Coaching, Performance, and the Quiet Exit
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Riker demonstrates a grand, flirtatious opening line and Guinan play-acts a response; their banter models tone and technique while revealing Riker's latent vulnerability and Guinan's teasing, wise stance.
Wesley interjects for help but Riker and Guinan ignore him, sidelining his voice and underscoring his outsider status in the coached exchange.
Riker escalates into a lyrical, dreamlike monologue about longing and worshipful devotion while Guinan grounds and warns him, exposing Riker's romantic hunger and the risk of idealizing another.
Wesley taps Guinan, admits the coached lines aren't his style, and then exits unsure and defeated, closing the scene with Wesley's retreat from action and deepened self-doubt.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Playfully amused and gently maternal; consciously supportive as she coaxes both the lesson and Riker's sincerity to the surface.
Guinan agrees to participate, moves from behind the bar to the table, plays the role of the receptive stranger, teasing Riker and responding to his lines with a mixture of wry amusement and grounding commentary that reveals emotional intelligence and mentorship.
- • Help Wesley by enabling a live demonstration
- • Steer Riker's performance so it remains honest rather than merely theatrical
- • Maintain a comforting, instructive atmosphere for the young officer
- • Coaching through example is more effective than lecturing
- • A little teasing can reveal true feeling beneath performance
- • She has a duty to nurture junior officers' social confidence
Anxious and uncertain on the surface; internally discouraged and resigned when he realizes the coaching lines aren't authentically his.
Wesley asks for advice, listens uneasily to Riker's performance, taps Guinan on the arm to signal his discomfort, then quietly exits—his physical withdrawal signaling internal defeat and inability to assume a learned persona.
- • Learn how to approach Salia successfully
- • Find an authentic way to express himself without sounding fake
- • Avoid public humiliation or making a mistake in front of seniors
- • Performative bravado is not his natural mode
- • If he uses lines that aren't his, Salia won't respond truthfully
- • He needs guidance but must remain true to himself
Playful and amused on the surface, shifting into lyrical vulnerability and wistful longing when he improvises passionate lines.
Riker orchestrates and performs an improvised seduction demonstration, recruiting Guinan, delivering grand romantic rhetoric, and guiding Wesley by example—his cocky coaching revealing sudden, genuine vulnerability beneath the show.
- • Teach Wesley a method for opening conversation with Salia
- • Demonstrate confidence and model a successful approach
- • Enjoy the performance and deepen rapport with Guinan
- • A practiced line or performance can create opportunity
- • Confidence—real or performed—can unlock romantic possibility
- • Demonstration is a useful teaching tool for an inexperienced young officer
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Guinan's forearm/hand is used as a tactile anchor when Wesley taps it—a quiet physical cue that punctuates his discomfort and elicits a protective, amused reaction. The touch functions as permission and consolation, signaling intimacy and social cueing in the coaching moment.
The Ten-Forward bar surface and adjacent seating function as the informal stage and coaching prop: it anchors the characters' positions, concentrates social energy, and allows Riker and Guinan to perform a mock encounter visible to Wesley. The bar's presence frames the scene as casual but intimate.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Ten-Forward serves as the social crucible where private coaching becomes public performance. Its informal, low-lit environment allows mentorship, flirtation, and emotional exposure without formal stakes—permitting Riker's theatrical display and Wesley's retreat to register socially and narratively.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"WESLEY: "But what do I say? How should I act? What do I do?""
"RIKER: "The first words out of your mouth are the most important. You could start by saying something like... 'you're the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.'""
"WESLEY: "I don't think this is my style.""