Gates McFadden doesn’t rule out a return as Dr. Beverly Crusher

Gates McFadden won’t be appearing in the second season of Star Trek: Picard

Fans who were hoping for a reunion between Dr. Beverly Crusher and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard were disappointed to discover Gates McFadden would not be appearing in the second season of the series that chronicles Picard’s journey after his time in Starfleet. And McFadden understood their disappointment, but, as she told IGN, she doesn’t rule out a return to the character eventually.

As far as what she wants if Dr. Crusher does make it back to a Star Trek series, McFadden would like her to be a fully fleshed out character. Unfortunately, there were a lot of missteps with the doctor while aboard Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She simply wasn’t a fully formed character, and oftentimes, she was given little to do other than check on a patient or offer a kernel of advice to Counselor Troi.

Gates McFadden envisions Dr. Beverly Crusher’s future

"” I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t have continued working. She was obviously someone who very much was a humanist and wanted to help people wherever she could, and she was a scientist as well. … I loved that Dr. Crusher… was always the one who got into arguments with Picard because her first oath was the Hippocratic Oath and his was the Prime Directive. The Prime Directive was second for Crusher. And I think that’s a fascinating place to be. That’s a really interesting thing.”"

Unsurprisingly, McFadden still sees her character and Patrick Stewart’s Picard butting heads over their respective oaths. While her first duty was to her patients, his was to the Prime Directive which conflicted. But Crusher always stood her ground so there’s little doubt she would be any different if she does pop in on Admiral Picard in the future.

It’s certainly a wish for fans to see not only what happened in Dr. Crusher’s life after she left the Enterprise but to see a reunion of two characters who shared a past and maintained a friendship that has lasted for decades.