the thing, I think, that would be interesting to explore later on. "

Ed Speleers further continued:

"For me throughout the season, as much as that's the natural progression to make mentally, if it could just be that they are two outsiders that just connect the way that Seven has connected with other outsiders previously. Well, Raffi for example. She likes a wild card and I think Jack is a wild card, and we need to hold onto Jack being a wild card as well."

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Although the highly anticipated spin-off series Star Trek: Legacy is yet to receive the green light from Paramount Plus, the finale of Star Trek: Picard season 3 definitely left enough room for further character development of Jack Crusher again in the near future.

During the Collider interview, Ed Speleers also spoke about what he would like to see from his character in the future. He said:

"If he's now in Starfleet he can't just become strait-laced Starfleet. He's got to stay rogue, I think. But I feel that that's another relationship to explore."

Ed Speleers also went on to praise the showrunner Terry Matalas and the creative team of the show for their presentation of the characters in the series. He said:

"I mean that's the great thing that Terry and his team of writers have done really well. They've teased up enough, but it's got backbone, and it's got weight behind it that you can just fly into the next, without using the pun, into the next chapter, and explore these stories. I feel that they could have some great stuff coming up."

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Viewers can watch the entire season 3 of Star Trek: Picard, which is currently streaming on Paramount+.