Star Trek's Gates McFadden Wishes She Could've Approached One TNG Episode Differently

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" pioneered a lot of bold storytelling back in the late '80s and early '90s, but if you ask Gates McFadden — best known as Dr. Beverly Crusher — there was one controversial episode that was ahead of its time: one that tackled a complex romantic storyline that was not as properly fleshed out as it should've been.

We are talking, of course, about Season 4's "The Host." In the episode, Crusher develops feelings for Odan (Franc Luz), a Trill ambassador. But complications kick in fast when Odan's humanoid body suffers a fatal injury, forcing his parasite symbiont to temporarily be transferred into William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Later, Odan is transferred into a permanent female host named Kareel (Nicole Orth-Pallavicini). By the final frame, an emotionally overwhelmed Beverly ends the relationship, telling Odan that humanity's capacity to adapt to such rapid changes has its limits.

Over the years, the ending has drawn criticism from modern audiences, with some viewers labeling the character's rejection as transphobic. However, during a conversation with Inverse, McFadden defended her character's core values while admitting she wishes the script had been given the breathing room to properly unpack the situation. "First of all, you're given a script and that's your script. You can only change so much," McFadden explained to the outlet. She also pointed out that viewers often overlook the massive emotional whiplash Beverly has to process within a mere 45 minutes: "I think that if anyone actually thought about it, they would see that it's way too fast for Crusher to be able to process all that has happened."

Beverly is forced to absorb the death of a lover, the sudden shock of a parasite entering her close friend Riker, an awkward wave of attraction to that same friend, and finally, the introduction of a completely new female host. "That's a head trip," Gates McFadden told Inverse. "They didn't have enough scenes to really explore that. That's what I was playing in the final scene." The actress firmly rejected any malicious intent behind the doctor's decision while also raising other valid points: "I mean what if it had gone into Data? What if it had been put into a teenager? That brings up all sorts of different ethical things."

McFadden agreed that with today's streaming format, a complex dilemma like this and the heavy psychological toll it has on the character could've been explored over the span of a multi-episode arc. "There was a tremendous amount that Crusher had to process that wasn't seen," she added. "I don't think people saw the full amount of things that she was expected to process."

Still, while "The Host" isn't a "Next Generation" episode you should skip, McFadden looks back on it as a valuable, albeit flawed, step forward for the era: "It was about asking the question: What is love? What is the nature of love? How much is physical? How much is emotional, how much is experiential? At least it started to get people to think about something that many people didn't want to think about."