Star Trek: What Happened To Wesley Crusher?

09/01/2024

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Who is Wesley Crusher?

What happened to Wesley Crusher?

Does Wesley Crusher Appear in other Star Trek series?

Star Trek has been a significant part of pop culture for over 60 years, and has never failed at bringing some of the most compelling characters to the television screen. From Spock to Quark, the characters in Star Trek are always three-dimensional and require careful attention to fully understand. Even the children on the show, whom the writers use to connect with younger generations, have multiple layers to their characters. One such character is Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) from Star Trek: The Next Generationââââââ.

Wesley played a critical role in the first four seasons of The Next Generation, but many came to dislike him because he came across as a know-it-all with his smug and arrogant attitude. Many were happy after his role was cut back after the fourth season and nearly non-existent in any further Star Trek projects, including the TNG films that followed the show’s finale. The writers didn’t simply ignore Wesley, however, and actually gave him a little send-off in the series finale.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 3 delves into the captivating character of Jack Crusher, a cosmic force and pivotal link in Trek canon.

Who is Wesley Crusher?

The relationships in Star Trek are complicated and interconnected in many ways. Before Captain Picard commanded the well-renowned Enterprise, he was captain of the USS Stargazer. Aboard the Stargazer, Lieutenant Commander Jack Crusher gave his life, which Captain Picard felt partially responsible for. At the time, Jack Crusher had a five-year-old son with his wife Beverly: Wesley Crusher. After Picard gained command of the Enterprise, Dr. Beverly Crusher became his Chief Medical Officer and brought her now 15-year-old son to live aboard the starship.

Wesley quickly made a name for himself aboard the Enterprise as a whiz kid. While some viewed him as a know-it-all, he had the brains to back up everything he said and did. Picard reluctantly allowed Wesley on the bridge of the Enterprise and eventually made him an acting ensign because of how greatly he excelled at his studies. This gave Wesley the opportunity to work alongside the starship’s senior staff, including Data and Geordi La Forge. Despite his intelligence and saving the crew on more than one occasion, the crew frequently dismissed him due to his age.

Things started to change when the Enterprise picked up a mysterious alien who took an interest in Wesley and his intellect. The alien came from the newly discovered planet Tau Alpha C, and belonged to a unique group of aliens called the Travelers. While he had a real name, he claimed it was unpronounceable in the human tongue, so the crew referred to him simply as the Traveler. He quickly saw Wesley Crusher as a gifted individual who could help the galaxy and reality in great ways.

What happened to Wesley Crusher?

After serving on the Enterprise for the first four seasons of The Next Generation as an acting ensign, Wesley Crusher appeared less and less frequently once he went off to join Starfleet Academy. In the seventh season of the series, Wesley dropped out of the academy to join an organization known as the Travelers, believing it was his destiny. Wesley described the Travelers as a group of individuals who protected the flow of time. This task came with a series of unique abilities and sacrifices, which Wil Wheaton explained after Picard season three revealed that Wesley has a brother. According to Collider:

One of the fundamental rules of being in the Travelers is that, once you’ve joined, you must NEVER interact directly with the people, places, planets, etc. that were part of your previous life, because it can affect your judgment and break reality.

The Travelers ensure the proper flow of time by observing the timeline and sending out their agents whenever they need to fix something. Once he joined the Travelers, Wesley gained the ability to traverse space and time, including different dimensions. He could also see the very fabric of reality and make the necessary changes when necessary. The show never showed Wesley using all of his powers, but the first Traveler the crew of the Enterprise encountered explained them in detail.

Wesley exhibited the ability to stop time during a fight between Cardassian and Starfleet forces during season seven of TNG, hinting at his ability to join the ranks of the Travelers.

Does Wesley Crusher Appear in other Star Trek series?

After The Next Generation ended, Wil Wheaton reprised his role as Wesley only a couple of times. The first appearance of Wesley after TNG ended was during the wedding of Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sortis) in the feature film Star Trek: Nemesis. He had no lines and only appeared in a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moment sitting at the bridal table. He wore his Starfleet uniform, which many fans believed meant he returned to Starfleet Academy to finish his training, but then that goes against everything Wheaton said in his Facebook post about sacrifices and Travelers cutting all former ties. (However, Wheaton did note that his explanation is what he simply told himself when he wrote the 400th Star Trek comic; it’s not official canon.)

Wesley’s second appearance came in the season two finale of Star Trek: Picard. Wesley showed up on Earth to recruit Kore Soong, a genetic experiment from the 21st century created by Dr. Adam Soong, after she left the confines of Dr. Soong’s home/laboratory. His appearance didn’t last longer than two minutes, but it was a secret cameo that the production managed to keep under wraps until the episode aired, sparking excitement among fans everywhere. Despite the third season of Picard centering around the Crusher family, Wesley didn’t make another appearance. Perhaps this is saved for another time down the line, as it would be nice to see Wheaton back in Star Trek on a regular basis.