Almost Romance: Dr. Crusher's with a Romulan Defector
Though she didn't always have the best storylines, Gates McFadden's character, Dr. Beverly Crusher, was a fan favorite on Star Trek: The Next Generation. One such plot nearly followed a romance with a Romulan defector.
In the episode "The Defector," a claimed Romulan defector calls the USS Enterprise-D in distress. The crew believes it's a trap meant to entice the Federation Starship toward an ambush. Originally, the script had a romance subplot involving James Sloyan's Romulan defector, Admiral Jarok, between Dr. Crusher. Although this subplot was finally cut, it's clear how it might have worked.
Jarok arrives on the Enterprise wounded and running from the Romulans. Patrick Stewart's portrayal of Captain Picard is dubious of the Romulan's assertion; most of the crew treat Jarok with mistrust. Dr. Crusher treats Jarok like any other patient, though, and is friendly to him. Still, that's most likely for the best since neither party shows any sign of attraction. Knowing Jarok is trying to stop a war so his daughter may have a better life, his narrative is more potent.
This possible romance would have coincided with Dr. Crusher's recent learning of more about Romulan physiology. She treated a seriously injured Romulan in a past episode, "The Enemy," which would have given her a different viewpoint on the Romulan people.
Strange Star Trek Romances of Dr. Crusher
She had several other relationships over the series, even though Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard were teased to be in love. In the episode "Transfigurations," Dr. Crusher attends to John Doe, a patient referred to as amnesiac. John Doe's fast healing powers captivate her even as she treats his physical injuries. Sadly, John transforms into a strong energy being upon recovering his memories, so ending their possible romance.
For Dr. Crusher, Trill Ambassador Odan presented another romantic entanglement. Up until Odan was killed, their relationship appeared to be going nicely; his symbiote was then moved to a different host. For Beverly, this proved to be too much change; she broke off their relationship.
For Dr. Crusher, the most strange romance was with Ronin, the ghost lover of her grandmother. The strange love story and Beverly's unusual actions of this episode make it legendary. Gates McFadden thought it strange as well. Maybe this would have been one strange romance too much for Dr. Crusher.
Third in the sci-fi series, Star Trek: The Next Generation chronicles the exploits of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the USS Enterprise crew members. Set one hundred years following the first series, Picard and his team explore the crew dynamics and their own political dialogue as they travel the galaxy in essentially self-contained episodes. Four films released concurrently with the series would help to further some of the main storylines that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes.
