The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 5, "Imposters," now streaming on Paramount+.
Beverly's surprise son, Jack Crusher, turned out to be who Riker (and the fans) expected. However, "Imposters" suggests that Jack Crusher is closely connected to the Changeling terrorists and may not be Picard's son.
The hook for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 was the return of The Next Generation characters for one final voyage together. Then it became Jean-Luc and his relationship with the son he didn't know he had. However, starting from his fight with the first Changeling imposter on the USS Titan-A, Jack started to see visions. Seven of Nine rescued him, but he almost died, which may have triggered whatever is going on with him. On new villain Vadic's ship, viewers see a slightly gross communication ability. The creepy Changeling leader calls Jack an "asset," which can be a vague designation but does suggest some kind of connection. Given the almost magical nature of their communication, perhaps these visions Jack experiences are part of it, too? Jack doesn't seem to know what's going on with himself. So, he's either an impeccable liar, or he truly doesn't know what's happening to him.
Jack Crusher's Red-Themed Visions Are Meant To Be Sinister
Jack's first vision came when he was being rescued by Seven of Nine. He first saw the vines in a vision, with a creepy Seven staring at him. Behind her vines, stretched across the ceiling and a voice said to "connect the branches." The vines continue, along with visions of a red door and what looks like a city besieged by red storms. There is more whispering, including something that sounded like a call for him to return "home." Beverly and Jack spent the past 20 years having adventures in and out of Federation space. Jack doesn't follow the rules, so he could just be connected to the Changelings that way. Yet, he'd know that's why they were after him.
Showrunner Terry Matalas brought several writers to Picard from his time-travel series 12 Monkeys. Viewers of that series will recognize the red-themed visions because a similar motif was used on that show. They were much more than monochromatic psychedelic trips. Whatever is going on with Jack and these visions, it's not brain damage from almost dying or anything like that. Whatever is behind these visions is the same thing that makes Jack valuable to Vadic's boss. The Changelings likely couldn't care less who Jack's father is. There is something about the kid that's special.
After 20 years of hiding a secret son, Beverly Crusher's secrets have secrets. While Jack may not know what is going on, she might. Given the lengths she's already gone to protect her son, lying to Picard and her friends about Jack's true nature is nothing. It's even possible that Jack isn't really Picard's son.
Is Jack Crusher a Changeling and Not Picard's Son?
Two episodes in a row of Star Trek: Picard have pointed out how Changelings must revert to their "goo" form at regular intervals. If Jack Crusher was a Changeling, he'd know it. Yet, if they "evolved" enough in just a few years to fool Starfleet scanners, perhaps they beat that last "weakness?" Maybe Jack isn't Picard's son, but some baby Beverly rescued. A Changeling baby that somehow has the power to stay in solid form for a long time. The visions he sees may be a side effect of his need to return to the Great Link or, at least, his liquid state. A being with the ability to do that would be quite the asset.
If this is the case, and Beverly is keeping it a secret, there's an even more difficult conversation for Picard and Dr. Crusher. If Beverly walked onto the bridge of the Titan and said that Jack was some Changeling-messiah-baby she stole, Picard would've sent him home with the Federation's apology. Instead, she let Picard believe Jack was her son, and let his paternal instinct take its course. His connection to the Changelings must be a strong one for them to go through all this trouble on the eve of their Frontier Day attack plans. Whether Jack is Beverly and Picard's son by blood, he is vitally important to the enemies. That he's having visions and behaving like he's possessed doesn't discourage the idea that he's not who he thinks he is.
It's also possible that Jack's connection is something else, a connection that is more mystical than scientific. Perhaps it's all one big "red" herring, mere side effects from inhaling a toxic gas? Yet, with as tightly woven as the story's been so far, there are sure to be countless surprises in the back half of the season.
Star Trek: Picard debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.