Summary

Picard's conversation with Wesley in TNG's "Samaritan Snare" explains how he got his artificial heart.
Wesley Crusher's prediction about Picard's parenting comes true in Picard season 3.
Picard's journey with Wesley sets up important storylines and character development in both TNG and Star Trek: Picard.

One conversation between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) in Picard's dislike of children was established in the TNG premiere, but he became more comfortable around Wesley over time.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 17, "Samaritan Snare," Picard and Wesley spend six hours in a shuttle together on their way to Starbase 515. Wes is traveling to the Starbase to take the Starfleet entrance exams, while Picard is traveling there for cardiac replacement surgery. When Wesley learns that Picard will be traveling with him, he's more nervous about spending six hours in a shuttle with Picard than he is about his exams. Picard doesn't want to have the surgery, so he's already in a bad mood, and Wes wonders what the two could possibly talk about for six hours.

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How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

The Star Trek TV franchise has existed for 57 years and consists of 12 shows (and counting). Here's how to watch them all in timeline order.

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1 Scene In Star Trek: TNG "Samaritan Snare" Set Up Why Picard Has An Artificial Heart

Picard & Wesley's conversation sets up the TNG season 6 episode, "Tapestry."

When Captain Picard and Wesley first set off on the shuttle, Picard mostly keeps to himself, giving Wes short answers to any questions before returning to his book. As the trip progresses, Picard offers Wesley some sandwiches, and the two have a real conversation as they eat. Picard eventually opens up to Wes, telling him the story of how he ended up with an artificial heart in the first place. While at Starfleet Academy, Jean-Luc says he was overly cocky and was involved in a fight with "a trio of Nausicaans."

As Picard describes it, he and his friends were at a bar when the Nausicaans came in "clearly spoiling for a confrontation." While his fellow cadets avoided the Nausicaans, Jean-Luc confronted one of them, firing insults that possibly included a "ing reference to his questionable parentage." All three Nausicaans then attacked Picard, and he was holding his own until one impaled him from the back. Picard was rushed to a nearby medical facility and given an artificial heart. Picard remarks that he "learned a very hard, very painful lesson that day," but the incident helped shape him into the man and Captain he became.

Picard's incident with the Nausicaans would later be shown on screen in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 15, "Tapestry," when Q (John de Lancie) gives Picard a chance to go back and make a different choice.

Wesley Crusher Predicted Jean-Luc's Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Story

Picard finally becomes a father in Star Trek: Picard season 3.

In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) returns and reveals that sometime after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, she gave birth to Picard's son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). To protect Jack from Picard's enemies, she kept his existence a secret from Picard. Jean-Luc is shocked to learn that he has a son, but throughout Picard season 3, he warms up to the idea. While Picard and the reunited crew of the USS Enterprise-D are busy saving the galaxy (again) for most of the season, Jean-Luc finds time to begin to connect with Jack.

Picard season 3 ends with the former Enterprise Captain finally getting the chance to have a family.

As it turns out, Wesley Crusher predicted Jean-Luc would be a good father all the way back in TNG's "Samaritan Snare." When Picard and Wesley first set out on their shuttle journey, Wes remarks that it's "too bad" Picard doesn't like kids, because he would "have made a good father." When Wesley asks if Picard has ever wished he had children, Jean-Luc says: "Wishing for a thing does not make it so." Over thirty years later, Jean-Luc Picard got his wish. Picard season 3 ends with the former Enterprise Captain finally getting the chance to have the family he couldn't have on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Picard are available to stream on Paramount+.