Containment: Picard Is Singled Out
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Troi names Picard as her mother’s early favorite, Riker tosses a cheeky congratulations, and Picard shuts down the levity. The target locks onto him, tightening personal pressure.
Picard searches for a polite refusal, but Troi blocks the exit, warning that spurning her mother would be taken personally and ignite resentment. The diplomatic path narrows to a tightrope.
Picard commits to a containment strategy—make himself less available to avoid upsetting her per Starfleet’s directive—and Riker signs off. A clear, tactical plan replaces flustered indecision.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Outwardly composed but privately mortified and anxious; weighs embarrassment against duty, showing steely pragmatism beneath discomfort.
Picard is in his regular uniform, pacing and visibly uncomfortable; he challenges Deanna's implications, expresses mortification, and proposes a deliberate, tactical withdrawal from social availability to avoid offending Lwaxana and to comply with Starfleet instruction.
- • Avoid personal humiliation and preserve his dignity.
- • Prevent a diplomatic incident that could jeopardize the mission.
- • Comply with Starfleet orders while minimizing offense.
- • Find a tactful, non‑confrontational way to deflect Lwaxana's advances.
- • Direct rejection would be offensive and politically risky.
- • His personal availability can be managed as a tactical variable.
- • Maintaining decorum preserves Starfleet's authority and mission integrity.
- • Protocol and subtlety are preferable to blunt confrontation.
Amused on the surface but supportive and alert to the diplomatic stakes; comfortable turning awkwardness into a practical solution.
Riker listens with a mix of bemusement and concern, provides corroborating anecdote about being warned of the 'Phase', reacts audibly (whistles), jokes to relieve tension, and promptly endorses Picard's plan to reduce his availability.
- • Support the captain's authority and decision-making.
- • Help defuse the awkward situation for the crew's morale.
- • Prevent escalation that could distract the ship from its mission.
- • Maintain a light tone to keep the meeting manageable.
- • The Betazoid 'Phase' is a real, powerful influence that must be accounted for.
- • Practical containment (making Picard less available) is preferable to confrontation.
- • Humour is an effective device to reduce personal embarrassment and crew tension.
- • Endorsing the captain's plan stabilizes leadership and preserves chain of command.
Mortified and protective: embarrassed on behalf of her mother yet urgent about the diplomatic consequences and determined to prevent offense.
Deanna Troi explains her mother's condition as a physiological Betazoid 'Phase', cautions Picard against applying human logic, and translates cultural risk — protecting both her mother's dignity and the diplomatic mission while showing personal embarrassment.
- • Protect her mother from shame while preserving the mother's dignity.
- • Prevent offense that would undermine the diplomatic mission.
- • Inform and advise Picard to avoid misapplied human reasoning.
- • Mitigate the emotional fallout between parties involved.
- • Betazoid physiology and customs are decisive and not subject to 'human' logic.
- • A blunt refusal will cause deep resentment and political complications.
- • Her role includes mediating between Betazoid emotional reality and Starfleet protocol.
- • Preserving interpersonal dignity is crucial to mission success.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Captain's Ready Room functions as an intimate command chamber where a private, sensitive consultation occurs. Its enclosed, official atmosphere contains the personal embarrassment and allows Picard to convert personal problem‑solving into a command decision without public spectacle.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Troi explains the Betazoid Phase to Pulaski, foreshadowing her fuller briefing to Picard and Riker."
"Picard's containment strategy (make himself less available) drives him to program the Holodeck escape."
"Troi warns that spurning her mother will upset her; later, Riker avoids confronting Lwaxana to keep her untroubled."
"Troi warns that spurning her mother will upset her; later, Riker avoids confronting Lwaxana to keep her untroubled."
Key Dialogue
"TROI: My mother is just beginning a physiological phase... one that all Betazoid women must deal with as they enter mid-life."
"TROI: It seems Captain, that you are the early favorite."
"PICARD: Well, considering Starfleet's orders not to get her upset, I think it might be prudent for me to make myself less available for the duration of this journey."